Simon Westing

**Simon Westing**...

A name known throughout the galaxy. This dead eye captain is not someone you would want to mess with. Simon from the beginning has always seen himself as irredeemable. Simon wants justice and answers from the Federation.

## Biography

Simon was born early 1993 S.A. to May Westing and Clyde Holden. Clyde visited every year on Simon’s birthday. May, not wanting to tell Simon the truth about his father, told him that Clyde was his father’s brother and that his father died. Clyde went along with the illusion. Simon was always very brave. He was always wandering off into the desert and getting into some kind of trouble. When he was 4, he fell down a crevasse where he was trapped for 3 weeks. He survived by killing rabbits with rocks. When May and a Rescue squad found him, he was near death.  May remarried when Simon was 5. She married a prosperous and kind farmer and former Ranger named Richard King. Simon immediately took a disliking to him, despite King’s attempts to build a good relationship with the boy. Simon thought that he was trying to replace his father. Though Simon resented him, Richard taught him many life lessons, acted as a father figure, and treated him as his own son.

A year later, Clyde gave Simon a his first revolver. Simon was a natural even at the tender age of 6. He practiced every day with the revolver and the family’s rifle until he could hit a bullseye at 100 feet with the rifle. That same year, Simon’s half-brother Alex King-Westing was born. Simon loved his brother greatly and was very good to him. He would often take the young Alex out for picnics and hunting. This, unfortunately, led to Alex losing hearing in his left ear. Despite this, Alex was Simon’s biggest fan. Simon soon aspired to be just like his uncle and join Federation army. When he told his mother she broke down and locked him in his room for four days. When she let him out, he told her that he still intended to join the Federation. May knew her son was dead set. She gave him as much food he could carry and as much clothes he could wear. The last thing Simon did before he left was gave his half-brother a kiss on the forehead. At age 8, Simon set out across the Lilin wasteland to get to the nearest Federation station 400 miles away. When Simon was travelling to the station when he came across one of the Hand’s camp. When he walked into the camp he was shocked to see the 8 gang members raping the women and children from a nearby village. With that Simon knew what needed to be done. He readied his gun. For the next two hours bullets rained through the camp. Simon killed every single gang member. When he went to check on the women and children he found all but one of them dead. She cried that he was the devil before shooting herself in the head. This was a major turning point in Simon’s world view. It is the main reason for his cynical attitude towards life and death. Soaked in blood, Simon shuffled off into the desert.  While traveling Simon came across a boy about to kill another boy with a shovel. Simon recalls Richard telling him about helping those in need. He takes out his BB gun and fires a shot into the boy’s eye. Simon fights with the boy unconscious and is about to kill him. Before he is able to, the victim cries for him to stop. Simon turns to the broken and bloody mass of Eli Taggart. Eli tells him it isn’t right to kill. Simon spares the boy’s life on behalf of Eli. Simon carries the two boys back to their town for medical treatment. Simon defends Eli after he is accused of being the aggressor by the boy’s parents. He is vehement in his demands that the boy’s parents pay for the hospital bills. Simon soon goes to visit Eli in the emergency room. They form a friendship over their shared interest in helping people. Eli asks to join Simon on his journey to the Federation base. Simon is reluctant to bring along Eli, knowing that he could get hurt. Eventually Eli’s father convinces Simon to take his son away from the hateful place they live. Simon relents. after two months of Eli healing, they set off to the base.   Eli engages Simon in discussion during most of the trip. They soon realise that they are very different people. Eli is much calmer and more personable than Simon. Simon is just happy to have a friend. He hadn’t actually met any kid his age in the past year. This helps them build a strong rapport.  After 2 months of travelling, they finally reach the Federation base. They accept the new recruits. Eli is deemed unfit for service, as his leg is crippled and he is of Dracovarian descent. Simon vouches for his friend and calls Clyde for a favor. Clyde wants his son to be happy and knows that if Eli is raised by the right people he probably won’t become a rebel. He too vouches for Eli. Eli is still deemed unfit for physical service but is allowed to enter the base as a officer, focusing mainly on diplomacy and tactics.  Simon is practicing shooting outside the base and is spotted by the base leader. The leader was astounded by the boy’s ability with both a revolver and a rifle. He enters Simon into

the intensive training program. There he is trained for 2 years in martial tactics, leadership, and combat. He made a rival of a child prodigy named Thomas Spader. Thomas tried to constantly match both wits and strength with Simon. Simon didn’t like how Thomas acted superior to others even though he lacked empathy. Their rivalry was a fierce one that almost ended in either side’s death many times. Simon’s ability to shoot is soon only eclipsed by his ability to lead. Simon is lauded by his teachers as the best they’ve seen in years. Soon his shot becomes so impressive that he begins to teach younger recruits how to perfect their technique. It isn’t long before Simon and the others graduate from the military base. Simon is at the top of his class, followed by Thomas. Simon’s skills are so impressive and his record so immaculate he is given the distinguished role of captain. This is very rare as it usually takes up to ten years of fieldwork before being promoted to captain. Simon’s promotion, while heavily influenced by his skill, was ultimately decided by the current lack of captains nearing the end of the Dracovarian war

BOYS GET TO FEDERATION SIMON TURNS 9 SIMON REUNITES WITH CLYDE BOYS SPLIT UP FOR 5 YEARS TRAINING SIMON GOES THROUGH EXTENSIVE MARTIAL TRAINING. SIMON’S SHOT IMPROVES AND HE BECOMES GOOD LEADER SIMON MEETS BACK UP WITH ELI.

1 YEAR LATER, SIMON IS PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN STATUS, THE YOUNGEST IN 24 YEARS.

HE FORMS HIS SHIP’S CREW AND INCLUDES CLYDE AS A LIEUTENANT AND ELI AS LEAD OFFICER.   STARTS A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ELI. WHICH ENDS IN AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF.

JUST AS SIMON IS ABOUT TO BE DEPLOYED FOR COMBAT THE WAR ENDS AND HE IS SENT TO DO ROUTINE PATROL WORK ON ANDARUS.

SIMON BECOMES RENOWN AFTER LEADING HIS CREW OF 1,500 THROUGH A HIGH CONTACT ZONE WITH ONLY 1 CASUALTY.

SIMON CONTINUES TO ASTOUND THE FEDERATION WITH HIS QUICK WIT AND PRAGMATIC STYLE OF ENGAGEMENT.

 SIMON IS KEPT IN THE POSITION OF CAPTAIN BY JEALOUS BUREAUCRATS ABOVE HIM. THE USE HIS AGE AS AN EXCUSE TO KEEP HIM WHERE HE IS.

SIMON SAVES 85,000 REFUGEES FROM THE HALBERD GAS BOMBINGS.

SIMON IS REGARDED AS A PARAGON OF RIGHT BY THE CAESAR HIMSELF.

HE WAS OFFERED A RARELY GIVEN MEMBERSHIP TO THE WORTHY, BUT TURNED IT DOWN BECAUSE HE SAW THE CORRUPTION IN THE GROUP.

## Behind the scenes

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