Ioji Desmaru

- Discord: AShinySword#3442

Ioji is a Pyxian serf currently in service to the HPS-177 Orion as one of its onboard contingent of Pyxis Rangers.

## Traits and Appearance

* Sex: Male
* Ethnicity: Asian
* Height: 5’11 (1.8m)
* Hair: Black, Cropped but not overly short
* Eyes: Deep Grey
* Physique: Thin, lean and toned but not muscular.
* Dress:
	+ Casual: Dark jeans, black shirt, worn work-boots, Faux Leather black jacket, very in-ornate compared to his peers
	+ Work: Non-descript overalls, with white shirt exposed underneath.
	+ Military Non-combat/ Formal: Pyxis dress level attire and sash.
	+ Combat: Standard Ranger CFU, with tack welded Cygnus emblem on the left of his chest plate.
	+ Accessories: Carries his father’s bullet necklace around his neck at all times, it’s the bullet with his family’s name on it, no Desmaru could be wounded by a firearm whilst they held onto that round, so superstition foretells.

## Biography

*Ioji, a young man of 21 years, was brought up under the care of his grandparents. He is young for his position amongst the Rangers but willingly commits to the life that the Ranger's endure for the sake of the Imperium. His hope is to do his house proud whilst earning enough credits to release his mother from serfdom on Aomori and reunite his parents once again.*

## Stats

### Foci

Die Hard 2, Gunslinger 1, Tinker 1, Close Combatant 1

### Skills

Fix 0, Heal 0, Notice 0, Shoot 2, Stab 2, Pilot 0

### Cha

14

Ioji is a Level 5 Warrior-Expert, his time on the Lodestone, his apprenticeship as a Reticulum crafter and his Ranger training and field experience have moulded Ioji into the skilled and talented young man he is today.

## Early Life

Ioji Desmaru, A serf to House Pyxis, was born in 3179 to his parents Zakai Desmaru and Kida Mitsu. Zakai was a Pyxian ranger on shore leave away from the conflict of the ongoing war against synthetics. Stationed temporarily on the planet of Aomori, he met Kita, a fellow serf, and a weapons engineer in service to a Reticulum weapons master craftsman. After the short but unexpectedly romantic period of time together Kida later was discovered to be pregnant. Unable to abandon his post during the synth war, Zakai was dismayed, the two kept strenuous contact, but the war, like so many others, kept them apart.

Ioji was born some nine months later, and when he was just three weeks old Zakai was fortunate enough to be able to make the return journey to Aomori to see his child. The two bonded over their child but realised that his fate remained in doubt, after much debate Zakai was able to convince Kida’s patron to hand over responsibility of the child for a small fee, it benefitted both parties as it meant Kida was able to return to weapons manufacturing without needing to be held back by childcare needs and Zakai had parents that were still alive and able to care for the child until the war ran its course, so he would have a stable family.

The war, however, did not end, and while Ioji grew up he remained in only sporadic contact with his parents until he came of age. His grandparents took good care of him well into adulthood, making sure he received an education by cobbling together their savings and Zakai’s payroll. It was a good upbringing for a serf, pyxis taught compassion and nurtured childlike wonder and tolerance, it made him empathic and caring, rare traits in a wartorn sector.

He was able to keep in better touch with his father whom regularly visited the Lodestone, and drew inspiration from him as a role model, just as Ioji inspired him to keep on fighting the good fight. His mother, several days communication away, wrote constantly. Though the distance pained her, she had comfort in the fact that Ioji had a stable home.

## Later Life

When he became an adult at the age of fourteen he travelled to Aomori to meet his mother and stayed there a couple of years, learning all he could from her and catching up lost time the way only fourteen years apart could make you need. Through intimate study and practice, he learned the art of the blade, fists and firearms. By the time he was sixteen he could break down and rebuild an arsenal blindfolded, he studied hard under his mother’s tutelage and passed a certified weapon engineering qualification as her apprentice. Ioji then had to make a choice about what to do with his life, but he decided he could not have his family back the way he wanted it until the war was over, so, he followed in his father’s footsteps and back on the Lodestone he signed on to join the Rangers to expedite it’s arrival, citing his weapons and crafting training for his application.

Ioji, though managing to make a place in the basic training, failed the first year, the ranger training was tough even for his extra extra-curricular experience. He reapplied and passed the second time around, joining the Rangers when he was only just seventeen. He saw his first combat only weeks later. Ioji’s mixed heritage and motivations set him apart from other rangers, he did not hate the synths, or Cygnus, which alienated him somewhat, but he was capable, did his job and covered his team’s six, and that was all they asked of him.

When he was eighteen he found the emblem which would stick with him, while people found his attitude all the more confusing, the way he stood up to injustice and the stuck up nobility that day earned him a great degree of respect. While he was publicly reprimanded to save face, privately, he was sworn in as a full Ranger of the HPS Orion. He wore the black swan sigil with pride, some would say as a trophy, others as a memorial, either way, he earned his namesake.

Only a year later the war came to an end, Zakai, with the war over, retired with his noble captain’s blessing to man security for the postal service in the Alvero system in order to be closer to Ioji’s mother. Ioji, determined to have his family together at last and has seemingly found his place in life, stuck with the Rangers, serving with distinction. His and his father’s wages slowly being pooled to buy out Kida’s serfdom so she and Ioji’s father could move to the Lodestone and live with the man she had loved at a distance for twenty-one years. That thought kept Ioji going, each day he was closer to his goal. However, with the emperor dead, the time ahead was uncertain, but he knew his promises, he was going to see his family and his house through this troubled time in any way he could. He may only be one man, but he felt he could make a real difference, especially as so many who’d had their lives stolen from them would never get that opportunity to do so.

## Short Stories

Story One - "The Black Swan"

Story Two - "From Darkness, Light"