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There have been two versions of John Christian Falkenberg. The first lived in Normalspace and existed from the first story arc in 1998 until December of 2003, when he disappeared. The second, and current, version of Falkenberg is native to Normalspace Variant 1. While the two Falkenbergs share many similarities, they are different people, with different memories and experiences. There are also some substantial differences in their backgrounds and personal histories, even though they tended to end up in the same places.
Contents
Normalspace Variant One
Early Childhood and History
John Christian Falkenberg was born in Lunar City, on Luna, in the year 2620. His mother Christina died in childbirth. He was raised by his father, James Falkenberg, who was an officer in the Vanguard. James' career was his central focus in life, and as he rose through the ranks of the Vanguard he saw his young son mainly as a burden. John's father was a hard man, who was cruel and demanding toward his son. From the time John was five years old, he was physically and verbally abused by his father. James demanded excellence from his son in all things, and brutally punished anything less. John was expected to excel in school and at sports, and to be perfectly well behaved and disciplined. John was actually quite an accomplished student and athlete, but it seemed nothing was ever good enough for his father; he never earned praise for his accomplishments, only the demand that he do better next time.
This harsh treatment instilled in young John a deep resentment for his father and a strong rebellious streak. The more his father tried to impose discipline, the more his son rebelled. John also developed a strong competitive streak and a constant desire to prove himself, to excel to the point of demonstrating his superiority over others, in a subconscious effort to meet his father's impossibly high standards. He also became something of a braggart and show-off, seeking to give himself the acclaim he was denied by others.
Vanguard Career
James Falkenberg wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and enter the Vanguard, and so that is what John did. At 18, he enrolled in the Vanguard academy, where he was a good student who demonstrated skill as a marksman and in hand-to-hand combat. But his true talent was as a pilot; Falkenberg had the highest flight scores of any cadet in his class at the academy. He would have graduated with honors but for his disciplinary problems. On some level, he associated the Vanguard with his father, and he fought against that authority with all his might. He received many demerits for insubordination and other disciplinary problems, and had a reputation for going against orders or failing to consult with superiors before taking action on training exercises. While he was generally known as a likeable, good-humored cadet, he also had a reputation for a quick temper and a violent, dangerous streak. When a fellow cadet insulted him by claiming he was skating by at the academy on his father's reputation, Falkenberg challenged him to a fight and beat him so severely he was hospitalized for six days. The academy authorities considered expelling him for this incident, but ultimately decided to keep him enrolled after his father, who was by this time a general, exerted pressure on his son's behalf. In addition, the academy's disciplinary committee was influenced by the recommendation of one of Falkenberg's professors at the academy, who said the young man needed the structure of the Vanguard to keep him out of trouble. "John Falkenberg has the capacity to be an outstanding officer for the Vanguard, if he is given the proper support," this professor wrote. "If he were to leave the Vanguard now, I have no doubt that he'd end up a very dangerous criminal."
Falkenberg graduated the academy, and because of his outstanding piloting skills, was assigned to a fighter squadron on the SCV Versailles. He quickly distinguished himself for his flying skills, but remained a disciplinary headache, spending almost as much time in the brig as he did in the cockpit. Still, he did display remarkable leadership talent when he was motivated, and was probably the best pilot on his ship. He reached the rank of lieutenant before his career finally unraveled.
Court Martial and Departure from the Vanguard
In 2644, the Versailles was on training exercises in Sol System, near Mars, when the ship received emergency orders to intercept a ship that was departing Mars with a kidnapped girl aboard. Falkenberg and two other pilots, flying Mark II Stinger fighters, were dispatched to intercept. Falkenberg was the flight leader. His orders were to prevent the ship, a civilian racing yacht, from jumping to Otherspace with the kidnapping victim still aboard. Under standard rules of engagement, pilots were forbidden to fire on civilian craft in Consortium space without specific authorization. Falkenberg was not given such authorization. He attempted to force the yacht to change course, and ordered it to return to Mars. The pilot, however, refused to comply. As the ship prepared to jump to Otherspace, Falkenberg fired his pulse cannons, disabling the ship's OS drive just before it engaged. Marines were then dispatched to board the ship and rescue the girl.
But it turned out that all was not as it seemed. The girl was the daughter of the Consortium Defense Minister, and the pilot of the yacht was not her kidnapper but her boyfriend. He, in turn, was the son of a member of the Consortium Council, and a political rival of the defense minister. The two fathers did not approve of their childrens' relationship, and attempted to break them up; they decided to run off together and get married on Antimone. The Defense Minister had dispatched the Versailles to prevent his daughter from marrying the son of his rival without his permission. When Falkenberg fired on the yacht, it caused a small fire aboard the ship. Both the girl and her boyfriend suffered minor injuries and smoke inhalation. The Defense Minister was outraged that his daughter was hurt; the Councillor was angry that his son was injured and his yacht damaged. More importantly, however, it would be deeply embarrassing for both men if it became public that either one had used the Vanguard for personal gain, or as part of their personal and political rivalry. Therefore, they made certain that all the focus was placed on the rogue pilot, who had fired on a civilian vessel without authorization. John Christian Falkenberg was courtmartialled.
At his trial, he argued that his orders to prevent the ship from jumping to Otherspace had implied authorization to disable the ship. But the facts did not matter here. By the time the case was over, it appeared that Falkenberg had, on his own, attacked a civilian ship without any cause, the action of a rogue and dangerous officer. The details of who was aboard the ship, and why Falkenberg's flight had been in the area, was covered up. He was found guilty, sentenced to six months in prison, and then dishonorably discharged.
Upon the completion of his prison term, Falkenberg left the Consortium an angry, bitter man. He was furious at how the Vanguard had treated him. He was looking for revenge. But he also felt surprisingly liberated, for the first time out from under both his father's control and that of the Vanguard.
His father disowned him after his conviction, and the two have not spoken since.
Out to the Fringe
Falkenberg had come into contact with the criminal element of the Consortium for the first time during his imprisonment. There, he had learned that he could make a good living as a mercenary in the Fringe. His military training would prove quite valuable there, as would his knowledge of the Vanguard. When he was released, he was so disgusted by how he had been treated by the Vanguard and the Consortium government that he booked passage on the first shuttle he could find bound for the Fringe.
He first ended up on Ungstir, and spent three months working for the captain of a cargo ship as a pilot. He knew, however, that the real place to make a fortune in the Fringe was on Tomin Kora. So after earning a little money on Ungstir, he went to Tomin Kora, and offered his services as a mercenary. He performed various odd jobs for a number of different criminal enterprises connected to Lord Fagin, before finally finding his calling when he signed aboard a ship of the Pirates' Guild.
Being a pirate appealed to him greatly. He was angry at the Vanguard, at his father, at the (as he saw it) corrupt and incompetent government of the Consortium. In his mind, he had been used and abused his entire life, and now he had an opportunity to begin to pay back all those who had wronged him. What's more, he found that the Darwinian, survival-of-the-fittest world of the Fringe suited him far better than the law and order of the Consortium ever had. He quickly proved himself to be very valuable to the Pirates' Guild. His knowledge of Vanguard's proceedures and patrol routes made him indispensable, and his great skill as a pilot, as well as his overall military training and fighting skills, served him well.
Captain of the Fallen Angel
After four years in the Guild, the Guildmaster agreed to make him a captain, and allowed him to recruit crew for a new ship. When Falkenberg had been a fighter pilot in the Vanguard, his callsign had been ArkAngel. Now, he named his new ship the IND Fallen Angel. His ship kept a relatively low profile at first, raiding a number of ships without being clearly identified. Slowly, however, Falkenberg began to grow into his own as a Captain, and became an increasingly valuable member of the Guild, drawing attention from Lord Fagin's majordomo, Abernathy.
His early days as captain were not without problems, however. Falkenberg's engineer, a borderline incompetent fool named Lonnie with a gambling problem who had been pushed on him by the Guildmaster, turned out to be an informant for the Vanguard. Lonnie was actually the nephew, by marriage, of Majordomo Abernathy. After Lonnie accumulated a sizable gambling debt on Antimone, a couple of Vanguard marines learned who he was and began blackmailing him for information on Fagin's operation. Abernathy learned of this, and ordered Falkenberg to dispose of his nephew. Soon afterwards, Lonnie suffered a tragic accident, as he accidentally crammed himself into a plasma conduit for the Angel's main reactor, just before the reactor was fired up to full power.
When the soldiers who had been blackmailing Lonnie foolishly came to Tomin Kora to get revenge on his killer, Falkenberg allowed them to leave the planet alive. But he used their actions, in killing an Odarite bartender, to return the favor and blackmail them into providing information and service for Fagin's operations.
Falkenberg continues to be the Captain of the IND Fallen Angel today. He is seen by some as a rising star within the Pirates' Guild.