William "Grey" Schiffer

**William Hannibal Schiffer**, more often called simply "Grey", is a veteran mercenary turned security contractor. Having severed in GUARDIAN during the majority of recent conflicts Grey saw fit to found his own security company (colloquially known as "The Knifehawks") in an effort to retain his autonomy while increasing the scope of his capabilities. He is currently serving under long term contact with the Council Recovery Corps.

## Biography

Born in Oslo, Norway to an Icelandic born German father and a Danish born Irish mother William, better known now as Grey, Schiffer had a relatively average upbringing if one racked by street fights and accentuated from regular hunting trips. Both his parents worked in a starship yard, his mother a low level administrator and his father a mechanic. When Grey was a young man age of 16 his father was injured by a failing ship component crippling both his legs. While he survived and the family wasn't poor the medical bills were pricy and Gregory Schiffer could no longer work. In an attempt to help his family more than the odd jobs he was able to pick up in the wake of the accident could Grey falsified his age and joined the Alliance Navy at the age of 17 using the opportunity to send money home, participate in higher education, and see other worlds like he had been fascinated in doing all his life. It seemed a perfect fit at first. Always an athletic boy, running track all through high school and hunting and tracking game in the forests of Norway and Ireland the young man took to the discipline of military like a hand fitting a glove. Having just finished basic training with high marks Grey was assigned to various posts over the next two years as both general personal and colonial security. Then Grey was assigned to the Shanxi garrison. Grey found Shanxi to be a lovely planet, the colonists to be fairly friendly to him and his commanding officer, General Williams, to be a respectable man of noble bearing. His year of service there was fairly standard and at the time of little special intrest to Grey. Of course, that all changed in 2157 when humanity finally found the answer to, "are we alone in the universe?"

The first contact war shook most people to the bone. Some were in denial for long enough that they missed the brief combat entirely. The Alliance knew better. While still not overly respected by the governments of the world at the time the new conflict with what was confirmed as hostile alien life made many begin to sing a different tune. Grey, a young mostly inexperienced solider assigned as security to a remote colony didn't see direct combat but was left nearly alone to protect the civilian population of the military base. What was more shocking was the siege. With barely any warning the turians began to orbitally bombard Shanxi to bring the garrison to submission. It was panic. Utter chaos as helpless civilians fled and died unable to defend themselves and entirely innocent of any greater wrong doing. Grey stumbled from place to place trying to direct colonists to safety with limited results. When General Williams was forced to surrender Grey thought no less of him for it. His decision saved hundreds of lives. When the siege was lifted and the General was publicly reprimanded and relieved of his post, Grey was outraged. He was young and brash and served the rest of his tour in dissatisfied resentment. Now with no occupation he found himself in a changed galaxy. One already inhabited. While initially holding distain for the turians due to their actions and distrust of the other races, as he traveled looking for a new calling (as at this point his father had found other less physical work and his family was stable) he interacted more directly with aliens. Seeing them react to him the same way was transformative. They were a new race in a well established community as he learned and distrust was only natural. Still he made efforts to adapt and change to fit the new climate of possibility.

In his travels he made an effort to absorb as much information as possible. About occupied space, the different races and the places of note. It was to this end he found his way to the Citadel. Being the capital of extraterrestrial space, Grey was positive that somewhere on the station he would find something of worth to do with his life. After living there for several months he came to a conclusion: people, regardless of human, asari or turian or what have you, are still people. And people tend to suck. Grey gradually fell into general apathy and went about life in a daze for over a year. Until one night, outside a bar in Zakera ward, Grey witnessed a woman being mugged and promptly best the batarian mugger to the ground. The woman, Amy, in turn slugged him in the face for fighting her battles for her. The two became fast friends after that. Humans were still the minority on the Citadel and the two found common ground with the familiarity of another human. They began dating 6 months later and were married nearly a year later. They didn't have much, Amy a low level bureaucrat and Grey working manual labor in the docking bays but they were happy. He often joked that he had turned out just like his father in the end only in a more exotic place. Two years into their marriage their daughter Emily was born. They briefly returned home to earth, staying with Grey's parents to celebrate the fact. It was during this time Grey was accosted by a former comrade. The man called Grey a coward for leaving and a traitor for living among aliens. In spite Grey beat the man and was arrested. After serving a short time in prison for the crime, putting major strain on his family, Grey returned home. But something had changed. That man, despite his ignorance sparked something in Grey he had been pushing down for years.

Grey loved his family but wasn't satisfied with his life. Everyday he saw reports of human protest moments advocating isolation and news reports of batarian pirates profiting from slave trading and became more and more disgusted with the galaxy at large. One day, when his daughter was 4, he could take it no longer. No one event or action caused Grey's decision. It was simply a prolonged sense of unfulfillment and a growing distaste of organized government. Taking a portion of the savings he'd accumulated and leaving the rest to his wife Grey quit his job and left for the outer regions of colonized space where the Council and the Alliance had less sway. Amy, distraught and angry, divorced him shortly after. Grey found his way to Omega, ironically the antithesis of the need for organized government and worked for quite a while as a security guard for one of the prominent figures of the station to be able to afford better equipment. Once this was accomplished Grey signed on to the Blue Suns, a relatively new private military group that accepted humans. Despite his distrust of the Alliance, (which time had eroded from hate down to disinterest) Grey did long for the militant life as he had felt most fulfilled in those years. He had seen the Suns operate on Omega for some time at that point and believed them to be competent and fairly business centric which suited him plenty. While his time with them was fairly standard it reignited and sharpened the skills Grey had acquired in youth, tempering them in experience. After a few years as an operative however Grey began to feel disillusioned with the Suns, disagreeing with some of their methods and often clashing with higher ups on the jobs he was assigned. At the age of 30 Grey set out on his own as an independent mercenary, building a modest reputation as a dependable, efficient operative. While some of his jobs were morally gray none were explicitly illegal or aggressively distasteful.

He worked security, bounty hunted, chased down thieves and led assaults on pirates with official support. His few remaining Alliance contacts benefited him in obtaining contract work on colony worlds assisting soldiers in training and exercises. This went on for almost two decades and he made a stable living whist living an exciting life. More importantly he sent money to his now ex wife to keep their daughter comfortable. Wanting to still be part of her life he would periodicly travel back to the Citadel to see Emily, but as she grew older the two grew more distant. Never the less he continued to try and did attend his daughters own wedding harboring no distain at the fact her husband was in fact a turian. The man was pleasant and gentle and Grey had long since abandoned his anger from Shanxi. Grey was content in his existence like this. He and Amy had even managed to remain friends after a time. Then, something happened. Grey had heard rumors of the Insurrection and the Dominion, had even crossed members of both on brief occasions, but never paid them much heed. As far as he was concerned they were just other groups in the business. Plenty had risen and fell in his time. But one day when having lunch with his ex wife in the Citadel they were caught in the cross fire of what became known as the Coffee Shop Massacre. Grey escaped with only moderate injuries but Amy was put into critical condition.

His anger reignited Grey vowed to seek justice on both groups for what they'd done the only way he knew how. Once he recovered, and knowing he couldn't face either alone Grey searched for a group that would be willing to combat the Insurrection and Dominion. And it was then that he found GUARDIAN and, despite his preference to work solo, enlisted in the hope that their resources would allow him to achieve the payback he needed. This did not go exactly as planned. Both groups were dealt with largely without his intervention and Grey found himself purposeless again. On the cusp of leaving Grey found a new home inside GUARDIAN, being transferred to the GSV Libra. The ship was a joke. A broken down mess barely staffed and with very little to do most often but, surprisingly, was staffed almost entirely by underdogs. Grey despite himself Grey found of the younger operatives and began to form true friendships with his crew. When the Second Skillian Blitz ignited Grey tasted war again and saw its effects. Surprisingly the old dog actual found himself agreeing with GUARDIANs goals on a personal level and, in tandem with his new found loyalties, enlisted in the paramilitary organization in truth.

Much happened in the next year and change and Grey found more lost souks he couldn't help but take under his wing. Perhaps unsurprisingly he slowly grew disillusioned with GUARDIANs leadership but maintained enough incentive to remain and fight over and over again. Things quickly became more ridiculous than he could really comprehend with the advent of the Reapers' existence but Grey was a soldier and he followed his orders, fulfilled his missions, protected his squadmates. It all culminated in the Battle of the Omega 4 Relay. The might of the entire galaxy brought to bear against this horrible ancient force. The veteran marksman did his part in protecting his ship but more and more things began to fall apart. The final stretch led them all the the bridge as they stared down a mass graveyard of starships...and the Relay. Chaos everywhere, the ship falling apart Grey manned what was left of the ships guns and took aim. Focus. One purpose. One moment. He took the shot as they sped ever faster forward...and the Relay snapped. The wave of force hit them like God's wrath and even as their mighty enemies fell they rushed to join them in hell as their collapsing vessel rode a wave of mass effect energy from the damaged relay. But they didn't die. Crash yes but they were alive, if injured. Together, if lost. There was still work to be done it seemed.

After their rescue Grey found the now post-war world wanting. His friends largely went their separate ways and the veteran soldier was left adrift in life to find a new purpose yet again. GUARDIAN had been a deeply flawed mess but it did make Grey realize something he had been avoiding for quite a long time: he couldn't do everything alone. With infrastructure damaged across the galaxy and the outer most systems now in more chaos than ever there was no shortage of work for men like Grey, and more over no shortage of people in desperate situations that could use a hand. Grey had never been cutthroat in his dealings and had never made any real effort to build fame or infamy outside of a reputation of competent reliability. Being in had environment had made it rather simple to separate the half decent, or at least trustworthy guns for hire than the destruction happy criminals that tended to dominate perception of the field. In 2188 Grey approached a number of these contacts about an idea. Using a large amount of his invested capital, along with the stipend provided to him by the Council after GUARDIAN's dissolvement, Grey purchased a decommissioned Alliance warship, and hired on a small crew of experienced, roughly trustworthy individuals who themselves took readily to a sense of structure and purpose they could respect. Schiffer Consolidated Securities became an officially recognized security firm within Council space, but the Knifehawks ranged the far regions of the Traverse and the Terminus to take on jobs no one else would. Where colonies too poor to warrant official assistance were exploited by any number of hostile factors Grey and his men were there, harrying their forces and training the colonists in defensive fortifications and gruella tactics, arming them with scavenged goods.

For awhile life seemed good. Dangerous and often a bit duplicitous, but Grey was doing work worth doing and helping others do the same. By 2190 his direction changed again, as under the advisement of friend and protégé Jeanne Roussel Grey was convinced to offer his company's services to the fledgling CRC after an incident aboard their flagship made it clear the security could stand an improvement. Seeing a hope that the organizations projected goals would allow a farther reach than his current endeavors, and trusting in his younger friends judgement, Grey accepted her proposal and applied for the position. Now serving under long term contract the old dog does what he can to keep the operatives of the CRC alive...and in line.

## Personality

Grey as he prefers to be called most often comes across as a genial mix of snarky and calmly confident in most situations. While possessing a degree of roguish charm and giving off an air of quiet danger Grey is a largely mellow man in private circumstances wanting mostly to relax quietly. Years of fighting, stalking, tracking and hunting have largely desensitized him to violence and years of getting repeatedly shorted on contracts have left his empathy for the wealthy largely stunted. Despite this Grey isn't a cruel person and will help those in need of it suits him, quite often for reasonable prices. He has a soft spot for children being a father himself and they are more likely to be the people he will go out of his way to help most often. Grey has spent years operating solo but his years in the Alliance long ago gave him a respect for comrades in arms and structural organization, an opinion reinforced by his time in GUARDIAN. Despite his previously solitary life style Grey is fairly social, always willing to share a drink and a booming laugh in times of respite. He is slow to make close friendships however, and many of his friendly escapades and shortly after beginning unless you have managed to gain his trust by facing mutual peril. Slow to anger, quick to aggression and calm amongst violence, Grey is a complicated man but a very efficient one.

### Exceptional Skills

* ***Take the Shot:*** Master marksman and sniper
* ***Breaking and Infiltrating:*** accomplished in stealth operations and infiltration.
* ***Catch me if you can:*** talent for guerilla warfare.
* ***You're gunna need a deeper table:*** Nearly inhuman alcohol tolerance.

## Physical Description

Grey is a big man. Mostly due to good genetics and extensive physical training he stands 6'4" and 215 lbs of lean solid muscle. He has been known to intimidate street thugs and lesser grunts with his stature alone though considering he is the source of these stories the validity is questionable. He has focused his physical training on strength and agility, lean spring muscle as what is often seen in runners as opposed to raw bulk as doing so better fits his general activities. This is accentuated by his tendency to skalk more than stride, his eyes always darting around him and aware as if always prepared to lunge at an unseen foe. He has been called handsome before in a rugged way though he's never taken much notice to the comments nor taken much care to maintain them. He doesn't often shave but his facial hair is more perpetual stubble rather than an actual beard. A life time of fighting and labor builds up scars especially a series of small ones over the hands but none of them are of special note. Scars are signs the other person was able to fight back. He keeps his hair short and practical often attempting to ignore the grey coming into it with less than favorable results. His eyes are his most startling feature however. Stormy grey, the source of his nickname, are piercing and vibrant on average, and terrifying when set in a glare.

### Armament

* M-97 Viper
* M-12 Locust
* M-5 Phalanx
* 3 high density combat knives
* 6 long throwing knives
* Armor integrated jump jets
* Omni-Bow

### Abilities

* Tactical Cloak
* Tactical Scan
* Submission Net
* Overload
* Decoy