Guinevere Olkedo  Gwen Volnal

Pronouns: She/her

Role: Master Gunner

Age: 58

Romantic and/or Sexual Preference: Pansexual, but generally prefers women & NB folks

Species: Carrek

Home Planet: Sturn

Faceclaim/Humanoid Appearance: Samantha Logan

True Appearance: Gwen’s true appearance is markedly more severe than how she appears in human form - the sformer created a pretty close match, but something about smoothing out her sharp teeth, replacing her large, black eyes (all four of them) with two human ones, and other modifications to make her look less amphibian have left her with something of a baby face. Her coloration and patterning are reminiscent of a red salamander - but the reds are more vibrant, and her limbs fade into a darker brown with blue undertones - reminiscent of a strawberry poison dart frog (reference 1, reference 2, reference 3). Her tail assists with movement in the water - when she has one. If she loses it for whatever reason, a new one can be generated. .

Backstory: Guinevere was born to a prominent business family on Sturn. With older siblings to take the brunt of the training for taking over the company and younger siblings to be doted on, she was left to her own devices just a little bit more. There was still the constant pressure of measuring up to the family name, sure. But she was a high enough achiever that she managed to keep up and fly under the radar, not receiving much in the way of specialized attention from her parents. Until she was twenty-five years old, and allowed to take part in the annual ceremonial hunt.

Coming from a wealthy family, it wasn’t as though hunting was really something that needed to be done to survive - while the culture on their part of Sturn was largely carnivorous and hunting was considered an essential skill to teach, in practice it was largely ceremonial among the wealthier classes. So while Guinevere had certainly been educated on how to wield weapons, and her instructors had reported back that she was progressing well - it wasn’t until that day that they realized just how well, or that they could use this. Strictly speaking, not all parts of the family business were exactly what one could call ‘legal’. Even if that wasn’t the case, transporting goods through space could at times be a dangerous affair. Outsourcing muscle to defend goods could get expensive - and was honestly a little bit of a stain on their reputation among certain circles. Who better to head up an internal division one day than their own daughter?

With a plan in place, Guinevere’s training ramped up from there - both in weapons and combat, and the various other skills needed to head up a division in the family business. She chafed at the loss of freedom at first, but grew accustomed to it over the years. And besides, it wasn’t like she was learning anything she didn’t find engaging. It was actually kind of fun to be molded into a deadly weapon, in theory. In practice there were some uncomfortable realities to contend with. Surprisingly, the breaking point wasn’t even when her family went ahead and found her a fiance who fit in with their plans - arranged marriages weren’t uncommon in their culture, after all, and it wasn’t like she needed to love the guy. No, the breaking point came a few years later, when a mission gone wrong led to entirely too many casualties. Guinevere had never been one to shy away from pulling the trigger - but there was such a thing as too much collateral damage, and the realization that she was the only one who seemed to think so was what it took for her to pack up and get out.

She initially joined up on The Prosperity as a gunner a little under six years ago, using the name Gwen Volnal to avoid being connected back to her family. The ship wasn’t exactly a perfect fit for her, but it was in the right place at the right time for a convenient getaway. And even if the majority of the crew was a little soft for her liking, she did appreciate the directive to use non lethal violence and avoid collateral damage when possible. During her time on the ship, she had an on-and-off relationship with Blue over the course of about six months - and while the tumultuous end of that relationship wasn’t what prompted Gwen to leave The Prosperity behind, she did eventually move on in pursuit of bigger and better things. She tends not to stick in one place for too long, and recently found herself in yet another situation she sought to escape. She would almost rather die than run back to The Prosperity with her tail between her legs, but the Master Gunner position being open made for a convenient excuse to rejoin the crew with her pride intact. The fact that Blue is apparently still on the ship isn’t exactly a bonus, but she’s dealt with worse inconveniences before.

Skills: Gwen is a highly skilled markswoman - both when it comes to handheld weaponry, and operating the ship’s artillery. If you manage to separate her from her blaster, you’ll find that she’s just as ruthless in hand to hand combat. Her specialty is using her tail as a weapon while sformed - the tech disguises her appearance, leaving targets in for some surprise pain. It’s not a skill that she’s highly venomous, but she is adept at controlling it. She’s also very good at doubting others’ intentions and mentally separating herself from people and situations, though this isn’t necessarily a good thing.

What is the Master Gunner, St James's Park

1.0 Introduction

“The office of master-gunner was a very ancient one. As soon as there were guns, there was a master-gunner in charge of them, responsible for their upkeep and efficiency, and in command of the gunners who served them.” (Maurice-Jones, 2012, p.138).

This article provides an overview of the role of the Master Gunner, St James’s Park – a position that can trace its lineage to…

This is how our Master Gunner holds his sniper rifles

Yelv showing off his dual gun skills with Sliding Slinger.

Yelv’s Trademark art itself, Master Gunner