User:Dodgson

Student
While growing up on Midgard, Dodgson spent most of his time working. Beginning at his 9th year he was already hard at work in a paper mill, primarily stripping the bark from logs with his sharp teeth prior to processing. When the paper industry on Midgard crashed circa 188 A.U., Dodgson was forced to rethink his future plans. He took what money he could scrape together from his savings and what he could borrow, along with some letters of reference and put in application to Flight School. His young age denied him entry, and he was forced to take what work was available to make his way.

Soon, however, Dodgson reached 15, and was thrilled when his resubmitted application was accepted. Dodgson did everything he could to learn about the art of flight, though his small size compared to most of the other students made this difficult. Eventually, though, an old squirrel-sized trainer was un-mothballed and returned to working condition, and soon Dodgson was flying around with the rest of his class.

Upon completing the coursework required for a basic pilot's license, Dodgson immediately began modifying his CR-4P, the "Frumious Bandersnatch", outfitting it with a series of hydraulic servos and mirrors to allow him to control the plane and see where he was going. When the vessel was flyable, Dodgson loaded the hold with as much wood as he could carry, waved goodbye to the land he had lived on for so many years, and took to the sky to make his fortune, or at least to make enough to pay back all those whom he owes.

Pilot
Dodgson was quick to sell the wood that he had carried and use the money to purchase more goods, clinging on to as much of the profit as possible. As he gained experience with the airlanes, Dodgson was able to open up new routes and landing permissions, and began roaming further and further from the core. On one of these flights, Dodgson stopped in at a notorious pub known as the Rotors and Prop, where he first began to integrate into the pilot culture. Being rather naturally timid, he was hesitant to approach anyone, but the people there were quite wiling to accept the little newcomer and soon Dodgson found himself regularly visiting. Not long after he began visiting, Dodgson was introduced to fellow squirrel Lavidia Sauverteen, and the two quickly became close friends, and eventually a couple. The clientele that frequented the R&P offered Dodgson a unique opportunity to brush shoulders (no literally, of course) with some of Skytopia's more famous Skyrates, and led him to set his eyes on the north.

Trader
For some time, Dodgson had a debate in his mind over factions. The militaristic nature of the Empire, on whose borders Dodgson had grown up, did not appeal to him, nor did the chaotic nature of the southern Conclave. While the Guild appealed to his nature as a trader, Dodgson still held strong loyalty to his former professors at the Echo Academy, and was intrigued by Professor Kyra's talk of the "Flight School for Life" movement. For a brief time he was even a member, but the clink of the coinpurse was too strong to resist, and so Dodgson traded his yellow scarf for a green one, hoping to find his way into the Merchant's Guild. The nature of the Guild at that time made this difficult though, and though he had brief contact with certain Guild members at the R&P, he could not seem to find a way to join their ranks. The bar was not without its interests, though. While his contact with them was brief, Dodgson ended up meeting with two rather prominent Greens by the name of Bouchie Topturner and Dan Umi, and it was here that he learned of the Emerald Republic. Dodgson flew to Eltsina immediately afterward and was soon the newest member of the Republic.

Speaker
Dodgson's interest in the political structure of the Republic quickly grew as he spent time with them. Research into the history of the Republic quickly showed Dodgson that it could be just the place to grow as a Skyrate, and he continued to research and contact people about the Republic. In these musings he found renewed interest in the Guild, and was thrilled when a simple inquiry into the nature of their relationship blossomed into alliance. It was almost inevitable in Dodgson's mind, at that point, that he would run for office. Examining the upcoming offices, Dodgson saw an opportunity to run for Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and he jumped on it. There were several nerve wracking moments, such as the period where Dodgson found himself running against Vice President Salvador Hatter, but Hatter's withdrawal from the race left the squirrel in a strong first, and in 208 A.U., Dodgson began his first term in office as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Emerald Republic. Directly upon entering office, Dodgson had his hands full. During the Elections, Skytopia was shocked by the arrival of the Violet Court and the Earthen Order, and a scant two days after his investiture, Dodgson found himself representing the Republic alongside Taf to the Earthen Order. He also quickly found himself involved in the final stages of the Green Faction's reorganization into the Jade Hand. Despite the rocky start, Dodgson's term saw general success, the largest point being the development of Embassies for other faction's to contact the Republic through. In this time period, President Hatter began a serious discussion in the faction to define the nature of the Jade Hand. A heated debate broke out, and it became clear that there was no coherent view. The infighting became fierce rather quickly, and the Republic seemed at risk. It was at this point that Dodgson brought forth the presentation of the Jade Hand as coexistent, but separate entities with different personalities, and this quickly became a rallying point for most of the faction. Of all the developments in his term, this would prove to be the most influential.

Leader
Initially, Dodgson's intention was to leave the Republic once his term had concluded, and he took steps to contact the Guild regarding membership. At the urging of some trusted comrades, though, he chose instead to take the aggressive step of running for President. With Salvador Hatter retiring, Dodgson ended up running unopposed and was considered a surefire win. Things took a turn for the worst, however when the threat of Blue expansionism began to grate on Dodgson. The Cabinet had already been discussing options when the Ambassadors from Flight School and the Crimson Empire approached the Republic with an offer of alliance. The Cabinet decided to accept, and informed the public of the decision. It was at this point, however, that things got rocky. Public sentiment was massively against the idea, and several prominent members of the Emerald Republic Defense Force even went on strike refusing to attack. During this confusion the elections concluded, and accusations began flying of election fraud, government incompetence, and threats of impeachment were even made on Presidents Hatter and Lewis. In addition, Dodgson, Sec. Int.. November, and Sec. Def. Athrawes were faced with the task of having to defend the decision to the two newest members of the Cabinet, Sec. For. Aff. Taricha and Vice Pres. Borevich. The cabinet quickly reached the decision that the Republic needed to withdraw, and so the Cabinet exercised the treaty's 48 hour pullout clause. The damage was done, though, and the ramifications were staggering. The long standing verbal contract between the Republic and the Conclave had been torn to pieces by the events, and internally the damage continued. Dodgson's close ally Athrawes resigned from his position as Secretary of Defense, leaving for the Empire of all places, and several members of the Jade Hand formed the quasi-rebel wing the Viridian Claw, to stand against what they viewed as an illegitimate leadership. Dodgson himself considered resigning from office, but with the encouragement of his Cabinet decided to stay the course. The government quickly underwent sweeping changes, including new procedures for the ratification of treaties, a complete redevelopment of the ERDF into the Emerald Defense Agency, and a renewed commitment to open, representative government. President Lewis worked closely with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Taricha to reopen lines of communication with the Conclave, and soon a new treaty had been signed that, while not perhaps as overarching as the previous agreement, was much firmer. The internal strife was calmed, and at the end of it all, while she had certainly changed, the Republic came out in the end arguably stronger than before, and comments were even heard to have been said regarding the cabinet as being "The best since the Benefactor administration".

Planes Owned

 * Though he is only 18 inches tall, Dodgson has managed to rig up mechanisms in his planes allowing him to fly a full-sized aircraft. While combat remains a weak point of this solution, Dodgson is more concerned with cargo than maneuverability.

2.3
 * CR-4P "Frumious Bandersnatch" - Engine Bored Out
 * CF-40 Mastiff "Borogrove" - Port and Polish, 25 Cal. Guns, Small Ext. Fuel Tank
 * Econolops 288 "Uffish Thought" - Port and Polish, .80 Cal Guns
 * Bullfrog "Brillig Gyre" - Larger Props., Medium Int. and Ext. Fuel Tanks, Gutted Hold, Lightweight Shell
 * Cetacea "Burbling Mome Rath" - Gutted Cargo Hold, Additional Cargo Hold, Efficiency Mod., Larger Props, .80 Caliber Guns, Med. Ext. Fuel Tank
 * Kingfisher "JubJub Bird" - Larger Props, Turbo Charger, Small External Fuel Tank, Gutted Craft & Cargo Hold, Med. & Large Int. Fuel Tanks
 * Cetacea "Frabjous Day" - Trading Kit, Combat Kit, Performance Kit, Larger Props

2.4
 * CR-4P "Tweedledee" - Supplied by NEF, Dod used this plane to assist in the rebuilding efforts, while attempting to get out of it as quickly as possible.
 * Nomad "Tweedledum" - Though a more comfortable trader, the speed of the base model proved ill-suited to an unstable economy.
 * Kittyhawk "White Knight" - The move to a performance aircraft was an interesting change for Dodgson. Ultimately, though, the range proved to short for long-term use to be viable.
 * Halifax "Red Queen" - Dodgson purchased the Red Queen from a used aircraft dealer on A2. While the paint scheme was somewhat vexing, it was the first plane that Dodgson could find with the range needed to rejoin his faction on Eltsina.

Crew

 * Lady Piston - Trader
 * Initially a sales clerk at an aircraft parts shop on Eltsina, Lady found Dodgson through a placement agency and was the first crewmate he ever picked up. Her passion for sales combined with gratuitous amounts of energy have brought her to a level that rivals the top traders in Skytopia. Lady is an active member of the Merchant's Guild, focusing primarily on the area of advertising.


 * Dottie Heath - Mechanic
 * Another Guild member, Dottie hails from the labor side, namely the Mechanic's Union Local 1468. While this has caused issues with the Mole Mechanic's Union in the past, as a rule the usefulness of a dedicated mechanic's services onboard the craft, unavailable through the MMU, have more than outweighed the inconvenience.


 * Byron Luckett - Navigator
 * Given Dodgson's appear, folks are often shocked to find that he flies with one of Skytopia's largest creatures as his copilot. The elephant navigator is knon to randomly break into soliloquies from some play or another, a curious trait, but no more curious than any of the others that the crew exhibits.

Former Crew

 * Sun Lee - Navigator
 * Dodgson hired Sun straight out of cartographic school on Aleut as a low-paid intern. A very lively personality himself, Sun spent a lot of time with Lady, and the combination of personality and species the two share has made them close comrades. As his time on Dodgson's crew extended, he moved from intern to full employee, and is awaiting the opportunity to apply for his Master Navigator's license. Plans changed after the second Great Storm, though, when Sun's homeland got hard hit, and he made the choice to return to help his family rebuild.


 * Tricksy Cobbler - Mechanic
 * The muscle of the crew, Trick was the camel behind the scenes. Dodgson hired her when he was still flying the Brillig Gyre, and her ability to patch holes and problems made her a valued member of the crew. Tricksy's ability to keep the super-modified ER1 (Frabjous Day) in top condition drew the attention of several other pilots, and she routinely received offers to come and work on another crew. These offers were set aside in favor of a position with November Expedition Fund as a technician.


 * Inessa Lebedev - Diplomat
 * Inessa mostly worked behind the scenes on the crew. Her primary work included the negotiation of the cargo contracts that Dodgson increasingly found himself accepting. Inessa initially signed on hoping to use her employer's position as a leapfrog into a governorship, but Dodgson was unable to provide her with many opportunities. She eventually chose to forgo her position as negotiator, choosing instead to try possibilities with the Earthen Order.