Portland Area Personalities

Tybalt Horatio Lear and Shane Garrety
"Grey Madder" and "Shade"
Having now operated as a team for over several years, the pair, also romantically involved, have more or less retired to a more quiet life in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. However, "retired" would be a misnomer for the status of these two. Rather than take themselves completely out of the circuit, they have reserved their services to only the most select clientele offering the highest benefits for very specific jobs. They do not seek jobs, nor do they accept every offer made to them. However, they do continue to move through Portland's shadowy circles, and it is rumored that they have become fixers as well as "instructors" in the art of shadowrunning.

>>>>>[That's the whole truth. Those two are extremely private and extremely selective. BUT it is surprising sometimes the jobs they will take. I heard a rumor that they hooked up with some local decker for a job which didn't guarantee any pay at all. Some kind of sympathy thing maybe. I don't know.]<<<<<
---Casey <00:14:12 / 04-01-59>

Ernesto de Silva
"Diablo"
Operating under the guise of an "independently wealthy private citizen," Ernesto de Silva (also known as Diablo) is the brain behind New England's largest mercenary and smuggling operations. Although de Silva leads a relatively public life (as in "not making any effort to hide") he continues to go unharrassed by local authorities. His mercenary unit, known as "The Inferno Gauchos," specializes in maritime activities, and has gained a reputation as being extremely effective in operations along the coastline. ("Any coastline, anytime," boasts de Silva.) De Silva himself, however, claims not to participate in any of these activites, merely acting as a "general manager" and an organizer for the group. This of course makes it more difficult to trace any of the activities to him. His involvement in the smuggling territory is also difficult to trace. Although he runs an impressive ring of "free traders," it is not organized as a league or any other form of concrete organization. Free traders wishing to reap the benefits of working with/for de Silva are required to pay up-front fees just to meet with him. Although this seems to go against many free trader ideals, a growing number of free traders in the New England area find it advantageous to work with or for him. The reason seems to be that de Silva has connections which can move anything brought into Casco Bay ... at prices that would make the boys in Denver strip their T-birds just for a piece of. Ironically living in a luxurious home on Smuggler's Cove, de Silva rolls with the high class members of the Portland underworld, not to mention many of its other high rollers.

>>>>>[So what kind of experience does he have for being either a smuggler or a mercenary?]<<<<<
---Joshua <17:47:15 / 03-22-59>

>>>>>[Well, "Diablo" isn't just a creative moniker. He earned it while he was a member of the ill-fated and infamous Blood Rook squadron. The one the UCAS government tried to have whacked back in '34.]<<<<<
---Charged <20:07:02 / 03-23-59>

>>>>>[Come again?]<<<<<
---Tepid <11:03:21 / 03-25-59>

>>>>>[So we're after a history lesson are we? The Blood Rook squadron was a fighter group in the UCASAF back in the 20s and 30s. Unfortunately, their reputation got the better of them and the UCAS government intervened in military matters and gave them the boot before they could cause any more damage.]<<<<<
---Quiet1 <23:22:48 / 03-25-59>

>>>>>[I think it is in fact you who need the history lesson. The Blood Rooks were not UCASAF. (Actually, if you would like to get technical, the corret acronym is UAF:AFD for United Armed Forces : Aerospace Forces Division.) They were in fact part of the aerospace division of the UAF:MC ("Marines"). And yes, they did have quite a nasty reputation. They had an extremely high kill ratio --- which for the "search and destroy" operations they performed almost exclusively, it is understandable how this became an extremely high "success" ratio. I don't know how many of you recall the "Anchorage Incident" of '31, but the unidentified fighters in that strike were the members of the Blood Rooks. Anyway they were re-assigned to test STOOV technology a few "incidents" after the Anchorage Incident. When the UAF tactical command was issued a warning by the Feds that the Blood Rooks had become a liability, they moved them down to "test pilots" status. (Bad move by the UAF. The STOOVs were already proven to be capable of any role and the Blood Rook commander knew it.) Rumor had it that the Blood Rook commander was going to take off with the STOOVs and form a mercenary contingent. At the time, the squadron was stationed on the carrier Liberty Fist in the Pacific, just off the California coast. This was in 2036. So, when the UCAS kicked California out of the union, Liberty Fist was in for a long haul around the continent to get back into friendly waters. The Panama Canal was still too much of a gamble, so the ship had to haul ass around the Horn. While on the trip, the Blood Rooks began disappearing in bizarre accidents. Rumor has it that the UAF ordered a termination of the squadron ... execution style. When the Liberty Fist was rounding Cape Horn, de Silva and the three other survivors made a late night/early morning dash for the flight deck. Realizing that it was too dangerous to steal the STOOVs on board, they simply got into whatever else was available and took off into South America. No one knows for sure what happened after that.]<<<<<
---Quickeye <16:27:36 / 03-27-59>

>>>>>[Except that de Silva has ended up in Portland as a merc and a smuggler.]<<<<<
---Sire <15:12:52 / 03-28-59>

>>>>>[But see, no one knows how he got here. How does one who is wanted by the UCAS government escape into South America and then get back in?]<<<<<
---2Think <17:25:13 / 03-28-59>

>>>>>[Why come back? With those kind of skills, he could make a killing in a place like Chile or the Gaucho Territory.]<<<<<
---Joshua <20:44:29 / 03-28-59>

>>>>>[I would say because he's not motivated by the money, but then I'd probably be wrong. Scenery maybe?]<<<<<
---Sire <15:59:26 / 03-29-59>

>>>>>[Choice. See, "Diablo" didn't come right back to Portland. He spent 15 years in the Gaucho Territory working as a mercenary and smuggler there. How do I know this? Because I was there. As the story goes, he wanted to retire to a "nice palace." (Yes, "palace.") Not retire in the traditional sense apparently. When a man like him says "retire" he means to get out of the field and assume control of the operations himself. That's how he ended up where he is.]<<<<<
---Limestone <03:18:42 / 03-31-59>

>>>>>[But why Portland?]<<<<<
---Joshua <15:49:34 / 04-01-59>

>>>>>[Why not Portland? He's a bandit king here. No one can touch him. The Feds know if they ever try to touch him, he can sue the government right down to the gravel on their roads for trying to kill him. (Apparently he has "evidence.") So, as long as he maintains his "independently wealth, private citizen" facade, he can do whatever he pleases.]<<<<<
---Old Plainsman <22:17:44 / 04-01-59>

Tracy Shea
"Switchburn"
A low-key local decker "by rumor only." Shea's "public life" is that of a DJ and electronic musician among the clubs in Portland. Content to be quiet and relatively unnoticed, rumors abound as to where she is from and if she is who she claims to be. Although definitely "from Away," Shea has found he niche among the Exchange Street cafes and decker-style clubs, where she poses as guru, often teaching the deckmeisters a few tricks about system architecture and programming.