Privateer Tales Characters
A few people have kindly pointed out that sometimes, between books, some of us might forget the names of our heroes and their general physical characteristics. This isn’t a full list, but it’s certainly the starting crew of Intrepid. By no means should you take this as a guarantee of their safety, but I’m quite willing to say, that as of the first chapter, each of the following are just as we left them in Give No Quarter.
Liam Hoffen – our hero. With straight black hair and blue eyes, Liam is a lanky one hundred seventy-five centimeters tall. Our stories are mostly told from his perspective and therefore he needs the least introduction.
Nick James – Quick-talking, always thinking five moves ahead, Nick is the long-term planner of the team. At one hundred fifty-seven centimeters, poor Nick is the shortest human member of the crew. He, Tabby, and Liam have been friends since they met in daycare on Colony-40. The only time Nick has trouble forming complete sentences is around Marny Bertrand, who by his definition, is the perfect woman. Nick’s brother, Jack, now lives on Lèger Nuage after they lost their mother when Red Houzi pirates destroyed their home in the now infamous Battle for Colony-40.
Tabitha Masters – Fierce warrior and loyal fiancé of our hero, Liam, Tabby lost most of her limbs when the battle cruiser on which she was training was attacked by the dreadnaught Bakunawa. Tabby lives for high adrenaline moments of life and she engages those at one hundred percent. Tabby is a lithe, one-hundred sixty-eight-centimeter-tall, bundle of impatience.
Marny Bertrand – Marny is a former Marine from Earth, having served in the Great Amazonian War. Liam and Nick recruited Marny from her civilian post on the Ceres orbital station in Rookie Privateer. Marny is one-hundred eight centimeters tall, heavily muscled and the self-appointed fitness coordinator for the crew. She’s also extraordinarily fond of Nick.
Ada Chen – Ada was first introduced in Parley when Liam and crew rescued her from a life-boat ejected from her mother’s tug, Baux-201. A one-hundred sixty-three centimeters tall, ebony-skinned beauty, Ada is verified bachelor. Her first love is her crew and Ada’s second love is sailing into the deep dark.
Jonathan – Jonathan is a collective of fourteen-hundred thirty-eight sentient beings, initially introduced in A Matter of Honor. Jonathan is intensely curious about the human condition, specifically how the unlikely race combines skill, chance, and morality to achieve a greater result.
Jester Ripples – Very little is known about the newest member of Intrepid’s crew. Jester Ripples is a Norigan, a non-humanoid race. His skin looks like the consistency of a frog, but is actually composed of extremely fine hairs. Norigans are tri-fingered humanoids with mouths that also resemble a frog and big black eyes mounted atop their skulls. Jester Ripples has brilliant red streaks embedded in yellow bands that start at his nostrils and flare out around his eye sockets.
I think you may have transposed the numbers in marnies height 108 cm is only like 3ft 5 in I though Marnie was taller than that”?
Right you are!
OK, now I have to recalibrate my mind-pictures of the crew. I always thought that was Liam on the front cover of Rookie Privateer, but if he has straight hair and blue eyes, then I guess he’s actually white. Is that Nick on the book cover, then?
Rookie Privateer is showing Liam. I know I’m going to annoy people with this, but I just don’t believe the notions about races we have and reference in 2016 will survive to Liam’s time. On purpose, I have gone out of my way not to give Liam an identifiable race. When I read science fiction, I want to see myself and want to afford my readers the same. Honestly, I think it was a mistake for me to reference his eye color. — and that’s best answer I have — Jamie
That idea doesn’t annoy me at all. I realize some people use skin color as a proxy marker for behavior, but to me it’s about CULTURE, not race. Someone raised a civilized human being acts like a civilized human being, regardless of their susceptibility to solar UV rays. And vice versa – barbarians come in all skin tones.
I really wish people would quit identifying themselves by who their ancestors were, and start thinking about who they want their decendants to become.
well said.