Post by Andy Buchanan on Aug 9, 2016 12:00:13 GMT
Biological Information
Name: = Andrew (Andy) Buchanan
Callsign: Rigger
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Homeworld: Earth
DOB: 13/02/80 (35)
Height: 6’2”
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Blue
Identifying Marks: Welsh dragon tattooed on shoulder. Several torso scars, from burns obtained during a fairly recent accident.
Professional Information
Occupation: Former army engineer, latterly assigned to several US Government ‘top secret’ projects at Area 51. Still technically on the British Army lists, but marked as status ‘inactive’.
Organization: Royal Engineers, US Government
Rank/paygrade: Presently Area 51. Andy’s work and service has seen him promoted from Sergeant ten years ago to Second Lieutenant (BA rank equivalent in name to US rank). Paygrade – GS-7. Note that Andy has never craved or sought promotion. The fact he is now a commissioned officer already makes him hugely uncomfortable. He has been considering tendering his resignation from the military but in truth doesn’t really know what his future holds.
Background Information
Personal History: Training and Education: Andy has had a long-running struggle to get to where he is. His moderate to acute dyslexia was diagnosed when he was around nine years old and once they realised that he wasn’t just lazy or stupid and he got the right tuition, he overcame some of his dislike of learning. He was never academically brilliant, but he managed to pass enough exams to land a place in college where he studied electronics engineering until joining up with the Royal Engineers.
The training he received there was far more practical and less theory based and with the support and encouragement of his first commanding officer, Andy succeeded in acquiring two degrees: one in Electronics Engineering, the other in Civil Engineering and Design. He is understandably proud of these achievements, but does not have a great long list of credits to his name. He is, however, an explosives and demolitions expert. Yes, he enjoys blowing things up more than anything else. That hasn’t changed in years.
Military Record: Since he signed up with the Royal Engineers, Andy Buchanan, whose ability to think outside the box and to come up with often unique solutions to civil and electronic engineering earned him the nickname ‘Rigger’ very early on. Urban myth states that once he repaired a communications system whilst in Afghanistan using only a paper clip and a roll of gaffer tape. This is, of course, incorrect.
He used two paper clips.
He was been an exemplary soldier as well as an engineer, demonstrating very little fear (or, depending on your view point, a lot of stupidity) and heading into certain death situations without regard for his own safety. The safety of his team, however, is always paramount to him and it is for this reason that he has earned himself several commendations for bravery.
His highest commendation came whilst serving in Iraq. Drafted in to help clear a bomb site, he put his own life at risk to rescue two small children who had become trapped below the debris. During the search and rescue, Andy was subjected to a cave in and was slightly injured whilst ensuring the survival of his two small charges. The experience left him no worse for wear, but has given him a mild touch of claustrophobia.
At the age of 25, Andy came to join the Delta Expedition. He took the shock of instant interstellar travel in his stride and proved an asset to the team, offering both engineering expertise and not inconsiderable sarcasm from the start. However, his skills as an engineer saw him called off field duty and re-assigned firstly ‘behind the scenes’ at Stargate Command, and then five years ago, he was farmed out to assist in a range of top secret projects at Area 51.
Throughout it all, he has never demonstrated anything other than quiet competence and reliability: even when he teetered on the brink of a nervous breakdown due to a combination of stress and working too hard, he still found time to laugh and joke. About two years ago, there was an explosion of an alien weapon at Area 51 and Andy took it on himself to minimise the risk to his colleagues by evacuating them all and entirely failing to get out in time, ended up being locked inside the lab with the weapon. The resulting explosion could have killed him, but Fate was feeling pretty benevolent that day and he got off ‘lightly’ with third degree burns. Six months of recuperation saw him back to normal.
He has received his invitation to return to Stargate Command to celebrate the anniversary and has accepted, gladly, but with more than a little trepidation. He has a lot of uncomfortable memories, including (but not limited to) the one of facing up against a super-powerful version of himself from another galaxy…
Skills: An absolutely brilliant engineer, both electronic and civil, Rigger is also a remarkably talented design architect and cartographer. In the past ten years, he has also become something of an expert in several alien technologies thanks to his time at Area 51. He’s recently developed the unlikely hobby of keeping reptiles as pets and has a particular affinity for golden mantella frogs.
Family: Andrew Gareth Rhys Buchanan was born without ceremony, fanfare or so much as a firework on the night of 13th February 1982 in Cardiff, Wales. He is the second and youngest child of Janice, a school teacher and Harry, a former officer in the UK Military. Andy grew up with an older sister, Bethan, three cats and a burning need to take things apart from an early age. His father, who had left the army to enjoy some time with his family and who was now working in a low-paid, dead-end job at the local steelworks, was delighted when at the age of eighteen, Andy announced that he wanted to become an officer in the Royal Engineers.
Personality: Andy is incredibly stoic. Nothing seems to shake him up, although this is more years of practice than it is toughness. He has a wicked sense of humour and is notoriously mischievous. He also has a high level of sarcasm, often self-deprecating, and more often than not others perceive him as a little on the bad-tempered, grumpy side. Rigger is in possession of a fierce sense of pride and will often get himself into arguments – and has received several military police cautions and in the past ten years, more than one civilian police caution for getting into fist fights.
He also smokes like a chimney, something which he has been trying to quit for years.
Ancient Gene: No. Not even so much as a vague hint of an Ancient gene. Andy is nothing more than what he seems. A bloke. A NICE bloke, yes, but a bloke, nonetheless.
Behind the scenes
Face Claim: David Wenham
Player: Sarah/UK
Rules: By posting this application I understand and will follow the site Rules.
Roleplay Example:
“It’ll never work.”
“It’ll work.”
“It really won’t…”
“Sergeant, you know I hate pulling rank on you. On anybody. But just for once, I’m going to do it. I’m not in the mood to discuss the finer points of electronics theory with you. I’m tired, I’m sick of looking at this wiring diagram and… just listen.” Second Lieutenant Andy Buchanan folded his arms across his chest and glowered at the younger man. “This design might look utterly bonkers, but trust me. It’s going to work. You’ve got to learn to trust what I’ve picked up on my… travels.” Andy was careful with his choice of words. The young sergeant may have been exposed to Area 51, but the Stargate programme was most certainly not ear fodder for the uninitiated. All his questions would be answered in the appropriate meetings, at briefings given by the appropriate officers. Of which Andy was most definitely not one.
Sergeant Ferguson, recently arrived in the US from the UK looked up at his commanding officer and wrinkled his nose. Nonetheless, respectful of the chain of command – however tenuous it might be at times with a man who didn’t enjoy it – he straightened up and saluted.
“Yes, sir.”
There was an uncomfortable pause. Andy ran his fingers through his hair and scratched at a chin sporting two day’s growth of stubble. He’d been working on the designs for getting this power array incorporated into Earth systems for four days straight and the last two days had seen sleep go well and truly out of the window. He looked exhausted, but Sergeant Ferguson knew better than to call his superior on it. Instead, he turned his head to the electronics in front of him and began the laborious task of re-soldering and re-routing according to Andy’s designs.
Andy watched his companion working for a few minutes, his fingers itching all the while to be the one to have the soldering iron in his hand, to be the one doing the actual work, rather than being the supervisor on the project. He missed doing things. He was caught, it seemed, in an inescapable limbo. Not for the first time in the past few months, his thoughts turned to the feasibility of leaving the military. Leaving the US. Going home and living a civilian life.
Maybe find a nice girl. Get married. Have kids. Be… normal.
No. He knew that wasn’t even an option. He’d engaged in a couple of relationships over the last ten years, but they’d ended before they’d ever really had the chance to begin. Sometimes he craved normality, but most of the time he knew that once you passed that threshold, once you knew the kind of things he knew… there was no return to that safe place. He sighed inwardly and headed away from the workshop to his office. Even that made him uncomfortable. His ‘office’. His eyes wandered to the ‘no smoking’ sign and he silently cursed it. He needed a smoke. Well, no, he didn’t need a smoke. He just wanted one. His most recent efforts to quit had lasted a record-breaking three days.
Work, Buchanan.
On the desk was the usual pile of requisitions and orders that needed his counter-signature. He took a seat at the desk and stared at the pile with something approaching naked dislike, then began to sort it. As he sifted through, he was surprised to find a hand-written envelope. It was good quality paper, heavy enough to suggest someone had spent a little money on it and it practically radiated foreboding.
As he slit the envelope open and prised out the card within, his eyes fell immediately on the word ‘invitation’. Nobody invited Andy Buchanan to anything. He read on, and a slow grin began to spread across his face.
“Now this,” he said aloud, “could be worth a look.”
Name: = Andrew (Andy) Buchanan
Callsign: Rigger
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Homeworld: Earth
DOB: 13/02/80 (35)
Height: 6’2”
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Blue
Identifying Marks: Welsh dragon tattooed on shoulder. Several torso scars, from burns obtained during a fairly recent accident.
Professional Information
Occupation: Former army engineer, latterly assigned to several US Government ‘top secret’ projects at Area 51. Still technically on the British Army lists, but marked as status ‘inactive’.
Organization: Royal Engineers, US Government
Rank/paygrade: Presently Area 51. Andy’s work and service has seen him promoted from Sergeant ten years ago to Second Lieutenant (BA rank equivalent in name to US rank). Paygrade – GS-7. Note that Andy has never craved or sought promotion. The fact he is now a commissioned officer already makes him hugely uncomfortable. He has been considering tendering his resignation from the military but in truth doesn’t really know what his future holds.
Background Information
Personal History: Training and Education: Andy has had a long-running struggle to get to where he is. His moderate to acute dyslexia was diagnosed when he was around nine years old and once they realised that he wasn’t just lazy or stupid and he got the right tuition, he overcame some of his dislike of learning. He was never academically brilliant, but he managed to pass enough exams to land a place in college where he studied electronics engineering until joining up with the Royal Engineers.
The training he received there was far more practical and less theory based and with the support and encouragement of his first commanding officer, Andy succeeded in acquiring two degrees: one in Electronics Engineering, the other in Civil Engineering and Design. He is understandably proud of these achievements, but does not have a great long list of credits to his name. He is, however, an explosives and demolitions expert. Yes, he enjoys blowing things up more than anything else. That hasn’t changed in years.
Military Record: Since he signed up with the Royal Engineers, Andy Buchanan, whose ability to think outside the box and to come up with often unique solutions to civil and electronic engineering earned him the nickname ‘Rigger’ very early on. Urban myth states that once he repaired a communications system whilst in Afghanistan using only a paper clip and a roll of gaffer tape. This is, of course, incorrect.
He used two paper clips.
He was been an exemplary soldier as well as an engineer, demonstrating very little fear (or, depending on your view point, a lot of stupidity) and heading into certain death situations without regard for his own safety. The safety of his team, however, is always paramount to him and it is for this reason that he has earned himself several commendations for bravery.
His highest commendation came whilst serving in Iraq. Drafted in to help clear a bomb site, he put his own life at risk to rescue two small children who had become trapped below the debris. During the search and rescue, Andy was subjected to a cave in and was slightly injured whilst ensuring the survival of his two small charges. The experience left him no worse for wear, but has given him a mild touch of claustrophobia.
At the age of 25, Andy came to join the Delta Expedition. He took the shock of instant interstellar travel in his stride and proved an asset to the team, offering both engineering expertise and not inconsiderable sarcasm from the start. However, his skills as an engineer saw him called off field duty and re-assigned firstly ‘behind the scenes’ at Stargate Command, and then five years ago, he was farmed out to assist in a range of top secret projects at Area 51.
Throughout it all, he has never demonstrated anything other than quiet competence and reliability: even when he teetered on the brink of a nervous breakdown due to a combination of stress and working too hard, he still found time to laugh and joke. About two years ago, there was an explosion of an alien weapon at Area 51 and Andy took it on himself to minimise the risk to his colleagues by evacuating them all and entirely failing to get out in time, ended up being locked inside the lab with the weapon. The resulting explosion could have killed him, but Fate was feeling pretty benevolent that day and he got off ‘lightly’ with third degree burns. Six months of recuperation saw him back to normal.
He has received his invitation to return to Stargate Command to celebrate the anniversary and has accepted, gladly, but with more than a little trepidation. He has a lot of uncomfortable memories, including (but not limited to) the one of facing up against a super-powerful version of himself from another galaxy…
Skills: An absolutely brilliant engineer, both electronic and civil, Rigger is also a remarkably talented design architect and cartographer. In the past ten years, he has also become something of an expert in several alien technologies thanks to his time at Area 51. He’s recently developed the unlikely hobby of keeping reptiles as pets and has a particular affinity for golden mantella frogs.
Family: Andrew Gareth Rhys Buchanan was born without ceremony, fanfare or so much as a firework on the night of 13th February 1982 in Cardiff, Wales. He is the second and youngest child of Janice, a school teacher and Harry, a former officer in the UK Military. Andy grew up with an older sister, Bethan, three cats and a burning need to take things apart from an early age. His father, who had left the army to enjoy some time with his family and who was now working in a low-paid, dead-end job at the local steelworks, was delighted when at the age of eighteen, Andy announced that he wanted to become an officer in the Royal Engineers.
Personality: Andy is incredibly stoic. Nothing seems to shake him up, although this is more years of practice than it is toughness. He has a wicked sense of humour and is notoriously mischievous. He also has a high level of sarcasm, often self-deprecating, and more often than not others perceive him as a little on the bad-tempered, grumpy side. Rigger is in possession of a fierce sense of pride and will often get himself into arguments – and has received several military police cautions and in the past ten years, more than one civilian police caution for getting into fist fights.
He also smokes like a chimney, something which he has been trying to quit for years.
Ancient Gene: No. Not even so much as a vague hint of an Ancient gene. Andy is nothing more than what he seems. A bloke. A NICE bloke, yes, but a bloke, nonetheless.
Behind the scenes
Face Claim: David Wenham
Player: Sarah/UK
Rules: By posting this application I understand and will follow the site Rules.
Roleplay Example:
“It’ll never work.”
“It’ll work.”
“It really won’t…”
“Sergeant, you know I hate pulling rank on you. On anybody. But just for once, I’m going to do it. I’m not in the mood to discuss the finer points of electronics theory with you. I’m tired, I’m sick of looking at this wiring diagram and… just listen.” Second Lieutenant Andy Buchanan folded his arms across his chest and glowered at the younger man. “This design might look utterly bonkers, but trust me. It’s going to work. You’ve got to learn to trust what I’ve picked up on my… travels.” Andy was careful with his choice of words. The young sergeant may have been exposed to Area 51, but the Stargate programme was most certainly not ear fodder for the uninitiated. All his questions would be answered in the appropriate meetings, at briefings given by the appropriate officers. Of which Andy was most definitely not one.
Sergeant Ferguson, recently arrived in the US from the UK looked up at his commanding officer and wrinkled his nose. Nonetheless, respectful of the chain of command – however tenuous it might be at times with a man who didn’t enjoy it – he straightened up and saluted.
“Yes, sir.”
There was an uncomfortable pause. Andy ran his fingers through his hair and scratched at a chin sporting two day’s growth of stubble. He’d been working on the designs for getting this power array incorporated into Earth systems for four days straight and the last two days had seen sleep go well and truly out of the window. He looked exhausted, but Sergeant Ferguson knew better than to call his superior on it. Instead, he turned his head to the electronics in front of him and began the laborious task of re-soldering and re-routing according to Andy’s designs.
Andy watched his companion working for a few minutes, his fingers itching all the while to be the one to have the soldering iron in his hand, to be the one doing the actual work, rather than being the supervisor on the project. He missed doing things. He was caught, it seemed, in an inescapable limbo. Not for the first time in the past few months, his thoughts turned to the feasibility of leaving the military. Leaving the US. Going home and living a civilian life.
Maybe find a nice girl. Get married. Have kids. Be… normal.
No. He knew that wasn’t even an option. He’d engaged in a couple of relationships over the last ten years, but they’d ended before they’d ever really had the chance to begin. Sometimes he craved normality, but most of the time he knew that once you passed that threshold, once you knew the kind of things he knew… there was no return to that safe place. He sighed inwardly and headed away from the workshop to his office. Even that made him uncomfortable. His ‘office’. His eyes wandered to the ‘no smoking’ sign and he silently cursed it. He needed a smoke. Well, no, he didn’t need a smoke. He just wanted one. His most recent efforts to quit had lasted a record-breaking three days.
Work, Buchanan.
On the desk was the usual pile of requisitions and orders that needed his counter-signature. He took a seat at the desk and stared at the pile with something approaching naked dislike, then began to sort it. As he sifted through, he was surprised to find a hand-written envelope. It was good quality paper, heavy enough to suggest someone had spent a little money on it and it practically radiated foreboding.
As he slit the envelope open and prised out the card within, his eyes fell immediately on the word ‘invitation’. Nobody invited Andy Buchanan to anything. He read on, and a slow grin began to spread across his face.
“Now this,” he said aloud, “could be worth a look.”
-smacks him-