PLUTO(NIUM)

Rem Callaway

Art from Maddel_art Picrew

Relatives	Grandfather- Westin Callaway (Deceased) Father- Louis Callaway, Callsign: PHOENIX
Affiliations	SecComm, Union, Silver Lining, Independent Contractor
Aliases	Callsign: PLUTO(nium)
Gender	She/They

PLUTO(NIUM) is human Nuclear Weapons Expert currently on contract with Cpt. Simon Dominguez on board the Silver Lining. They are a PC in the Lancer campaign In The Shadows of a Willow.

Physical Appearance

Rem is on the shorter side for average human, being around 5ft 3in. She's a little more built than a civilian, but by no means has a soldier's physique. They have red hair that they keep cut short, in a messy wolf-cut style. Rem also had bright green eyes that always seems to have a mischievous sparkle in them. Her right arm is covered in a deep burn scarring, stretching up to her neck and down to her leg. She typically wears practical clothing, combinations of overalls and cargo pants, button ups and tee shirts.

Personality

Rem is largely unapologetically herself. As a pilot who doesn't touch her mech and refuses to engage with it in any capacity, they know that reputation can ruffle some feathers and rub people the wrong way. However, she is strong in her convictions and her beliefs and does not allow others to make her feel bad about it. Additionally, they are extremely aware that their chosen lifepath of nuclear weaponry doesn't always sit well with others. Rem is distinctly aware of the weight of death her inventions cause, and still stands by them. Generally speaking, they do try to get along with everyone. She's happy to engage with the other pilots, and if there's something she can help with, she'll lend her talents in anyway she can. She's always willing to look to others for advice, and isn't afraid to ask about things she doesn't know. They can be kind of awkward, a by product of her privileged upbringing and years spent in self-isolation. Overall, Rem seems to mesh with everyone on the ship, and offers some unique perspectives on certain issues.

History

Early Childhood

Rem's mother died when they were only a few years old. Their father, Louis Callaway, was too busy becoming a mech pilot to erase his father, Westin Callaway's reputation from their family's legacy. Against his better judgement, he placed Rem in Westin's care, and went off to pilot for the Union under the Callsign: PHOENIX. Westin was an old man at this point, long retired from his work as a scientist with SecComm. However, its hard to take the research out of the researcher, and baby Rem was fascinated by the glowing rocks and the explosions her grandfather created. As she got a little bit older and learned that Uranium does not in fact go in your mouth, Westin started teaching her some basic science and experimentation. He also told her about their family's history, or enough that would be appropriate for a child. He gifted them the burden they had to learn to carry. Louis would come to visit between missions, and Rem saw the new damage every time. Every new scar and every new injury. She started resenting him for leaving, started resenting the Union for sending him away, and started resenting the mechs and the war and combat they represented. Through her grandfather's old research and her budding skills as a scientist, she started learning about other ways war can be waged. Ones that kept people out of direct combat, ways that the ones targeted would find it hard to rebuild and seek retribution. She was finally starting to find her place in the world.

And then Grandad Westin died and she was place back in the custody of her father.

Pilot School

Rem is a teenager at this point, disenchanted with the galaxy, and particularly enraged with how dangerous mech combat is. Louis drags her along to shindigs and soirees, to show off his daughter, the next generation and heir to the Callaway legacy. However, the rumors began, whispers as to why Rem wasn't following in her father's footsteps. When was she going to join the Union and become a pilot herself? So, Louis made the decision to put Rem into a training program. They went through a couple different mechs, none of them really meshing. Until, much to Louis' chagrin, a Haber was found from a friend of Westin and given to Rem. They still weren't doing great in training, but they quickly found that they could balance heat cycles and sync checks to overpower and overheat the Haber to give it a bit more oomph. And it was enough to carry her along for a large part of training. Until, one faithful day, she missed a check and desynced the cycles.

And the Haber exploded.

After Big Boom, Rem wanted to quit the program. Her injuries were quite severe with the amount of nerve damage they had sustained. It was almost a year of physical therapy to get mobility back enough to acceptable pilot standards. There were some whispers that Rem's injuries were self sustained and that they blew up their mech willingly on purpose. Despite the numerous psych evals, Louis never believed Rem. He thought she was just good at faking it. But in his eyes, his world, Rem needed to pilot. So, he found her a mech that would be incredibly hard to blow up like that, and, found/programmed an NHP to ensure that something like that wouldn't happen again. Oppenheimer, or Oppie, was the name she gave to the mech, an HA Worldkiller Genghis. Rem is not a mechanic by trade, but had a few contacts that were who could help modify the frame for them. She also started developing her own weaponry. Curie, the Agni-Class NHP Louis put inside, made everything infinitely more difficult. Most of the systems Rem tried to install she would modify or just delete. Out on missions she would override a lot of Rem's commands. They were not a great pilot to begin with, but it got…a lot worse. But, she was piloting a mech. That’s all Louis cared about for the Callaway name.

NoWhere-Land

Eventually, the charm of the overcoming a death experience and going back to piloting wore off. Rem was never a great pilot to begin with, and after the accident, it was even more subpar. She was starting to bring negative reputation to the family name. Which the great Louis Callaway couldn’t have. So he offered Rem an out. A deal. Rem could stop piloting if they disappeared. Stay out of any news or limelight. Fade away into obscurity while he worked to rebuild the legacy. Rem found a lab on a relatively unknown desert planet and worked hard to make it her own. They invested time, money, and resources to shield it for nuclear research with any and all lab equipment they could ever need. They made sure it was far away enough from any major hub to keep news both in and out minimal. They stocked up with enough shelf stable cans and powders to last several lifetimes and dubbed it NoWhere-Land. And once it was all set up, the research began. Her childhood spark of indignation had been fanned into a full flame of hatred for pilots and mech combat. So she worked to develop her own isotope, focusing on a slower rate of decay to increase the fallout time. She changed the warhead so it would burn at higher temperatures to complete raze whatever it was used on. For years, she perfected her weapons of war with the intent to make mechs obsolete. She started accepting private contracts, careful with who and what her dealings were with. None of her tech would ever be used in mech development in any way, shape or form. And so they lived and worked in the mostly self imposed isolation for a long time.

The Silver Lining

There's not much to say about this chapter of Rem's life yet. After leaving her alone for an indeterminate point of time, Louis came to pay his daughter a visit. Rem's name was starting to gain some notoriety, particularly from the Union who didn't want a borderline war criminal selling TBK weaponry with ties to them. After digging through all available contracts, Louis came to Rem with an demand disguised as an offer. A highly reputable former pilot by the name of Simon Dominguez put out an open call for pilots to join him for a long term mission aboard his ship. Rem could take Oppie and Curie, and go pilot under the command of an Union officer. They’ll take anyone, he said, including a subpar pilot like Rem. Great way to reintroduce PLUTO to the Union, and help repair the damage to the family's reputation she had caused. Rem knew that they couldn't escape him forever. And on initial review the contract didn't seem too bad. But, she had inherited the smarts in the family. Asked to negotiate everything directly with the commander. And in doing so, ensured that she would never have to unwillingly step foot in her mech again.

Interpersonal Relationships

Simon Dominguez

Since the moment they stepped foot on the ship, they had a deep admiration for the commander. The fact that he respected her wishes to not pilot meant a lot to her. She knew the name from the stories her father, but nothing really more than that. When she met him, he was warm and welcoming, ready to meet her at wherever she was. Over the first few days, they started talking more and more, as he took the time to explain the Mission and the things she missed while in NoWhere-Land. Eventually, they formed a check system, to ensure that they both were taking time to eat meals and get rest. When Rem mentioned most of her food was rehydrated powders or shelf stable meats, Simon took it upon himself to start cooking for her. Soon it became a nightly tradition of both of them sharing dinner every night. Over the weeks, they began talking, revealing secrets, and getting closer. After co-sleeping to keep the nightmares away, a few near death experiences on both ends, and some Thinspace delving, the pair made it official.

Tsugumi Dominguez

Rem's favorite child. They will destroy the world if it meant keeping her little devil cat happy. Sole inheritor to her will.

Skills and Abilities

Rem is a skilled nuclear scientist. She developed her own uranium isotope primed for planet razing. They also are a quick and efficient weapons manufacturer, able to create bombs big and small. Rem is a very skilled video gamer as well, specialising in retro arcade games from old, being especially good at Tetris. They've recently been introduced to Splatoon, and is forming a team with some of the other pilots on board. Rem is skilled at many 'elite' skills, such as schmoozing and ballroom dancing. Recently, they've also started experimenting with Thinspace, wanting to research it more and see what the limits are.

Mechs and Weapons 

Their mech is a HA Worldkiller Genghis outfitted with an Agni-Class NHP named Curie. Curie is largely unstable and has the prime directive to get Rem into the mech and keep her there, and also ensure under any circumstances that Rem does not blow themselves up. Oppie is outfitted with advanced Heat Sync tech, and has a specialised weapon of a nuclear fuel rod rail gun.

Rem does not pilot her mech. If she did, something has gone terribly wrong.

They do have a Mobility Flightsuit that allows them to boost and fly short distances for field missions. They often create small scale bombs to bring with them, and often makes enough for everyone to share.

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