Bio

William was born in Glisten (Glisten/Spinward Marches A000986F) in 1064.

Although of low birth and small stature, William was smart and ambitious. Devouring the neo-pulp classics as a young boy, he developed a fascination with adventure. It was no surprise to his family when, at 18, he presented himself at the IISS base on Glisten and asked to sign up. Aptitude testing easily got him accepted and he joined the pathfinders in the Exploration branch.

His first term was eventful. On one mission, the pilot, Renee Tocher, became seriously ill and William had to take over flying the ship. Renee died and, although her death was no fault of William, the Tocher family never forgave him [Enemy]. They went so far as to call in favours and retard his career advancement.

Undaunted, William volunteered for a dangerous mission and was taken on as pilot. Upon the ship’s successful return to base, Traffic Control gave him the wrong landing vector. His crossing the landing pad just as the base commander was departing got him a one-way ticket to the unemployment line for reckless flying. The Tocher family ensured that his career record was completely expunged!

Blacklisted by his beloved Scouts, William turned his considerable knowledge and love of the unknown towards studying new planets. He became a field researcher with GLIPS (Glisten Institute of Planetological Studies [p115 Spinward Marches MGT supplement]), where he spent his first term arguing for grant money and brushing up on his planetology history. His initial research into the mysterious origins of the Mertactor system in District 268 was brilliant, but another researcher, Dr. Anders Joshey, hacked William’s notes and published the results first [Rival]. Fortunately his work ethic was enough to get him noticed and he was promoted.

Again undaunted, William continued his research, taking greater care with his data, and was rewarded with the prestigious GLIPS Researcher of the Year Award in 1097. This was enough to allow him to continue to advance his career yet again, in spite of Dr. Joshey’s protestations.

Promoted to team lead of a GLIPS field crew, William developed some new communication protocols and field investigation techniques that won acclaim in the academic community and, again over Joshey’s protestations, William was recognized for his accomplishments.

As a result, William was taken on by Dr. Amrish Van Donkersguud, a pre-eminient, if eccentric, planetologist at GLIPS [Ally]. Dr. Van Donkersguud had a theory that the Zhodani, known to have advanced the field of planetology beyond the abilities of the Imperium, had a hand in the Mertactor system’s mysteries. He recruited William to study Zhodani methods, again with great success.

Unfortunately a bout of ill health forced William to give up field work and he decided to retire. Fearful of the long-term consequences of the illness, William decided to return to his first love—adventure—while there was still time. Seeing an advert for work deeper in District 268, William has made his way to a job interview…
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“Well, it’s a year on and I have even less hair. I’ve been shot, robbed, cheated, had a brief love interest, saved a few people, lost a couple of others, learned to shoot a gun and even put a few very bad people in the ground with it, become a de facto doctor, gone into the merchant shipping business, babysat the rich and famous, fought pirates, hunted nobbles (and nobles), and deposed dictators among other sundry adventures. It’s been quite a year.

But, above all, I’ve made some great friends. Oh, and some money."
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