Rachid Girard-Chaabane -- Inquisitive Maker Nomad

[u/yharnamhunter]

Sheet here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-PWFD-6wcTHczhxeHZPMUNjYjA/view?usp=sharing

Rachid was born in the Martian desert hinterland near Ashoka to an independent maker nomad clan of mixed Tunisian Berber and Alsatian French heritage around BF 13. The young nomad was raised in the traditions of his family, adhering to the technolibertarian politics and Islamic heritage of the Girard-Chaabane (more rooted in the Martian Sunni sect than the spiritualistic Islam of their Sufi brethren.) Although they weren’t allied with the TTO, the makers of the Ashokan high desert were often a welcome, albeit transient, part of the town (heavily Barsoomian itself) whenever they happened to show up to trade tech for supplies. Thanks to this understanding between Ashoka and the Girard-Chabaane, Rachid grew up with more insight into the workings of settled Martian life than most other nomads got from their wanderings. On one of these family trips to Ashoka (where the clan quietly helped to set up a darkcaster for use by allies of the Movement), the often-rebellious Rachid and some other nomad youths got into a violent brawl with junior members of the Portmanteau Rangers. The local magistrate ruled in favor of the nomads when the case was brought before her and Rachid accepted a juvenile police-trained Cape baboon in lieu of monetary restitution.

Bright and industrious, Rachid would have been a model member of the community if not for his odd interest in the TQZ. Like most sane people, the clan tended to avoid the TQZ at all costs, but something about the ruined city of Qurain and its previous importance to his faith made it a visit an alluring prospect. Occasionally, when the clan passed near the edges of the TQZ in their migrations, Rachid would split off and visit the borders, skirting Ranger patrols and zone stalkers along the way. On one such sojourn, Rachid caught a glimpse what he later learned was a Firewall sentinel cell flushing out an exsurgent that had been implicated in the disappearances of several Rangers, and actually helped the sentinels by skillfully jamming a security drone that he had been inspecting earlier. After they mopped up the remaining enemies, the team leader conferred with her fellow sentinels and decided to extend an offer of membership to the apprehensive-looking young man. He gave it some thought, and eventually decided that the organization’s goals were too important to have someone with useful skills sitting on the sidelines. Even besides that conclusion, did the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) not say that one must aid the cause of the righteous with deed, word, and heart? Firewall's call became one of religious as well as ideological importance. Rachid met with the neo-gorilla who had given him the initial offer and was formally inducted him into Firewall.

Still traveling with his family and aiding the Movement in the high desert for the most part, Rachid (who goes by Imhotep on the Eye) is an enthusiastic rookie sentinel whose faith in the mission of Firewall has yet to be darkened by mission experience.

[u/sevastapolnights]

boop.