Polkovnik Alexei Torgorovich: Age 20, Russian Cultural Conservation Colony on the planet Quintill.
Alexei grew up in a relatively rich household amongst the poverty in the downtown sector of the Russian Colony on Quintill. From an early age he showed a great interest in hovercars and other forms of transportation, especially in spacecraft. Young Alexei started piloting aircraft and small spacecraft bought by his parents at the age of 8, and began competing in races with other colonies on Quintill. Because of this precocious ability of his, when the Russian branch of the military began its annual drafting from the colonies, he was immediately chosen, despite his extremely young age.
Rising quickly through the ranks, he became the second youngest ever to become a Polkovnik, (Colonel) at the age of 12. Because of his high training in piloting, he was placed on a mission in one of the smuggler slums of the planet Nerilithia, as he was thought to be able to fit in well due to his lack of knowledge in other areas. Unfortunately though, even though he follows orders to a fault, he proved to be too trusting and open, and he blew his cover one night, age 17, when his targets gave him a little too much alcohol for his brain to handle. He was later found, beaten and cast aside down an alley, by a pair of honest freighter pilots. Impressed by his skills when he recovered, the captain of the freighter Derelict, hired him on, and he traveled with them for a year, when they were stopped on Alexei’s home planet, Quintill.
Taking a moment to visit his family for the first time in years he found that the entire colony, which before had treated him as a hero, now treated him as a traitor. Being thrown out forcibly by his own father, he was unable to return to the freighter, which after a wait hired on a different pilot and left him behind. Unable to return to his own colony, he trekked across the face of the planet to the colony of Markath, where he began searching for any job. Stumbling through a dry dock on the outskirts of town, he noticed the captain of a ship discussing hire terms with a distinguished looking mechanic. He waited until he saw them shake hands and then asked to join this new ship, the Vesper Bell. Alexei has remained the pilot of the Vesper Bell ever since.
