Sir Kirby Shaw (Shao)

Sir Kirby Shaw (Shao) is a young mechwarrior of Warlock III, in service to Baron Von Zhao and the St. Ives Compact. He is the latest Lord of Borjin Chulu Valley, a small patch of ranchland in the settled equatorial region of Warlock III. The domain is dry and cold, watered only by a single shallow river that flows through the center of the valley. There is only one settlement worthy of being called a town, “Borjin”, located on a low granite mound, though there are numerous small villages. The economy of the domain is built entirely around ranching and some mining. Long thought to be a brutish and irresponsible young man, Kirby spent most of his formative years brawling, gambling, and getting into trouble with local criminals in the capital city. Sir Kirby was formally trained in the St. Ives service academy branch on Warlock III and is a competent pilot and accurate gunner. Upon the death of his father, he was called back to the family domain to assume the mantle of Lord. Unfortunately, he is not especially gifted as an administrator and tends to leave the management of the fief and day-to-day affairs to his elderly mother Lady Annik. Most of the peasant ranchers consider this a blessing. 

Sir Kirby is a large, strong man of 24 with intimidating manners and the battered face of a brawler. He is tough and weathered from years of hunting wolves on the ranch, though he has few if any practical skills related to farming or industry. In fact, while not exactly stupid, he is not exactly bright either. Despite his loutish demeanor, he is neither bad-tempered nor sadistic; he simply prefers violence or brute force as a solution to most challenges. Only two virtues really stand out upon spending time around Sir Kirby besides his toughness and strength. First, he has become quite driven in his desire to elevate himself and his domain in status at court, whether through advantageous relations or battlefield prowess. Second, he is unfailingly loyal to his friends, his family, and to his liege-lord, Baron Von Zhao. This loyalty is so reflexive that many question whether or not he has ever given it any thought. 

Sir Kirby pilots the family’s only battlemech, the “Sun Wukong III”. This old VND-1R Vindicator has been in the family for decades. Painted in a shabby blue-grey camouflage scheme that blends in perfectly with the terrain around Borjin Chulu, the “Sun Wukong III” is not much to look at. Nevertheless, the fact that the mech is bog-standard in all regards means that spare parts were always easily available on Warlock III, even after the St. Ives Compact seceded from the Capellan Confederation. It is thus in excellent condition, maintained by the Shaw family’s small crew of astechs. 

Allies, Contacts, Enemies

Ally - “Bad” Penny Shu-Lin, Ranch Family Militia Leader: This tough rancher is the head of the Shu-Lin family, one of the largest families in Borjin. She is about the same age as Sir Kirby, and became the head of household when her parents were killed in a raid by Capellan forces several years ago. She and the mechwarrior grew up together. They had a brief relationship during their younger wilder years, though she has since taken on the mantle of responsibility and disapproves of the knight’s feckless ways. They remain friends, however, and she brings one important asset to the table; on a word, she can muster a force of two or three dozen armed relatives who are willing to load into range trucks and motorcycles, drive to where they are told, and commit violence as long as they are permitted to loot. When Borjin Chulu is required to muster a force for visiting VIP’s, the Shu-Lin militia takes a position of honor as Sir Kirby’s “retinue”, though they really only take orders from “Bad” Penny. 

Contact - Fritz Huang, Gang Leader: Though usually described as a “gang leader”, Fritz Huang is both more and less than that. He is the owner of a bar/arcade/gambling den in Warlock III’s capital city, as well as a minor boss in the local Triad. He is in charge of extorting protection money from the local businesses in a particular neighborhood, as well as running some small-scale businesses of an illicit nature. Fritz and Sir Kirby are friends (to a point), as the mechwarrior has been both a client and an enforcer for the gang leader at one point or another. When Sir Kirby is in the capital, he usually frequent’s Fritz’s establishment, which changes names annually due to some strange custom that Fritz follows… avoiding bad luck, official scrutiny, or his enemies - who can say? Fritz Huang is connected to the city’s underworld and even has some friends at Court… among the servants, specifically, and is a good source of rumors. A few of them are even accurate. 

Enemy - House Vicheva, Rancher Aristocrats: Effectively next-door neighbors to House Shaw, this noble house controls a fief in an adjacent valley near Borjin Chulu. The two domains both serve Countess Obi Seng and Baron Von Zhao, but they have had territorial disputes going back generations. While the disputes usually involve ownership of yak herds, water rights, and similar ranching mundania, neither family needs much excuse to start a brawl. Things in the outback have been relatively quiet until recently when small gold deposits were discovered in a ridgeline located along the mutual border of the territory. While House Shaw claimed it first and started mining operations, House Vicheva has retaliated (allegedly) by sponsoring “bandit raids” and making trouble at court. The Countess has ordered both houses to stand down from committing open warfare, but small, subtle actions, brawls, and the occasional shootout between ranchhands are inevitable.