#markus moreno

Markus: You don't need to have a reason to feel sad, and just because a group is good people doesn't mean it is one you have to conform to. I think fighting rings are bad so good job. Dumbass.

Eventually Markus has earned enough credits and Jaylens friend Billy helps him hitch a ride to a salvage yard on a moon not too far away. He's looking for his own ship but is limited to whatever carcass the junkyard has in the back and restoring it himself. The owner takes pity on him and points him to an almost functional ship, warning him that it is infested with a hostile AI.

Markus takes it on anyway, spending a lot of time and money, and helping out on the scrap yard for parts . Once he gets the ship powered up, the AI wakes up. 

The AI starts yelling insults and threats which markus takes with a grain of salt, considering most of the features the AI talkes about arent connected yet, some parts missing entirely. In fact the only functional things seem to be the speakers.

Markus suggests that if AI kills him he will be stuck here in limbo forever or be crushed for scrap, so maybe they can keep a truce for now. AI agree and offers to be be referred as its designation / r0v34 Rover. With some suggestions from the AI they finally make the ship functional and leave the planet. 

When he's finally freed he can only find a shady guy to take him off world, and they go to the Red Mile. The shady guy insists that Markus has to do the Mile to even make a dent in his travel debt. Markus, with no other options, barely makes it through his first run, and is told his debt has been purchased by the Red Mile Owner. 

Eventually he is reluctantly sold to Jessamine Griffin and the crimson fleet. 

Before long Jaime is called to the bridge and he brings Markus with him. The captain startles a bit but waves them over to the big screen. There they see a star map, with a black streak going straight through, in the general direction of where they are right now.

As they discuss what type of issue it is, ranging from radar failure to computer error, Markus gets a bad feeling, it looks like it's veering slightly towards them. He asks them to pull up a starmap of the region he was previously in and it matches the streak movements perfectly.

He feels that it is something that will eat them whole if they don't do something.

Jaime keeps looking at the screen and start to realize the same thing Markus noticed, and with the energy shut down the streak seemingly slows down and veers off course.

Whatever it is, they watch it continue in a mostly straight path across the galaxy, only deviating slightly from the path as it goes. 

Markus was sold as a child to a sketchy shipyard, where he was set to work day in and day out, fixing ships and "emptying" them of valuables. After a few years a larger transport ship came by and one of the cargo managers decide to "employ" Markus in the cargo hold after he catches him stealing. Working and learning the job Markus grows through the ranks and is sooner rather than later considered a valued employee, even with his sketchy past.

Markus works as a senior shipment engineer onboard a transport Vessel. Freeestar shipment of medical suppllies from Atlantis, to Neon to Akila. Due to a system failure they are stranded just out of radio range. A UC vessel passes by and the ship sends out a hail for help. UC Vessel refuses to help due to freestar territory.

When they arrive at freestar port the captain and markus are arrested for smuggling. Markus is sent off to Akila jail, where he pleads with the ranger to look at the distress call, or ask UC for confirmation that cargo wasnt sold, but burned and jettsioned.  The Rangers refuse to investigate and Markus is sent off to Mars to work off a five year sentence. 

Markus takes the responsibility and is sentenced to five years on Cydonia, Mars mines, to compensate UC for the lost medical supplies. He spends most of his days in the mines, but also does whatever extra works/pickpocketing he can to save up money for his future release. The rest of his days he spends obsessing over the UC ships, determined to prove he was right.

At Mars he finds a strange artifact in the mines and is knocked out for a couple of days until he crawls back home. 

Markus spends time in Atlantis and the Well to make more money for fuel and to find work.

Hes unlicensed as a cargo hauler as a smuggler and can only do unofficial hauling., drugs and other prohibited items for questionable individuals as well as personal favours.

On a regular run from Atlantis, as Markus prepares to take off, securing his cargo and checking tech he hears a commotion in the loading bay. 

Soon enough a guy in a ranger unifom runs into markus ship and hides behind a crate before noticing markus. Both of them hear UC police shouting as theyre searching the loading bay. Markus just hisses, what the fuck and gesture to the stranger to get out. The stranger shrugs and makes a pleading gesture as Markus has to give up and speeds up the take off. Just as the door is closing they here a "Stop or else", and Markus shrugs at the UC officers at the last minute. 

Once they reach space, the Ranger starts apologizing to Markus, introduces himself as Adam, he was on an undercover mission to capture a fugitive for the bounty. Markus ignores him and pushes him back into the cargo bay and locks it, until they reach a deserted ice planet. 

Once they land, he throws the extra, barely functional spacesuit at Adam and orders him off the spaceship. Adam reluctantly goes, pleading all the while. Markus is not emphatic and after some modifications to the ship so as not to be recognized for fleeing the scene, Markus takes off, leaving adam behind. Adam stuck on the frozen planet sits down and pouts as he tries to figure out a way out of his mess. 

Markus on the other hand feels extremely guilty eventually and returns to pick Adam up before too long. Adam actually stays quiet and grateful as they lift off again, asking how long until he can get dropped off at Akila. 

Markus informs him they have to go to Neon for their delivery as well as checking their bounty and registration. Adam flusters a bit but accepts his fate eventually.

Markus missions take him to quite a few stars, Adam tries his best to be helpful but without any relevant skill he ends up mostly cleaning and bugging Markus for ingredients to cook proper food instead of Markus "disgustingly large stash of Canucks". He manages to cajole some ingredients from local farmer with his natural charisma and Markus tries his food from time to time. Adam is a little put out how much easier it seems for Markus to accept and interact with everyone else they meet. Markus just shrugs and says no one else drags the cops to his ship before even saying hello.

- They manage double the normal amount of mining/collection goals, despite Adam breaking one of the drills and demoted to carrying only. - Despite the cramped space they do short flight passenger missions - Adam paints one of the cargo bay walls in fun colors, ruining Markus merc vibes - Markus installs a hot shower to shut down Adams complaints, as well as a fridge for fresh food, better beds - Rhea asks Markus to fix her technical amendements - Adam accidentally lures metal eating alien bugs, destroying the outer hull of the Roanoke - Markus tells him to fix it, ends up fixing it himself - Adam asks questions like "why don't you just buy a nicer ship that's not falling apart everywhere" "what do you mean "atmosphere" is important to know?" "Why would gravity matter?" "What's a book?"

Freestar Ranger Jaylen Pryce stationed at Neon finds Markus at the bottom of the elevator and brings him back to let him recover at the station, since the clinic is too full. He makes sure Markus gets some non-pirate, dry clothes and some food while taking care of wounds and bruises.

Markus spends a few days just resting up, until one day he overhears threats coming from the office. When the criminals notices a second person they try to kill both Jaylen and Markus, but Markus kills them quickly and quietly. Jaylen sighs but tells Markus to finish his breakfast before they load up the bodies and dump them over the edge into the ocean.

Jaylen offers Markus to stay, and Markus accepts but sleeps on the floor from that point on. He starts doing work around Neon, getting contacts and saving up money. He doesn't shy away from any jobs but avoids hits as much as possible. He does have run-ins with Owen Dexler when he helps Briggs during the The Showdown Mission. This leads to many compromises to avoid jail or losing contraband.