Lon Volker
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Lon Volker | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | 3038[1] |
| Affiliation | Storm Riders; Ryan's Rebels |
| Profile | |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Lon Volker was a Kore native, Storm Riders mercenary MechWarrior, and pirate.
Contents
Physical description[edit]
Volker, of Germanic heritage, was described as tall, broadly built, heavily muscled, with dark blond hair.
History[edit]
Volker was born on Kore around 3038, only a year older than Sturm Kintaro. His father was killed during the Clan Invasion, and after Kore was liberated, Volker was one of the first Kore natives recruited into the Storm Riders, the first to become a MechWarrior.
Volker was a womanizer, using his charms to seduce several local girls, including Laura Metz. When Susie Morgraine-Ryan's pirates attacked Kore, he tried to escape, with Kintaro, but his Panther was too slow; hit from behind it fell. Unable to fight, Volker surrendered and was taken prisoner.
After meeting Susie for the first time, he identified her immediately, and did all he could to appear useful to her.[2]
Volker saw Susie again when she ordered him to go to her room, a week later. She interrogated him about Sturm, but Volker didn't speak too well about the young boy. Wanting to prove himself useful, he even offered to hunt down the mysterious "Winter Ghost" who was hunting the pirates. Susie started kissing Volker, sleeping with him.[3]
When the "Ghost", who was Sturm, attacked the pirate base, Volker saved Master Sergeant Aaron Krenner and Laura Metz, killing a pirate, before joining the escape.
Once in Shangri-La, the Clan Steel Viper cache in the mountains, Volker attempted to take command of the new formed unit, pointing out that he was senior to Sturm, but Krenner refused, keeping Volker as second in the lance.[4]
Volker helped Kintaro train their new MechWarriors, including Laura, but made comments about the pirates' superiority, weakening their morale. When Sturm left in secret to rescue his father from the pirate base, Volker tried to convince Krenner to surrender to Susie, but when he refused, Volker shot Krenner in the back, killing him.[5]
When Susie Ryan's forces located Shangri-La, thanks to a transmission from Volker, he kept the lance of Riders on open ground, trapping them in a valley, and even attacked Rachel's 'Mech, the next biggest in the lance, damaging it. Only then did Volker admit he had joined the pirates and led them there.
Susie and Volker expected the remaining Riders to surrender, but the Riders resisted. Volker trapped Laura in a corner, but then, Sturm, who had been captured by the pirates but later escaped, joined the fight with his 'Mech. Volker informed Sturm about his killing of Krenner, enraging him and exposing him to a rear attack from Susie.
However, all Volker's efforts failed: Sturm, with his father's help, located a magma pocket in the mountains, and he and Laura shot it with their weapons. The magma flow, badly burned Volker's BattleMech, which barely managed to fall outside the magma, and heavily damaged Susie's Mad Cat. Now undergunned, she agreed to end the fight.[6]
Volker survived, but was badly burned. Susie asked Sturm to let her take Volker, and the Lancer agreed, putting him in a life support capsule and leaving Kore with him. It remains unknown whether Volker survived the trip to Star's End, but Susie Ryan planned to do all that was possible to ensure it; she wanted to turn him into a living weapon that she planned to use to make Kintaro and his people pay for her defeat.[7]
Volker's body was reconstructed with crude cybernetics. After joining the New Belt Pirates, Lon Volker led a pirate strike team to ambush the Storm Riders, seizing Golden Boy, Sturm's Goshawk, for his own.
When the Word of Blake established relations with the New Belt Pirates in 3064, Volker defected to the Manei Domini and received significant upgrades to his body. He was recorded battling the Solaris Home Defense League and executing many of its captured champions in staged arena duels during the Jihad. His death was never confirmed, but Golden Boy was recovered from the ruins of Steiner Stadium after the liberation of Solaris VII.[8]
Personality and traits[edit]
Volker, despite being only a year older than Kintaro, always acted as if he was a veteran, and treated Sturm as if he was his younger brother. Without any family, his goals were to leave Kore behind, making no secret of his ambitions. Considering himself a survivor above all, left behind and with little loyalty to the Lancers, showing no restraint in trying to demoralize their fellow lancers, not hesitating to kill.
BattleMechs[edit]
Volker's first 'Mech was an old Panther, which was replaced with the second heaviest 'Mech in Shangri-La, a Hellhound.[9]
After the raid he captured Golden Boy, Sturm's Goshawk, and kept it until his apparent death.[8]
References[edit]
- ↑ Ghost of Winter, ch. 4
- ↑ Ghosts of Winter, p. 71
- ↑ Ghosts of Winter, p. 128
- ↑ Ghosts of Winter, p. 157
- ↑ Ghosts of Winter, p. 213
- ↑ Ghosts of Winter, p. 254
- ↑ Ghosts of Winter, p. 257
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 9, p. 8: "Vapor Eagle (Goshawk)"
- ↑ Ghost of Winter, p. ?[citation needed]