Introducing Karl Kaufberg, aka "Kroner"
Karl Helmut Kaufberg, aka Kroner, age 21, Mechwarrior, 5th child of Fredrick and Helene Kaufman of Pandora, in the Tamar Province. The Kaufberg's are a minor noble family who own a Red Devil Industries factory which manufactures B3M medium lasers on license from Defiance Industries of Hesperus.[/color]
Karl grew up as the 5th of 6th children (2 older brothers and 2 older sisters and one younger sister) in a life of relative, but not spectacular luxury on Pandora. He and his sister are the youngest children by 8 years, and his oldest brother is nearly 20 years his senior. His parents were very busy with the family business and spent little time with him, instead shipping him off to standard minor noble quality prep schools. As a youth, he was also mentored and befriended by an old family retainer, a one Klaus Gerhard, a retired LCAF infantry soldier.
In prep school, Karl displayed a sharp intellect and a natural ability to manipulate his peers and teachers. That earned him friends and enemies. At age 16, Karl tested positive for the ability to operate a BattleMech and was accepted into Pandora College Training Battalion. As a student, Karl was spectacularly average, in spite of his intelligence. He worked just hard enough to succeed, but not necessarily to excel. Karl used his natural ability to wheel and deal to sustain a moderately indulgent lifestyle during his entire time at the Academy. Karl's outgoing personality and apparent generosity allowed him to build many solid friendships at the Academy. His parents were distressed by his apparent lack of ambition. But he partially allayed their concerns with his charm and by keeping up with his family's business concerns.
After the Academy, Kaufberg's family called in some favors and arranged for Karl to be assigned to the 8th Donegal Guards stationed on Sevren, which kept Karl in the theater. As a graduation present, Karl was given his family's Shadow Hawk SHD-2H, which had not been piloted for nearly twenty years.
Karl was thrilled to have the Mech, but embarrassed to have it known that his first tour of duty was arranged at the request of his parents. Karl fulfilled his military duties competently and participated in several low-risk, mech engagements against the Draconis Combine and local pirates. Again, he performed competently, but made sure to leave adequate time for off-duty celebrations and high-living.
His greatest successes, however, were with the unit's quartermaster, Major Simon DeFrank. He build a friendship with DeFrank and, completely off the record and under the table, assisted DeFrank with cutting deals with LCAF logisitical elements and LCAF military units regarding spare parts, supplies and even occasional luxuries for the men.
Once, during his tour, on an extended pass to a local boating exhibition, he managed to convince a yacht salesman that he had enough Kroner to buy an expensive luxury model. He was solely disappointed to have to return the boat when he found that he could not keep it on the military base where he was stationed. This episode, plus his natural charm and generosity to the people around him gave him the reputation that he had personal wealth and earned him the nickname 'Kroner' which stuck.
Karl left the 8th on good terms after his service commitment was complete. At that point, his father expected Karl to return to Pandora and become involved in the family business, and to that effect, gave Karl part of his inheritance on his 21st birthday: stock ownership of the Red Devil factory on Pandora.
But, rather than entice Karl to stay, this gesture distressed young Karl immensely. Already embarrassed by his family pulling string for him at the beginning of his tour of duty, Karl decided abruptly to prove that he was his own person. Karl left for Galatea with his SHD-2H eager to be free from his parents and family constraints, except for the bare minimum necessities of his personal valet, old Klaus Gerhard, Helga Volker, an accountant that his dad insisted on sending with him to help with family business concerns and Andrea Smith, a young Mech technician who was pretty much assigned to the family Shadow hawk.
Edited by kroner, 22 November 2011 - 05:05 PM.
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