Tom Freeman is a Yamataian serving in the Star Army of Yamatai. He is the chief engineer and Star Army Caretaker of the YSS Miharu.

New proposed Tom art

Tom Freeman
Species:	Yamataian
Gender:	Male
Age:	28
Height:	6'2“ (184 cm)
Weight:	176 lbs (80 kg)
Eyes:	Grey
Hair Color/style:	Yellow/blonde and spiky, with a wild flair to it.
Organization	Star Army of Yamatai, First Expeditionary Fleet
Rank	Chui
Occupation	Engineer, Star Army Caretaker
Current Placement	YSS Miharu (NJ-X1-00)

Tom Freeman is a player character. He is played by Tom.

Major themes include:

-The struggle to maintain one's humanity against the depravity and corrupting influence of war. Desperation and the loss of self.

-Relationships and how they influence each other and evolve. The consequences of these relationships on the character and others.

-Slice-of-life interactions. Home and family.

Build and Skin Color: Lithe and limber. Not particularly muscular, but very well toned. Very smooth, flesh-colored skin.

Face and Eye Color: Tom's expression is usually warm and accompanied with a smile. The small skin creases along his eyes hints at prolonged exposure to the cold. He has gray eyes.

When Tom Freeman first joined the Star Army in YE 28, he was innocent, jovial and brash. However, the repeatedly shocking and combat-intensive experiences of his service on the YSS Mikomi and YSS Miharu have hardened him considerably. He tries not to show this outwardly, but when pushed, his sense of professionalism and duty to his ship can make him cold and ruthless.

Tom struggles with this change. He likes being friendly and energetic, but he fears that the 'spark' within him may be dying. He hates war and all the pain that it brings, but he's terrified of its potential to corrupt him.

He hopes that his love for Suzuka Yukari will give him the strength to fight these terrors.

He takes great pride in his icy hometown of Ralt, which is famous on Yamatai for its hospitality.

He absolutely loves dancing and performing arts.

Tom was born in Yamatai in the small hamlet of Ralt. There, he lived the years of his youth as a mechanic and proud member of the Ralt Ice Theatre Troupe, a performing arts group which provided entertainment for travelers. The quaint environment of Ralt, however, grew on Tom’s nerves as he entered his teen years and, against the wishes of his father, he left Ralt for Central Uesureya and embraced the whirlwind of activity in the city, frequenting clubs and other places where he could dance the night away. His lifestyle quickly caught up with him, however, and he joined the Star Army to make money and find new adventures.

After an uneventful stint on the (then) YSS Destiny, Tom was transferred to the YSS Mikomi, where he served for over a year. While on the ship, Tom made many friends, most of whom were, unfortunately, killed in action. He was stranded on Bowhordia at the mercy of the drones, but managed to survive and was rescued. After the mission, he filed a request for transfer.

Tom had a passive love interest in medic Ghi To during his stay on the Mikomi, but her sudden transfer dashed those dreams. Tom, however, looks forward to the day when the two will meet again.

Unfortunately for Ghi, Tom has now fallen in love with one of his superior officers while on the YSS Miharu, Suzuka Yukari. The budding romance began when Tom first transferred to the Miharu and met the lovely lady. Something (perhaps their complementary personalities) sparked between the two shortly after a simulated armor training run.

Tom participated in all of Miharu's missions, rising from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer status. He spent most of his time studying, maintaining and improving the engines and systems of the Miharu, which quickly became notorious for its desire to malfunction at inopportune times.

Over the next several months after the completion of mission 2, he went to Kyoto college for his officer's training and strengthened the bonds of love with his lover, Yukari, sharing time with her in Ralt and Port Xenn, introducing his family to her, and making a formal declaration of his commitment to her with the exchange of Raltean love bands.

Mission 3 saw Tom return to his past… Bowhordia. Forced to confront his fears and test his leadership ability, Tom stood tall and performed well, despite the pressure, and most of the armor team he had been sent with to the planet returned alive. And, although he came back from that mission a different man, the sense of closure the mission brought to him allowed him to reconcile with his past and understand that the suffering he and others went through was for a greater cause.

He may disagree with the terrible cost this cause demands, but Tom now tries to find the strength to respect it.

Entertainment: Having been in a performance troupe, Tom is able to act, sing and perform in front of audiences. He can perform some acrobatics as well, but Tom really shines when it comes to dancing. He can be fluid and awe-inspiringly graceful. He is also familiar with most forms of dance, and will pick up any unfamiliar styles with great enthusiasm. Tom's pretty good at hosting parties too, and is (in his own words) a 'kickin-rad' party cook.

Domestic: By necessity, living in Ralt causes everyone to serve a key part in maintaining the town’s way of life. Tom knows how to fish, hunt and skin wildlife, cook, clean, tailor damaged clothing and everything else one would need to know in a rural arctic climate.

Communication: Tom is familiar with basic radio operation and procedures and can make transmissions to and receive transmissions from other characters through headsets, starships, power armor, and shuttles in both combat and non-combat conditions. Tom is fluent in English and Japanese and can speak and write both correctly and efficiently and can write reports, fill forms, issue orders under fire, etc.

Fighting and Physical: Tom received hand-to-hand and weapons combat training and had several first-hand tests on the YSS Mikomi and YSS Miharu. He has shown marked improvement in DAISY armor combat, but he is not on the level of a dedicated samurai or armor veteran. Tom is skilled and experienced in combat both in Yamatai-like conditions and in zero-gravity, with and without weapons. Weapons Tom is trained in include energy pistols, knives, and power armor. Tom is fairly skilled with axes as a result of chopping wood and is a decent shot with a rifle. Tom is also in excellent physical shape, agile and extremely flexible.

Information Technology: Tom is capable of operating any computer system that uses the Kessaku OS, found on all Star Army starships. He is proficient in entering and/or searching for information. He is comfortable communicating and interacting with MEGAMI due to his time in the subdeck of the Miharu.

Mathematics: Tom received basic mathematics training, to including up to algebra and trigonometry.

Maintenance and Repair: Tom is familiar with and able to fix most problems with starship components and to an extent, systems. During his tenure on the Mikomi and Miharu, Tom has had extensive practice repairing the engine systems of Star Army Starships to the point where it is second nature to him. He has tinkered around with modifications as well, but needs to find time to seriously do so. Tom is also a jack-of-all-trades type of mechanic when it comes to vehicles and planes, but has not had any formal training in vehicle construction or design.

Leadership: Tom attended leadership classes at Kyoto college and learned squad-based tactics from textbooks and seminars. He demonstrated his talents during Miharu mission 3, successfully extracting prisoners, delegating responsibility, thinking up tactics on the fly and even correcting his superior officer on one occasion. He hopes that further experience will sharpen is raw skills even more. His empathetic side has helped him in other ways too, such as steadying one of his subordinates during a horrific encounter. His non-combat leadership comes from trying to bring out the best in others rather than setting an example or giving a inspiring speech.