[Short description]
    Garrat is an ex military salvage and repair specialist with his own Flat top [for the time being]  He'd lost his lower leg in action and has retired to help his father with a salvage, construction, and repair business.  Regenisis works as a company and a community of space born people.  You might call them a colony without a colony.

  He is seven feet of muscle and as jaded as they come with a soft spot for his wife and two kids.  He knows how to organize a team and how to listen to those who know more.  His experience as a combat engineer during peace time gives him some peculiar insights into both humanity and mechanics, but while he seems gruff he always treats others with respect.

[character sheet]
   History and Background

    Garrat was born on Ragnor Anchorage seven years before the end of the first Cylon war when there was a large human presence on the station, at the end of the early Cylon war.  His father Nack Novasoul was a space born marine on a Berzerk type cruiser and his Mother Andara Novasoul was a science officer on the station.  With his father  gone most of the time he was influenced most heavily by his mothers Aquarian back ground.  Her sense of art combined with her resourcefulness that the aquariums needed to survive shaped him in a unique way.  Garrett was not alone in this environment, two brothers and a sister were born before he was, and another sister would be born before his father put in the end to this on the medical deck.

    There were other infuences of course.  From his mother Garrat learned that practical beauty follows function with its form, but when Nack was in port, the tall quiet man made sure all of his children knew the classical doctrine adapt and overcome.  Seeing Gareth was a restless boy, who was always doing things with his hands, Nack introduced Garrat to an old freind on the flight deck.   Here Garrat learned about teamwork, especially the important aspect of the “see a need – fill a need”.

    Garrat liked playing war as much as the next boy, but working with mechanics fired something in his blood, a hunger to see how things work.  As the colonies started to settle into a time of peace, his genetics spurred his growth ahead of his peers.  He had to be careful not to hurt freinds, and found he could gain better control of his large body as he worked with adults. He could safely push himself to grow stronger under their watchful as he also learned skills and problem solving.  One of the fighter pilots even taught him how to slowly move vehicles from the repair bays to storage, thinking him a teenager for his size.  The repair crews knew his age but they also knew he could handle it.  Garrat's father arrived on deck that day to see him carefully settling a raptor onto the repair deck and knew it was time to talk about the boys future.

    Nack new times were changing and cookie stamp warriors were no longer needed like they were used to but a Soldier who could fill multiple roles was always an asset in the colonial military.   He spoke to his son about this and found Garrat open to using his budding talents to become a combat engineer.  This led to a conscious preparation for a carrier.
    As peace time gave him new free time, Nack worked with his wife to give his children had good future's in this changing environment.  Soon many of the cruisers would be Decomissioned and mothballed, and the marines and navy would have to cut back on their personel and be more selective on their recruitment policies.  Nack was given the choice of imediate retirement or take over a training facility to reform the purpose of remaining forces for a couple of years before passing the batton on to younger supervisors, natrually he chose the later.

    At the age of twelve, Garrat was gifted with his first charter as a crew member of a flat top for his birthday.   They would be collecting space debris from the Battle of sector twelve for one month and responding to emergency calls in the area.  Other than a bruised rib from a peice of space debris, Garrat came through unscathed and happy.  returning planet side to the base his father was working on, he had a few stories to tell at the dinner table and worked on his colision armor for the next outing.

   Two outings later he was helping rescue a family stranded in space after a pirate attack.  Part of their ship blew smashing him with debris that would have killed him if not for his armor.  A freind of his was not so lucky.  Older crew members and the captain took note helping the young man to overcome his survivors guilt but also noting how Garrat's armor survived while the other had not.  Some even paid him to help them upgrade theirs in the foundry.

 Garrat turned down some charters after that but finally went back into space. He wanted to build up money for his future.  He may be destined for service, but he would still need money if he wanted a family. The nice part is he started making extra as the people started bringing him their collision armor to repair, and from that day till he joined the Marines on his eighteenth birthday, Garrat never lost another crew member to debris related accident...Maybe it was coincidence.

   By 14 He was sitting graveyard watch on the Flat top bridges, and running tools on a scooter.  Sixteen saw him taking the controls on the runs too and from the debris fields, as well as using any of the small salvage craft to repair ships in need or disassemble wrecks.  17 and he was taking his first job as a backup pilot.  he could work the smaller vehicles just fine, but more and more of them just couldn't fit him.  Besides, his love was in the big ships where finesse was more of an art form.  [Must be his aquarian upbringing.] 18 he went into the marines.

   Garrat had trained with his Father and brothers but it was uncomfortable in boot camp.  First he was big, that kind of made him stand out, second he had been training so he was ahead of the other guys, making him the one to beat, third he was Nack's son so he had that reputation to catch up too with his drill SGT. But he made it through basic despite the high bar.  But soon enough he was training as a combat engineer, covering explosives, the one area he wasn't trained on.  Garrat saw demolition as just another tool to get the job done, unlike others who lived for it.

   Soon he was out on ops.  With out the Cylon threat to unify them people started reverting to squabbling amongst themselves.  Privateers had become pirates, zealots were barricading themselves in compounds, and smugglers were making a buck anywhere they could.  Garrat had too much training to pull guard duty.  If they captured a smugglers some one needed to fly the ship.  If they were to cut off resources on a compound of Zealots, Garrat could figure out how to shut them down and leave them in the dark.  If the were in a knock down-drag out fight with Pirates, he Was not only handy blowing doors open, he could spot weaknesses in their defenses and knew how to take advantage of them.

   Garrats unit was paired with a Manticore class Corvette and used for high attrition missions.  The good news is Garrat came to command  the unit, the bad news is it was because his CO took one to many blaster wounds to the chest.  Garrat worked well with the captain of the Gorgon and helped him choose retrofits that made his ship more effective on their missions.

    The atrition rate decreased and and the success rate held steady.  His career was looking good.  At 27 he married Shala Solarstorm, a red head shuttle pilot who ran supplies to the old battle star they used as a home base.  28 saw the birth of his son, 30 his daughter.  His father had retired latter than expected and had invited them back for the summer festival on Aquarius.  The old man was going stir crazy and looked foreward to the temporary chaos Garrat's family brought.

    At super his father had asked about recent exploits and Garrat was telling him how his unit had taken a pirate base that was operating out of an abandoned Loki class cruiser. "Youshould see it.  They kept the suport structure intact but gutted the insides.  The FTL drive and boosters were still operational so every time we were closing in on them they'd simply move the entire thing to another location and leave an ambush.  The locals lost a number of ships before they called the Gorgon in and we almost lost them when we thought they were cornered."

    "Interestingp" His father said leaning into the story.  "Why is that?"

    "They had charges set to blow a hole in the belt so they could escape.  Then a second series to blow it shut again."

    "How'd you get around that?"

    "They'd used the trick before to keep reinforcements from followwing them.  We simply launched an old emp mine that we used to use on the Cylons.  We weren't sure it would work but what bombs it didn't detonated got shorted out not making the opening they needed and browning out many of their defense systems.  It was a big battle but they were caught off guard.  The first platoon had two fatalities but the second pulled through with nothing too serious."

    "What are they going to do with the cruiser?"

    "I don't know.  If it were back in the ware they'd re absorb it, but now with all the cruisers in mothballs they'll probably issue a salvage license and smelt it for farm quipment.  Since the inification of the colonies the first colony is trying to change it's status and up the living conditions of it's people.  That means less bodies in farming and more in industry...."  Garrat see's the look on his father's face, "What are you thinking about old man?"

   "Remember Bolts from the Anchorage?  He had a couple of sons who got into the salvage business."

    "Yeah, I remember them.  Jason and Herc.  They went out on the flat tops with me a couple of times.  I heard they got their own ships but their company went belly up.  The head embezzled to much money out of it."

    "You remember what their daddy taught you?"

    "See a need, fill a need...but what does that have to do with...your thinking of using the  Loki class for something aren't you."

    "We have flat top operators in need of a company, we still have a need for the flat tops, we have your wife to ship ore, sheet metal and supplies now if we had a mobile base that could smelt down debris and act as a home for the families we would have a mobile business comunity."

    Two weeks later they were Standing on a cat walk looking down into a massive space on the interior of the heavy cruiser.  Garrat nodded to a soldier with a green band on his upper arm.  Officially designated The Guardsmen, the unit of marines and Sea-Bees that came in to process and maintain a facilities were often refferred to as The Cleaners.  Garrat's Company held them in respect as some of the "clean up" left over from combat or bizaar little cults could give anyone nightmares.

    Garrat Looked at his father for awhile. "You just want to get back into space don't you."  It wasn't a question, "And your dragging my family into it."

    "A cargo ship isn't the best place to raise a family.  Especially when your always away on duty."

    Garrat motions to the space before him "And a flying foundry is?"

    "We could make it so it is."

    Shala walked up besides Garrat.  Her face was unreadable. "What do you think honey?"

    She surveyed the place for a bit longer then spoke slowly. "I'm not entirely happy about turning our children into scrap haulers, but at least them they would have a grasp of their own destiny and not be beholdin to anyone." She leans against him.  Besides, this way we might be able to stay closer to you."

    Garrat couldn't say no to that.  He invested all the money he had acrued over the years in the endeaver and his wife took out a loan on her family freighter so they could have the biggest cut in the company.  His father took charge of the business with a heavy innvestment withhis own savings and it prospered.

     At 39 Garrat had an accident evacuating a stricken freighter and his foot and anckle were crushed. The joint and many of the foot bones would  have to be replaced by metal.  He would walk but he would never be fast enough on his feet to lead an operation again.  As he lay there digesting his predicament, his CO came in to discuss his options. "Doc says, Five years."  Garrat said staring at the ceiling, "Five younger and I might have had a chance at a full recovery Mac."  General Makin didn't say anything as Garrat lifted his head and propped himself up on his elbows to look at his visitor. "I'm not even 40 yet and I'm too old to heal this."
     The general shrugged, "Your Almost there."
    "Where do I go from here boss."
    "Well, you recieved as life changing disability in the line of duty and have completed over 20 years of service. That entitles you to a full veteran retirement.  But truth be known, I could really use your help heading up the cleanup crew.  You have an understanding of what is needed and I need to let Amos retire."

    Garrat looked distant for a bit, then spoke "I've been in so many fire fights, near misses, dicey situations.  When I started, my need to help the people in the colonies was what kept me alive through all the madness the thirteen colonies.  Then Shala brought my children into the world, and I had something else to live for."  Garrat is quiet for a little bit "Bo will be 11 this year, and Missy 9,  I think it's time they saw their dad every day."

    Mac nodded "I understand, but if you change your mind, I'll have a need for you."

    A smile tugs on Garrats mouth as he hands Mac a Holo card with the name of his father's ship and business on it. "If you need me you can find me at Regenesis

    Mac turns the card over in his hands and chuckles, I might just do that Garrat"  and exits the room.

    Many of the folks from the Regenesis community showed up to welcomed Garrat home as he hobbled off the transport, His family hugged him and he was treated to a comunity picknic on the dry dock, where a peculiar Flat top with a spade shaped prow was receiving a shave and a haircut.[longshoreman lingo for getting cleaned up and painted.]  Garrat gazed up at the ship, it seemed longer and narrower, the undercarriage was less pronounced, and actual landing gear stabilized the bulky frame rather than it being propped up on blocks like most Flat-Tops.
    Garrat stops eating and looks at it intrigued "Is this Flat-Top actually made for regular atmospheric landings.  It is sleeker than any I have ever seen."
    Shala smiled.  "Yes, it is.  The air frame is actually very old.  Salvaged from sediment at the mouth of a river on Caprica, your father was told he could have it if he could raise it.  He found it to be in fairly good condition and brought here to be refitted."
    "What color are you going to put over the primer Dad?"

    "I don't know."  Nack said with a shrug  "It's your ship. I've just updated the infrastructure and installed that new gravity net debri gathering system you have been mooning over."  He looks at Garrat suppressing a smile, "What are you going to call her son?"

    Garrat was speechless for a moment, then "Her name is Rain Catcher."

    Eight years latter, the Novasoul family was getting ready to go to the Aquarian Summer festival, little did they know what would befall the 13 colonies soon

Personal Details

Name: Garrat Novasoul

Age:47

Gender:Male

Colony of Birth: Born in space [Raised by mother from Aquarius]

Hair Colour: Sandy brown

Eye Colour: Shocking green

Height:7'6"

Weight:290

General Physical Description: Large and mucular

Personality (Bring your character to life. Make them a real person here and in their likes, dislikes, and hobbies):

Likes: Working with his hands, helping his people, solving machanical puzzles

Dislikes: Being told something can't be done [just before he proves them wrong]

Hobbies:Tinkering on his flat-top

Military Details

Branch of Service (Marines or Navy):  Ex Marine, civilian Navy

Military Occupational Specialty (See the thread for list):  Combat engineer

Rank:
Time in Service :Did 20 years service before retiring and doing private salvage.

Decorations: Gained some comendations when dealing with pilots, smugglers, and zealots.