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.

Who knew our dearest father could find love... - Symphony

I had figured it to be an unlikely possibility. 
- Sonata

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.

Might I add? She looks STUNNING in an olive dress! And with curly hair! - Symphony

What exactly do you get up to while I am not paying attention?
- Sonata

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.

I have not yet had much experience with Pluto. I hope to speak to her more, if she is to become our legal mother.
- Sonata

Patience, sister! Getting married takes a long time, you know! - Symphony

You were married quite quickly.
- Sonata

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.

Brother, have some respect. Put the popcorn away.
- Sonata

What? It's very cinematic! - Symphony

Home Videos

Home Videos as witnessed in PLUTO's Thinspace

TW: Child Abuse,

Tape 1

TW: Child Abuse

The first home video is brief. Flashes and moments of her childhood. A very old man with a gray handlebar mustache and kind eyes that lit up everytime they looked at Rem. Visions of a man in a bright flight suit, glowing red and orange in the sunset light, his auburn hair nearly aflame. He looks at Rem with hard eyes. There’s screaming every time he comes to visit. Rem doesn’t understand what ‘erasing the past’ and ‘sins of the father’ mean. She knows the loud man of fire makes her cry. Every time he leaves, the man with the kind green eyes scoops her into his arms and takes her down to the basement. He shows Rem the sparks that grow into flames that grow into explosions that grow into bombs as the flashes get more frequent and Rem gets older. The man of fire gets older too, each time he returns with more injuries and more scars and more stories to tell about the bird of ash that’s burning away the family legacy. Rem is scared for the man of fire. Of him burning away too.

The final cut of the video sends Rem to a hospital. The man with the kind eyes is dying, the green glow almost out. He clutches Rem’s hand in a weak shaky grip. He whispers to her the sins of his past. Of what the Callaway name means to those who survived. To those who remember. He prepares her for what is to come and burdens her with the darker side of the family legacy. His dying breath is enough, the blow to fan the tiny spark into a flame inside her. She would make sure no one else got hurt. She could find new ways to make sure pilots could come home too. Then the man of fire returns, and turns her into a bird of ash with him.

Tape 2

TW: Child Abuse, Physical and Psychological Abuse, Fire Related Injuries

The second home video is of a teenage Rem. It contains flashes of a shy, scared, and awkward kid in an orange Union uniform. She searches for a place to sit in the dining hall, only to find no empty chairs. She searches for people to study with in the library to find all the groups formed. The video cuts to a montage of mech training and simulations. Rem trying their best to control a beast of a machine that was not meant for her. The movements were clunky, the shots were off. D’s and F’s and ‘Did not finish’ littered the reports. Rem is standing in an office now, at attention. The man of fire seemed to be smoking. He was screaming. At her? Must be. The camera lens became cloudy and shaky as Rem began to cry. ‘This is not how a Callaway is expected to perform.’ And ‘This is not what I expect of my daughter’ And ‘Don’t you realise how terrible of a pilot you are?’ More drills. More training. More practice. Up earlier. Train later. The last part of the video has no cuts. Rem looks at herself in the mirror as she dawns her dark red flight suit. She’s thin, shaky, dark circles under her eyes. Her greasy hair is pulled into a perfect tight bun. She shuffles out of her dorm, down the long hallway, and to her mech. “Ready to try again, Hindy?” The voice is quiet, shaky, and so so tired. She slips as she climbs up into the cockpit. Black spots dance across the camera screen. Eventually, she gets in, and starts the boot up sequence. Basic target practice drill. She misses all of the dummies. Rem goes to cycle the heat systems and mis-hits a button. Suddenly, the screen erupts in red and yellow and orange and white. Reminds her of the man of fire’s suit, shining in the sunset. A scream is heard, then an alarm, then black. “You are a bad pilot, Rem Callaway.”

Tape 3

TW: Abuse, Medical Malpractice, Fire Related Injuries, Forced Military Service

The third home video is the shortest of the set. Disconnected flashed of consciousness. Glances at a right arm, covered in second skin, in grafts and bandages. Whispers to the man of fire. “It will never heal right.” “It’s a wonder she survived at all.” “The scarring will be extensive.” “We don’t know what the range of motion will be.” “There will be lasting effects to her whole body. The arm got the worst of it, but some parts of Rem will never be whole again. She is very very lucky.”

Flashes of physical therapy. Finger twitches, then flexes. Waving and twisting. Bending and lifting. Pencils and balls. The psych evaluations came to. Rem told them all she could remember. She didn’t activate a system in time and everything overloaded. A cascade effect, but not that kind. It was a mistake. Why would she do this to herself? She would’ve just quit. She can quit now, right? The doctors cleared her but the man of fire watched. Watched his legacy turn to ash. The next day, before anyone else was awake, a strong hand grabbed Rem’s arm, the print staining red as wounds reopened. Rem was screaming as loud as she could. Grabbing on to whatever she could. Dragging her feet, her arms, begging and pleading. “SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!” “DONT MAKE ME DO THIS.” “I DONT WANT TO GO BACK!” In the hangar stood a new mech, a looming obelisk of death. “I’d like to see you try to pull a little stunt like that again. Get in the fucking mech.” Shoving, pushing. Clawing desperately at the unforgiving metal. No one would save her. The cockpit latch clicked shut with a hiss, then the locks engaged. Rem starts banging and kicking. Her bandages are dripping red now. It matched her old flight suit. A small orb of light appeared next to her. She begged it for help. To set her free. “I’m sorry Rem, but I can’t let you do that. You have to stay here.”

Tape 4

TW: Abuse, Threats of Murder/Death,

The fourth video is the last. Also the most disjointed. Barely scraping by with the final years of school, only doing marginally better. Every operation, every system overwritten. The friendly voice reminding her to vent the heat. To stay in the mech. To keep practicing and she’ll be better. Screaming at her when she tried to disobey. Screaming at her to stay in the mech. It was safe in the mech. No one could hurt them there. Graduation. A new flight suit. A Callsign. A new assignment. Partners with the bird of ash. Drops that go terribly. More screaming. “I didn’t put us through all that for you to be as bad as you are. Maybe the fire fried more than your arm.” More training. Earlier mornings and later nights again. The sparkle gone from her gaze. No more Rem Callaway. Just Pluto. Harbinger of her own death. Then….a spark of hope. “You’re useless. What a waste. How did my daughter become such a fucking bad pilot? I’m done. Go somewhere where you can’t bring more shame to our family.” Flashes of a desert planet. Time and money and resources to gut it from the inside. Shielding from everyone and everything. Shelves of powder and cans. Solitary dinners and sleepiness nights in front of consoles. Curie and Oppie put in a concrete box where only Rem could hear the screams. Nuclear reactors and particle accelerators. A core glowing yellow instead of teal. Research after research after research for every single contract and every single deal. Planets burning, unable to rebuild. Mechs crumbling into ash. Days turned to weeks turned to months turned to years. Time had no meaning and neither did she. I am become death. Then the man of fire came back. Suit still shining under the sunset sky. More scars and harder eyes. “Time for you to stop being such a fucking disappointment. You’re signing this or I will have that AI lock you in the Worldkiller until you finally die in the suit like you were supposed to.” And a single name. Simon Dominguez. The contract burns into ash.

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.

SOLE INHERITOR? - Symphony

You do not need the money.
- Sonata

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.

Addendum: Oppenheimer was destroyed in an unfortunate accident following a spec ops mission. Curie is currently in a temporary casket under the watchful guidance of Bones.

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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