VanceCaydence
Engineer, Caydence Naval Yards
Vance Caydence
Age: 26 Years
Birthplace: Carratos
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Stone Grey
Weight: 178 lbs.
Height: 5'10"
Force Affiliation: Non-Force
Faction: Galactic Alliance
Appearance/GearOften found with a bit of dirt and grease on him, Vance can most often be found wearing his favorite grey t-shirt and 3-point harness, as well as his leather cargo pants and grav boots. He also sports a black bomber jacket when he's off the clock, a measure to keep the rest of the grit of Carratos from settling on him after he finishes a long day of work. Carratos is a dangerous place, and Vance usually prefers to be seen rather than heard; so he carries a Bluebolt blaster as a means of deterrent for when a rather-large autowrench wouldn't get the point across. He rarely has to bring it out. But, he and his brothers tend to visit the range often enough that he is well-versed in its use. Other accouterments include his work gear, in the form of tool belts and kits useful to him and his profession.
Biography
The eldest son of Athen and Macie Caydence, Vance grew up on Carratos with a fairly-singular vision due to his family's legacy. He held a fascination for machines as early as age four. He would take apart everything in his father's office just in order to figure out how it went back together. His upbringing on the pirate world was one of close-knit family ties, and his education never strayed much beyond the goings-on of the naval yard. His father made certain he was knowledgeable in the basics of galactic comprehension. He had his mother, Macie, home-school him until he was old enough to become a grease-monkey in his father's shop. Beyond that, he was simply street-wise. Knew how to deal fairly and shrewdly due to his father's guidance. Furthered his own knowledge in fields of study beyond simple wrench work by attaching himself as a helper with other mechanics and technicians on his father's payroll. Vance didn't believe in getting things the "easy way". If someone couldn't hold their own in his line of work, they were cut loose. He didn't expect to be treated any differently. Either he'd have the tools to do what he needed to do in life, or he'd find a way to make it happen. That was his philosophy.
His uncle, Nigel, taught him matters of finance. His other uncle, Caide, helped him understand circuitry and the finer points of computers. By the time he was sixteen, he was already slaving terminals together in order to control small ships with ease. Vance was never much of a pilot, but he did know how to make the control jets work well enough to get him around the yard. He had been up in certain vessels, checking hull integrity and making short plot-jumps in order to ensure a ship's hyperdrive was functioning properly. He wasn't really fond of space travel, but the idea of going other places was appealing to him, somewhat. At the time of his 18th birthday, Vance was already handling his own group of mechanics by way of example. There were several of them who went to him for advice on their projects or help installing certain components. Assuredly, a few were glory-seeking due to his namesake; perhaps thinking that he was somehow going to be able to advance their careers should they be on his "good side". Vance was usually wise to their act, but would help anyway; the job still needed to get done. And his father and brothers, the owners of the largest naval yards on Carratos, were usually able to weed out the bad ones of the bunch. Caydence Naval Yards would become known for their commitment to integrity on a world where such a virtue was often extolled for matters of greed. As it stood, Vance was one such branch of that integrity. His father and uncles thought it best that he be given a position as a hangar master over the fighter wing of their operation. At first, Vance was reticent to accept. In the end, with pressure from his family and several of his mechanics, Vance finally relented. At age 22, he was considered to be the youngest hangar master of the entire naval yard. Granted, the fighter wing was a smaller operation; still, it was a considerably-great responsibility for any one individual.
The only major form of tragedy that Vance was meant to suffer happened during this time. One moment in time is all it takes, it seems. During a routine maintenance job on a fighter, the servicing struts lost hydraulic pressure under the side that Vance was working. The whole of the left side dropped down onto his left, dominant arm, crushing it from the shoulder down. He spent the next four months recovering, trying to adapt to the loss by learning to use his right arm dominantly. He gained some amount of dexterity with his off-hand, right up until he was well enough to undergo surgery for prosthesis. He chose to have the full synthetic flesh-job, hoping to regain some measure of normalcy through all of it. Due to the nature of his work, he also agreed to a few structural and mechanical enhancements. It would give him above-average strength and better dexterity. Things he could use in his line of work.
Vance is the eldest of five siblings. He has two younger brothers, Hunter and Justice - the latter being the youngest of the family. His two sisters, Analise and Joanna, are twins. Vance has been especially protective over them, despite one of his sisters - Analise - being in the armed forces, and the other being one of his best mechanics. Hunter, the second-born son, is only a couple of years younger than Vance. Whereas Vance is the mechanic, Hunter grew up wanting to explore. His idea of "helping the family" was to invest his time in learning the salvage/requisitions trade so he could go offworld in search of the best deals for materials and parts for the yard. The youngest brother, Justice, is holding true to his namesake. In recent months, he has applied for the Defense Force on Carratos, and is currently undergoing training at the Academy. Despite the planet being overrun with pirates, the Defense Force is able to police the planet well enough that it never gets out of hand. Even if some members of the government are in the back pockets of the seedier types, the majority of the governing body is committed to serving the people and keeping them safe. Justice wants to be a part of that system. The siblings' sister, Analise, has taken this even further. She is currently serving Carratos in the military, as part of a Special Operations team designed to take down the larger pirate organizations. Family dinners can be quite-interesting around the holidays.
Now, at the age of 26, Vance has come into his own as a hangar master. He continually works on vehicles, fighters, and freighters alike, right alongside his fellow mechanics. His own pet project is his Barloz-class freighter, named the Gravitas, which has been in the works for several years. Restoring the old freighter from its pre-Empire days has been a harrowing experience, and it has taxed the engineer to his limit on certain occasions. He is continually working on the vessel, though, and has even made it his temporary home on Carratos. It rests in the rear of the hangar, taking up two of the work stations that would normally be reserved for fighters. The project seems to be taking a totally-different turn in recent months. Vance, himself, has never been much of a pilot. As an engineer, he refuses to let that stop him. The project itself involves slaving several (some would say) ancient droid brains from the old CIS war caches that never made it beyond production. Carratos had been quite the hub back in its day, and had come into possession of such technology. As time went on, the caches were all but lost to memory and time itself. Vance has his brother Hunter to thank for finding the tech. With it, he has very-nearly completed his engineering ambition: the means to pilot a space-faring vessel with little more than a single, non-trained individual. The droid brains would do nearly all of the thinking, maneuvering, and even takeoff/landing procedures. With a few tweaks, he may even be able to get the ship to entirely autopilot itself from one destination to another. It goes far beyond purchasing a simple droid pilot. The system would be a means of handling just about every aspect of piloting the ship -- including defense of the vessel itself. So far, it has been all but completed within the simulations Vance has put together. With a few more tweaks - and some field-testing - he will soon have the finished product he is looking for.
Ship
The Gravitas
The Barloz-class freighter Gravitas has been a pursuit of Vance's from early on in his career. He has personalized much of the space to suit his needs and tastes, but still holds to the same design that the original makers had drawn up. The ship's systems have been updated to keep up with the passage of time, and Vance has done everything he can to optimize the vessel's performance capabilities.
Weapons
Vance carries very little in terms of offensive weaponry, and for the most part, his one blaster is mainly used as a deterrent for show. He carries a single Bluebolt blaster, stored in a break-away holster on his left thigh. He is proficient in its use, however, and it should be noted that he has used it before.
Strengths/Weaknesses
(+) Quick-Witted - Being an engineer, Vance possesses an above-average level of intelligence. This allows him to "think fast" in stressful situations, and adapt where necessary.
(+) Experienced Mechanic - Vance knows his way around complex mechanical and computational systems. Given the correct (and sometimes, incorrect) parts, he can fix just about anything.
(+/-) Family Ties - Being part of the Caydence Clan, Vance is fiercely loyal to his family; and they, to him. This can also cause him to act rashly in favor of protecting them, taking on whatever harm may wish to befall them.
(+/-) Prosthesis - Vance has a prosthetic left arm. It serves him well in the ways that he needs it to, but needs to be well-maintained in order to function correctly. Should he go for a while (one or two months) without running the proper diagnostics and maintenance, the reliability of his prosthetic arm deteriorates.
(-) Grounded - Of all the Caydence Boys, Vance has seen the least amount of travel. He dislikes space travel, and knows just enough about the galaxy at large to know he's reticent to leave home. Still, there remains the strange sensation of the unknown, and it has its draw on him all the same.
(-) No-Fly Zone - Beyond activating the repulsor-jets and maneuvering through the naval yard, Vance knows little-to-nothing about actual piloting. His technical understanding is limited to the mathematical side of it, and not the skill itself.
(-) Non-Combatant - Self-defense training and the occasional bar-brawl aside, Vance remains relatively-untested in terms of combat proficiency. In comparison to many others around the planet, his level of experience is somewhat-lacking. He can handle a blaster well-enough, but no more than the average gun owner.
