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Ian Sturmvogel
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Bioguy's Comments
Note: as of June 6, 2011, Ian has been closed out as a character. Though I continue to play on ATS, the story of Ian has now been closed. I want to thank all of your for playing with me and sharing so many fun experiences over the years! I look forward to playing with you all again in my future incarnations!
Background
Ian doesn't talk much about his past... He showed up at Deep Space Nine on or about Stardate 80059.36 looking for a job. He claimed at that time to have knowledge of being a merchant and talked about trading extensively in the past. At first, things started to go slow for him, but after about a week or so of trading, he began spending money on a new flight suit for himself, buying rounds of drinks for everyone at Quark's, and trading through intermediaries to get Terran tea and armagnac to DS9.
As for his background... Ian says very little, if anything. He is obviously a human, and obviously speaks with a British - King's English accent, but will only talk about past trading experiences. His encyclopedic knowledge of engineering, physics, and especially archeology would seem to indicate a past affiliation where such information would be useful. He never mentions anything relating to his missing eye, describing it only as a 'youthful indiscretion.' When you first meet him, he may make statements saying that he runs a 'legal trading operation' and expresses his wish to remain legitimate, expounding on what he calls 'the morality of free trade,' 'fair deals' and 'respect for the customer.' He will then follow this up with a statement that, eventually, he hopes to eventually get out of the merchant business.
After making some statements to public forums decrying the lack of inaction against pirates and perceived negotiation of the Federation with pirates or terrorists, the following was sent to the public through underworld channels:
<A picture is shown on-screen, of what appears to be a political rally. The scroll on the bottom of the screen indicates 'Rigel XII.' The speaker at the podium is a Caitian; standing next to the Caitian is an Aurelian, wearing the uniform of the now-defunct League of Orion Planets. Behind them can be seen several indidviduals, one an artificial lifeform, another a green-skineed Orion woman. Standing next to and behind the artificial lifeform is a human, wearing a uniform like others in the picture, who looks exactly like Ian Sturmvogel, even down to the eyepatch. He, like the others, seems to be applauding.>
History
For Ian's history from his point of view, see his personal logs.
Ian is a citizen of the Bajoran Free Nation, was a member of the Bajoran Free Merchants, and currently Ambassador-at-Large with the Bajoran Ministry of State. He had commanded the BMF Freedom's Prize as his freighter of choice prior to its destruction. After this, he had been seen piloting the FMF Hard Cash and the BMF Prosperity, until the advent of a new freighter of the Bajoran fleet, the BMF Aotearoa. Since then, he has been attacked by pirates and Hirogen, and indeed the third Aotearoa has now been christened.
Ian is also a tinkerer of sorts, always adding, always improving. With the goal of reducing overall operating costs, he changed out the touchy twin Yoyodyne warp nacelles on the Freedom's Prize with four of the more easily servicible Klingon Bird-of-Prey warp nacelles arranged in a quadruple pattern similar to the arrangement on a Federation Constellation class vessel. This arrangement was easier to maintain, because the harmonics of each nacelle could be tuned to strengthen the overall warp field. The change had no overall affect on the characteristics of the Freedom's Prize, but made the ship easier to service, especially when trading in relative 'backwater' planets and stations. (This was RPed only, not a code change.)
After several weeks of tinkering, Ian believed he had discovered a new subset of warp field theory that would revolutionize space travel. On Stardate 80202.41 (Oct 5 2006 2000 Hrs Mush Time), Ian attempted to to push the Freedom's Prize to a warp velocity of 27.2 using a toroidal warp field, with a flight from Sherman's Planet to Bajor, and then from Bajor to Qvarne. Doctor Koratt Hanor also came along on the ride to study biological effects of the increased warp velocities. The ship was indeed thrown at an extreme velocity towards Qvarne, but not without a total power loss, Borg intervention in an attempt to assimilate the ship, and the subsequent destruction of the Freedom's Prize. Because of the loss of property and his role in precipitating a Borg attack, Ian had been confined to station Deep Space Nine by the Bajoran Free Nation until Stardate 80252.98, when the Opakas and Science Ministry of Bajor allowed Ian to trade and conduct research once again, albeit with the condition that precautions be taken in the future against potential Borg incursions. Since then, Ian has made no overt towards vessel modifications or experimentation, but will talk about his experiences with regret and lament. If pushed, he will state that he wishes he could research again, but in a safe manner.
On Stardate 80410.67, Ian called for a trade embargo of the United Federation of Planets. This is in response to the actions of the Federation, where the USS Valiance was disabled and captured by pirates while in the area of space surrounding Krussel IX; the Valiance was later returned to the Federation, albeit with the condition that the Federation would halt patrols around the Krussel system. Ian's trade embrago called for not only a halting of trade with Federation markets, but also taking on missions whose endpoint is a Federation market, and selling the commodities to the highest or nearest non-Federation market. Ian has recently (and quietly) been making trades in Federation space again.
On Stardate 80435, Ian proposed to his long-time significant other, Evaani Aidwan, asking for her hand in marriage. Much to his relief, she said yes.
Ian announced the creation of his trading company, Stormbird Enterprises, on Stardate 80501. In actuality, Stormbird was created from the purchase of an defunct company with shuttered storefronts in the GFA and UFP, Vanguard Industries, whose owner had gone missing in the late 2390s. With this announcement, Ian began putting plans into motion to start building the infrastructure of his organization. Shortly after this, Ian's whereabouts (as well as those of Evaani Aidwan) are erratic, with them both constantly moving for some unknown reason.
However, on Stardate 80544.63, Minister of External Affairs Hovarth Cain announced Ian's appointment as Ambassador for the Bajoran Free Nation. After the announcement was made, Ian could be seen to be drinking heavily, yet quietly at Quark's Bar on Deep Space Nine. After his appointment to Ambassador, Ian's demeanor has changed significantly. Where he once took risks and in some cases acted recklessly, he now appears to be more philophical and thoughtful about his actions; he appears to be now more diplomatic, magnanimous, and restrained, where before he was focused on doing 'one great thing' in his life. This attitude is by no means fake or put-on, but rather an evolution of his personality in response to his more recent stresses. He is almost always seen drinking alone at Quark's, or involved in some diplomatic meeting, with a somber look to his eye, where before he was animated and seemed to hold a particular zest for life. In order to counteract this, Ian took up trading as something to do in off-hours; however, this led to an encounter with pirates, and the Aotearoa II was destroyed in the process. Ian ejected safely, but needed to recover from severe injuries over the course of 3 weeks.
Out the infirmary, Ian got right back to work at diplomatic work... but no trading. He seemed to show some lingering symptoms of head trauma, such as minor bouts of amnesia and narcolepsy. A short return to the doctor was able to fix this, but he may show symptoms now and again.
Between Stardates 80554.7 and 80750, Ian has been overwhelmed with diplomatic issues, in addition to the problems coming to a head of the darkening and disappearance of the Orbs of the Prophets. His tenure as Ambassador has seen problems with the Ferengi, as well as deteriorating relations between the Cardassians and the Breen, but has been marked by successes, as with the Bajoran Declaration of Non-Aggression.
However, his personal life continues to be consumed by work. Ian and Aidoann took some time off to go to New Risa, where they were married on a beach by the local magistrate. Ian and Aidoann announced their marriage to friends and coworkers on Stardate 80749.8, at a small reception on their estate on Jeraddo, before Ian needed to rush off to meet with a delegation of Cardassians, and then a delegation of Romulans. Eventually, because of this constant stress, and the impact on his marriage, Ian finally resigned the Ministry of State on Stardate 80781.35 (May 5 2007) to continue pursuing being a merchant. He continues to remain on the Board of Directors of Stormbird Enterprises at this time, but has instead directly joined the Bajoran Free Merchants, so that a greater percentage of his wages is distributed to the Bajoran Government.
The loss of the Orbs of the Prophets has continued to weigh heavily on Ian, to the point where Ian is becoming more and more reclusive. Recently, Ian and Aidoann have shown an interest in the aquisition of ancient Bajoran artifacts. When asked why he is doing this, his response is that, 'Perhaps the past can give us insight into our present.' Since then, Ian and Aidoann have held several tea parties to display the artifacts... not as an art showing, but rather to ask people their input as to whether the artifacts have any significance to the current disappearance of the Orbs. Ian has also spent a lot of time talking about a painting found inside the Bajoran Temple on DS9.
On Stardate 80982.6 announced the formation of a new trader's association, The Society for the Promotion of Exploration, Commerce, Trade and Retailing, or SPECTRE for short.
Ian's relationship with Aidoann has become more and more tempermental of late - they are alternately tender and caring, or cold and angry at each other. This culminated on Stardate XXXXX.X, (End of September, 2007), with a heated exchange over subspace, ending with Aidoann's jailing at the hands of Bajoran authorities. Aidoann was imprisoned, and sent away, resulting in Ian becoming more and more despondant. Ian can be found at Quark's drinking heavily with a tired look on his face, and sometimes even sleeping on the bar.
Ian has changed jobs yet again, terminating his position with the Ministry of Trade when the Free Merchants ship BMF Aotearoa was turned over to Kaval Trading Associates. He is now a scientist, employed by the Ministry of Science, working aboard Kainon Station.
Tendencies
Ian has always loved to explore and discover new things...he has a unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and this is reflected in his diverse areas of scientific interest- biology, chemistry, physics, navigation, and the like. He sees himself as becoming a naturalist, studying the universe around him and exploring on a ship much like a young Charles Darwin did. He's a bit of a bookworm, however, and prefers the order of a clean laboratory to the chaos of an away mission. He does, however, revel in the outdoors, and is an avid hiker, camper, kayaker, and rock climber. He loves orienteering, which is a sort of hiking race, where individuals are left in the middle of nature, and need to find landmarks only by use of a map and compass.
So, yes, he only traded to make ends meet, but more importantly, to fulfill that need to explore and discover. However, his thoughts about this are slowly changing; if he sees some sort of inequity or injustice, he will try to stand up for his rights and the rights of others. When challenged or backed into a corner, he will continue to speak his mind, which has gotten him into more trouble than usually what its worth. This can especially be seen with his actions leading to the UFP embargo; although he may not much care for trading, he obviously cares enough when people are being oppressed, or when he feels certain governments are not making strong actions.
Ian never wears shoes (let alone owns any!), preferring to stay barefooted, in almost any climate due to years of conditioning. This gets him some looks now and again, but is no more different that anything else that goes on in this galaxy.
He is extremely conversant in all areas of science and archeology, and talks to anyone who brings up the topic first. He really doesn't know much about events from the past 7 years, and doesn't always respond to his name when called.
Action Figure
Ian has his own Starforge Action Figure: Interdicting Ian! With six anti-Federation picket signs and life size eyepatch! Help Ian Sturmvogel boycott Federation goods in monoscopic style!
Released finally on Stardate 80751 (April 24, 2007).
What's the Deal with His Idiosyncrasies?
Ian's favorite drink is armagnac, a type of cognac only produced in the Gascony region of France, made famous by the exploits of D'Artagnan. Armagnac is one of the few drinks that has a distinct glass, as well as a way of drinking, which is as follows:
Step 1: Take a ball shaped glass, which gets nice and warm when you spend long minutes tasting with the glass cupped in your hand; or a tulip shaped glass which concentrates the flavours and allows you to taste more quickly and precisely. Pour some Armagnac into the glass, just 2 or 3 cl is enough, then gentle shake the Armagnac with a circular motion to wet the walls of the glass.
Step 2: Before tasting in the mouth, smell the armagnac gently, with your nose out of the glass and without agitating it so that the aromatic power does not overwhelm you. The first impression is forceful as the alcohol rises; but don't stop there, the armagnac's treasure lies elsewhere, a few seconds later. The aromas can be categorised in different aromatic families depending on the age and quality of the Armagnac: fruity aromas: here you'll find nuances of quince, grape and plum, and then with age, prune, orange or apricot conserve floral aromas: vine blossom, honey or lime... woody aromas: vanilla, spicy, grilled ... maderization: this is the measure of the armagnac's maturity, it reveals most notably dry fruit aromas: walnuts and hazelnut. The intricacy of the aroma, combining several types of flavour, is itself a gauge of the quality of the armagnac.
Step 3: Take a sip, paying attention to the succession of flavors in the mouth. The attack is very subtle, the development warm, before the armagnac assumes its full place. We speak about its volume, unctuousness, richness, and all terms to describe its structure. The aromatic wealth begins to overcome the sensation of power. Now, you find the same aromatic variety as on the nose with prevalent woody and maderization tones.
Step 4: When the glass is empty don't abandon it, warm it between your hands and smell it: that's what we call the "bottom of the glass"; prune, spices, maderization or woody tones, the quintessence of the armagnac is in there.
Bajoran Brandy is a poor subsitute for armagnac, but it was the only liquor close enough that is sold at Quark's, Ian's favorite hangout. However, with the menu recently changed, he now has begun to try the single malt scotch. While very harsh and bold as compared to fine armagnac, single malts have at the very least some complexity to them, and so these are acceptable to Ian. He can always be seen at Quark's on his downtime, often with a padd in hand, reading the latest market research, and sipping a glass of scotch, whiskey, or Romulan Ale, neat.
Ian's OOC Notes
Official inquiries into Ian's history will find that he became a Bajoran citizen only since Stardate 80057. If one has access to Bajoran Medical Records, it will be discovered that about two weeks before he became a citizen, he was found aboard a freighter named the "SS Hunley," in stasis (the records are vague about what sort of stasis), the freighter just having drifted into Bajoran space from parts unknown. His body was relatively well preserved, but sustained injuries to his right leg only; his missing eye is apparently an injury that he had prior to his last mission. Ian was discovered by a Bajoran Defense Forces patrol; inquiries of the BDF will show that this is a confidential file, open to only those with Nepet-grade classification or higher, or other individuals as deemed necessary. Additional inquiries into his background with the BDF must be approved by Nepet Nikolae, or the First Minister of Bajor or his/her designee.
Ian's Page Just Achieved 1000 Hits! Aaaah! World Ending!
I've been having a wonderful time playing 'Ian Sturmvogel,' and especially happy that others enjoy RPing with him too! Thank you so much for RPing with me! --Bioguy 13:10, 24 April 2007 (PDT)
1500 Hits! Aaaah! OMGWTFROTFLMAO! World Ending!
Over a year later, and Ian is still alive! What gives! I have been having a tremendous time playing with everyone here on ATS, such really fun MU* experience. This is a great wiki as well, and all those who contribute to it really desrve a huge congratulations - ATS as a whole is strengthened by the devoted player-base that we have. Once again, it is a priviledge to role play with all of you. --Bioguy 13:10, 13 November 2007 (PST)
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