Jack of Harts

Ken

by Charles on January 15, 2017 at 12:01 am

Ken Banno was one of the first twelve Cowboys. He fought at Earth, Alpha Centauri, Epsilon Reticuli, Serenity, and the Hyades Cluster just to name a few. He fought in battles great and small across Terran space, and he proved to be one of my best men. I do not believe he ever failed me. He may have been defeated at times, but it was never because he failed. He lived all the way through The War, you know. He never was killed all of the way in twenty years of unrelenting War. Then he came home and ran into my family. Even against them he did not fail. They did defeat him, though. That complicated matters greatly.

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Sara

by Jack on January 14, 2017 at 12:01 am

Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

I trusted Ken and Sara with my life so many times. I did something crazy to protect them. They did something crazy to return the favor. They held the orbitals while I landed. Or I held the orbitals and they landed. Sara and Ken were one of my most trusted teams. I don’t think they ever failed me. Even when they died. That was when she followed the last order he gave her. She tracked me down and told me in person that he was gone. She was real insistent that she wasn’t going away until she avenged his death. And you know what? I was real happy to help her. I know things got complicated after that, but I honestly had the best of intentions. And in my defense, Charles has always played his cards close to his chest. I had no idea the hand he was playing with.

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The Races of Humanity – Peloran

by Betty on January 13, 2017 at 12:01 am

Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The Peloran were never numerous enough to defend the Albion from the Ennead. But once the Albion let them off their leash and ordered them to kill the Ennead, the Peloran proved their true capabilities. They fought from warships that could burn planets for the materials they needed to repair themselves and could feed on stars for the energy to travel. They sailed anywhere and attacked without warning. They were the perfect guerilla force with nothing left to defend, no supply lines, and only their orders to follow. They destroyed world after world and system after system. The other races soon learned that the Peloran would ignore them if they did not interfere, and the Ennead faced the Peloran alone in the end. The Peloran showed them no mercy. Their orders allowed them none. And so it was the Peloran and their cousins who killed the Ennead.

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Ken

by Charles on January 12, 2017 at 12:01 am

Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

Ken “Buckaroo” Banno was a legend in his own mind. And his millions of fans, friends, and an extended family structure that encompassed nearly everyone with a drop of Japanese blood living within sight of Los Angeles. He was the golden child of Free Japan, the founder, the owner, and the chief advertising arm of Samurai Surfing. He was a successful businessman, a media personality, and he would have been elected in a landslide if he had ever run for political office. Some people would say he threw all of that away when he volunteered to serve in the military after the Shang attacked. But instead he became the one thing he had never wished to be. He became a hero to the people of Free Japan, a reminder of the proud and terrible forgotten history of military excellence carried in the lifeblood of Japan.

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Sara

by Jack on January 11, 2017 at 12:01 am

Posted In: Art, Character Profiles

Sara was born after the Free Japanese of Los Angeles had suffered their second greatest catastrophe First was the fall of Japan, of course. We were still counting the dead in Los Angeles when she came into Ken’s life. That was a hard thing to choose to come into, but she thought it was worth it. She chose the appearance of a daughter of Japan rather than the polyglot Japanese-California mix that had become common by then. Color me confused at times on that, since she’s never seemed to favor Japanese clothing. She’s as American as apple pie in her actions, clothing, and speech. So why pick a pure Japanese look? I never have figured that out, and she’s never volunteered the information. And what can I say? No matter how curious you are, there’s some things you just don’t ask a lady.

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