Solomon Phillip

Solomon was born on New Melbourne, the first child of Leonard and Sasha Phillip. His brother Isaac was born three years later, and his sister Ruth two years after that. Solomon was close to his siblings growing up, and the brothers often went with their father on fishing voyages. When Solomon was 18 he reluctantly planned to follow in his father's footsteps as a fisherman. That same year, however, his sister Ruth fell ill with a fever and died within a month. After a violent disagreement with his father over Ruth's death, Solomon chose to leave New Melbourne and become a space freighter.

He signed on with a merchant crew and saved his money carefully, eventually earning enough to be able to afford his own ship which he named Ruth, in honor of his sister. Although he sometimes looked the other way regarding minor violations, Solomon ran a relatively clean ship with no smuggling or piracy allowed. He believed that hard work and honesty would provide enough to get by without resorting to lawlessness, although he supported the rapidly growing independent movement that believed the planets should be allowed to govern themselves without central government interference.

While stopped over on Hera for supplies he met Catherine, a local farm girl whom he fell in love with and eventually married. For several years they lived together on Solomon's ship, and they were overjoyed when Catherine found out she was pregnant. Unfortunately, the joy was short lived, as Catherine ended up going into labor early while the ship was still in deep space, and she died during the difficult childbirth.

Solomon tried his best to raise his son James on his own, keeping him around the ship and loving him the best he knew how. James grew quickly and considered the ship his home and the crew his family.

When the war began, Solomon reluctantly left his teenage son with his family on New Melbourne in order to fight for the independents, a cause he saw as just and necessary to secure the future freedom of the 'Verse. During the war he distinguished himself as a blockade runner, taking supplies and equipment through enemy lines and performing raids on alliance supply depots. He became very close friends with his wartime crew, and kept in contact with them even after they went into hiding after the war ended.

When the Independents were finally crushed at Serenity Valley, Solomon went back to his son, who had now grown to be a man and wanted to join his father as a trader. Little by little, with James' help, Solomon refitted the ship and began working the trade lanes again, helping war torn planets resupply. After a few years, Solomon passed the torch to his son officially, allowing him to captain the ship.

Several months ago, while taking a load of passengers and supplies to Persephone, the Ruth was boarded by an alliance patrol ship for a routine check. Unbeknownst to Solomon or his son, two of the passengers were wanted felons who decided to start a gun fight rather than risk capture by the alliance. In the skirmish, one of the alliance officers accidentally shot James, killing him outright. Solomon returned fire without thinking, mortally wounding the officer. In the chaos, the outlaws ran into one of the escape shuttles and fled.

Solomon was arrested and convicted of second degree murder for the death of the officer by an alliance-sympathetic judge who sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

Solomon's Contacts:

Peacetime Crew - Kallista Chen, Owen Kale, Lars Greene

Kallista Chen was Solomon's pilot for most of his time as captain of the Ruth, right up until his arrest by the Alliance. She is a lighthearted, easygoing woman who always tries to find the best in people, often overlooking their faults. She served as a surrogate mother to James after Catherine's death and became very close friends with Solomon, although they were never romantically involved. Aside from being a proficient pilot, she is also a trained medic and was devastated when she was unable to save Catherine during her difficult delivery, although she worked tirelessly to ensure the baby survived.

Owen Kale was Solomon's mechanic and hired hand on the Ruth. He is skilled with machines and computers, sometimes preferring their company to that of people. He doesn't speak much, but when he does it is always carefully considered and insightful. He became a tutor of sorts to James as the child grew, teaching him about mechanics in his own quiet way.

Lars was a hired hand on the Ruth and served as cook, bodyguard, and a strong back. He is a large, jolly man with a penchant for wine, women, and the good things in life. He generally spends his money as soon as he gets it, but he always seems to be enjoying himself. He is originally from New Melbourne as well, although Solomon did not meet him until after he had left. Lars is an easygoing, laid back person who prefers to let life come to him rather than chasing it down.

Since Solomon's arrest, the Ruth was impounded by the Alliance and Owen, Lars, and Kallista have signed on with another ship belonging to Jason Polychronopolous.

Wartime Crew - Abraham "Honest Abe" Liang & David Halloran -
Abraham was Solomon's gunner during his years as a blockade runner for the independents. After the war Abe went underground and became a smuggler, flying weapons and supplies between formerly independent planets. Abe's pilot, David Halloran, is also a former crewmate of Solomon's.

Abe is a shrewd and clever smuggler who picked up many of Solomon's tactical skills. He is known for his ships ability to elude even the most dedicated alliance patrols. David is a large, intimidating, but thoughtful man who acts as Abe's pilot and bodyguard.

Although extremely difficult to find, Abe would be a valuable resource for procuring weapons or supplies. He may also have info on the latest Alliance-free shipping routes and friendly planets.

Jason Polychronopolous -
Jason runs a small shipping fleet among the border planets. He was friendly with Solomon and his crew before his run in with the law and may still be willing to help Solomon out. Jason is a by-the-book businessman who likes to keep his business squeaky clean and above-board to avoid legal hassles, but if carefully approached he may be sympathetic.

Mary Ringenbach
Mary runs a bar and hostel in the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone that is frequented by a large clientele including many traders, shippers, pirates, and smugglers. Solomon had an on-again off-again relationship with Mary for several years before and after the war, and his crew made frequent pit stops at her establishment, "The White Rose", for R&R. The White Rose is a veritable cornucopia of rumors, hearsay, and gossip, and Mary herself is often in possession of valuable information about both the alliance and outlaws.

Isaac, Leonard, and Sasha Phillip
Solomon's father Leonard is still the head of the family's fishing fleet on New Melbourne, although he is approaching his 80th birthday. Leonard sees Solomon as something of a disappointment. A staunch loyalist and strictly religious man, he never truly forgave his son for leaving home or for fighting for the independents in the war. Despite this he is still Solomon's father, and still loves him. He would almost certainly help him if the situation were dire, but it would take a lot of pride swallowing for Solomon to ask for his help.

Isaac is Solomon's brother. He and their parents run the family fishing fleet on New Melbourne. Growing up, Solomon and his brother were close friends, but as it became clear that Isaac was going to follow in their father's footsteps and Solomon was not they began to drift apart, although they are still on good terms.

Sasha is Solomon's mother. She is a patient, quiet woman with a large reserve of inner strength and patience, much of which she uses to put up with her husband. She loves both of her sons very much and was heartbroken the day Solomon left. She has kept in contact with Solomon and her late grandson James.


Mary


Abe


David


Jason


Kallista


Owen


Lars

Added some new contacts.