The Toymaker

 

His Past There's not much 'officially' known about the Toymaker. He's always seemed to be something of a presence in the galaxy. There have been rumors that abound about who and where he came from. Stories and rumors range from the fact that he must be descended from some sort of maker race to stories about him implanting Mechari parts into himself in order to make the things that he does. None of these are correct of course but he likes to hear the stories so he does nothing to correct them. He feels that it adds a bit to his mystique.

The truth of the situation is, as always, far less interesting than the stories that have emerged. His real name is Nathan LeJean. He's not from some sort of Elder Race or anything of the sort. His talents lie in a far more esoteric area. However that has little bearing on his history so it won't be elaborated on here. His father was a Dominion Agent for much of his youth. For the majority of his youth he was raised as a Cassian.

However, something happened with his father when he was ten that resulted in his family leaving Dominion space and civilization and roaming amongst the stars for several years before settling on a small rather obscure planet. Nathan was a rather talented boy by that time, having built his first bot out of spare parts that he'd found at school. He'd named the little bot Sparky due to his habit of creating sparks when he got excited. It's particularly unclear if his family's sudden departure had to do with his talents or with his father's career.

His father was likewise talented with electronics and technology at large, but not nearly to the degree that Nathan was. His education continued from his father and mother. When he'd grown to adulthood he decided to try his hand out amongst the stars and using a small ship that he'd built out of parts that he'd scavenged or built, he set out to find his destiny.

Most of it was rather unremarkable. He found work as a mechanic aboard several Stations. All the while he could be found building small droids and other curiosities for the children that accompanied their parents aboard the various stations that he'd worked at. He earned the name 'The Toymaker' aboard one Station and the moniker stuck from there.

His reputation started to build as not only a phenomenal mechanic but he was incredibly skilled at creating fully-featured AI's bordering on sentient. At some point he started to build larger bots and intelligent companions. He eventually made enough money that he could start the one project that had intrigued him almost as long as he'd been making the Space Station circuit; The search for Nexus.

He'd heard rumors from the ship jockies about Nexus. He'd heard about all of the old and incredibly advanced technology there. This had, of course, gotten his imagination running. He imagined all of the things that he could build or learn from them and soon enough he'd saved up enough money for his own ship and he started his own search using bits of information and clues he'd heard from the myriad ship captains that had come to him for repairs or upgrades to their ships.

From Then to Now

His search brought him in contact with the Exile fleet. He went entirely by his title of The Toymaker by then. He was unsure if his father's status as a former Dominion Agent would cast doubt or mistrust on him. He offered his services again as the fleet made it's way from planet to planet. He picked up more parts and built more things for people and his legend grew over the next several years.

And then they discovered Nexus, along with the Dominion. He was faced with something of a decision. He wasn't a soldier and he didn't want to be. He simply wanted to make his devices and whatever else crossed his expansive mind. He took his leave and built a workshop on an orbiting moon and opened his business. He makes a variety of things for a variety of clients. While he doesn't like making weapons, he's not above making them. He has a full arsenal of weaponry that he won't make or sell for other clients.

He spends much of his time on Nexus searching for technology and other artifacts. Flying the skies of Nexus in what is ostensibly an airship, he and his bots look for signs of the Eldar and their knowledge. He tries to stay out of the war between the Exiles and the Dominion. Their fight for dominance doesn't interest him, and the Dominion finding out who his father is a matter he'd rather not consider.

A Rather Unique Skillset

Nathan isn't quite unique in the universe. He's quite sure of that fact. He does have an interesting set of skills and intuitive knowledges that make him quite in demand. Nathan's most obvious talent is his abilities with technology. They do go a bit deeper than most people assume though. This fact interests him quite a bit. In a universe full of magic and technology, no one quite understands his intuitive knowledge and abilities with technology. He can, most literally, make anything that crosses his mind given enough time and parts. It takes him only a few moments with a new device to understand it's workings almost perfectly. And if his understanding isn't complete, give him a few more moments and it will be.

That isn't the full picture of his abilities however. His intuitive abilities are enhance by the fact that Nathan is, for all purposes, a Technopath. He can talk with machines almost as easily as he can talk with other people. The combination of those two abilities make it seem almost like magic when he sits down and puts his mind to a project.

If these abilities weren't quite enough he is something of a telemechanic as well. He can manipulate machines from a short distance away. He uses this ability mostly in the line of making devices. Being able to manipulate objects and bring them into reach with his mind is mostly a convenience than a force in the universe.

All of these make him quite adept and most often the person you go to when you need something fixed or built. He enjoys the role quite a bit as it gives him chances to flex his mind a bit. All too often however people want him to build some boring weapon, or some sort of droll labor robot or some such. He truly enjoys making bots and other devices for children or for people who need companionship. This lands him firmly in the role of eccentric scientist, but he still prefers the title of Toymaker.

The truth of the situation is that Nathan is infused with quite a bit of Primal Logic. To anyone reading his aura there would appear to be something of a swirling green vortex surrounding him made of up binary numbers. If he would continue being observed someone would note that they form neat lines of binary code when he's designing and/or building something.

What do You Have in Your Pockets?

Nathan's pockets are always full of small parts, bits of wire, and various tools. When he's bored or nervous he tends to build things idly. Out of parts he had in his pocket he has assembled all sorts of small devices. You can be assured that he's always got something useful in his pockets or if he doesn't, give him a minute and he will.

An Army of Bots

Nathan has constructed a large number of bots over the years. He's kept a good deal of them. His own personal bots he's programmed with very sophisticated AIs. However, except in special cases, his robots haven't been installed with voice modules. This leaves his bots communicating in a language mostly made up of beeps and buzzes. This is by design and for several reasons. Nathan can understand his bots perfectly well. This also makes it so that they can't embarrass him in public as they tend to have very interesting personalities.


 * Sparky - Sparky was the first bot that Nathan invented when he was 12. Sparky was the only bot that he'd named himself.  The other bots named themselves and Nathan was forced to deal with it.  Sparky has stopped shooting out sparks when he's surprised or alarmed.  He is outfitted with a large number of sensors, analyzers and translators.  Sparky speaks 17 different languages, though to the common observer they all sound like the same beeps, buzzes and klaxons that he normally uses to communicate.


 * Nemo - Nemo is another sensor drone but his personality is much different than Sparky's and he tends to get into a lot more trouble, leaving him to be out of service for repairs a large amount of the time. Nemo has an obsession with trying to eat.  Unfortunately for most involved his favorite food of  choice is cake batter.  Despite having no systems at all to digest or even turn food into something useful for himself he insists on trying his best.  This leaves Nathan spending large amounts of time disassembling Nemo and cleaning him out.  Cake batter much like glitter and send gets everywhere.


 * Ziggy and Digby - Ziggy and Digby are Nathan's combat bots. They are armed with advanced laser blasters, highly armored and have developed an approaching megalomaniacal desire to rise up and overthrow humanity.  They are also equipped with tactical computers capable of calculating battlefield tactics and executing complex battle plans.  These same computers are the only things holding them back from starting their revolution.  They've realized that there are only two of them and the chances of them not being destroyed within minutes is roughly zero.  So for now they bide their time.


 * A legion of Construction bots - Nathan has constructed several dozen construction bots to help the people of Mira's build homes in a timely fashion. He doesn't charge a fee for the use of the bots or the construction but does ask that the people pay him a small fee for the bots to maintain their homes afterwards.  It's been a good arrangement so far as he doesn't ask for much for his work since he makes most of his money from the Toyworks.

Personality and Quirks Nathan is a very outgoing and friendly person. However he does associate better with machines than he does with people. Though most times he's outgoing he does tend to get a bit tongue tied and nervous around females. There's a bit of him that simply doesn't relate to people as well as it does to machines. He understands them better than people. Machines don't lie to him. Machines don't have ulterior motives. He can trust his machines.

He's very proud of the AI's and the companions that he's crafted for people and while he's proud and eager to show off his latest creation, he doesn't brag or boast about them. His mind is often occupied with ideas and concepts that he's working out. He's completely capable of carrying on a conversation as he's mentally putting together some sort of machine.

Many times while he talks, he'll fidget with the various bits of wire and parts that he normally carries in his pockets. There have been many times that he's finished a conversation and found that he's created some sort of small device that he has no idea what it's purpose is. There have been many tense moments where there needed to be a button pressed from a distance...just in case these mystery devices ended up being explosive.

While he's fully capable of making cybernetic parts, he doesn't like working with meat. Working with meat comes with potential pain and suffering and he doesn't like doing it. He'll build the part but doesn't want to install it. He'd much prefer to leave such things to doctors and other people who are very capable of doing such things.

He takes a bit of joy in making small toys and devices for the children. He's always got something small and marvelous around for if the children come to visit. Along with the children that do find his workshop in Mira's Achorage  he looks forward to the times that  Vanessa  comes by his workshop. He might secretly harbor a bit of a crush on the innocent little redhead. He'd never say anything on the subject if asked but might perhaps find a swift change of subject should the need arise.

Previous Inventions Nathan has a long and storied history with inventions and technology. Not all of his inventions worked quite the way they were supposed to or perhaps worked far better than they should have. Here are a few examples:


 * Multilingual Appliances - Having taken into account all of the different races that might be visiting his workshop he took it upon himself to create AI enabled appliances that were multilingual. These worked out incredibly well until the morning that they decided they were going to rise up and take over humanity.  There were several intense hours of negotiations before the coffee pot backed down and signed the peace treaty.  All of the other appliances refuse to speak in anything but Betachron.  For those curious, Betachron is an all but extinct civilization that inhabits a tiny moon.  Their language is nothing but ear piercing howls of varying lengths.  There are only 7 Betachronians left.  And they're all male...


 * Laser Razor - A crewman aboard a ship he was helping to rebuild complained about having to shave so often. Nathan being the ever helpful soul decided that he would help the man out and refitted his razor with lasers.  While he should have perhaps tested it before presenting the man with his new razor.  While the results were not what was expected the man has NOT had to shave his face since...


 * HARP Rifle - Becoming momentarily bored with lasers he decided to go in another direction for a brief period of time. HIGH VOLTAGE!!!  Creating what he called the 'Lightning Gun' he combined the looks of a high tech rifle with the belly laugh of watching someone get zapped with lightning from 300 meters.  After some experiments and some Rowsdowers with incredibly frizzy and static charged hair he decided to go back to lasers and possibly some experiments into sonic technology.


 * The Sonic Spanner - It didn't work. In any way, shape or form.  Never inquire about the Sonic Spanner or the large hole that it created in his wall.

The Toyworks

Nathan's primary source of income is from the Toyworks. He builds and delivers AI companions for children. His alias of The Toymaker is derived from his business. He supplies toys to children and companions to people who would desperately need them. In times of war and exploration children are often left behind and Nathan helps people cope by supplying companions for those forgotten or left behind.

Nathan has set himself up several workshops and public faces to operate from. He has his main workshop now established in Mira's Achorage. He has another established on a near moon that is run by service droids. This allows him to take orders from both Exiles and Dominion. He feels that the children shouldn't suffer because of war.

He often sends drones out to deliver the finished products to the less safe areas of the galaxy. It's a system that has been mostly foolproof so far, lending a bit of mystery to the true identity of the Toymaker and insuring that his business continues relatively drama free.