Sky-Captain Jayhawk

Basics
IG Name: Sky Captain Jayhawk

Class: Engineer (Holosmith)

Race: Asura

College: Synergetics/Dynamics (degree-through-examination)

Pact Affiliation: N/A

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Description
When she was around 17, Jayhawk was involved in an accident that was later found to be Inquest sabotage. She was caught in an explosion and badly burned, causing irreparable damage to sections of her body. Jayhawk is missing her right eye, her left arm (right above the elbow), right leg (right below the knee), and no longer has use of her larynx. She makes use of the prosthetic deldrimor limbs her husband, Shaarku, crafted for her, and only takes them off occasionally to sleep. Her voice is a stark contrast to her animated and enthusiastic manner, since the electrolarnyx she employs uses a simple, stock golem voice that remains fairly monotone. She has struggled with the loss of her arm, since prior to the accident that damaged it, she was left-handed. Jayhawk also has a steel panel installed on the right side of her rib cage, and her right ear has lost mobility.

She has a green eye, red hair, and is quite tall for an Asura.

Demeanor
Jayhawk is gregarious, and has a talent for being a social chameleon; she can adapt in context of the crowd she is with. She is anything but shy, though if she is in a bad mood, Jayhawk will hit the whiskey extra hard and withdraw socially. These instances never last very long, for Jayhawk thrives in the company of others.

The Captain is fiercely loyal with a fair yet somewhat flexible code of ethics. She does not let emotion sway her decisions often, but is open to relishing in an act of vengeance, if deserved.

Early Life
Jayhawk (legal name, Jezza) was born into a line with ties and privileges to a very lucrative lab founded by her paternal great-grandfather, but was raised knowing none of the comfort that came with it. Her father, Jeedr, was a tenacious Dynamics graduate and black sheep of the influential family laboratory., since his demeanor did not mix well with the passive aggressive snobbery he was raised around. So, Jeedr moved to Lion's Arch to get away from Rata Sum and the upper society, and started working the docks as a contracted mechanic and general laborer. There, he eventually courted and signed a matrimonial contract with a local consortium-wage-slave-turned-bar-wench, Itzaa.

Three years into their contract, Itzaa became pregnant with Jayhawk, and later died during the resulting labor. As soon as Jezza was able to turn a wrench, she was brought to work with Jeedr. Jayhawk's father needed the extra paycheck to keep the two of them afloat, and to pay for her tuition to college, as that had been a promise to her mother that their daughter attend.

Jeedr passed soon after Jezza's graduation from the college of Synergetics, due to a a dock accident. Later, she would earn a degree from the College of Dynamics through examination in her father's memory.

The blue-collar environment she was raised in left Jay with a heavy drawl, which was the target of ridicule during her time in school with the "more refined" progeny. Though she was at the head of her class, Jayhawk's unfortunate accent and long resume of "low class labor" caused enmity between herself and the other progeny, to the point that she still avoids Rata Sum if she can help it. Jayhawk is not opposed to the company of other asura, though she does not prefer it. She usually spends time with her Norn or Charr friends.

Post Graduation
After she graduated with honors from the College of Synergetics, Jayhawk was immediately recruited into a nondescript team of engineers. While there is not much information on her activities during this time, she retired from her work after the accident that took her limbs. It took four years for her to recover from her injuries, after which she moved to Shadowprey Village at the behest of her friend, Stag. Jayhawk and her husband, Shaarku, live there upon their airship, and she runs the import/export operations for the reclusive village alongside her post as mayor.

Acquisition of The Phoenix Ash
After a night of heavy drinking, and a discussion with some of the townsfolk of Shadowprey, Jayhawk awoke to find she had purchased an airship. She had the title of "Mechanist" prior to this event, which drove her to change her title to "Sky-Captain" to reflect her new career path. The ship was christened The Phoenix Ash, choosing to commemorate a new direction in her life by bringing focus on the ashes the mythical bird would spring from upon its self-immolation.

The ship is registered out of Rata Sum, and they run the [https://the-stray.fandom.com/wiki/Shaarkhawk_Shipping_and_Acquisition_Co. Shaarkhawk Shipping & Acquisition Company] out of it.

SkyFire, and the Skytruffle Interface
Jayhawk's current project is SkyFire: an interchangeable, easily portable holo-interface device which will interact with any transport-type technology and carry over user settings and adapt them to the current mode of transportation (ie, translating settings from air to sea travel). She added on a setting for her own usage, endearingly called the "Skytruffle Interface," which is a hidden AI program replicating Shaarku in all his snarky glory. Jayhawk added it to keep her company on long flights when Shaarku is back in his lab or asleep in their quarters.

Contrary to rumor, there is no "stripper setting" for the Skytruffle interface.

Present Day
Other than running Shaarkhawk Shipping alongside Shaarku, Jayhawk is currently Shadowprey's standing Mayor, having been granted the position by Stag when the owner of the town needed to delegate the responsibility away from herself. Her friendly and social nature deemed her well equipped for the job, though most of her paperwork is ditched onto Lizzia with little remorse.

Jayhawk makes frequent trips to Amnoon and the major cities.

Relationships Within the Stray
Jayhawk came to Shadowprey at the request of Stag, a long time-friend and a fellow pupil under Gorgrok Skysear, who she looks to as a father-figure after the loss of her own. Jayhawk has also grown close to Garrwyn DeSordo, the town's Deputy-Mayor. She has been known to tavern-hop with Lizzia, much to the chagrin of the latter, but considers the meek receptionist her best friend, after Shaarku, her husband.

Jayhawk began courting Shaarku on 28 Zephyr 1331 AE on the Mouvelian calendar; the same day she discovered her drunken purchase of the airship. On 54 Phoenix 1331 AE, they became engaged to notarize a marriage contract, and were officially under contract as of 82 Colossus 1331 AE, with an indefinite term. Having no former ties through a lab, their relationship is atypical for an Asuran union, since it is bound though sentiment and not shared patents, though the underwriting of said contract does cover the usual asuran bases of patent handling and what to do in case their assets be split. They do, however, collaborate in true Asuran fashion and have proven to be a brilliant team. Upon their engagement, Jayhawk added Shaarku's name to the registry of her airship, The Phoenix Ash. He is listed as the ship's navigator.

Jayhawk and Shaarku's relationship follow the Red Oni / Blue Oni trope, with Jayhawk's brashness and fiery demeanor a sharp contrast to Shaarku's reserved and cautious nature.

He will often refer to her as his "Peridot," a reference to her green eye, and she refers to him as her "Orrian Truffle," though there are a few other monikers she has assigned to her necromancer husband.

Trivia
- Jayhawk's original incarnation was a male goblin Shaman from World of Warcraft. His full name is Jayhawk Swingfire, and has a similar deposition and missing limbs as his female counterpart.

- "Jayhawk" is a type of air-to-air missile.

- Jezza, her birth name, is a nod to Cheza from Wolfs Rain.