Wildcard

Happy Friday! Have you guys been enjoying these character sketches? I'll tell you, they're pretty fun to write — especially because of how much time I've already spent with these guys. It's like going back in time and discovering what they used to be like. Weird, right?

Today, we're talking about the third main character of my short story, Cornelius, AKA Neal. 

Characters

(part three)

As always, we start with the name:

• Cornelius Madhran, Captain of ES vessel Apollo, Wildcard Character

But I bet you're all wondering what a wildcard character is, because they're not usually called that. Actually, I don't know what the technical term for this sort of character is, which is why I call them wildcards.

See, Neal here is playing both sides. He's a Captain aboard the Apollo, but he's also working for the Hunters (remember that from Orlan's character sketch?). So, when I say he's a wildcard, it's because he's both on the side of good and the side of bad.

In other words, I don't really know what he is yet. He hasn't told me.


Next up: what's he look like? 

• Black hair, military cut
• Cleanly shaven face, always
• Deep blue eyes, genetically enhanced to be that color
• Bright, boyish smile
• Oval shaped face
• Darker-toned skin
• Thin, but still fit enough to be a Captain
• Approximately 5'10"
• Always wears ES flightsuit, with a rosary tucked in around his neck

As always, there might be a few gaps. Like age. You'll notice I rarely ever state how old my characters are, unless it's vital to the story. Why? Because I'm not an ageist. No, I'm kidding, I actually have no idea why I never know their ages. They don't usually tell me. I only know if they're a kiddo or not.

Of course, just like with Kaylen and Orlan, there's a lot more we need to know about this guy.

For instance, why on earth is he playing both sides?

Let's see if we can find out. 

• Neal has been working within Earth-Space for over forty years, and he's turned down every promotion above Captain. 
• His current mission with ES is to the Apollo, a small class vessel mostly used for transport, repairs, and short range fighter missions. However, the Apollo is not fitted with the weaponry necessary for attacks, making it lighter and more high speed for sensitive transport. Recently, Kaylen Stevens was assigned to his crew. 
• His current mission with the Hunters is primarily recruitment. It's one of the reasons why he's refused promotion, because if he moved up the ranks in ES it would be easier for the higher-ups to recognize what he's doing.
• Never married, because there's no point when all he wanted to do was live in space. 
• He's very close with Kaylen, even though her addition to his crew is very recent. The two of them bonded from the day she stepped foot onto ISS7, and he was thrilled at the prospect of getting to work side by side with her. 
• Occasionally works with the ES Academy to bring in new recruits to the Hunters, by alerting the Hunters to the new cadets being sent up into space. 
• Currently, his target for recruitment is aboard his ship. 
• When he first joined ES, he thought that it would be a good fit. He worked hard in his classes and scored in the middle of the pack in almost every category, but he was still selected for a long-term mission aboard ISS7. However, two years into his tour, his ship was overtaken by Hunters and he was turned to "the dark side." Now, he doesn't know which side he prefers. He does what needs to be done, for the betterment of humanity. 
• He's become known as one of the best recruitment officers among the Hunters, because 90% of the cadets and officers he's selected to join them have joined without incident or issue. 
• He's a devout Catholic. He prays over his food before every meal, and he doesn't care what it tastes like. He believes that everything he does is exactly what God would have him do, but he's very quiet about his faith because of a lack of belief in higher beings among the majority of ES and Hunter members. 
• People in general are the driving force in his life. He strives to love all people, to care for all people, and it pains him whenever he has to kill. 
• He has no answers for himself. He doesn't know which side he's on, and he doesn't know which side he would choose when it came down to it. Everything about his life is torn in two, and he has no idea what way to turn. The only direction he knows to go is to God, but he has begun to fear that even God has turned his back on him. He's done too many things that should never have been done, and it's breaking him apart from the inside out.
• He's currently working with Orlan Pearce, a new recruit into his Hunter division, and they're working to bring the best pilot in the galaxy into their ranks.

And that's Neal, in a nutshell. 

Next week, we'll talk about the Hunters, Earth-Space, and Apollo itself. In hindsight, maybe I should've done those first... But characters are more fun!


Again, everything here is officially Copyrighted by RAD Writing, who owns the rights to the novel series from whence this short story came. :)

[love]


{Rani Divine}