Ulrich Kruger

[Cubanwriter]

Ulrich Kruger
Cubanwriter

Age:	45
Gender:	Male
Primary Occupation:	Engineer
Secondary Occupation (optional):	Salvage Expert
Appearance:	Pale, Tall, Gaunt man with wiry musculature and deep blue eyes
Faceclaim:	Christopher Heyerdahl
Initial Personality:	Humorless man of clinical precision, concerned only with the workings of machines
Underlying Personality:	A man of hidden passions who protects his heart with the reliable tedium of mechanical things.  Secretly yearns to find the personal connections denied to him in his youth.  Also bears a deep hatred for the types of bullies who made his childhood difficult, and can sometimes be unexpectedly violent when he encounters them.
Known History:	Ulrich Kruger was the lone son of Amita and Heinrich Kruger of Persephone.  His father was a drive systems researcher for Blue Sun's spacecraft division.  Ulrich was initially a sensitive, creative boy of only mediocre technical skill.  His father was dissatisfied with this, and constantly punished his son and drove him to work harder on intellectual pursuits.  His mother was completely cowed by his father, and allowed the borderline abusive behavior.  This abuse was compounded by bullying from other children who found his cowed, studious nature to be a thing worthy of mockery. Ulrich did his best to re-shape himself into what his father wanted him to be.  Careful observance of routines, proven methodologies, and precise procedures allows Ulrich to achieve success in technical fields.  This did much to compensate for his lack of natural talent.  However, he failed to pass the rigid testing of Blue Sun's spacecraft prototyping department where his father had wanted him to work.  Stung by his father's disappointment, Ulrich left home and sought employment with various spacers operating in the more lawless regions of space.  He learned to defend himself by the virtue of necessity.  Being no great or accurate gunman, he came to carry a cut-down double-barrel 10 gauge shotgun.  He theorized that if the weapon could not solve his difficulties, then those difficulties were likely to end his life regardless.  So far, he has been correct. Ulrich's dream is to achieve- via tinkering with engines where he is allowed to- the development of new technologies that can be refit onto existing engines.  If he can create high quality aftermarket refit techniques, he hopes to patent the processes and gain recognition that might impress his father.  It is most likely a vain hope.  While he is exceptionally competent he has never exhibited his father's genius, and his father would be unlikely to be impressed by such a thing in any event.  It is far more likely that he might achieve another goal that is a secret even to himself:  The development of true friendships and warm relationships with other human beings.
Other History:	It is not generally known, but Ulrich has actually taken several lives in his travels.  This was always ostensibly by necessity and in a situation which put him into his final extremity.  As a consequence, the tall, gaunt mechanic and his big F-U shutgun has a reputation on several rimward worlds and small moons, and there are a handful of people who might like to get payback for their dead kin.  The truth may be more bloodthirsty that Ulrich likes to admit: He has a taste for permanently shutting the mouth of those he deems to be bullies.
Skills and Strengths:	Ulrich is a well-skilled mechanical and electrical engineer with experience on a wide range of ships.  He has also done a fair bit of B&E work, disabling security systems in what he calls 'Salvage' operations.  Although he is a low-skill combatant, he uses tools that compensate, as well as relying on his formidable size and physical power when necessary.
Weaknesses:	Ulrich tends to be 'by the book' in his methodology and approach to situations.  He has trouble taking shortcuts in a crisis when they might be needed.  He also comes across as a cold fish socially, and takes a while to warm up to people and open himself up.  While he uses forgiving tools in combat (like his shotgun) and can rely on his physicality to achieve some success, he is not actually very skilled in combat and is likely to be easily dismantled by anyone who actually knows what they are doing.