2/19/2009

Name: Cooper Mandrake, 'coop'
Age: 48, 5'10", 170 lbs, male.
Born and Raised on Londinium,
24 Years Alliance Federal Marshall, Detective First Class,
4 Years Alliance Military Intelligence Service, Major (Classifed Service).

Initial Personality.
Sharp dry wit, cynical, little patience for fools and the incompetent and self-important. Otherwise quite sociable and easy to get along with.
Enjoys the moderate vice of a drink, smoke, woman and gambling., the latter two which, he's not had much success.
No hesitation dishing out justice, not much faith in the legal system despite being part of it.

Underlying Personality.
Tired. The job had worn him out before the war, and his duties during it have him burned out. He'd love one more chance with his ex-wife, but he doesn't realize it, or at least hasn't considered it as a real possibility. There really has never been anyone else, but now that he's facing the second half of his years, it's time to stop and smell some roses.
Right now he's thinking of doing two more years and then retire and write more books.
Cooper isn't the hardboiled type, at least not in the physical sense, though he knows quite well how to act it. Rough and tumble isn't his forte, but he's got no aversion to it.

Appearance.

Alan Ladd

Typical Dress: Slacks, white shirt, often with black tie and sport coat. He's taken a few new clothes to try and avoid that Fed Policeman look when on a Rim Planet or Moon.
When off ship will carry his semi-automatic on his hip, under his coat, with a small .32 on an ankle holster.

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Known History.
. Coop is a Alliance Federal Marshall, he started out in vice. After learning the way of the darker side of the big city and a several extensive courses of study, he worked his way up and became a top seriel killer investigator before the war.
A reputation as being quirky, odd ball type profiler, but got the job done. Most career investigators kept a safe distance. His combination of art and science has evolved into a very intuitive sense of people, especially those of a very dark nature.

He helped solve several big cases, the biggest three being:
the Core (the Video copycats),
Border Worlds (Persephone-Royal Assassin Case)
and the Rim (the Circuit Rider Kidnappings)
In his spare time he's written a few books:

. left to his own devices he spends his time writing his next Elwood Pawn Book, reading and exercising, trying to get mind and body recovered from 30 years inside the insanity of seriel killers and cold blooded spies and assasins. He still likes to drink and smoke, so the exercise is just a mild diversion. An interesting woman, cards, horseracing; he'd be up for it.
During the War: Classified Very Most Secret, Military Intelligence.
Mustered out of the service he was back in standard duty, his rivals long cleared away any chance of a return to the Seriel Murder Group. A new opportunity for a special squad though has popped his name up.
Ex - Wife They still have a big time love hate relationship. They meet up every few years, rekindle the romance, drive each other crazy, and go their separate ways. Brenda Starr, journalist for the Planetary News. She's the only one that knows about his secret.

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Other History.
His ability to get in the minds of those he pursued that made him the star of the Seriel Murder Group. He has difficulty explaining his methods, thus the controversy over his book on the subject.

Counter Intelligence Agent - Once the war started he was pressed into service in the Intelligence Service, where at first he did well just by deduction and counter-intelligence techniques. By the end of the war the Browncoats were using the lowest of the low to try and penetrate the Alliance, this provided Cooper more of an opportunity to work his aquired skills. He was able to find the hard-core assasin/saboteur/terrorist. Mandrake's job was to get in their heads, break them down and make them spill their guts, which considering how fanatical many were by then, seemed all too easy for him.
He has nightmares, the people and crimes he's investigated and studied have stuck with him. As he's grown older, the accumulation of his experiences have left him near broken with a memory filled with horror.

He's become averse to large crowds.

There were occasions when Cooper Mandrake took the law into his own hands. Sometimes when a crook just wasn't going to go down, either due to an inherent failure of the system, or someone was protected.
And at the end of the war, certain browncoats that had lost all pretense of civilized behavior... they just got lost.

Skills and Training.
Very Smart.
Police Skills: Criminal Law, investigation, surveillance, interview, interogation, CORTEX research, small arms.
Pulp Fiction and Criminal Science Writer,
A decent enough golfer and fisherman, both being quiet pastoral types of activities.

Weaknesses.
He's got a bit of a mouth, disrespect for authority, usually not a problem unless he's pressed.
The nightmares can leave him in a cold sweat and sleepless nights. Even when awake triggers can bring back cases and memories.
Flashes are uncommon, but frequent enough to cause him to avoid large groups of people, a paranoia sets in.
"stay on the boat" would be his prefered retirement; or a nice quiet and remote place to write.

While he is able to mix well with others, even having close friends; part of him remains a complete loner.

He smokes. "but hey, I exercise." He's a drinker, but in moderation, an occasional binge with the right folks.

Secret History
He's got a few enemies: folks he's put away, their friends and reletives; some Browncoats that find out he was their interrogator. None are specifically known to him or any that would be looking for revenge or something else.

EQUIPMENT:
Federal Marshal badge allows him to carry the weapons and access; in fact it offers quite a high degree of authority, but he understands the application of it on the Rim is something to be carefully.
Multiband watch;
Data Library, Professional;
DataBook;
Encyclopedia;
Dedicated Sourcebox;
Commpack, Long Range;
FedBand Scanner;
2 Pistols; , w/hip holster, 2nd ankle holster
Shotgun;
Ballistic Mesh; 46
Plate Vest; 30
Photos, Gold Cigarette Lighter (Federal Marshal Emblem),
Small wardrobe of civilian clothing and one Dress Uniform.
Excellent set of golf clubs and fishing equipment.

" I distrust a man who says "when." If he's got to be careful not to drink too much, it's because he's not to be trusted when he does."

"Even minutiae should have a place in our detections, for things of a seemingly trifling nature, when enjoined with others of a serious cast, may lead to a valuable conclusion."

3/9/2009

Minor update permitted by GM Abbeygirl. Cooper's got a bit of misguided (or not) vigilante in him.

Highlighted above in red.