Charles "Chicago Slim" Rush

Charles “Chicago Slim” Rush likes to tell people born in his namesake town of Chicago, also known as the Heartland Megalopolis, about 21 years before the start of the campaign. In reality, his mother (a native Earther) gave birth while on a ship to the Belt. His mother saw advertisements to be a part of the Homesteader program initiated by the UN to help alleviate population growth and signed up for the program happy for an opportunity to get off the UN's Basic UBI program. They originally moved to Anderson Station , a UNN Mining station in the belt, but after his mother was tragically killed in the destruction of the station by the UNMC, he was evacuated to what little could be called an orphanage on Eros station. Never knowing his father, Charles was orphaned and disconnected from any sort of support system due to constant poverty in the station and soon found himself living with other youths from similar situations. The older members showed him around Eros and taught him how to steal food and water. Sadly, at the age of 13, Rush was caught stealing from the wrong person – Alexi Yin, The chief of security for the Station’s governor. Yin took sympathy on Rush, as he had also lost his only son in the destruction of Anderson Station, and offered to forgive the debt if Charles helped him out with odd jobs around the station. As he grew up, Yin put Rush to work on a litany of different details, but the work left him with a disdain for manual labor. Instead he set his eyes on becoming a pilot for The Outer Planets Alliance – he had heard that Yin’s brother was involved and hoped to one day reach out. It was about this time he gained the nickname "Chicago Slim" from some fellow youths, due to his supposed connection to the Mega-City, and slim due to his stature. Through some talent and connections made during his time with Yin, Rush soon found himself in an initiate training program for piloting small ore and ice mining ships called Rock hoppers, a far cry from his interest in the combat and espionage roles offered by the OPA. That said, his pilot skills make him far more valuable in the belt than most of his compatriots, and he fills his time running contracts for some larger mining companies. He has not traveled far from the Belt in his piloting - his most lucrative job having been landing a rare gig to transport some Helium 3 to Io; a far cry from Earth. His experiences in the belt have definitely made him more caring towards his fellow man. He does not like thieves, bullies or organized criminals, all groups he has had to extensively deal with during his troubled childhood. He has actively chosen to stay above most of the political fray, willing to do business with any and all who approach him for legal work. Aside from some minor smuggling he does on the side (small amounts of personal goods, fairly common for underpaid Belt workers) and his troubled youth he has had little negative interaction with the law. Yearly he applies to be a pilot for the OPA and (usually after a few drinks) will even apply to the Earth-Mars Coalition Fleet, though he hasn't received any indication of interest from either party. This is depressing, but he manages on. His vices include heavy drinking and women, though he stays away from hard drugs due to having seen the effect they have had on many of his Belter friends. He has had a series of relationships on and off again, but the nature of his job has prevented anything serious, along with his penchant for finding the nearest gentleman's club at any port he makes call to. Ideally, he would like to save enough money to retire on a station somewhere like Titan or Ganymede, far from the system interior. Being a pilot, he is fairly knowledge about ship repair and things like it and has shown an interest in robotics though it's fairly rudimentary. Like most Belters he does carry a side-arm with him, only used once in self-defense a memory that he does not like to discuss. His frequent travels also mean he's gotten pretty good at picking up trade and pricing things out, he can be considered a fairly shrewd negotiator He has a heavy Midwestern American Earth twang to himself, something he rarely notices but others frequently do. He has often lied about his experiences and trips he's made to avoid questions about his youth. He has never visited Chicago, but to puff himself up he frequently claims to still have contacts there. Growing up on the streets of Eros, he was able to navigate public transport long before he could drive, not that he ever needed to learn how. He feels at home amongst the walled cities and slums of the belt, even if he’s never been to that particular rock before. His skill with piloting small rockhoppers is far beyond his peers, but he has yet to pilot anything larger than a 6-person skiff (though the simulations that he trains on in his free time give him confidence he could stand with the best OPA pilots). Additionally, his charismatic attitude and natural affinity for helping others has helped him to become very socially fluent. He kept his Earther accent for good reason – Earthers are more likely to trust him, even though he has the lanky appearance of a Belter. This, and his brief years working so close to the governor of Eros taught him that sometimes, it’s more who you know, rather than what you know. That being said, Slim still knows a lot, and he knows one day he can show the OPA just how useful he could be.