| Appearance: |
Lance is a mixed metaphor of discipllined ruggedness, and that shows in his weathered face and tight-cropped hair, his upright bearing and the open ease with which he addresses others. He's white, his hair is salt-and-pepper grey, and his eyes are a striking, pale blue. Lance comes across as sure-of-himself in most (but not all) situations, and regardless of where he is, he dresses to make the best of it. Or... he did. There was a time after he was contacted by one of the Nidus dragons with visions of the future that Lance retreated from his work and from the world, growing ragged and inward-facing in a way he never had been before.
Thankfully, Lance is (mostly) over that period. There is now a faintly fragile cast to him, rarely visible but not impossible to spot, either. He has a charming, trademark grin that helped him reach a position of command just as surely as it's helped him make good, true friends among the ranks. He has all the capacity in the world to put forward a cold, hard front, but around most people it's plain to see that he's a mother hen in the way he acts and the way he speaks. |
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| Personality: |
Captain Ket Lance is an earnest man who really, truly believes the best in everyone, and who has grown up with the motto "infinite diversity in infinite combinations" as a way of looking past the surface of the world to the fascinating workings of the outer and inner lives of all sentient beings in the universe. He joined the UNIS direct from Earth as a young man, and was brought into the Nidus as a rising star for his extremely quick ability to adapt to dangerous and difficult situations, paired with his unflappable charm. He was promoted to Captain's rank during the ten year period during which Nidus Aven receded into the mists that withdrew it from the Nexus and any other world, including Earth, and it's partly because of Lance's unending optimism that the UNIS came out the other side as pragmatic and strong as it is, rather than being engulfed by the local Draconar population.
Lance believes that one day he and his branch of the UNIS will be able to continue their mission to explore strange new worlds beyond the reach of Earth, to meet new life, and learn of new civilizations. While he is keenly intelligent and deeply enjoys a good scientific puzzle, it's the people that Lance loves. He's formed strong bonds with what he's taken to calling his 'crew', which includes a subset of the UNIS that's preserved its traditions and cultures of Earth in order to survive their uncertain times during the Mists. These include the most optimistic, disciplined, and curious personalities of the UNIS, which itself is somewhat divided between its military and scientific roots.
As mentioned above, Lance was given a vision of his impending, gruesome death. He knows to his marrow that he will at some point in the next ten years be burned alive by green fire in order to save cadets he currently doesn't know, but who he recognizes with the same kind of fatherly adoration that he does his current crew. Beyond that, he doesn't know much, but he now lives in fear and uncertainty... is this really his fate? Is there a way to thwart that? Should he thwart it? Lance will probably forever have that splinter in his mind that makes him second guess his leadership abilities, but even so, he's a stalwart leader of a man who displays the kind of rarified good actions and intentions that he's become something of a rolemodel to his crew. He's been put in a position to use his silver tongue and sharp mind on the rest of the Nexus by the existing Admiralty... and aside from that one small fragment of insanity that being put in this position will lead to his eventual demise, Lance couldn't be happier for it. |
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