 |
Pocket Empires |
Mark Bridgeman
Presenter Jo Killishigi is a popular prime time vid host, born on the High gravity world of Uuniluu (1309 Core B94A566-9 Ni Wa) from ordinary (some would say poor) parents. He left his home at the age of 17 to join the ‘System Express’ transport company (a growing feeder line operating just off the Sylean Main with several large liners),and served his entire merchant career aboard just one vessel the ‘Cosmological Constant’ or ‘Cosmo’ to the crew.
Like all heavy worlders Jo has well-developed musculature and is very strong, though less than graceful, having a short squat body with blond hair, some say his large chest cavity must contain some extra large lungs as when boisterous he can be quite loud on times and as a fine complement to his cheerful persona is naturally good singer.
Upon being hired Jo was immediately sent to work in engineering on the proviso that most engineering components are quite heavy and Jo’s natural talent (lifting and carrying) could be put to really good use. A lesser man would have succumbed to injury but Jo enjoyed it and if anything grew stronger. His good nature and natural cheerfulness made him popular with the crew and his superiors so it was not long before he became a 4th officer making his parents and friends back home proud. Unfortunately further promotion was beyond him and he remained a well-liked and generally useful merchant 4th officer for the bulk of his career. His main ship board duties involved seeking out profitable cargos and handling some aspects of ship finances and its compliance with legal requirements (both imperial and local). During off hours he would entertain his crewmates with songs from his childhood or his own versions of popular songs making the rounds in Sylean space. His other interest was prize fighting and martial arts (though he lacked grace he could hit hard and was heavy, making for a difficult opponent) and kept himself fit working out in the ship’s gymnasium, then once every few months along the ship’s regular routes he would enter a prize fight and more often than not win some money for himself and his crewmates.
After spending almost ten years without a further promotion Jo left the service and applied to become a contestant on the (then) brand new Disaster Management reality vid show in which contestants were placed aboard a derelict vessel in an unknown location and had to get it working and bring it into port within 12 weeks of the programmes start. This involved managing the failing systems (working as a team with the other contestants), and solving riddles left by the program makers that would reveal the correct jump plot to bring the ship home when they finally got it under power. Data feeds from the various cameras aboard were transmitted to the stations chartered Yacht that followed the ship at every step of the way (and contained an editing suite), as each episode was aired members of the public were invited to vote for who they’ d like to see win; Jo himself came second next to a retired Naval Officer who won the MCr1 prize. The ship made all of its jumps on time and rolled into the High Port at Sylea orbital surrounded by a flotilla of small craft containing picture hungry journalists. Despite not winning he had become a star as several recordings of his singing whilst fixing drive housings and moving heavy items and the like swept throughout known space.
Jo was approached by the Sylean Federation Entertainment Network (SFEN) known colloquially as ‘Sven’ and offered to star in many educational programmes aimed at younger people (pre recruiting age), in which he could tell them how drives and electronics worked, how to operate them and why they were important to the survival of a modern starship. At this point the money started to flood in to his personal account in a big way. Jo immediately paid off his family’s debts and started living the high life, his racous exploits made the news feeds every single time and contributed to his growing stardom. He is now estimated to have an impressive fortune around MCr20 garnered through successive years of being a chat show host, singer, vid presenter and charity.
Needless to say he has attracted a few (well managed) scandals in his time being incredibly popular with human females (those that like money and a chance of fame), though none have served to dent his popularity.
The Killishigi Show
A few years before the founding of the Third Imperium Jo set up his own Production Company in a lucrative deal with Sylean News Network (at the time an exciting new network, heavily backed and sponsored by the media wing of the Zhunastu corporation).
Whilst remaining popular the Killishigi Show is not without its detractors and critics, some of whom have lampooned his show with tasteless parodies and mocking sketches on competing networks, claiming it to have a disturbing pro imperial bias that may well alienate a large portion of its potential viewers that opposed the re-birth of the empire and the resulting loss of democratic input that was a cornerstone of the Sylean Federation.
The Party Bus
Being a wealthy man accustomed to ship board life, Jo is known to have two vessels at his disposal, an ancient and ugly Villani built scout registered as the ‘Soprano’s Chance’ and a more modern two hundred ton yacht, called ‘Horus’s delight’ Indeed both vessels have been the subject of many a documentary as vid crews follow Jo and his crew about known space (close to Sylea) and record his pro-imperial exploits. Such as landing his yacht on an Imperial member (safe) world opening the cargo locks and setting up impromptu concerts in the midst of strange alien deserts or exotic ice flows, complete with dancers and supporting artists not to mention the best and latest songs and music that money can buy.
The yacht is lavish and nick named ‘the party bus’ whilst the scout is quite basic. When questioned about the disparity between the two vessels Jo has frequently been heard to say that ‘life is all about contrast’ and that a few weeks of self imposed exile aboard the battered old scout, fixing things and struggling to keep the ship together with just one fellow crewman for company makes him appreciate his stardom, popularity and the hard earned comforts of his yacht, penthouse and money back home on Sylea.
Just after emperor Cleon’s founding of the new Imperium Jo sunk an awful lot of money into his own production company giving him the freedom to make what he wants including pro imperial documentaries and vid dramas, such as the critically acclaimed ‘Halvesten’s Gap’. A nail biting drama of intrigue and subterfuge detailing the heroic actions of a small merchant crew trying to stay alive after uncovering an anti imperial plot light years beyond the Imperial fringe whilst trying to stave off the threat of bankruptcy and repossession.
Such service to the Imperium has not gone unnoticed, thus he is tipped to be among those honoured on the next emperors Birthday list of worthwhile public celebrities and is likely to become Sir Joelishuma Killishigi.
Joelishuma (Jo) Killishigi Age 41 in the year 02 – Human Male
Cr130,000 (personal account), Cr 20,000,000 in business account
B5864C
| Trader-2 | Grav Vehicle-2 | Performance-2 | Sensors-1 | |
| Survival-1 | Brawling-1 | Streetwise-1 | Broker-1 | Law-1 |
| Carousing-1 | Gambling-1 | First Aid-1 | Throwing-1 | Mechanics-1 |
| Athletics-1 | Ship’s Boat-1 | Wheeled vehicle-1 | Equestrain-0 | Computer-0 |
| Swimming -0 |
1 x Scout Courier (Soprano’s Chance)
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