Joseph Ferguson

Character Information

Gender		Male
Species		Human
Age		36

Physical Appearance

Height		6'5"
Weight		260
Hair Color		Blonde
Eye Color		Aqua Blue
Physical Description		Very muscular, tall and thick. His hair is normally worn spiked and he has a full goatee. He has numerous tattoos on his body. They are: - Full color Starfleet Marine Corps logo with a red circle and a line through it (to denote his anger at being dishonorably discharged from the Corps) on his right bicep. - Black and gray tribal tattoo starting mid-bicep on the left arm encircling his shoulder and going up his neck on the left side to just under the jawline. - A gryphon and a winged dragon in mid air, their claws attacking each other. Full color tattoo encompassing his entire back. - Black, gray and green Celtic cross on his inner right forearm with his parent's names in the circle. The names are written so that they match the scrollwork in the rest of the cross.

Family

Father		Leonard Ferguson -- (deceased)
Mother		Edith Ferguson (nee Moberly) -- (deceased)

Personality & Traits

General Overview		Joe, or 'Ferg' as his friends call him, is fairly quiet in most situations. He does become quite verbal when giving orders during maneuvers or on a mission and doesn't hesitate to tear someone a new asshole for dropping the ball. He's also not been called an incredibly smart man, but he did pass his pilot training while in the Corps and is exceptionally good at small unit tactics and infiltration techniques.
Strengths & Weaknesses		Strengths -- His strength is obviously a strength. Despite his size he is also pretty quick with reflexes. He can be quite fast in speed but only for short bursts due to his size. Knowledge of tactics and weapons is something he makes a priority on knowing. Oddly enough, Joe has a bit of an ear for languages. He's learned quite a few, fluently, in his time with SFMC and his own merc days, and can seemingly pick up new languages on the fly. He currently speaks: Federation Standard, German (due to the large German population in Florida where he grew up), Klingon, Orion, Cardassian, Denobulan, Hirogen and enough Andorian and Nausicaan to get himself into trouble. His father always said that he wasn't using his head for much else, why not fill it with languages? Weaknesses - His size. Sure, he is strong and can be quick but he can tire easily so don't count on him for marathon runs. Again, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed so deep philosophical conversations are out. And don't ask him to figure out some mystery either. He'll help you plan an invasion or a snatch-and-grab but the why's and wheretofore's are not his forte.
Ambitions		As of now he's living his dream. He didn't want to be a construction worker, or construction magnate like his father, for the rest of his life. He wanted action and adventure, which he got from the Corps but he can't go back to that life. The next best thing was to become a mercenary and do the same things but in a more unscrupulous manner. Since the death of his parents he's inherited everything they owned. He sold off the construction company and made an enormous chunk of change from it, which he uses to buy his toys for his new life.
Hobbies & Interests		Despite being what some would call dense, he is very good at playing chess and loves the game. Since it's more about tactics he finds it calming and very close to combat maneuvers. He is adamant about working out daily and enjoys every bit of it. He sees it as a challenge to keep his body in top physical condition.

Personal History		Born 4/19/2351 in Miami, Florida on Earth to Leonard Ferguson, owner of Ferguson Construction, and Edith Ferguson (nee Moberly), payroll coordinator for her husband's company. Joseph cut his teeth on constructing homes and larger buildings with his father from a young age. He enjoyed the work as a child and into his early teenage years but eventually wanted to get away from it and see more things to make his own way. The construction company was very successful and Leonard wanted to be able to turn it over to Joseph, along with the family fortune that the business had amassed for them. As his only son, Leonard had hoped that Joseph would keep the business going, but it was not in the cards. Joseph, who was very big for his age, decided that his ticket out of construction work was Starfleet, but the fleet service seemed a bit tame and he wanted more action and adventure. He enlisted with the Starfleet Marine Corps at the Parris Island complex in June of 2367. He didn't want to wait until his 17th birthday so a friend of his father, who worked in the local government, changed his birth certificate and credentials to make him one year older so that he could go ahead an enlist. He enjoyed boot camp immensely. He exceled in the physical aspects of it and only had minor problems with the more technical applications. He became the team leader before long and was leading his unit in PT and drill. Upon graduation he was a Lance Corporal and assigned to a Recon training platoon where his training advanced with the rest of his company. Serving with distinction for fifteen years, Joseph reached the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. For someone who had come from a well-to-do family, and had never been in a fight before joining the Corps, Joseph shaped himself into a round peg so that he could fit in that round hole. He was stronger, bigger and, as had been seen several times on the field of battle, a fierce warrior and merciless killer. All was on the up-and-up until it became promotion time again. Joseph was up for Master Sergeant and everything looked good until a young 1st Lieutenant by the name of William Greener found out that Joseph had lied about his age upon enlistment. Lt. Greener cornered Joseph and attempted to blackmail him for keeping Joseph's secret. He told him that the man that had falsified the records for Joseph's entry into the Corps was his father and that he would keep quiet about the situation if Joseph paid him 500 strips of latinum. Joseph's parents had died five years prior and left him everything they'd owned, which was a sizeable amount. Joseph refused, however, and it was a struggle to keep Greener from telling the promotion board about his lie. Finally, things came to a head when Greener came to his quarters with documentation outlining the falsification and told him that he required the latinum in 12 hours or he would go to the board. Joseph snapped and attacked the young lieutenant. A passerby in the corridor heard the commotion and alerted security staff but by the time they arrived Joseph had beaten the lieutenant unconscious and was close to snapping the man's neck. After a eight months in the brig for assaulting a superior officer and attempted manslaughter he was unceremoniously drummed from the Corps with a dishonorable discharge in October of 2382. By March of 2383 he decided his best course of action was to go into business for himself as a gun for hire. He certainly had the funds to set himself up in the business and so he did. ((More to come...))
Service Record		2367 - Joined Starfleet Marine Corps (16 yoa, lied about his age) 2382 - Dishonorable discharge from SFMC 2383 - Mercenary 2385 - Incarcerated, Luna Penal Colony; Charge - attempted murder of Ferengi business owner 4/2387 - Escape from Luna Penal Colony 7/2387 - Taken on as crew for Ning'Tao