Constantine Atreus

After many months spent recovering from severe injuries, CPO Constantine Atreus received an honorable discharge and chose to retire to Aerilon on 07 Nov 2041 AE. He was not among those evacuated from the planet when the Cylons attacked on 14 Nov 2041 AE. His whereabouts and status are unknown, and he is presumed to be deceased.

Background

The Early Years

With eight children and one on the way, Constantine grew up in a whirlwind of struggle that was remarkably lacking in strife. His father, Navy Captain Pelops Atreus, kept order with a brilliant mixture of humor and discipline that came naturally to the man. His mother, Amanda Ptolemy, inspired all of her children with love and dedication; not only to spirituality, but to life itself. Their children were as disperate as any large family can be.

Growing up the youngest son, Constantine suffered through a wildly fluctuating environment as sisters pampered while brothers pummeled him. In some ways, this gave him the flexibility and patience to deal with the ups and downs that life has to offer. By the time Constantine was in school, he already showed a strong propensity to tinker. He took apart a wide variety of mechanical objects from toys to clocks, lawn mower engines to cars. Initially, he expected to be attending a trade college to become a mechanic, but his father convinced him to try the military and Constantine agreed with one condition. Rather than entering the military as an officer, as his father had desired, Constantine began his career as a snipe on the Deck of the Gunstar Sarpedon. While he had the great good fortune to serve with Deck Chief Paul Sinclair; one of the greats, he was also witness to the slow deterioration of Commander Ptolomy.

The work was difficult and demanding. Theory was translated to practice and experiences gained by working on one thing were dissected, analyzed and applied elsewhere. He was in his element from the first day there. Training under the tutelage of Chief Sinclair, Constantine learned all he could. During their first conversation, Sinclair took the shiny new Apprentice on a tour of the deck.

“See this? This is your fusion reactor.” Sinclair's voice was low, faintly raspy and warmly affectionate.

The young man’s eyes shone, “Yes, sir!”

Sinclair lightly patted the casing of the deadly device. “With this, you shall not tinker.”

It took a moment before the old man laughed and a moment more before Constantine realized that he; too, could laugh.

Time flew by and he was raised from Apprentice through PO 3rd Class almost before he realized it. When Sinclair retired, Constantine feared that the new DC would not have time to complete his training. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Sinclair had left a full briefing of all the snipes in his crew and his replacement, Chief Amanda Torrez gleefully took on not only Atreus, but the entire crew. Her approach was out there, unique, revolutionary, and dangerous. Under her, Constantine began exploring FTL engines, ordnance and fuel regulation. It was during this time that he began to flex his mental muscles, to try different things, to make serious mistakes. He built upon the outstanding basis Sinclair gave him and grew fast and faster. It was also at this time that he first fell in love. Her name was Cora Roberts and she was beautiful, brilliant, and a touch insane.

Cora; or Specialist Roberts, was very good at her job. She was demolitions expert with the 85th Brigade out of Picon. They got on famously initially. It was through Cora that Constantine first experienced the rush of excitement, the heady joy, the intense satisfaction of a well laid explosion. They were inseparable until the fateful day when she invited him home to meet the folks.

The day was bright, cheerful and unseasonably warm. During supper, there was talk of Cora assisting with raising a warehouse so that a new one could be constructed. The next morning, the family went down to the factory district, where the warehouse was. Cora treated it as though the warehouse was a Cylon base. She assigned her father and mother to evacuate the building. While they were about that task, she surveyed the place, setting small mines here and there. At first, Constantine followed her on her rounds like a puppy, but gradually it came to him that she was using military explosives, that she was using it to destroy a civilian structure and that what she was doing was both highly dangerous and illegal. They quarreled, he asserting that they should not do what was planned. That the surrounding buildings were at risk. That they would kill many. She answered all his arguments by setting off the mines. The building rumbled. It bucked. It cracked… then it collapsed in on itself with nothing more than a dust cloud shifting outward. Cora and Constantine were standing less than 10 feet from the building when it went down. The episode scared the bejeesus out of him and while it did inspire him to learn as much as he could about explosives, it also convinced him to stick with ordnance. That, at least, he felt comfortable with. When he returned to duty, he put in for a transfer to the Battlestar Columbia; an older Battlestar, said goodbye to Cora and practically fled. He has not seen her since.

The Middle Years.

Constantine spent a total of three years aboard the Columbia. Chief Esquibel taught her snipes everything that she knew and that was saying a lot. She had been chosen to serve as Deck instructor not only for her near encyclopedic knowledge, but for her patience with youthful exuberance and mis-aimed good intentions. Constantine, while not her best student in terms of intelligence, might have been her favorite for his native ability and perseverance. Unlike those before her, Chief Esquibel insisted that all snipes have training in firearms, first aide and organization. It was her contention that all snipes are future Deck Chiefs and she trained her people with that in mind. Constantine took what he had learned before, built on it and refined it to a fine art. By the time he was ready to leave the Gunstar, Esquibel recommended him for promotion and certified him as ready to take on his first Deck as Chief.

Aboard the Hyperion Constantine put everything he had learned about running a Deck into practice. His first six months or so was a bit of trial by fire, as the CAG felt that the Deck fell under his authority. He resented the new Deck Chief and it took an order from the XO to sort things out. Constantine learned a great deal about dealing with the vagaries of human nature during his tenure on the Hyperion. By the time the CAG was ready to move on, he and Constantine were; if not friends, at least amicable. Over time, Constantine grew more confident and comfortable in his role, and by the time of the Hyperion's decommissioning, Constantine was reassigned to the brand new Battlestar Cerberus.

[[/collapsible]]

Immediate Family

+ Show Family

Service Jacket

Physical Features

This man's hair is a charcoal black with deep brown undertones. It has been cut to a regulation length buzz that still manages to hint at soft waves. His forehead is clear and high, softened by the fuzz of shadow framing it. Strong eyebrows mark lightly arched lines that hover over brightly expressive, hazel eyes. Laugh lines are just beginning to form where intelligence and humor gleam in his eyes and hide near his mouth. His slightly prominent nose defines the straight center of a rugged face. His mouth tends toward laughter, with a gently sardonic twist that gives his smile humor and his frown passion. A five o'clock shadow that defies any razor to contain darkens his narrow, firm chin and lending him a vaguely roguish allure. Not a tall man, Constantine stands at just over 5' 10", but what he lacks in stature is more than made up for in physical prowess. Even wearing relatively loosely fitting clothing, it is clear that he takes excellent care of himself.