Kal "Bootstrap" Trask
Captain Kal Trask
Robert Downey, Jr.
Robert Downey, Jr. as Kal Trask
Personal
Alias: Bootstrap; Boots
Age: 34 (b. 18 Aug 2008 AE)
Features: Dark hair; brown eyes; tan skin; smart mouth; copious faded scars oft obscured by elaborate Ta Moko; lithely athletic build
Colony: Tauron
Professional
Rank: Captain
Department: Air Wing: VAQ-141 "Harriers"
Position: Squadron Leader
ECO / Raptor Pilot


"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him."

— David Brinkley


Not everyone can come from privilege. Some must be forged in the fires of adversity, forcefully hammered until their resolve is tempered into something sharper and more resilient than the finest blade of Damascus steel.

Kal Trask is one such individual.

Enlisting at the age of 18, he left behind a hard knock life, determined to make something of himself. Doggedly resilient, the Mustang officer has a reputation for being a skilled electrical and aerospace engineer, an assault squadron ECO who's held his own in some of the worst pre- and post-Warday combat zones, and a facetious jerkass whose heart of gold is usually stowed amongst his copious personal baggage.

He's also damn proud of his callsign and the inheritor of this guy's EPIC pr0n collection.

Background


"What lies behind us and what lies before us are very tiny compared to what lies within us."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson


Biographical Information

Young-Kal.jpg

Kal at age 5

Although once a key part of Tauron's military-industrial complex, the conurbation known as the Black Country never economically recovered from the planet's withdrawal from the Colonial Civil War. Many factors were to blame for the disinvestment, deindustrialization, and depopulation in the region, including unionization and its subsequent corruption, the outsourcing of manufacturing to non-union facilities, and major contracts going to off-world companies. Civil upheaval was rampant throughout the colony and, soon enough, the jobless were adding to the unrest.

It was into this realm of minimal opportunities that Kal Trask was born. By the time he turned 5, unemployment in his hometown of Flint was at an all-time high. Unfortunately, his father was one of many to comprise that statistic. As proud and stubborn as the Taurian stereotype, Kevon Trask did not take well to feeling useless. That his wife, Colette, became the sole breadwinner was further emasculating. Unable to adequately provide for his wife and son, he sought solace in alcohol and violently unleashed his anger and frustration.

Being just a child, young Kal was in no position to protect his mother from the rage of his father's resentment. In the aftermath of these inebriated assaults, the boy sought to repair whatever it was that had been destroyed. Objects proved far easier to mend than people, and he manifested a real knack for fixing things that lacked thoughts and emotions. There was something deeply satisfying, even comforting, about getting something broken to work. It was a refuge and a distraction from just how irreparably damaged his family was — and how helpless he felt — and it became a coping mechanism that never went away.

Things would briefly improve whenever Kevon managed to find work, only to get much worse whenever he lost his job. Finances grew even more strained with the arrival of a daughter, whom the man often cursed. What little food that could be afforded on Colette's sweatshop seamstress wages was indeed very little. With another mouth to feed, it became not enough. So great was her husband's wounded pride, however, government aid was not an option — a point he made painfully clear with his fists. In these lean times, the Trasks often went hungry. Yet, somehow, Kevon managed to never lack liquor.

Regardless of their youth, Kal and his sister were not spared the abuse. Whereas Alyse withdrew, he started to act out. As he grew older, he started to fight back. The rows between father and son were brutal and bloody, for the lad learned how to hold his own and was determined to be the last one standing. As long as he was the primary target of his father's wrath, his mother and sister had some reprieve, and he resolved to give them as much as possible.



"We are face to face with our destiny and we must meet it with a high and resolute courage. For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out."

— Theodore Roosevelt


Service Jacket

Period Position Station Notes
2026 AE Enlisted Recruited on Tauron Enlisted on his 18th birthday
2 years Engineering Technician
(Electrical)
Flak Frigate Theatron (CF-1163) Concurrently enrolled in a part-time, distance-learning program for an accredited undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering
4 years Engineering Technician
(Electrical)
Battlestar Chimaera (BS-81) Concurrently enrolled in a part-time, distance-learning program for an accredited undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering
4 years Engineering Technician
(Avionics focus)
Battlestar Chimaera (BS-81) Concurrently enrolled in a part-time, distance-learning program for an accredited undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering (graduated in 2033 AE)

Concurrently enrolled in a part-time, distance-learning program for an accredited undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering (graduated in 2036 AE)
2 years Engineering Technician
(Avionics & Mechanics)
Battlestar Aegean (BS-104) AE Lead and deputy Deck Chief; front-runner to become Deck Chief aboard Heavy Cruiser Ponos (CHC-1177) but instead opted for OCS
14 weeks Officer Candidate OCS: Colonial Fleet Academy, Picon Upon review of his service record, Trask was granted the 48-month age maximum waiver and accepted into OCS; enrolled at the rank of Chief Petty Officer; graduated at the age of 30
18 months ECO-in-Training Flight School: Colonial Fleet Base Athenos, Virgon Granted the 48-month maximum age for admissions waiver; previous experience with ECM, avionics, and ordnance resulted in accelerated pipeline completion

Advanced Electronic Warfare: 1st of 50; Basic Gunnery: 4th of 50; Basic Raptor Piloting: 44th of 50
1 year ECO: VAQ-136 "Cavaliers" Assaultstar Victory (CA-33) Some hardcore Black Hawk Down type stuff went down
31 Jan 2041 - 22 Jun 2041 ECO: VAQ-141 "Harriers" Battlestar Cerberus (BS-132) Transferred from the Victory with Quinn upon her appointment as new SL of the VAQ-141
22 Jun 2041 - 23 Jan 2042 'Interim' Squadron Leader
ECO: VAQ-141 "Harriers"
Battlestar Cerberus (BS-132) Promoted when Quinn was relieved of command and made LSO due to medical reasons
23 Jan 2041 - 07 Jul 2042 Squadron Leader
ECO: VAQ-141 "Harriers"
Battlestar Cerberus (BS-132) Officially given formal command of the Harriers
07 Jul 2042 - Present Squadron Leader
ECO / Pilot: VAQ-141 "Harriers"
Battlestar Cerberus (BS-132) Obtained Raptor pilot certification


"Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go according to any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material."

— F. Scott Fitzgerald


Immediate Family

Trask doesn't discuss his family. Ever.

Someone with access to his Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) would find mention of a younger sister named Alyse and that his parents, Kevon and Colette, were still married at the time of his enlistment. It is also documented that he has never been married, nor has he ever listed any known children or claimed dependents.

Apart from whatever information that is acquired during a standard Colonial military background check and periodic reviews, there are no further details.

Since late 2040 AE, Maggie "Jugs" Quinn has been his designated next of kin. On 25 Jan 2042 AE, any doubt that she is truly considered family was dispelled when she and her infant daughter, Kallistei, were added to the man's achyddiaeth as sister and niece, respectively.

Personal Profile


"Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older."

— Dr. Hans Selye


Physical Characteristics

Several years past 30 in age and two inches shy of 6 feet tall, Kal Trask manifests the paradox of being both weathered and spry. A long history of arduous physical labor has forged his lithe form into a wiry athleticism that is diligently maintained. Particularly well-defined are his Ta Moko adorned arms and shoulders, and his strong hands show telltale signs of being a mechanic. Augmented by a short tousle of dark hair, there is a boyish appeal to him that contrasts the weary quality of over-torqued, Dakar Rally, desert-of-the-soul mileage. Assorted faded scars mark his naturally light tan skin, although his devil-may-care attitude belies the source of their origin. Even so, no amount of facetiousness can fully conceal the emotional turbulence that lingers beneath the surface of his large, expressive brown eyes.
Trask-snapshot.jpg


"A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials."

— Chinese proverb


Psychological Assessment

"[T]hat's not congruent with the underpinnings of anger and self-loathing that support your façade of strutting ego."

Penelope incisively deconstructs Kal in Benefit of the Doubt

"Some people use their fists to abuse the people around them. You… you just use your mouth."

Leyla in Blow Ups unwittingly points out that Trask is failing in not being anything like his father

"I don't want to. You'd happily let me swig your piss, or take a swig at all just so you can be mad at me again. I know that's easier for you, and after being all domestic for a few days where I actually relied on you, it's high time you have another break and let your disdain and distrust for mankind bubble up and ruin something you've got going for you other than work. Go ahead. Have at it, but I'm not going to give you the fodder."

Sawyer's response to Trask in Have At It when he tells her take a sip to find out if he replaced all her booze with urine

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"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

— Roger Bannister


Other Details

  • Ask Trask: Need an honest opinion about something? Trask will tell it like he sees it. He'll even put it in writing. Just don't expect any sugar coating.
  • Black Country Boy: Trask was born and raised in one of the crappiest neighborhoods in the crappiest city of one of the crappiest regions of all the Twelve Colonies: the Black Country. Despite refusing to refrain from making caustic comments about his home region, he has a sense of pride about being from such a crappy place.
  • EPIC Pr0n Collection: Once upon a time, LT Marvin "Prince" Albert amassed what may well be the largest collection of pornography in the history of the Colonial military. When he died on Warday, he bequeathed his titillating treasures to Trask. This news has spread throughout Cerberus like an unchecked STD. Anyone in search of smut can speak with him about bartering for certain items.
  • Knuckledragger: A former AE(A) Lead and second-in-command, Trask really knows his way around the deck. Knuckledraggers aboard the Cerberus would be aware that he's authorized to work on Vipers and Raptors, although he tends to favor the latter. It's rare that he's not pitching-in during his off-duty time.
  • Licensed Engineer: Have an interest in aerospace and/or electrical engineering? Guess who's a licensed engineer in those fields. Want some personal electronics built? Trask can do that, too, provided he has the time, the necessary materials, and the actual interest.
  • Mr. Fix-It: Since childhood, Trask has been repairing objects of all kinds. This actually is a long-standing, deep-seated coping mechanism to help him deal with feelings of helplessness and to assert a sense of control. Needless to say, he is extremely skilled at fixing stuff. It is not uncommon to find him tinkering with items, and he's often willing to repair things for others.
  • Mustang: No, not the car. Trask started as one of the enlisted and worked his way up to the rank of Chief Petty Officer before he entered OCS.
  • Plz Feed the Troll: In the mood to have your chops busted? Feel free to feed the troll that is Trask. He's blithely irreverent and will unhesitatingly "go there".
troll.jpg


On the Grid


"Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence."

— Siddhārta Gautama


Evidence of Antics (Logs)

Trask has been in 268 posted RP logs


"The mind has exactly the same power as the hands; not merely to grasp the world, but to change it."

— Colin Wilson


Recent Memoirs

Mélange of Multimedia


"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

— Aldous Huxley


Soundtracks

Songs that encapsulate the essence of Trask

The Animals
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Self-disclosure

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Charlatans UK
"Weirdo"
Self-reproach

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The Cure
"Closedown"
Self-awareness

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The Hives
"Main Offender"
Self-avowal

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White Rabbits
"Kid On My Shoulders"
Self-sabotage

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XTC
"Dear God"
Self-determination

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"Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be."

— Duane Michals


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