Houston

== Who Is Houston? ==
Markus Dalca, more commonly referred to as “Houston” (or formerly, “Grapple”), is an ADD Pilot serving in the 6-4. His first documented appearance in VRChat is estimated to be dated somewhere around August 2019. He discovered the group through a tag-link on fanfiction written by a fellow 6-4, joining the ranks on August 12, 2021.
Houston is a bit of an introvert, choosing silence in most situations and spending a good deal of his free time in the machine shop. If you get him going on a topic he knows though, you better get comfortable, he'll go on for hours. Houston holds his peers in high regard, and offers help where he can. That is, unless its hand-to-hand combat, in which he isnt particularly adept.
== Character Lore ==
Markus Dalca was born on the Core System planet of Tritan in the spaceport town of Houston, named after the old Earth city. Not much is known about his life there, only that he obtained his GED early at 17. 
He made his way to the Frontier as an IMC mechanic, building Titans for them and going through their Pilot training courses while working under the guise of “Bringing peace to the Frontier”. That is, until he witnessed video footage of how the real IMC treated its inhabitants. Outraged by the true nature of the corporation he had been serving, Markus developed a vengeance within him, a burning hatred for the IMC and their heinous crimes, and he vowed to do anything in his power to stop them.
Over the ensuing weeks, he planned his defection, stashing supplies he would need to survive planetside inside a disused Drop Pod. In his words: “I knew that my Pilot training was good enough for me to make a living as a Mercenary, so I took a few essentials with me. A jumpkit, firearm, and lots of juicy IMC documentation."
Finally, on the 13th of January, 2721, he strapped into the Pod, prompty sending himself hurtling towards a Militia-controlled planet they were passing by. 
Over the following years, he made a name as a Mercenary, travelling from world-to-world while taking out IMC patrols, encampments, and even Titans, scrounging up enough money to hitch a ride to the Outer Frontier, searching for the illusive info-for-info buisness run by [REDACTED].
After suceeding in his efforts to track them down, Markus traded a good portion of his stolen IMC data, along with some personal dirt, in exchange for the contact information of the 6-4's Viceroy Division.
He began working for the 6-4 as a Pilot, where he was given the nickname “Houston” after his hometown, and a particularly rocket-esque jumpkit mishap during a training session. Houston also works as a Titan Mechanic in his offtime, helping to maintain the many Titans currently in service, old and new.
== JDE-2123 "Jade" ==
JDE-2123, or "Jade", is Houston's Titan companion. Constructed shortly after his arrival, the Ion-class formed a strong Link with her pilot, the two boasting a combat effectiveness rating of 90%. She has proven to be overprotective towards him, a notable example being when she picked the man up and would not let him go after they recieved a minor papercut. Modifications include minescule changes to datacore storage capacity, and enhanced communication systems.
Category:The 6-4 Characters