Arthur Steele

* Steele
* Buran
* Young

Commissioner **Arthur Steele** is a human Engineer, specializing in Augmentation. A hero of the Second Great War and a military officer of the Galactic Imperium, Steele has had an prestigious career. He previously served as Commanding Officer of TASKFORCE and captain of the ISS Buran. He now serves as Commissioner of TASKFORCE and oversees the branch as a whole.

## Background

Arthur Steele was born on Earth some time in 2165. Raised by a traditional family with the expectations that he'd serve humanity as a member of the Galactic Union Military. He was a quick study and flourished in his goals, rising to excel in his education and immediately joined the military after finishing it. Steele decided to join the Navy as an Engineer. Steele Loyally served the Union to the best of his abilities for as long as he was physically and mentally able to.
Steele began his first posting on Buran. He quickly fell in love with the planet and thought of it as more of his home than Earth. His enjoyable time on Buran didn't last, as in 2188, the Second Great War began. He was there when the siege first happened and remained on Buran for the duration of the war. He served as a loyal Engineer in making sure that systems and technology remained operational in battle, in which he witnessed the atrocities committed by the Zultan Empire during this time. He fought for years against the Zultans, hardening his hatred towards them.
Eventually, Arthur was forced to retreat from Buran after taking injury, losing both of his legs, as well as seeing the last of his only brother, who stayed behind to ensure Arthur survived the retreat. During his leave from injury, Arthur contemplated mortality, how weak he was, and in the grand scheme of things how nothing he did mattered against the Zultan invasion. Spending his entire life as an engineer, Arthur came to the realization of how much more there is to technology. If he couldn't stop such atrocities with his own strength and body, then he'd simply create an even better one, one that could stand tall in the face of war. He gained the idea of augmenting his own body to greater heights, after watching the NX-01 units force the war into a draw rather than a loss and how they operated on Buran.
Despite his age and experience, Arthur has rejected promotions numerous times during and after the war, deciding to focus on being an Engineer first and foremost. Following the war, Steele went into reserve with the military, using the time he was injured to experiment with augmentations of the body, and building himself his new legs.

Arthur Steele was born on Earth some time in 2165. Raised by a traditional family with the expectations that he'd serve humanity as a member of the Galactic Union Military. He was a quick study and flourished in his goals, rising to excel in his education and immediately joined the military after finishing it. Steele decided to join the Navy as an Engineer. Steele Loyally served the Union to the best of his abilities for as long as he was physically and mentally able to.

Steele began his first posting on Buran. He quickly fell in love with the planet and thought of it as more of his home than Earth. His enjoyable time on Buran didn't last, as in 2188, the Second Great War began. He was there when the siege first happened and remained on Buran for the duration of the war. He served as a loyal Engineer in making sure that systems and technology remained operational in battle, in which he witnessed the atrocities committed by the Zultan Empire during this time. He fought for years against the Zultans, hardening his hatred towards them.

Arthur gained a great reputation during his time on Buran, perfecting his augmentations and sharing them with his fellow soldiers. The augmentations that Arthur created greatly assisted the soldiers of the Union in pushing the Zultans back from Buran. When word of Arthur and his brother, Harrison, reached the ears of the new Military Regent Tiberius Kaiser, their lives would change forever.

Arthur and Harrison were tasked with smuggling Anti-Matter devices to Zultan Prime, where they would be detonated, decimating the Zultan Homeworld. Their operation was a success, with the loss of Zultan leadership and the destruction of the holy world of Kulahmai, the Zultan Empire formally surrendered to the Galactic Union. Harrison and Arthur were highly commended for their actions, with the two being promoted. Arthur became a Captain, and recieved command of the USS Tomahawk (later, **ISS Buran**), an advanced Stealth Vessel.

Following the foundation of the Galactic Imperium, Arthur and his brother Harrison created the peacekeeping unit known as TASKFORCE, whose mission is to protect the galaxy from any and all threats. He has command over a large number of individuals in addition to his own crew.

## Appearance

Arthur is a human male in his early forties. He has a rough and rugged appearance, and commonly has a cigarette in his mouth. He has a chiseled black beard, and wavy black hair. He has brown eyes, and black eyebrows. Due to his age, he has hints of grey in his beard and hair. He has white skin with a rosy complexion.

He stands at 6"5 tall, and weighs 190 pounds. He wears rough looking clothing, commonly an orange lined jacket. He has numerous augmentations over his body, with scarring present from where he has had them installed. Notably, he has Cardio-vascular implants and leg augmentations.

Following the events of "The Heist", Arthur now has a large burn scar on his face which he inflicted on himself to remove the Zultan house symbol carved on to him by one of the Zultan guards.

## Personality

Arthur is best described as a complicated individual. With a difficult past that haunts him, and with his no-nonsense attitude, he can often be difficult to approach. Despite his outwardly appearance, Arthur does care about others, and will help those in need, so long as it doesn't interfere with the mission at hand.

Arthur is regarded as a good leader by the crew of the SS. Eastwood and TASKFORCE, despite having had no real interest in being center stage before. After some light encouragement from Benjamin Del Rio, Arthur was made the Commanding Officer of the SS. Eastwood, and has served in that capacity ever since. The crew of the Eastwood have come to rely on Steele, seeing him as the calm and collected leader that they can follow. Steele himself gets frustrated with this at times, often remarking that he just 'wants to be an Engineer', and he can at times be frustrated with the crew's dependence on him. He was later made the Lieutenant of TASKFORCE, serving under Azaria, due to his leadership skills still being needed.

Arthur is calm most of the time, but has been known to snap on occasion. After suffering from a number of revelations, Arthur finally lost his calmness and began to act in an aggressive manner, especially towards H0W-D33. This likely being due to Steele letting stress and overtiredness get the better of him. He best deals with events like this alone, and does not like discussing his feelings with anyone, especially councilors.

## Relationships

### **Dr Arbo Star-Seeker**

Steele and Dr Arbo have had a mutually respectful relationship since they have met. Bonding over them both being part of the Union military. Steele has come to rely on Arbo as a sane voice in situations. Steele respects his vast knowledge and expertise, and values his opinions. When Steele became the Eastwood's commanding officer, he made Arbo his executive officer due to his experience and level-headedness. Steele and Arbo have on occasions disagreed, such as when the crew were deciding what to do with the sample of the biological agent they found on a Red Hand Marauder. However, they have not allowed these disagreements to come between their friendship.

### **Calliamarianna**

Arthur and Calli have had a good relationship from the start, and quickly became friends. Steele respects Calli's knowledge and skill, and views her as a reasonable person. They have bonded and shared their backstories over alcohol before. Steele has come to rely on her capabilities as a navigator, and views her as a valued member of the crew.

### **Petra**

Arthur and Petra have a good relationship based on a mutual respect for one another. Arthur depends on Petra's effectiveness in combat, and her intelligence in formulating plans and strategies to get past obstacles. Arthur appreciates Petra's attempts to alleviate some of the stress he might feel by trying to defuse situations or provide a reasonable voice. Steele and Petra have been at odds before, notably Steele finally called out Petra for chastising Del Rio for keeping secrets when she herself was doing so.

### **H0W-D33**

Arthur finds H0W-D33 a difficult person to get along with. He sees H0W-D33's antics as frustrating at times, especially if they are on an important mission. He respects H0W-D33 for his piloting skills but that is often where his respect ends. He trusts H0W-D33 to handle the Eastwood, but this trust has sometimes been lost when H0W-D33 might trip the engines due to poor piloting. Steele finds H0W-D33's personality frustrating, with his insistence on being human despite everyone knowing otherwise, and his stubbornness. H0W-D33 and Steele have come to odds on several occasions, notably when Steele ordered Petra to kill his 'Son', Huckleberry, due to him being a Solar Chysalys. H0W-D33 has not forgiven Steele since then, and cites Steele's betrayal as the reason why he left the Eastwood after their completion of the mission. Steele did however begrudgingly admit his respect for H0W-D33 when he left, which H0W-D33 did reciprocate.

### **Benjamin Del Rio**

Arthur used to show a great amount of respect for Del Rio as both a senior officer in the Navy and as a person. Del Rio, when serving as the Naval Attaché on the Eastwood, was the one to push Steele into the command position. Although Steele hasn't always relished this position, Steele has been made to see his own effectiveness by Del Rio. Steele sympathized with what Del Rio had been through, and had promised to help him in anyway he could. He was appreciative of Del Rio's recommendation for him to be promoted, and has welcomed his recommendations and opinions on the matter at hand. However, after what has come to light through the multiple reveals of what SPECOPS did, Arthur is a bit more wary and on edge about Del Rio. He still respects him, and is willing to help the man combat his trauma, but Arthur will not ignore Del Rio's past.

## Character information

### **Notable Items**

#### **Current Items**

* 'The Deck'
	+ Sun - Pulled during the events of "Dual Calling"
	+ Jester - Pulled during "The Battle for Earth II" (Retconned)
	+ The Vizier - Pulled during "The Battle for Earth II"
* Zultan War Medals
* Ornate dagger with a 'Zultan Symbol'
* Executioner's Pistol (Modified to remove self-destruction effect)

## Trivia

* Arthur has the highest strength score, highest intelligence score and highest constitution score of any player character thus far
* After using the Sun Card in "Dual calling", Arthur is now the highest level member of the party, being one level ahead of everyone else.
* Arthur was the first character to receive a Grandmaster Weapon, which he gained through the Sun Card.
	+ He was also the first character to receive a Mythic Artefact, his Executioner's Pistol.
* As of Chapter 1, Steele has one of the highest damage outputs of any of the party.