Cousse Janderhoft
 | |
| Full name | Cousse Jander Cornelizoonhooft |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | October 22, 2498 |
| Parents | Cornelius X and Kasserynthe |
| Siblings | 9 total, 5 living (that's a lot of names!) |
| Spouse | Kitty |
| Assignment | LLI Security |
| Gender | Male |
| Eyes and Hair | Blue/Black |
| Height and Weight | 6'3"/193 pounds |
| Status | Inactive |
| Education Information | |
|
Home schooled | |
| Military Service | |
|
Black Company | |
"How unfriendly is war, to happiness." -- Nathaniel Greene
Contents
Background
Cornelius X and Kasserynthe Cornelizoonhooft were able to slake their thirst for the unknown by simply raising their own homestead far enough from Grandfather Cornelizoonhooft's church to avoid going to that one. They found themselves neighbors to Kyle and Joleen Johnson. Fourth son of seven children, Cousse Jander Cornelizoonhooft was second eldest of ten with four in the grave by the time the Johnsons needed help raising a barn to replace one gutted by fire, and just as the Johnsons had kindly helped raise the Cornelizoonhooft Homestead, the Cornelizoonhooft family turned out to support their good friends and next-door neighbors.
Next-door on Jiangyin meant 3 miles, but the distance didn't deter either family from forming strong bonds with the other. The Cornelizoonhooft's children as could make the walk were rotated two by twos to help out the smaller family with their chores in exchange for learning from "Auntie Jo Johnson."
The parents were close friends, but the children closer, given they hardly knew another way of living. They worked together. They praised together. Cousse and Kitty fell asleep together on the roof staring at the black together often enough that it had started to go without saying. The families celebrated holidays together. They would make the three-hour wagon ride to the "spaceport" (a built-up landing strip which serviced the general community of 200's needs on a monthly basis or better) together to make sure the one or the other didn't want for the space, muscle, or time to time money to bring home what was needed. It was on one of these ill-fated trips that the 15-year-old Cousse caught sight of a recruiting poster for the Black Company.
Something about that poster throttled Cousse's heart, overriding every other motivation. Manic determination (and abandoning his work) finally paid off after a year, and with but a brief letter home and swearing on the Good Book as to his age (the standard proof of age on a world without birth records) Cousse learned why "may you live in interesting times" is curse, not proverb. 6 months of brutal military re-education was followed by just as many spent rebuilding initiative and individualism on the Black Company's terms, only split by a week of Liberty and a far more literate letter back home. Only after this training did he receive pay, and half of this Cousse sent home.
For three years, the Black Company was both exciting and frightening, everything it had promised and more. They were successful mercs due to their proclivity for training local undesirables into a force of auxiliaries... this was also their greatest liability. They were difficult to keep disciplined, leading to atrocities that the Black Company--to include Cousse--weren't entirely innocent of either. Some also continued to operate long after the Black Company had left (and sometimes that was the plan).
ZOMFG STUFF HAPPENS ROCKS FALL EVERYONE DIES!!!!!!
He took the first shuttle to nowhere, a backwater colony town called Ikko. With hardly a credit to his name Cousse joined the labour pool that the Ikko Ikki temple administered for their town. While working for room and board like this he heard the word of the Amida Buddha, the sacred Nembutsu prayer which called upon the most merciful Amida Buddha, to enlightenment those karmically doomed to never attain it of their own works. This matched well enough to merge with his Baptist core values. He joined the Ikko-Ikki, and after seeing first-hand the bandits who came to collect tribute at harvest-time Cousse made a hard call: He volunteered to update the order's martial arts by several centuries. Finally, doing something good, he was proud of his village militia. After routing the bandits at the next harvest, Cousse retired from the world and left defence to the new soldiers. Two months later, his mantras were interrupted by the Captain of the Guard thanking him. Without Cousse's help, they never would have fought off the bandits, or trace them back to their masters to put that distant colony to the torch. Confirmed by the sight of the wagon train of refugees outside Cousse ran once again.
He drifted to Persephone and there ran into Kitty, his neighbor and childhood friend, and after a bit of catching up and introductions was allowed to join the Redemption's crew... just as soon as he showed up for a court appearance, which stretched out into a 3-week stay in the local lockup until the jury's verdict of "Not Proven" (in short, "not guilty, but don't do it again") was read for all sixteen counts of illegal arms distribution and four counts of inciting armed uprising.
The Redemption's success led to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle which left him anxious and visited by renewed nightmares. In an effort to exorcise (or perhaps exercise) his demons, he and Kitty left the Redemption for a more adventurous lifestyle with Life-Line_Inc in late 2525.
Proposition, Engagement, and Wedding
On Santo, in the picturesque countryside with the sun setting behind them, Cousse Janderhoft finally proposed to her with a ring on July 25th, 2525.
The happy couple made it official in an outdoor wedding again on Santo, Christmas Day, 2525.
Personality
It isn't from happiness that Cousse smiles, laughs and jokes: It's uneasy giddiness, a desperate longing for the life before. But you can never go back home, as they say. Deep down he's angry at himself for mistakes few would completely blame him for. It manifests at times in brooding, other times with fighting. And even after nearly two years' spiritual healing, sometimes he still feels the need to run as far as he can away from himself.
Appearance
Dark black hair is shaved close on the sides, leaving a plateau of hair on top that grows longer as it reaches his forehead. From there dangles a rakish widow's peak, long enough to flirt with his eyebrows. The highlights in his hair bring out the aquamarine hue of his droopy eyes. Age and battle have weathered his face some, though he still can't be a day over thirty if that. High cheekbones and a firm-set jaw match his strong, if lean, figure. A few inches over six feet tall, whatever strength of presence he has is normally only felt when speaking with him, and then the little wrinkles to either side of his mouth show for what they are: laugh lines.
His double-breasted greatcoat obscures the man's form in its pine green folds. Judging by the snug fit of the thick leather belt around his waist the man is fit and strong. The belt buckle is one of the most distinct portions of his outfit: An iron cross in black is encircled by laurel leaves and the words "GOTT MIT UNS" in copper. Also of note are the side laced jump-boots, his without hobnails that would increase grip and durability, but also the noise each step makes.
Distinguishing Marks & Features
Jander has... wings, for lack of a better term, raked into his shoulder blades: puckered rows of more or less parallel scars angling in toward his spine. There are three rounded stars, obvious bullet holes, and a series of gouges, splits, and even a scarified spiral that looks like a sadist got bored and started to doodle. The front is even less inviting: There are at least six of those warped starbursts, and in potential explanation of the sworl in his back is a graffiti scored into his flesh overtop the lifetime of incidental and combat injuries. There are some rather intricate, almost decorative markings, especially the long curve alongside his abdomen.
Trivia
His full name is Cousse Jander Cornelizoonhooft. Even in official records, there are rarely enough spaces, leading to either a mononym "Cusejandercornelzonhoft" or, as is the case with most records and his nametapes, sticking to what people can make out of his spoken surname: "Janderhoft."
His service number with the Black Company was 06 Aleph 1 Yod, and I need to find out how to force Hebrew characters on Wiki. :D
Employment History
- Dirt farmer on Jiangyin.
- Black Company mercenary (I finally made the page!).
- Recently employed as Provost Deputy on the Redemption.
- Currently a Security contractor for Life-Line_Inc.
