Shay Nerhesson

**Shay Nerhesson** was a male Human starfighter pilot who served the United Cassiopeian Republic as a member of the Cassiopeian Military. As a pilot, Nerhesson was a veteran in the Cassiopeian Civil Wars and fought against the forces of the Federation of Cassiopeian Star Systems. After being forcibly kept in suspended animation by LANDER, he was awakened and welcomed along with three others—Miranda Tomine, Samson Govea, and Hitomi Odom—by the citizens of a small settlement called Crash Coast, situated on the planet Cephor III.

## Biography

### Early Life

Shay Nerhesson was born and raised on the moon of Alphiopeia, the smallest moon of the Cassiopeia Prime, a planet that served as the galactic capital for the Cassiopeian Republic. Having been raised within a sealed, insulated city, Shay grew up enamored by the prospect of traveling through space. He would fondly remember staring out his windows and watching spaceships zooming in and out of his homeworld's starry sky.

Having been granted a rather comfortable childhood thanks to his upbringing, Shay eventually became a young cadet at an official Cassiopeian Republic military academy, where he would hone his skills. Throughout his life, Shay would constantly be able to observe the growing tensions between the Republic and its outer colonies settled at the edges of the Cassiopeia Galaxy.

### Life as a Starfighter Pilot

By the time Nerhesson was an adult, he became a fully-fledged member of the Cassiopeian Military. The Cassiopeian Civil Wars had began, pitting the Republic against a newly formed secessionist faction known as the Federation of Cassiopeian Star Systems. As an expert starfighter pilot, Nerhesson fought against many FCSS forces, risking his life to both defend his home and to put his skills as a pilot to the test. Throughout the course of the war and even after, Nerhesson would have several different lovers.

When the war ended, the Cassiopeian Republic had been reorganized into the United Cassiopeian Republic, vowing to right the wrongs of their political systems. Nerhesson continued to align himself with the UCR after its reformation and would continue his career as a starfighter pilot, only now performing routine patrols throughout the Central and Outer Expanse regions instead of fighting off enemy forces in heated battle.

### Frozen in Time

During what should have been a routine patrol through space, Nerhesson unfortunately caught the unwanted attention of a secretive research organization known as LANDER. For purposes unknown to him, Nerhesson was one day kidnapped by LANDER and kept at an undisclosed facility. He was kept in stasis through LANDER's advanced technology, and went into suspended animation for many years. Nerhesson, along with three other unwilling participants of some mysterious plan, was kept hidden away on a relatively unknown planet at the northeastern edge of the galaxy: Cephor III.

## Personality and Traits

Shay Nerhesson was a Human man with long wave brown hair, light-toned skin, and fuchsia-colored eyes. He had a goatee and a light scar over his left eyebrow. As a gift from a past love, Nerhesson kept a hessonite crystal pendant as a sign of sentimentality.

Shay was a sociable and sarcastic individual who enjoyed meeting new people and visiting new places all throughout the galaxy. Despite the laid-back and charismatic appearance he put on, Shay was, in truth, a rather anxious individual who was dependent on others and their presence. He never enjoyed experiencing life alone, and always preferred being part of a community or team. He was a deeply nostalgic man who held onto keepsakes, tied to important memories of his and important people he knew. Shay's rather pessimistic and world-weary outlook on life came as a result of his experiences during the Cassiopeian Civil Wars and how his view on the government he served shifted after realizing how much darkness lurked behind its curtains.

Many considered Shay a rather romantic man who valued long-term relationships, both platonically and romantically. Despite this, Shay had a number of lovers throughout his life as a pilot. On Cephor III, he was happy to find a kind of love that, to him, seemed like it would be everlasting. To Shay, gender did not affect his romantic interest in others.

## Skills and Abilities

Equipped with military training, Shay was an expert fighter and knew how to defend himself in combat, both in hand-to-hand and with long-ranged weaponry like firearms. Shay's best skills were as a starfighter pilot, capable of maneuvering starships in such a way that almost seemed recklessly quick to respond. He knew how to patch himself and his teammates up if they were ever injured, but he was by no means an expert medic.

As a settler on Cephor III, Shay acquired a number of helpful skills, such as planting and gardening. While he dabbled in cooking, most of his neighbors preferred eating the cooking of other, more skilled colonists.

## Trivia

* Shay is based off of a randomly generated colonist character from the sandbox video game *RimWorld*.
	+ Shay's original procedurally-generated name was "Sam 'Nerhesi' Wissa," which is a backer-submitted name.
	+ The name Nerhesson is a combination of the original procedurally-generated nickname Nerhesi and the mineral hessonite.