Harland Gates
RETIRED
NAME: Harland Gates
GENDER: Male
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 189lbs
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Mix of Auburn and Blond
SKIN: Slight tan
HEIGHT: 6'2"
WEIGHT: 189lbs
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Mix of Auburn and Blond
SKIN: Slight tan
OCCUPATION: Consultant
MEMORABILIA: First constructed saber
SHIP: HWK 290 light freighter Wild Goose
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES :
+ Biology - Above average night vision
+ Innovative - In tight scrapes, he has a knack for finding unique solutions - no matter how hair-brained they seem.
+ Crack shot - Ever since he picked up a blaster, he's been a natural marksman - and only progressed further with training.
+ Ace in the hot-seat - A skilled and seasoned pilot. Nothing makes him feel better and clear his head like flying.
+/- Confident - Whether he knows what is going on or not, he's resolved in his actions and words, sometimes arrogantly so.
+/- Forward - He speaks his mind in every situation - even when it's not warranted, wanted, or generally best for him.
- Trust Issues - The man has a chip on his shoulder the size of a small moon. It's hard for him to lower his shields.
- Gambler's Itch - Has a difficult time resisting the allure of the odds, races, risk, or games of chance alike.
- Hotheaded - When you find the button, it'll set him off in record time whenever it's pressed.
PERSONALITY:
The somewhat self-arrogant egotist wasn't always so rough around the edges. By no means was he ever a very disciplined youth, and even as a padawan learner, he was a defiant rebel in a few ways. Authority was never something he generally agreed with, and often found himself at odds in impossible situations. Gates has a mouth to him as well, and he uses it in ways both helpful and damning. Thankfully he has the skills to back up most of what he says. Over the years of being on his own, his personality became a bit more grim as he dealt with the day in and day out of the real Galactic life. Without the shelter of the Temple, he had to walk a hard road, and he cut through that -- and in the process his personality became quite a bit more jaded.
A few notable characteristics still remain though. He never turned his back on a right call, or being somewhat decent. He also has a problem with droids, notably ones that talk. He doesn't think they should - and often remedies that. Gates, as the name implies, is a guarded person who doesn't lower his personal shields around many. He's lost faith in a lot of things, and left a lot of relationships in disrepair.
FORCE AFFINITY:
Originally Gates showed promise in the area of being in tune with the Force. By no means a prodigy, but he did well enough grasping certain concepts. However, after his exodus from the Temple, and turning his back on the practices and principles of Force usage, it's almost a deadened connection. He barely has a glimmer of sensitivity to it anymore. Once in a while it may be useful to dodge a blaster bolt or fire one of his a second more quickly. Otherwise that is a lost art, and something he no longer places any stock into.
BIOGRAPHY:
To say that Gates had choices in life was a correct statement, although the choices made might of not been the best ones for the youth. He was called a natural born pilot, always driving something, even when he wasn't supposed to. Even as a child he wasn't the best at listening to authority - and was perfectly fine with taking the risk of punishment over getting his own way, and carving his own path. Headstrong and stubborn were two of the words he heard the most of from his parents, and the village he grew up on. It was their species home planet - and only so because they had crash landed there. Those stories of that time were just textbook fodder and didn't mean much to a boy who looked beyond the planet and to the stars every night. In part, the desire to see the stars is most likely what cemented his decision to join the Jedi Order. It wasn't for fame, it wasn't for power or even the desire to help other people. It was to see the stars.
What Harland didn't bank on though was how he'd feel once he left the security of a family and a village he'd known all his life. Suddenly he was thrust into a much bigger world, on a far larger scale. Everything was larger than life - even his mentor and guide was an impressive and awe-inspiring icon. Being in such strange settings, and having a completely new set of guidelines to adhere to was a bit too much for a boy who was barely reaching into his adolescence. The day he got lost going the wrong way in the Temple was the day however when things changed. Hardland met [member="Kiskla Grayson"]; another padawan in the order, and someone who wasn't larger than life. She had humor, and spunk, and a spirit that he gravitated to. The two became fast friends, and no matter how much the Masters of the Order tried to keep their minds focused, they were more than most joined at the hip. A pair of padawans that would reign terror down on the Order by being just obstinate enough to squeak by. She was better at it than he was. Still things weren't nearly as bad as when he had first arrived.
The rebellious spirits of Gates and Grayson did not go unnoticed by their respective mentors in the Force. A long term training project was decided at the onset of Grayson's adolescence; and the team of both her Master and his own took the two to the beautiful and somewhat remote world of Naboo. While it also encompassed the royal city of Theed, it was a fertile training ground for the two youths. Missions were still accepted and done by the two pair of Jedi and Padawan teams, using the planet as their base. It was during this time that Gates found a great deal of respect for his Master. The planets they travelled to, and the situations that he generally thought were a lost cause were not seen that way by his Master. He never gave up on anyone, ever - even a delinquent forcer like Gates. Not only did he foster that respect, but he confided in the man. He was a friend, and a mentor - and had a level of patience that blew Gates' young mind. Though the most important part of these mission was his time in the cockpit, and the freedom to fly.
Oh to fly, that was a dream of Gates for as long as he could recall. To soar the cosmos and traverse the black of space. Under Jedi law, he was trained on how to operate their fighters, and he practiced day and night in the Theed sims, (that were open to him and all pilots in the royal academy) whenever he had the chance. Often teaching other recruits the ins and outs, and tricks he had learned. Saber tactics, Force usage, sleeping - all came second in line to being able to get another standard hour in the sims, or up in space where he could let his problems and his cares float away. Many long nights were spent talking with Grayson and soaring the simulated star-lit sky. That is until a change in the wind brought something unexpected to the life of the young Jedi in training. A distress call from another system called Kiskla and her Master away - not to return to the noble planet. It was at this time that Gates' Master thought him ready to stand trial as a Knight of the Order. The two would separate for the first time since they had met.
The trip to Coruscant and the Temple was one filled with emotions both good and bad. Emotions that were felt for his best friend, and his own path. A conflict of interest leaving him distracted and unprepared. Especially for what came next. While the Jedi were awaiting the young padawan to come to the council for his trials, there was another distress call, and the Master of Gates' was called away without option to deal with the threat several star systems away in the mid-rim. While the Master had confidence of Gate's ability, he wasn't as sure. He was without his best friend, or his respected Master -- alone to face the council, and the trials. His emotional state, his lack of real precision training left him defeated and declined the opportunity to rise to the rank of Knight. Only compounding this problem was the sad and disheartening news of his Master who had perished in battle, and would never again return.
The years spent with him were etched into his memory, as were his teachings and methods. A man he respected, and thought of as invincible was taken out. The choice to replace his Master and not promote him to Knight was a heavy blow that he took. He hadn't been training as he should, hadn't been using the Force in the right ways. He still was conflicted emotionally, and had a lot of rough edges. This new Master was certainly a far cry from the former. He was all business, and showed zero empathy. This was not a man that Gates respected, and it showed. Even Grayson could see the change in daily holo-chats while she was on Kiffu. The change was evident that this was not going to bode well. This man wasn't the Jedi that he expected, he ignored inquiries from his padawan, and refused information that he'd received from the council to his young learner. However, what truly hammered home the concept of betrayal was when he started to see that the man was lying to him, about everything. The Order, the Jedi - they were not the things he thought they were. The ideals his former Master had held to, the very virtues of the Jedi Order were being mired and destroyed by the politics of it all. This new Master was as much a politician as he was cold and distant.
The metal met the pavement when a joint mission caused Gates to face a moral dilemma. Still holding to the ideals of his former Master, he acted against the orders of his current Master in the field. A prisoner that was supposed to stand trial and be rehabilitated was cut down by Gate's new mentor. It was a political statement in essence to that world, and to the followers of the villain they had come to capture. It rocked the mind of Harland who refused to by the hypocrisy of the Order. Instead of challenging the man he couldn't bring himself to speak to, he went the complete opposite way. Gates left the temple that day, only with a note of apology sent by datapad to his friend before he fled Coruscant and left the life of a Jedi behind him.
For the next five years his mindset, attitudes, and morals had changed. They had been shaped in the real Galaxy, the one not viewed through ruby hued shades of platitudes and mantras. He found the Jedi to be a disrespected, hated bunch, and he found solace knowing that he wasn't the only one who had seen the corruption in their ranks. It has been a hard road, and caused Harland to second and triple check his priorities, until it became clear that he was the only thing he needed to worry about. When things were circling the drain, you grabbed every last bit of precious to you and hauled tail. It didn't matter to him who he hurt, or who got in the way, he was looking out for persona non-grata. In this time he acquired an older model ship and set sail doing jobs here and there with what talents he had. A blaster at his side, and a ship to take him back and forth through the Galaxy. Jobs were jobs, as long as they paid, and that settled into his guiding star.
ROLEPLAY TRACKER
ARCHIVED THREADS:
- Even the most determined need a little help
- Under the Microscope
- Air Superiority: Search and Destroy Training
- Do Battle Droids Dream of Blowing up Meatbags?
- Pazaak Attack
- Wheel in the Sky Keeps on Turning
- Luck be a Lady
- No Angel
- Footloose and Fancy Feast
- It's not easy being Green
- A Reunion at the Noodle House
ACTIVE THREADS:
