Grafvitnir

[Please see "Tharkad City Summit Sign-Up" thread before posting.]

Grafvitnir Holmlundsson sighed, extinguished his meerschaum pipe, and looked out across Tharkad City. From this balcony on the upper floors of the Government House he could see across the Triad and the harsh, twinkling lights of the Lyran Commonwealth's Capital, all the way to the distant bulk of Mount Wotan to the west and the icy coastline to the east. The frozen landscape - if nothing else about this place - set his mind at ease for a minute, reminding him of his cold, stormy homeworld of Vekfaren. Were it not for the circumstances of his visit, he would gladly walk along the coast of this world take in its unique beauty under the shifting, shimmering auroras, but for now he had deeply unpleasant business to attend to.

He was here at the request of his superiors in the KungsArme to attend a "Summit in the Spirit of Inner Sphere Cooperation" as it was officially known, though it was more accurately an opportunity for the Lyrans and Fed Suns to flaunt their new "Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth" lest any other powers forget who the toughest kid on the playground was. He found himself feeling useless. No matter whether on his father's farm south of Rundvik and learning to pilot the old Dragon BattleMech he would inherit or at Northwind Academy, or during his first tour with the KungsArme, Graaf had always something to do; a goal to work towards, a skill to master, or simply a fence to be built, but now his purpose was simply... to be present. He found it intolerable.
He was part of a loose delegation from the Free Rasalhague Republic, mostly composed of beaurecrats, mercantilists and minor politicians mainly concerned with maintaining the young nation's precarious neutrality as a buffer state between the Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine, Rasalhague's mutual former masters. Graaf reflected that perhaps he was chosen to be a military delegate to the summit in hopes that his junior rank of Lojtnant and relatively short service record would impress Rasalhague's disinterest in the display of power, while his father's reputation earned with his mercenary unit, 'Holmlundsson's Cavaliers', during the fourth succession war and the Ronin war would prevent his membership from being publicly objectionable.

Unbuttoning his overcoat to reveal the grey, white, and scarlet dress uniform beneath it, he pushed through the glass doors and back into the crowded summit floor. The Hall was a riot of colorful national dress and military uniforms, alternating with the stark and somber suits of self-important politicians and bureaucrats, all mingling, making plans and lying through their teeth. As Graaf eyed the crowd he picked out a few individuals of a different bearing. Of course no mercenary unit in the inner sphere would dream of missing an employment fair like this, so it was hardly a surprise to see that so many had managed to get ahold of invitations.
Although he would much rather be in the guest's ceremonial 'Mech stable calibrating the capacitor discharge on his new Gauss Rifle, his prolonged disappearance from the event would be an embarrassment to his delegation, so it was his duty to stay and make the most of it. If there was any enjoyable conversation to be had in this place, it would be with his peers, the lower-ranking military and mercenary attendees, the Mechwarriors. He began to make his way across the room toward the mingling guests.

This is the sign-up thread for Tharkad City Summit RP.

To join the RP, post a character bio, including your entry story (reason for attending), and wait to be edited onto the "Approved Character" list on the bottom of this post. I'll try to keep the group small enough to stay coherent, so once we reach a reasonable limit, applications will close, but bios posted after that may be invited if an opening comes up.
Once you're approved, repost your bio and entry into the RP thread and join in!

The setting 3049 on the planet Tharkad, capital of the Lyran Alliance. A "Summit in the Spirit of Inner Sphere Cooperation" has been called by the as-yet unofficial Federated Commonwealth, intended primarily as a platform to show off the might of the newly-merged Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. Dignitaries from all across the inner sphere are in attendance, as well as representatives from many mercenary corporations that have gone to great lengths to secure invitations, hoping to score major contracts from the many bureaucrats and officers at the summit.
But nothing goes smoothly does it?

The thread will be primarily character-based, with no 'Mech-on-'Mech action; there may be quite a few acts of violence committed in the course of events, but no true "combat" to avoid complications.

Rules:
- No clan stories or affiliations. (The invasion is only a few weeks 'till technically starting, word will not spread for quite some time.)
- Use [square brackets] to post Out Of Character when necessary, where possible use this thread to discuss and clarify.
- No grandstanding or God-Modding. (Making one's character unrealistically powerful, or forcing the center of attention to the exclusion of others posts.)
- All weapons were confiscated at the door (Save perhaps a well-concealed ceramic knife if your character's really sneaky - disclose in bio and beware the consequences if it's found.) so you'll have to get creative if things get dangerous.
- Have fun.

(I'm using an old character who was an older, experienced officer in my FedCom civil war era RPs, his father was my character circa the 4th Succession war.)

Character Bio
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Name: Grafvitnir Holmlundsson
Callsign: "Graaf" or "Duke"
Born: 3028 (Age 22 in 3049)
Experience: Lojtnant in the Rasalhague KungsArme, recently completed second tour of duty.
Graduate of Northwind Academy, sponsored by his father, a former Highlander.
'Mech: Dragon (Gauss Rifle, 2XMedium Laser, SRM-4)

Graaf stands 5'9" with a military frame, and is of mixed Norse and Scots (Hebrides) ancestry, with Green eyes and reddish-brown hair. Wears his hair high and tight, with a short trimmed beard.
Currently wearing a KungsArme dress uniform:

His callsign is a play on his shortened name, "Graaf" translated to "Duke" by Lyran classmates at Northwind Academy, inspired by his taciturn personality and perceived arrogance - in truth a product of his socially-isolated upbringing on a remote planet by his father - a Rasalhague-born former Highlander who had been injured in the Ronin war after resigning his commission to join Rasalhague's fight for independence; who sought to raise his son as a new generation of warrior to continue Rasalhague's dream of freedom. The callsign was later reaffirmed as a mark of respect due to his deep familiarity with Battlemechs and firm code of "warrior's honor", although this code is still often the butt of jokes.

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(For any of you who were in The Windbourne Raven, welcome back! It's been most of a year in-universe since our last adventure.)

Approved Characters
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Grafvitnir: Grafvitnir Holmlundsson, "Graaf"
Oni Storm: Victor Von Laxsinger, "Tiger"
The Outlaw Kazzen: Keiji Shiba, "Outlaw"
Thom Frankfurt: DeMarkus Frankfurt, "Hangman"
Sparks Murphey: Kristian Hupetcoff
Listless Nomad: James Söderlund, "Nomad"
Vodkaviator: Otto Morton, "Pilgrim"
RogueSpear: Vantas Strider, "Harleboss"