Lieutenant William Montgomery

Lieutenant William Montgomery - Wild Card Officer of the British Army of Mars - Patrick

Ag d8, Sm d8, Sp d10, St d6, Vg d6,
Pace 6, Parry 6, Toughness 5
Skills: Fighting d10, Shooting d6, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Intimidate d6, Riding d4, Persuasion d8
Edges: Rank: Officer, Command
Hindrances: Loyal (To the Regiment and Crown) Obligation (Army, Mionr), code of Honour
Gear: Sabre (Str+d6), Pistol (Range: 5/10/20, ROF1, Damage: 2d6, AP: 1)
Languages: English, Koline, Parhooni, French

William Montgomery was born on February 10th, 1860 and is 29 in 1889. He was born in the booming borough of Manchester, England. His father is Thomas Montgomery, born March 12th, 1827 and is 62 in 1889. His mother, Elizabeth Montgomery nee Powell was born on April 7th, 1842 and is 47 in 1889. William was their fourth child but the first to survive past his second birthday.

In his childhood William was teased by other boys because his father could not afford the commission for the ranks that their fathers were. William knew that his father was as good of a soldier as their fathers but he never retaliated because he knew that it wouldn’t help him or his father.

William did not receive schooling other than Sunday school but he could read and write as well as the next person. His parents did not pay for him to attend a school because they were saving to buy him a commission; though even when they saved they would not be able to afford a rank of any prominence.

This made for a joyful day in the Montgomery household when they learned, in 1871, that the practice of paying for a commission had been abolished. This meant that rank was no longer based on how much money you had but how good of a soldier you were, and that William would have the opportunity to pursue higher ranks.

In 1872 William’s father Thomas volunteered to go to Mars and help establish a British colony. He has not been back to Earth since, but has had contact with Elizabeth and young William.

The money that had been saved for William’s commission was then used to pay for an enrolment at Sir Warren Picket’s Fencing School. William excelled under Sir Picket’s tutelage and in his fifth and final year of lessons, 1875, William placed second in Sabre fencing and fourth in both Epée and Foil fencing at national competitions. Even when William won a match by a great margin he would not gloat. This brought great honour to the Montgomery’s and gave William a reputation of being a gentleman. His foes respected him and he returned the favour. To this day he will give his opponent the option of surrender before fighting.

In 1876, the year after William’s success in fencing he started his military training. He attended the RMC and he graduated in 1878. William easily qualified for the free commission with some of the best marks in his class. In 1879 William and Elizabeth travelled to Mars to join Thomas. William managed to get a spot in The Parhoon Rifles, the same unit as his father.

Though Thomas had fought some minor skirmishes in the Gorovaangian War, neither father nor son fought in any major battles until the Second War of Parhoon Succession in 1880. Thomas was the Senior Officer in his unit at the time, the same one that William was the Junior Officer in. Their unit was assigned to capture and hold a small outpost outside of Syrtis Major. The task was a minor one but the garrison of Martians did not give up easily. The attack was going well but then Thomas, who was 53 at the time, was wounded. After checking to make sure his father was stable, William rallied the troops and they pushed onwards to reach their goal. Thomas retired from the because of his injuries. He retired on full pay because he had served for the required thirty years.

Thomas and Elizabeth are both very happy for and proud of William; they are now living in Parhoon.

After the dust settled in and around Syrtis Major, William was recognized for his resourcefulness and adaptability. He was personally assigned to protect the explorer Harrison Challenger by the Regent-Commissioner Sir Phillip Adelaide.
And so it begins….