| “ | Every single one of us, man or woman, soldier or civilian, Human or Ardite, rich or poor, needs to band together now or we won't have the chance to blame each other after.
- Markus
|
” |
Biography[]
Pre 2180[]
While born on Earth, he spent majority of his childhood jumping from station to station as his father's assignment changed. And naturally, being the son of now-Fleet Admiral John Kemp brought enough expectations to make any kid restless. In short, Markus was a spacer child.
Despite all that pressure, Markus managed to fast track his way through high school and enroll straight into the Trailblazer Program at 16. Despite suffering through the most demanding and comprehensive training imaginable. Kemp exceeded every expectation and graduated the most decorated Trailblazer in history, teeming with potential.
Come 2160, Markus was ready for the big leagues. Their exploratory efforts were going perfectly according to plan until the Trailblazer Crisis occurred. The situation came and went, but through it all, Markus handled it like a professional. This unfortunate, though advantageous, chain of events sent ripples throughout the galaxy and left Markus in the middle of it all. He was seemingly at the height of his career and became a hero among the military back on Earth.
After the crisis, Markus' life is little more than a packed folder plastered with a bright red classified stamp. At some point during his service with the Trailblazers, he lost his hand and gained a cybernetic replacement. Later in 2172 CE, he left the Trailblazers entirely for the United Nations Special Missions Division.
Post 2180[]
Jumping from system-to-system, job-to-job, Markus stared death in the eyes more times than any man ever should. Yet, his bravery, or recklessness as his father saw it, carried him all the way up the chain of command until he was finally a commander: a rank he felt he'd deserved ever since apprehending one of the Secession Movement's leaders back in '78.
With this new promotion came a new assignment aboard the UNS Yewtoo: the one mission that would change his life forever. In a matter of hours, he went from serving as a liaison for the Admiralty Board to seizing control from Captain Aaron Westley just in time to save all of their lives.
Determined to find the bastards that attacked him, Markus was generously given the UNS Argo and a hand-picked crew to do exactly that, though it was entirely off-the-record as the Board officially voted for him to be reassigned. Nonetheless, he carried on with the investigation: chasing leads across the entire galaxy. Nothing ever came easy for him or his crew, but they found a way through it all.
The journey made Markus a better man. He found kinship, camaraderie, and even love along the way... But, he also found hatred, regret, and fear. That fear drove him further and further away from sanity until he started fighting for Kantal Krell: the very man they were trying to stop.
His cooperation may not have lasted long, but it left him scarred. It peeled away at his conscious for months until all that was left was a shell of his former self.
That trauma eventually pushed him over the edge: forcing him to needlessly sacrifice himself in a duel with Kantal during the final fight for Earth.
Skills and Abilities[]
- Exemplary soldier
- Excellent strategist
- Honed survival skills
- Experienced explorer
