Name: Harry Flashman
Callsign: "Flashy"
Player: Fab
Faction: Ghost Bear Dominion
Rank: Mechwarrior (Bondsman)
Unit: Tau Galaxy; Second Bear Regulars
Current Battlemechs:
Vapor Eagle (Goshawk)
Warhawk (Masakari) C
Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) A
Arena Kills: 10
Best finishs:
1st of 5 - Ishiyama "Stone Mountain" - Battle #2B,
2nd of 12 - Coliseum - Battle #6
Current Stable: Zellbrigen
Current Sponsors: none
Background:
Flashy (Harry Flashman) is a charismatic man and the image of an ideal Federated Commonwealth officer. He claims only three natural talents: Mech piloting, facility with foreign languages, and womanizing. He's become an expert cricket bowler, but that was through hard effort (he needed sporting credit at Rugby School, and was afraid to play rugby football). He can also display a winning personality, when he wants to, and is very skilled at flattering those more important than himself without appearing servile.
As he admits, Flashy is a coward, who will flee from danger if there is any way to do so, and on some occasions collapses in funk. He has one great advantage in concealing this weakness: when he is frightened, his face turns red, rather than white, so that observers think he is excited, enraged, or exuberant - as a hero ought to be.
After his expulsion from school for drunkenness, Flashy looked for an easy life. He had his wealthy father buy him an Lyran officer's commission in the fashionable 10th Donegal Guards stationed in the system of Chateau. The 10th, commanded by Marshal Sarah Steiner, was a unit of renown in Lyran space. Flashy threw himself into the social life that the 10th offered and became a leading light of Chateau society. A duel with another officer over a courtesan led to his being relocated to a different continent on Chateau. There he met and deflowered Elspeth Morrison, daughter of a wealthy Lyran weapons developer, whom he had to marry in a "shotgun wedding". Though he was kicked out of the 10th for "actions unbecoming an officer". The day he was to ship out, The Clans struck Chateau, wiping out the 10th and none lived to tell the tale. He fled the system along with the other refugees.
Unfortunately, his language talent and his habit of flattery brought him to the attention of the Morgan Kell. Flashy having weaseled his way into a royal banquet on Tharkad, found himself rubbing elbows with the Grand Duke of Arc-Royal. After hearing Flashy's version of escaping Clan Wolf on Chateau, Morgan offered him a position with the Kell Hounds.
His first action with the Hounds was the 2nd battle of Twycross, against Clan Jade Falcon. Flashy, in fleeing from the Falcon Guard, led them right into the trap that had been set by Kai Allard-Liao. Battle turned in favor of the FedCom forces, when Falcon Guard were lured into a deep canyon where Kai Allard-Liao detonated planted powerful explosives in the canyon walls. Resulting in Jade Falcon Guards destruction by being buried under rock and rubble. Flashy close enough to the mouth of the canyon, that his Shadow Hawk battlemech was only partially buried from the rock slide. A video crew captured the image of the Shadow Hawk emerging from the rubble that had claimed nearly 50 Falcon mechs. Flashman's fame of the incident was only surpassed by Kai Allard-Liao.
Flashy survived the ensuing debacle by a mixture of sheer luck and unstinting cowardice. He became an unwitting hero: The Defender of Luithen's primary LRM ammo factory, where he was the only surviving Kell Hound from his company. Flashy was found by the relieving troops in his armless shutdown Shadow Hawk surrounded by destroyed Smoke Jaguar battlemechs. Of course, Flashy arrived at the Ammo factory by accident, collapsed in terror rather than fight, was forced to stand and fight by his subordinate, and was 'pegged' for a complete coward. He had been trying to surrender with the arms of his kneeling Shadow Hawk upraised when the the primary ammo storage warehouse was hit. Every mech within 200m was destroyed, except for Flashy who only lost the arms of his mech to the blast due to the kneeling position. The reinforced lower walls of the warehouse protected everything under 5m. Happily for him, all inconvenient witnesses had been killed.
This incident set the tone for Flashy's life. Always in spite of his best efforts to evade his duty. He was often selected for especially dangerous jobs because of his heroic reputation. He met many famous people, and survived some of the worst military disasters, always coming out with more heroic laurels.
Despite his admitted cowardice, Flashy was a dab hand at fighting when he had to. It should be pointed out that most of these acts of 'bravery' were performed only when he had absolutely no choice, and to do anything else would have resulted in his being exposed as a coward and losing his respected status in society, or being shot for desertion. When he could act like a coward with impunity, he invariably did.
Flashy left the Kell Hounds on Arc-Royal to join with the 1st Davion Guards on New Avalon in Davion space. He did so to get out of Lyran space and away from transplanted Clan Wolf in Exile who's Clan warriors would see right through Flashy and jeopardize his reputation. He thought he would be safe, back on a capitol world, living the life in the upper echelons of society. Then Operation Bulldog was launched and Harry Flashman was once again in the middle of the major conflicts of his time.
With the great success of the 7th Company of the 1st Davion Guards on Port Arthur, Flashy went on to receive his choice of postings. In classic Flashy style he chose a base as far away from the fighting as possible. Choosing to train as a military advisor on New Avalon and was living the life of luxury. No sooner did he complete his first class then he was reassigned to Courchevel, a Draconis Combine world, along their border with Clan Ghost Bear. Flashy having been selected for the post as he was one of the few Davion officers that the Kuritans trusted. Indications were the the Ghost Bears might make a grab at some of the Combine worlds that the Smoke Jaguars had just given up, and sure enough...the Combine-Ghost Bear War started with Flashy again in the middle of the fighting.
His unit was desperately outnumbered and making it's last stand, putting up a tremendous fight against overwhelming odds. He was hiding behind a barricade that protected his mechs torsos and head...(the important parts) with downed mechs all around him. Star Colonel Katrina Homaovi saw Flashy's Flashman battlemech. Out of ammo and her energy weapons destroyed Homaovi charged Flashy with her Grizzly battlemech. Just before impact one of the dead mech's ammo cooked off blowing out the legs of the Flashman. The explosion made Homaovi mostly miss her charge but in the tumble he wound up on top of her and both were knocked out. When the follow up Ghost Bear forces came and saw the devastation and carnage of the last stand- and Flashman mech on top of their commanders Grizzly- they assumed he had been the guy to hold out last and do all the killing.
Star Colonel Katrina Homaovi can't remember any of the how the mechs ended up the way they did, but she was the first to awaken and quickly captured the unconscious Flashman in his cockpit, taking him as a bondsman. Of course he later woos her, and is never far from her side.
Other Clanners aren't too fond of Flashy obviously, and rumors are starting to go around that when his mech was recovered after the battle it had a full ammo load. To defend his honor SHE recommends he go to Solaris for the new Solaris Olympiad Series, of course he doesn't want to go. But he is the logical choice, as all of the trueborn Clan mechwarriors consider the posting beneath them and an insult.
So off to Solaris it is for Flashy, and knowing his luck he will probably end up winning the whole thing.
