type: db_character
description:
tags: oc, publishedAugust "Gus" Hans
Generally goes by "Hans" and will correct strangers to use Hans as his preferred name. "Gus" only to acquaintances and friends which he tolerates, only his partner/family are allowed to call him "August."
A curmudgeon, outwardly uncaring with a real "fuck off" vibe and isn't bothered by upsetting people. When it comes to business, will only do what it literally says on the contract and nothing more. Not particularly fond of being in zero gravity, alas, that is a big part of the job. The best way to get on his good side, possibly even have him open up, is to engage him in his special interests or ask for his "expert opinion".
Appearances & Anatomy
6'4" and sinewy, 40-43 years old, grayed before he was 30, very pale. Sclera is a dark navy blue and has a notable (green) taptum lucidum. Capable of powered flight.
winged chimera; noted that feathered wings are "not typical of his species" who usually have fully webbed wings, implying that the feathers are a modification to substitute the clearly malformed/cropped webbing. Feathers have grown around his neck, shoulders and back which is a side effect of the genetic engineering.
tanner on his back due to sun exposure
hypothetical line of injury and surgical "cropping"
Background
Seniority has earned him the title of captain (a title bequeathed to him when Marco retired, much to Gus' surprise) but also fills the role of head engineer of the The Merkavah. Of the three current crew members, he has worked the longest with the STS Company.
Has a knack for fixing things, which initially earned him a job on the Merkavah maintaining the mechanical parts of the ship and working similar contracts. He tinkers with things seemingly out of shear boredom and to pass the time in transit.
The mismatched paneling and odd collage of hardware was because the captain was constantly taking apart and rebuilding things seemingly out of boredom, though this only seemed to apply to things that were not broken but “could be improved” - things that were broken or constantly breaking down, but not a necessity, seemed to stay broken. There was evidence of this all over, especially in the form of tapped over light switches, empty spaces where something used to exist and sticky notes to remind the crew “do NOT run the coffee maker and the microwave at the same time.
Before being brought aboard the Merkavah as a dedicated crewmate, Gus likely hitched rides between systems working with the Company as an independent contractor. Likely met Hana through some long term employment that place him on her station/ship/planet.
Likely in his late 20s when he had his wings modified with feathers (possible accident at work that mangled them); no complications following the operation.
writing it down for posterity and because this story was very much a part of this character's development early on - the self loathing persists.
Gus was relatively sheltered until he was a teen and learned the hard way that the world is unkind to his species and that the circumstances surrounding his adoption were more out of charity. The shock of learning about his reality made him extremely distrustful of people (humans) and just generally angry, which he carried into adulthood.
After running away from his home, being shuffled around various youth hostels and moving on from places he is not welcome, makes his way into NYC. There are more mutants so he feels more a sense of community, however struggles to find a job, get established. Unknowingly becomes a runner/messenger (being able to fly is really useful in this case) for nefarious factions - does this for a few months.
Get's caught up in a huge police bust and is arrested. The detective leading the bust has a special mutant task force offers Gus a deal: join up, get his slate wiped clean, or take his chances in prison. Gus joins up, starts by working with the police to smoke out the rest of the gangs he worked for.
At first, Gus enjoys working for the police and believes to be "doing something meaningful with his life" despite the job requiring that he "betray his own kind." The job offers him stability for the first time in his adult life, and he falls for the temptation of having power over other people. As the years go on and his reputation for being unsympathetic towards his own kind grows, the backlash from the mutant community begins to wear on Gus. He starts to question if what he is doing is actually helping anyone and spirals, turning to the bottle, disobeying orders, becoming more unorthodox in his methods on the job - essentially has a death wish and doesn't believe he's capable of being a good person anymore.
Relationship, Factions & Connections
The three core crew members are all emotionally closed off in their own ways which weirdly enough means they understand each other and work well together despite constant bickering. End of the day, everyone understands that they are trapped on this ship together so they should try not to kill each other. Their skill sets are complimentary, they strive for equal say in decision making despite titles.
- Cole Riley - First mate, ~35 years old, the ship's pilot and comms person, a therian. The most personable of the three, worked with Gus under Marco for a number of years. Chief bickerer of semantics. Has been banned from kitchen duty.
- Rene Severino - Second mate, ~25-28 years old, weapons and security, a psion with the ability to redirect kinetic energy which manifests as "super strength," a "using brute force to solve problems" type of gal. Last hire before Marco retired. Constantly told she can't smoke on the ship, or to do it in the airlock.
- Marco Gianni - former owner/captain of the Merkavah, now retired, a therian. Connected to Company sub-factions in the outer systems, those connections were passed on to the current crew and are a source of off the books side contracts.
- Aradhana Veda - a doctor working with an interstellar medical corps, has a daughter (Madison) from another partner, a mosaic; Gus' partner of ~10 years; Gus will do whatever he can within his power to keep the Merkavah close to where Hana is stationed so they are not spending weeks apart from each other. Literally a different person when he is with Hana and Madison.
- Madison Veda - adopted daughter, he fucking loves that kid and that kid only.
Other
- feel free to change outfits or time periods - he's been in a 1990's, late 1800s and now a space setting.
- Drawing him with Ikamo or his associates Rene and Cole would be A++
Simplify his wings if it means you'll have an easier time drawing them :)
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Meredith Nolan © 2025