Charlie Hayden, Colonial Marine Corps

As a kid, Charlie Hayden had grown up practically across from the Wyndham Military Base (one of the largest bases in his system, taking up nearly a third of the planet). As a result, his exposure to military ideals and technology filtered into his life almost nonstop. The day after Charlie graduated from high school, he immediately signed up to join the Colonial Marine Corps.

Making his way through the near-Spartanesque basic training, he cross-trained as both a field medic and armory specialist (on the recommendation of Gunny Matthews). A blend of the training and mandatory CMC medical treatments helped Charlie change from the thin, slightly geeky kid his classmates knew became a one-man army (as were all Colonial Marines).

Though he'd been seriously into girls ever since he'd begun to notice they were different than boys, Charlie was still a virgin when he graduated from Basic. Shortly after he'd turned 20, one of his closest friends, PFC Jenny Bales, discovered this, and decided to correct this problem. Jenny had a bit more experience than him in the sack, and shared her 'wisdom' with Charlie that evening.

At the age of 26, Charlie had already been a veteran of six battles on various worlds. Four of these had been straight up fights with members of the Dominion Army; the remaining two were what Lieutenant Simmons had nicknamed "huntin' seasons", composed of simply flushing out rogue elements in dangerous worlds. Many individuals, when they saw the CMC arriving in their powered armor, rifles in hands, knew to seek cover. A cross between spacesuits and Tony Stark-like technology, the armor wasn't designed with built-in weapons, but capable of keeping a Marine alive.

Partially due to his efforts in battle, Hayden had risen to the rank of Corporal two years ago, occasionally acting as Executive Officer for his squad during operations. At the moment, however, Charlie had recently earned three weeks leave, so he and two of his friends (PFC Eileen Hoshi and Corporal Bales) had decided to head to Galaxia Seven to relax. They had no specific plans; once they got there, they'd just follow their own instincts, and reconvene once their time was up. Though as Corporal Morris once said, "Once you've experienced xeno-pussy, you'll never go back ta human." Charlie hadn't had a chance for that opportunity, but he occasionally thought about it.

Getting to Grand Central (the planet-wide equivalent of a bus station, but for teleportation), the trio managed to hitch the rest of the way to Galaxia Seven on a delivery ship.

"Sorry, troops. This is as far as I can take you. I ain't got a permit to take this ship into the city; you'll have to leg it the rest of the way." The driver, a heavyset Plasdarc alien, began initiating the landing procedures about half a mile from the city limits. All three of the soldiers, clad in regular attire (aside from the military jackets), began getting their kit bags out of the storage unit.

Climbing out, Hoshi handed a few metal discs to the driver. "Thanks, buddy." He tipped the trio a nod as he took off. Quickly assessing his equipment, Charlie ran a hand through his short blond hair as he made sure that the Shanxi-47 blaster he'd brought with him was undamaged by the journey. Slinging it over his shoulder, he glanced at the two ladies.

"You guys okay? Got everything?" Charlie paused to slip a cigar out of his jacket to light it.

Hoshi glanced up as she began to load the energy pistol she brought with a clip. "Looks like it. Might as well start hoofin' it." The Eurasian girl slipped the gun into the holster in her jacket.

Jenny Bales ran a hand over her belt, ensuring that the customized combat knife and sonic pistol she had a preference for hadn't moved from their positions. The brunette tended to keep her hair short, since she wasn't really interested in impressing people with her appearance. That, combined with the hardass attitude that came from growing up in an urban nightmare of a planet, made people know to avoid her if they wanted to live. "Well, let's move out!"

The trio began hiking to the city, passing the time with light chatter. Once they got to the main gates, however, the security guards did their best to intimidate the Marines, but their identification tags and documentation got them through without a problem (as well as getting a digital map of the city on their SAT-COM units). Getting their first look at Galaxia Seven, the trio turned to each other.

"Well, see you guys in three weeks," Charlie remarked. Figuring out where a nearby pub was from the map, Charlie decided to head in that direction. The place was fairly decent, unlike some of the wretched hives he'd been to in the past. Strolling up to the bar, Corporal Hayden did his best to avoid attracting any attention to himself.

"What'll it be, bub?"

"Brandy, no ice. Splash of Graff juice." As he sipped his drink, Charlie took a moment to assess his surroundings. At the moment, he decided his priorities were finding a place to crash, and just let his instincts take over from there.

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