Vincent Velandro

Private Storyline

Background:
Vincent Velandro was born in 1086 on Lam (Lishun 2124). He was the quintessential geek as a kid. He spent too much time in front of computers learning how to program them, playing holovideo games, and reading up on starship drives. He would get beat up by the dimwitted bullies in his neighborhood on the way home from school. Everything changed when he hit puberty. Vincent became too big to pick on. Those who did regretted it.

He tested so well in school that the Imperial Navy practically begged him to sign up. Vincent jumped at the chance. His childhood pursuits were put to the test as an adult. He excelled at computer programming and was certainly no slouch down in engineering. And all those hours playing holovideo games made for a perfect fit in a laser turret.

So why did Vincent muster out after 4 terms? One word: death. Vincent was no coward, but his first three terms were before the war. The combat situations he faced then were nothing compared to what he faced once the war started. Vincent's skills put him in high demand. He found himself on the front lines month after month for four years fighting in one vicious naval battle after another with gunners just as good as he was. No amount of holovideo games could prepare him for the amount of closeup carnage he witnessed. Nor could they prepare him for his own death.

It was during one of these fever pitched battles that the ship Vincent was on was destroyed. Duilnor's forces surprise attacked his squadron while they in the midst of refuelling. The battery he was firing took a direct hit, knocking him unconscious. When he came to, the alarms were sounding everywhere. Power was sporadic. Smoke filled the corridors. He was wounded and his vacc suit was ruined. As he struggled to make his way down the corridor, another explosion shook the ship and once again Vincent was knocked unconscious.

When he came to weeks later in a hospital, he was amazed to be alive. He learned from a nurse that someone dragged him from the wreckage into a lifeboat which escaped the dying ship minutes before it exploded. There were few survivors as most of the lifeboats were destroyed by Dulinor's forces before reinforcements arrived. Vincent had even been dead for a few seconds. Apparently someone on the lifeboat knew CPR.

Vincent made a full recovery but could not shake the feeling that he cheated death somehow. With this squarely in mind, he resigned from the Navy citing PTSS. A navy psychologist confirmed this. Vincent was told that once he felt better, he would be welcome back, rank fully restored.

Back in the private sector Vincent worked low key, non-exciting jobs. He did make a full recovery and soon he was itching to something a bit more exciting. With rumors of atrocities being committed during what was dubbed the "Black War", he opted not to return to service. He decided that Death wouldn't let him get away a second time. Instead he answered an ad for crew positions on the ship Miishakaal, a far trader. It was a ship that was obviously not going to go around picking fights but it needed someone to help defend it if attacked. Somehow that seemed exciting enough. If he didn't go around chasing death, maybe it would forget about him for awhile.