Julian Stoker

Art by Kiidkat, commissioned by Ryissa

**Julian Stoker** is the current Director of the Council Recovery Corps and was handpicked by the human Citadel Councilor, Dr. Xiao Kun, to lead the organization. Previously, Julian was an accomplished businessman and entrepreneur. Julian is currently dating CRC operative Jeanne Roussel.

## Biography

Born in November 2158 to Mia and Kristopher Stoker at Lake of the Woods Hospital in Kenora, Ontario, Julian Stoker’s childhood could be described as modest but comfortable. His parents both worked for the Canadian Historical Society, Mia as Conductor for the newly restored Canadian Pacific, a transcontinental railway repurposed to be a recreational and historical passenger tour. His father Kristopher was a deeply passionate Advocate for the Society, helping to represent almost a thousand teachers, researchers, and scholars of history who worked across the UNAS.

Many of Julian’s earliest memories are of his father in his suit cooking dinner while dictating well thought out arguments advocating federal funds for graduate students and other scholars, research facilities and other issues that directly affect historians. Summers away from school were spent traveling across the Canadian countryside with free roam of a restored electric locomotive, nose and fingertips often pressed to the glass watching the scenery go past listening to the accompanying audio recordings until he could recite them from memory.

Growing up as an only child had its perks, but the housing track his parents lived in did not boast many families, and neighborhood children were few and far between. His family wasn’t by any means antisocial, but more so only engaged with a close-knit group of good friends. Julian enjoyed a highly loving, if small, extended family, and easily made friends at school, but he’d often complain that there weren’t many children his own age to play with at home, and several years in a row spent his Christmas and birthday wishes begging his parents for a sibling.

Sadly, Julian never would be able to become an older brother. His mother had suffered complications during his labor and unfortunately had to have an emergency hysterectomy, and while his parents had often talked about the possibility of fostering or adoption, the right time never seemed to present itself, and as the years passed, Julian grew out of asking.

Julian did well all throughout school, thanks in part to parental focus and their personal contributions to education. He made friends easily, and as he got older Julian’s natural leadership tendencies started to emerge. At the age of 15, Julian joined the St Thomas Aquinas High School chapter of “Students Stand against Terra Firma”, a teenage political group that cried out against the political party’s platform and the kickback scandal with Nashan Stellar Dynamics. The students organized local rallies and encouraged fellow teens to write to their Congressmen to remove Inez Simmons, Terra Firma party leader. This particular group eventually lost steam once Simmons resigned, and considered it a victory. Julian eventually moved on to other student body projects, and his own schoolwork and Confirmation with his church took up the vast majority of the rest of that year.

Graduation became a bittersweet affair, with Julian getting ready to leave home for the first time. Julian’s grandfather offered a graduation gift of a brand new suit and tie, with advice that Julian still cites: terrible things happen all over the galaxy, but the true injustices happen when good men turn a blind eye to them. Julian’s hard work throughout school paid off with nearly a full ride scholarship to Texas A&M, and midway through his sophomore year, he declared his major in Business Administration.

Late into their junior year Julian’s engineer roommate and friend Carl Marden became frustrated with the lack of text-based games and decided to create one from scratch over the course of the semester. He recruited several friends to help, and Julian happily wrote several of the game’s scenarios. After another friend provided hand-drawn art, word spread across campus. The game quickly became a campus craze, and they became overrun with requests from students and faculty alike.

When the influx outside the campus starts trickling in, Julian jokingly suggested to his frazzled friend that he just post the game on the extranet so people could stop bothering them, and his friend in turn actually released the game online. With a few hours the free but short, (only five hours long) “Choose Your Own Adventure” game *Chronotide* was actually trending in the extranet game store under the developer name of Introice Studio. The game was well received, and the general feedback was the request for more content.

This game ended becoming incredibly lucrative for the duo, expanding their small organization into an actual business, and Julian used the opportunity to model the endeavor as his senior Capstone project for his degree. By the time Julian graduated summer 2180, he was already listed as Chief Operating Officer for a thriving business.

Right before graduating, Julian was introduced to Lacy Bickle through a mutual acquaintance, and they hit it off. Julian invited her to go on a celebratory summer cruise with his friends for graduation, and they came back two months later solidified as a couple. Eight months later, when Lacy’s roommate dropped out of college, Julian suggested she move into his apartment instead of frantically searching for another roommate. They adopted Admiral, a domestic shorthair kitten, from their local Humane Society a month later.

In November 2181, shortly after his 23rd birthday, Introice Studios was sold for several hundred million credits to the triple-A publisher, Eezo Arts. This was a move that shocked fans and employees alike, and nearly overnight made the original team independently wealthy. Julian stayed on with the company through the development of two more games, *Grimspace* and *Dominion*, but over time grew dissatisfied with the new focus on ridiculous production deadlines and emphasis on micro-transactions.

At this time Lacy broke up with Julian, a decision she said came from a lack of common interests and had felt three growing apart for some time. Friends he leaned on at this time all state that Julian blamed himself as a workaholic and letting the relationship cool. Julian moved out his belongings and Lacy asked if she could keep Admiral. Julian didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

Julian tried to throw himself even harder into work but grew more and more despondent with terrible business practices. Unable to effectively change the new corporate culture, Julian tendered his resignation and moved his things back to Kenora, Earth.

Single and emotionally vulnerable, Julian decided to take time and spend with family. He surprised his mother by paying off her house and gave his mom carte blanche to renovate to her heart's content. He bought his father a vintage car, but the family refused to let him spend any more of his money on them. Julian insisted on a final gift, a long vacation to the destination of their choice, as a way of saying thank you for their efforts. He said his mom always made other people’s vacation special, and he wanted to return the favor.

Julian decided that he could have done more for Introice had he had better management skills. While his parents were on their vacation, Julian started contemplating going back to school. He reached out to the deacon of their Church for advice. Ultimately, Julian decided to apply to the Citadel University, believing the exposure to different species management techniques may give him a valuable edge.

Starting a new semester at the Citadel, Julian took to the graduate program easily and made a valuable impression on several of his professors. In each of his classes, he earned a reputation for asking intelligent questions and contributing to the discussion, often going above and beyond the standard coursework. He developed a marked interest in the turian Hierarchy; specifically, in their managerial philosophies. With this opportunity, Julian volunteered at the campus C-Sec office administration department, befriending the staff with his enthusiasm to learn. For his internship, Julian applied to the Lenos Industries Group, and his entire final semester was spent shadowing Belira Drem.

Julian graduated with honors with a Masters of Business Administration in 2184. Several firms at this time extended offers, and Julian signed on with Equiity. Their strategy was to buy out failing businesses and attempt to train new management to improve business. Ultimately, the business would be stable enough and \*Equiity\* could privately sell its shares back to the business, or publicly to another company.

The work proved to be emotionally satisfying and Julian ran with it, and over the next three years earned himself a reputation in the industry with a 93.9% success rate as of January 2187. He had a keen eye for advising which businesses would be lucrative investments and which might be better served by liquifying assets. In the event of a layoff, Julian advocated robust severance packages for affected employees, which earned him positive employee feedback as well.

Eventually, the firm landed a Citadel contract for Labnetic, a biomedical research company that has been struggling with turnover and several unfortunate failed ventures. Unfamiliar with the needs of the medical industry, Julian’s firm hired Dr. Xiao Kun as part of the expert team, and they work closely together for several months. The business flourished under the new leadership Julian appointed, and the policies they set into place, and Julian confidently left the business in the hands of its new CEO only six months after stepping in.

In the summer of 2187, Julian returned to his parents’ home in Kenora, to wait out the Reaper threat. Once there, he volunteered at their Church and watched the outcome of the battle. Julian’s former confirmation sponsor, the recently elected Congresswoman Kara Landay, had the same idea to go home, and they caught up as they handed out food and secured sleeping arrangements for people seeking sanctuary in the Church. When GUARDIAN won, the entire city celebrated, and Julian stayed on spending as much time with his family and childhood friends as he could. Feeling a new lease on life, Julian resigned from Equiity shortly after and started to write his novel in earnest.

February 2188, Julian received a call from his friend and former business partner, Carl Marden. Carl echoed the same sentiments as Julian, about getting back to what mattered most after staring utter annihilation in the face, and made the decision to split Introice Studios from EA. Carl asked Julian to return to the company as the Director of Operations. Julian accepted, and they got to work, throwing new found passion in the project. The news that an original developer returned to the management team and that they planned to release *Chronocry*, a sequel to their original game, helped to turn the company’s ratings around.

A little over two years later Julian received a call directly from Councilor Kun. He was shocked when she explained the reason behind her call; she was tasked to find a suitable Director for the Council Recovery Corps and several names had crossed her desk. Julian’s name was on the list and she had decided that he would be her personal recommendation, from their months working together. This is enough to solidify his candidacy to the Council, and he’s invited to the Presidium as one of the final nominees.

Completely surprised by the opportunity, Julian reached out to several family friends and mentors, including his Confirmation sponsor, Congresswoman Kara Landay and not too long after headed for the Citadel. Once the nominations were public knowledge, Dr. Kun received several letters of recommendation for Julian, from the Citadel University Dean of Business professors or former students, various professional colleagues, and even a confirmation of character from the Archdiocese of Toronto. This along with a strong public opinion across extranet social media, Julian was ultimately confirmed as Director. He formally accepted the position July 23rd, 2190, and the organization and its Director was officially announced shortly after.

The Council granted Julian full administrative power over the CRC to build his management team, and his first choice was his long term Personal Assistant, MaryAnne Farr. He has since then moved into a new apartment in the Presidium Commons conveniently close to CRC HQ, which is currently only a 3 room office space with a small reception area. Due to the high profile nature of the position, mostly out of jaded realism and slightly as a precaution, the CRC’s newly appointed quartermaster and requisition officer, Savra Ilakros issued Julian an M-77 Paladin and he reluctantly agreed to take firing lessons.

Julian now faces the difficult task of building the CRC from scratch and ensuring that the newly reformed galaxy doesn’t tear itself apart in the meantime. The shadows of the former Council-backed organization and it’s Commander loom overhead. Many are calling humanity out on suspicion of favoritism and the implications of what the CRC’s failure would weigh heavily.

But he’s made a promise to himself that he will succeed, no matter what, and without sacrificing the soul of his species to do it.

## Personality

Julian Stoker is a highly optimistic and benevolent character. He would literally give the shirt off his back if he thought it was appropriate, but it would be equally likely he’d help that same individual find employment to buy their own. He is sensitive and compassionate and wants to make a difference in the people’s lives he touches.

Thanks to a childhood rich with education and exposure to many different academic institutions, Julian is intelligent, well educated and has a deep appreciation for history and arts.  He enjoys interactive museums and historical tours, but as his work responsibilities grew, his leisure time became mostly spent writing or building intricate and to-scale model starships and watching the occasional docu-vid.

In high school, Julian made the decision to never drink alcohol. While he respects others' decisions to drink, Julian just has never desired to get drunk. He has kept that promise to himself over the years and takes pride in remaining a true teetotaler. He finds it amusing when people try to pressure him to drink, and feels very comfortable with saying no. Naturally, Julian does not frequent many bars. While religious, Julian states that his abstinence from alcohol has nothing to do with his faith, and he has not been active in his Church since leaving home. He does feel occasionally guilty that he doesn’t do more and makes it a point to stop in at the church and volunteer when he visits his parents.

Julian is loyal and protective of his family and friends. He’s not necessarily naïve nor unobservant, but rather his optimism lies in believing that everyone is inherently good at heart and deserving of second chances. This can lead him to let people remain in his life who probably would be better served by cutting ties.

Being overly fastidious, Julian can’t stand getting his hands dirty. Julian wants to capitalize on first impressions, and just dislikes sweating and mess, making sure his living and working spaces are all relatively kept tidy. He was greatly influenced by his father, for he instilled the idea of presenting your best self, always. The obsession with manners of dress does earn Julian teasing from his friends, mostly centered around his vast necktie collection. Julian has never been in a fight or experienced any kind of combat situation, so it is unknown how he would respond in a true emergency.

Soft-spoken, but generally always rather happy, Julian is easily approachable. Valuing good listening skills, Julian tries to give each speaker his full attention, often repeating back phrases and words to show he’s paying attention. Polite to a fault, Julian has a hard time being blunt and will labor over delivering unpleasant news, sometimes stalling until the absolute last moment.

He prefers to “lead by example” and embraces a Servant Leadership type mentality. Julian greatly admires the leadership philosophy embodied by the turian Hierarchy, that the fault of failure lies on the manager and not the employee. Julian believes that good management is critical to employee culture and environment, and where most corporations emphasize “the customer always comes first”, they most often mean “Our bottom line comes first”. Julian often advises instead, “Take care of the employee, and the employee will take care of the customer.”

When pushed to the limit, or particularly stressed or hurt, Julian can sink into a dark cynicism with periods of self-doubt. Such moods are usually short-lived, but the switch in mood can seem rather abrupt when witnessed by those whom Julian isn’t typically close to.

### Exceptional Skills

* *Live Free or Tie Hard*: To say Julian has an obsession with ties would be an understatement. He has a keen eye and a flair for fashion, but Julian takes necktie ownership to the next level. They must be of the finest quality fabrics and manufacture and Julian has been known to go out of his way, hunting down the perfect complement to his wardrobe. He even receives a monthly mail order tie subscription to **Classy Guy Luxury Ties**, and owns enough to not repeat a tie for several months straight. If asked, his reasoning simply is, *“Vestis virum facit.”*
* *Gram Stoker*: Sharing the last name with anyone famous typically means a lifetime of repeatedly hearing the same tired jokes, and Julian has definitely heard them all. Many of them have been from his own Grandmother, Anna, over the years, as she delights in the intrigue -- and teasing Julian. He believes an actual blood connection to be “highly unlikely” and cites the only parallel between the two, besides the name, is that Julian is also an aspiring author, though his only “novel” has been a project for the last five years, and is nowhere near finished.
* *I Ship It*: For some, model ship building is just a hobby, but to Julian, it is an art. While he doesn’t boast as many ships as he has ties, Julian enjoys building, painting and finally displaying model replica starships in his Citadel apartment. There is usually a model or two around his office at work as well. His favorite is the 1/72 scale Destiny Ascension that took Julian a full month to finish, and he has it prominently displayed in his living room.

## Physical Description

Most noticeably, Julian Stoker is tall, standing almost 6 and a half feet tall when raised to his full height. He’s thin but not lanky nor built, thanks mostly in part to a sedentary profession and love for sweet treats. His hair is a dusty golden blond, his eyes are blue and his complexion is Caucasian, leaning toward the paler spectrum of human skin tones. Darker, thick eyebrows arch over his eyes, and he prefers going clean shaven, in spite of the fact this gives him a “baby face”.

Known for always being impeccably dressed, Julian can usually be seen wearing well-tailored suits and dress shoes. He may own a pair or two of jeans for the rare casual occasion, and his idea of “dressing down” is a pair of slacks and a button down. In no circumstances would he be caught wearing flip flops; Julian is the type of person who would wear wingtips to the beach. And no outfit is complete without a complimenting tie, his silver and blue Ulysse Nardin wrist watch, and his signature thick, black-rimmed eyeglasses.

When Julian takes off his jacket coat or blazer, it’s usually his signal that it’s time to get down to business. When things are particularly hectic, he has been known to uncuff and roll his shirt sleeves up, and if he’s loosened his tie while hunched over data pads and terminal, it’s usually a sign whatever material he’s pouring over is incredibly important, difficult and time sensitive.

However, try as he may, his hair seems to have a mind of its own no matter the situation. No amount of product or styling has yet to be effective in keeping his hair completely in place, much to his annoyance, but over time he’s come to accept this as part of his appearance.

None too concerned with maintaining personal space, Julian tries to make himself appear highly approachable, often keeping a slight smile and his face relaxed, despite his internal feelings. He’ll always extend his hand and offer a firm but warm handshake in greeting, occasionally clasping his other hand around the first. When he smiles with emotion, it is like suddenly shining a light on his face; Julian is exuberant and his eyes and brows echo his heavily dimpled smile. When disappointed, his face is more guarded, and in times of great stress, he can lose this composure completely. When tired Julian repeatedly pinches the bridge of his nose and removes and adjusts his glasses, a habit he hasn’t been able to break.

### Abilities

* Shield Boost
* Decoy
* Defense Drone
* Invasion