Name: Liam Ansul Alexander
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Nationality: Republican
Zoid: Snipe Master
AIM: jadefalcon136

Personality

The habits of a lifetime are hard to shake, so if there is one word to describe Liam it is "careful". A bit of an odd descriptor for someone who engages in Zoid battles, but there you have it. Under the influence of his wife and the Zoid battle arenas, however, he is beginning to discover his inner risk-taker and is having the time of his life in doing so. When attempting to resolve a conflict, Liam will patiently listen to every fact and everyone’s story in an attempt to see the full picture. Once he becomes sure of a viewpoint or position, it is nigh-impossible to budge him from it. Any attempt will just be met with a soft-spoken "I'm afraid that's not possible" and a polite escort to the nearest door/window/manhole.

History

Liam was born in NC62 during the final years of the conflict between the Republic and the Empire, in a middle-class neighborhood that had mostly escaped the ravages of war in New Helic City. He was viewed as something of a ‘miracle child’ by his parents Terrace and Lucy Alexander, for Terrace was nearly fifty and Lucy over forty – and Liam was born free of birth defects or other side effects of a late pregnancy. However, instead of spoiling him rotten like many other only children, his parents immediately began grooming him to take over the family business – ACI, or Alexander Comestibles Incorporated, a mid-sized foodservice company. Terrace had built ACI out of nothing, and his one great fear was that it would dwindle away or be bought out once he was too old to run it any more. What better way to avoid that fate than to keep it in the family?

Liam, of course, didn’t see it that way, especially in his rebellious teens. He saw his friends going off with grand dreams to become scientists or doctors or commercial Zoid pilots, and resented the way that his parents had laid out his life. However, it took jus one shouting match with Terrace for Liam to learn to keep his head down. He journaled in secret, wrote poems and drew pictures as a way of releasing his anger and frustration, and on the outside was an almost painfully model student. Although he was highly encouraged to “take practical courses” and “not fill his mind with useless junk”, one of Liam’s little acts of rebellion was to spend as much time at the local library as possible, learning about any subject that he could.

After graduating from school, Liam was tasked with steadily increasing responsibilities in ACI, and he met them all with his characteristic patience and tolerance. As he worked, he also participated in one of the first “distance-degree” programs, earning a certificate in advanced business administration while still fulfilling his responsibilities in the company.

Only a few days after Liam’s twenty-third birthday, his father (now in his early seventies) suffered a severe stroke and was taken to the hospital. He lost most function on the right side of his body as well as a good deal of his ability to speak. Obviously, Terrace was not going to be running ACI for much longer. Liam took over and quickly began putting his knowledge to use. He found that his father had been setting aside a large portion of the company’s earnings in a “rainy-day fund” to cover unforeseen contingencies that never popped up. Liam quickly used the money to fund advertisements and hire new employees, and ACI began to grow rapidly. For a period of about five years, the company consumed Liam’s life as he sought to stabilize it in a position where it could continue with a lesser degree of management. He also began to groom long-time employees of his father to take management responsibility – something that his father had never done, afraid to delegate authority. And as Liam turned twenty-eight, ACI was the foremost foodservice companies in the Republic (not that it was a very hotly contested industry). ACI’s wheat-sheaf logo appeared on almost every condiments package, bag of cheap rolls and large package of hotdogs to be found in the Republic.

To celebrate ACI’s prosperity, Liam set up a company party – another thing that Terrace wouldn’t have done in a thousand years. However, at the party Liam’s life took another turn. He had been too busy running the company to pursue any romantic interests, but to his surprise, one dropped out of the sky on him – literally. Tamarrion Kyndras, a pilot specializing in aerial Zoids and stunt flying, was one of the chief attractions at the party. Her skill with a Redler, her razor wit and her amazing beauty (in his eyes, at the least) all captivated his heart. Tamar, too, was taken by Liam and admired his cool patience and determination. The two of them hit it off almost instantly, and less than six months after meeting at the company party, they were engaged to be married.

Before they married, the two of them had one further opportunity to sit down and talk to Liam’s father, who had regained the ability to speak but was not otherwise looking good for the long term. Father and son at last came to reconciliation as Terrace apologized for imposing his own ambitions over those of Liam. He also gave his blessing to Liam’s marriage to Tamar, joking that “…maybe she’ll help you get back the sense of adventure that I never had.” Less than a week later, Terrace died at last and Lucy moved into an assisted-living community. As soon as decency allowed after his father’s death, Liam married Tamar.

Tamar had a surprise destination in mind for their honeymoon, so Liam dutifully agreed to be blindfolded for the flight in the jumpseat of Tamar’s Redler. The destination was none other than the city-state of Athens and its thriving Zoids battling community. Liam was at first skeptical and somewhat worried about having much to do with the obviously dangerous war machines, especially when live rounds were involved, but after his first few sessions of piloting he was hooked. ACI was in fine shape and his managers were doing admirably, so Liam didn’t feel bad in the least about taking an indefinite vacation from his job to pursue this new interest. Still wary of overly aggressive piloting styles, he learned to pilot and shoot using first a rental Gun Sniper, then a Snipe Master. Before long, he was ready to take to the competitive arena with Tamar at his side.

Appearance

Due to a desire to avoid his father’s health problems later in life, as well as his craving for physical activity that could be worked around his job, Liam jogs and works out regularly. Tamar has done nothing but encourage him in the pursuit of fitness, often joining him in workouts. Thus, he is in excellent cardiovascular shape and although no body-builder, is able to lift and carry more than the average of Ziian men his age. His hair is light brown in color, almost blond but not quite, worn short in the summertime and slightly longer in colder weather. Liam’s eyes are a medium shade of blue. He usually wars a collared shirt and khaki pants from years of habit, and feels uncomfortable and under-dressed when out and about in anything less. He carries no weapons, as there is really no need for them, and usually bears only a computer planner and distance communicator to keep up-to-date with his business when it is necessary. Although he is taking a course in kickboxing to maintain his fitness and clear his mind, Liam has no formal martial arts training, believing barroom brawls are best left to those who don’t mind having a criminal record.

Most excellent. Approved -- 50k, 'cause I felt like giving a 5k bonus.