Victor "Vytor" Dunbar

FULL NAME: Victor Nicholas DunbarALIAS: Vytor

NATIONALITY: Messembrian

AGE: 21

DATE OF BIRTH: Faunus 12, 861 HE

GENDER: Male

HAIR: Blue

EYES: Blue

HEIGHT: 6' 1"

WEIGHT: 208 lbs.

HOMETOWN: Risston, Messembria (originally Ithaxa)

FAMILY: Cyrus (father - 49), Ella (mother - 48), Roger (brother - 5)

BACKGROUND

Vytor's father (Cyrus) was your average grunt in the Messembrian Military, noted for his unusual blue hair and his Borean ancestry before emigrating. His mother (Ella) was the darling heiress to a wealthy and influential Messembrian family. Their meeting was quite random, but sparked an acute passion in them both that could not be denied. Against her family's wishes, Cyrus and Ella married, and she was subsequently disowned by her furious parents.

Cyrus' position as a soldier in the Messembrian army didn't pay well, and Ella's considerable Genealogy expertise brought in very little money. Though poor, the two were quite happy despite Cyrus' long absences. Ella's fascination with her collection of mustard spoons occasionally stretched the budget too far at times.

Victor Nicholas Dunbar was born without complications in 861 HE at a clinic in Ithaxa (his father was stationed at Arka at the time and couldn't be there). Victor inherited his father's unusual blue hair and his mother's blue eyes, but was otherwise normal and healthy.

Victor was a feisty and unruly child, but with a great passion for building and making things from his toys. He had few close friends, but was very protective of them. He had an unhealthy habit of responding to bullies with his fists before attempting anything else. It was his friends that mashed up the name "Victor" and "fighter" into "Vytor", and the nickname stuck.

In 869 HE, the Dunbar family apartment burned down because of a fire that broke out elsewhere in the building. The Dunbars survived, but lost everything. They relocated to Risston (which was cheaper), and rented a new apartment. Ella was very pleased with Risston's interest in history and genealogy, and managed to find a job as a genealogist. She tried to instill that same interest in Victor and taught him the basics, but it was clear he preferred to work with his hands.

Victor's interest in mechanics and engineering caught the eye of a local civilian mechanic, Albert "Badger" Cole. He allowed Victor to hang around his shop after school. Albert enjoyed explaining the various tools and machines he used as part of his job (but made sure to keep Victor well away from anything dangerous). Though Victor was routinely frustrated with not being allowed to get his hands on anything, he learned quite a bit from Badger.

Victor's interest in mechanics and engineering grew with time. Eventually, Badger allowed Victor to get his hands on actual tools and parts, and help out in the shop. Though the work could be dangerous, Victor's parents encouraged him to pursue the work as long as he kept up his studies.

Then the Erebos event occurred. Cyrus' unit deployed to the area in a futile effort to deal with the problem using conventional weaponry. Cyrus would lose a leg in the process, ending his military career. Eventually, Project Aithre ended the threat, but the damage had been done. A meager military pension and limited disability benefits put the Dunbar household on even shakier financial grounds. Badger took it upon himself to take on Victor as a 'trainee', and paid him what he could to help the Dunbars out.

It was after the success of Project Aithre that Badger ran afoul of a local gang of toughs known as the Screamers. A small-time gang, they were known mostly for petty crimes and vandalism while wearing masks reminiscent of Edvard Munch's "the scream". Badger's shop was ransacked by the Screamers and it ruined him. Victor was at the shop at the time, but Badger managed to keep the gang's attention focused on him and keep Victor out of sight.

The massive financial loss forced Badger to give up his own practice and take up a lesser position as a junior mechanic with a larger company. The local police investigated, but no arrests were made. Victor was angered by the injustice, and was determined to do something about it. Though the Screamers didn't see him, he did see them. Moreover, he saw them leave after they left Badger tied up in his shop, when one of the gang members pulled off his mask. Victor didn't recognize the young man, but remembered his face.

Victor started spending time in Risston's Margate district, a rather run-down and seedy place where gangs were known to congregate. Victor's parents feared that he was losing interest in his hobbies and studies, but Victor fought any attempts they made to stop him. It took him months of wandering the streets of Margate before he spotted the young man he's seen earlier. He shadowed the man and overheard someone calling him "Marcus".

He continued to shadow Marcus for a few days, nearly getting caught multiple times. Eventually, Victor trailed Marcus to his home, only to find himself at the home of Risston's then Chief of Police, Edward Rosen.

Victor took what information he had to the police, and a new investigation began. After a few weeks arrests were finally made, including Marcus Rosen. An Internal Affairs investigation revealed the Police Chief Edward Rosen had been a bit too free with information, and his own son used that to keep the Screamers one step ahead of the police. Edward Rosen was disciplined, but ultimately kept his position while his son was sent to prison (along with most, but not all, of the Screamers).

Victor's life returned to relative normalcy, and his performance in school improved. In 887, Ella gave birth to Victor's younger brother Roger, putting further strain on the family's finances. Victor suspects that having a second child wasn't planned by his parents, but keeps it to himself. Growing reports of monster attacks across the world caused even greater stress to the local and global economy, further tightening the Dunbar family budget.

Faced with growing uncertainty back home, Victor abandoned his schooling at age 18 and took the only job he was qualified for: the military. He was assigned to the Messembrian Army as a light infantryman. He sent a good deal of his earnings home, relying on on-base housing and services to meet his needs.

Eventually, his mechanical skills caught the eye of Colonel Briggs, one of Cyrus' old military buddies. Colonel Briggs pulled some strings and got Victor a transfer into the Messembrian Air Cavalry as a technician. Victor's military career, which had languished in mediocrity, blossomed into excellence as a technician. He earned several promotions, becoming a Corporal by age 20.

Eventually, Victor was ordered to test for the Makhai Initiative (as were many men and women around his age). Victor's suitability for the project was low, and he heard no more about it. Eventually, the whole thing passed from his mind and he resumed his normal duties as a cargo pilot and service tech.

But seemingly out of the blue, new orders arrived in 882 HE. Victor's transfer to the Makhai Initiative happened within a matter of days. His briefing was short and to the point. Soon after, Victor was prepped and made ready for M.A.P. immersion with several other candidates.

Victor's performance in the simulation, and his resulting magical ability, was sub-standard. His resulting magical potential was among lowest of the trainees (barely 1% above what it began as). It was clear that Victor lacked even the most basic magical ability, and his continuing presence within the program was questioned.

However, once training began with the new powered armor units, it became apparent that while Victor was unable to use magic he seemed to comprehend how it worked. Specifically, he had a near intuitive understanding of Geodes and their interaction with users and their mechs.

Victor's new assignment is to act as both pilot and servicing technician for the squad. It is his responsibility to keep the squad's mechs and equipment in proper working order, and to pilot the shuttlecraft the squad uses to respond to reports of Erebos infestation. His secondary function is to act as the squad's technical advisor, and translate their requests for improvements and upgrades into buildable prototypes.

RELATIONS

Cyrus and Ella Dunbar - Though they've had their concerns about their son over the years, they are very pleased with Victor. Cyrus often wishes that Victor had not gone into the military, as his own experiences with it were not always good. Cyrus saw what Erebos could do, and worries that the GDF is underestimating its spawn. Ella always worries about her son, but is very proud that he's a part of the ESSRT. She's grateful for the monetary assistance Victor sends home, but still feels some shame that she must to make ends meet. Though he tries not to show it openly, Victor is very concerned about his parent's long-term well-being. They have very little in terms of a safety net, and he feels obligated to do something about it. He knows that his parents expect nothing of the sort from him, but he cares about them too much to risk it.

Roger Dunbar - Roger is a fairly distant presence in Victor's life. Victor left home when Roger was 2, and for most of Roger's formative years Victor simply wasn't around. Victor has nothing against Roger (outside of the usual annoyances created by a 5 year-old). He just doesn't have a lot of experiences with Roger to draw on. He does his best to be friendly and supportive, leaving the discipline to his parents. Roger on the other hand, thinks Victor has the absolute coolest job in the world, and never hesitates to brag about it to the other kids in the neighborhood. Victor has had to explain to Roger many times that he can't bring a mech home with him, nor can he allow Roger inside it to shoot off the big guns. This does nothing to deter Roger's enthusiasm, who routinely sends Victor hand-drawn crayon pictures of mechs shooting at monsters. Roger is especially imaginative about what his own mech looks like and what it can do (as of now, Roger has decided his mech is named "Red Super Blaster"). Victor is pretty sure that you can't set a lightning bolt on fire and then use it as a sword, and having three arms made of guns on one side and one arm on the other would make it very unbalanced, and that most Erebos spawn aren't giant zombies that explode when hit, but humors Roger's fantasies as best he can.

Albert "Badger" Cole - Victor still hears from Albert from time to time. Since the loss of his shop he's not done very well. The company he works for runs a tight operation and is more interested in repeat business than solving problems. Albert is very unhappy, but his options are between few and none. Albert always was enjoyed a good, stiff drink now and then, but he's turned to the bottle more and more often in the last few years. He preferred being his own boss, and his current situation causes him to rail more and more against what he views as "the military-inudstrial complex taking over this country". To him, reports of Erebos spawn are either a hoax, or a plot by the GDF to rob people of thier freedom and taxes. Victor bites his tongue when Albert is in one of these moods, and finds himself liking the older man less and less as the years passed.

VICTOR'S "MECH"

As is typical for those who have a fondness for their own machines, Victor's given his mech the nickname 'the Skyhog'. He fondly explains the name thusly: "flies like an angel, steers like a pig, does the impossible". This is even written in latin around the nose art of a flying pig wearing a white scarf, aviator goggles and chomping on a cigar:

Fugit velud angelus

Vertit sicut porcus

Quod impossibili