Name: Tyr Anasazi
Canon: Andromeda
Character History: Tyr's childhood was typical for a Nietzschean. Born into a close-knit society where children were raised to be cunning, ruthless survivors first and foremost, and where family and lineage was attained, shamed, or overcome through personal ambition, Tyr's early life was the beginning of a mold that would render him into a fierce tactician and a formidable opponent. Kodiak Pride, however, was betrayed and nearly wiped out before his young eyes, and Tyr was left to fend for himself. Though not always under favorable circumstances, Tyr survived, rising from a refugee and a slave to a high-priced mercenary.

As a mercenary, he was hired by Gerentex to help secure the Andromeda Ascendant, a three hundred year old warship from the collapsed Systems Commonwealth that was stuck in the gravitational pull of a black hole. It was supposed to be a salvage operation. However, circumstances did not end up in Gerentex's favor, and Tyr found himself allying with the Captain of the Andromeda after Gerentex abandoned him and the rest of the salvage crew to being sucked into a black hole. It was Captain Hunt that managed to get them out of danger.

He then agreed to assist Hunt in restoring the Systems Commonwealth along with the crew of the Eureka Maru (the other salavagers). Over the two years that he spent with them (as I'm taking Tyr from the end of Season 2), Tyr grew to respect Captain Hunt, believing Hunt to be a true survivor and even offering him the backhanded compliment that he thought like a Nietzschean. Tyr likewise grew to respect Beka Valentine, Captain of the Maru, as an excellent pilot and a survivor in her own right. He even came to appreciate Seamus Harper, the engineer, for the courage Harper could find in the face of the Magog. And while he would continue to bark orders, mercilessly expose flaws in the plans that his fellow crew made, and find his own opportunities that were occasionally at the rest of the crew's expense (or even the long term mission), Tyr grew downright fond of the Andromeda and her crew. He even showed some startlingly self-sacrificing behavior when his crewmates lives were endangered.

In his first year with Andromeda, however, Tyr married Freya, a Nietzschean of Orca Pride, while on a mission to sabotage the Orca's ability to pillage peaceful worlds. Though he was attempting to maneuver a different outcome, Captain Hunt forced him to make a choice between his own survival and Orca pride, and Tyr chose to survive. More than a year later, however, Freya contacted Tyr, telling him that she was in danger, and Tyr returned to his wife. She told him that he was a father, and he learned that his son was, in fact, the prophesized Nietzschean messiah. However, the Nietzscheans of Orca Pride used his son to force Tyr to help them flee from their enemies, and in the ensuing chaos, even though Tyr betrayed the Orca to better safeguard Freya and their son, Freya was killed. Tyr managed to get his son to safety, but pretended that he had died. After making arrangements for his son, he returned to the Andromeda to wait for his next opportunity.

It took Andromeda and her crew two years to sign on enough member worlds to ratify the Commonwealth Charter and restart it. However, when the Andromeda hosted the signing, a group of unknown beings, who possessed the ability to make themselves and their ships invisible, attacked. The situation became very dire, but it was discovered that the ships were coming from a dimensional tunnel, and that the power for their cloaking devices was actually being generated on the other side of the dimensional tunnel. Tyr voluntarily accompanied Beka Valentine in a desperate bid to use the Maru to deliver a very large bomb to collapse the tunnel. They were successful, but between the resulting shockwave and the unknown creatures boarding the Maru, Beka and Tyr were overpowered and the Maru returned to the Andromeda empty.

Personality: To look at him, it would be easy to assume that Tyr is the stereotypical big dumb tough guy. He's every inch an imposing figure, towering over friend and foe at 6'4", with the kind of glare that wilts resolve, the mercenary background that assures his reputation precedes him, and his confidence of bearing infuses his actions with weight and his gait with purpose. The moment he speaks, however, the stereotype is undone.

Tyr is something of a warrior poet. A proponent of philosophical inquiry, he recommends Nietzsche, Sun Tzu, and Machiavelli, (among other more alien works) as primers in how best to proceed in an unforgiving universe. He quotes Shakespeare, among other things, appreciates Wagner, and offers his insight when strategy is needed. He plays go, organizes duplicitous plots, and is very seldom trapped merely because he's backed into a corner.

If anything, Tyr thinks too much (and he is always thinking). Most Nietzscheans in Andromeda very rarely hesitate, yet Tyr is shown to do so quite a bit. There is a certain amount of thought before he acts, coupled with a baseline guardedness that makes every decision he undertakes a deliberate one. Yet, he always allows himself several means of backtracking, switching sides, or otherwise retreating. When he was young, his father told him, "Words are more precious than bullets. Use them wisely or not at all." And the very same sentiment may be applied to actions, as that is the way Tyr comports himself.

Quietly imperious, Tyr looms on the sidelines. He's arresting, visually striking, but only insofar as to encourage a certain amount of distance in those he has no business with. And business with Tyr is a treacherous position. Though Tyr is careful to provide for many escapes for himself, he does not afford those who have fulfilled their usefulness the same luxury, and if he has any qualms betraying a friend, it doesn't stop him.

Nevertheless, Tyr does not turn on his allies through any maliciousness on his part. His father also used to tell him, "Judge not. Allow rather to each live thing its will until it becomes an impediment to your own. Then, think not. Only destroy it utterly." And this, Tyr has clearly taken to heart.

Tyr finds quite a bit of value in the crew of the Andromeda. A crew which, given the usual Nietzschean opinion on non-Nietzscheans, Tyr should not actually be wasting his time on. Still, he thinks of them as friends From Dylan and Beka, both genetically augmented humans, to Harper who is not modified at all, to Trance and Rev Bem, and even Rommie though he asserts she is nothing more than a machine to him, he shows clear respect for them, he obeys commands, he honestly considers strategies, goals, and ideas, and above all he sticks with them despite differences of opinion, his own objectives, and the very real fact that other Nietzscheans look down on him for living with humans.

Tyr, in fact, is more critical of Nietzscheans than he will often admit. Living as an outsider of the culture, both because of having to survive on his own at a young age, and because of the decimation of his Pride (as Nietzschean culture deplores weakness), he believes that Nietzscheans as a whole are losing their edge and their superiority. Most Nietzscheans employ slave labor, banditry and raiding. In Tyr's mind it's nothing more than ignoble laziness.

Though survival will always be paramount, Tyr also values testing oneself against the universe, shaping it to your will. And he can find value in someone else, even a non-Nietzschean, doing it.

Skills, Abilities, and Powers: Nietzscheans, or Homo Sapiens Invictus, are a genetically augmented subspecies of humans. Due to this augmentation Nietzscheans are generally stronger and possess more fortitude than humans. Tyr is also capable of holding his breath longer, and asserts that he can eat anything organic. His vision and hearing is keener, and he can distinguish the difference between a naked eye and a contact lens, or hear a human heart from across the room.

Additionally, Nietzschean genetic structure has been altered to weed out mutations and disease ranging from terminal illness to astigmatism. Because of this, Tyr is immune to some Earth-based poisons and diseases, and he's generally able to survive in harsher climates.

Tyr also possesses naturally occurring bone blades which protrude from his forearms. At rest, these blades slope back along the arm toward the elbow. However, they can be made to extend perpendicular to the forearm for use in close combat. Removal of these blades is intensely painful, but they will grow back.

Beyond this, Tyr is profoundly skilled in combat, small arms, demolitions, and guerrilla warfare. He values physical and mental fitness, and he's able to instruct others in combat technique.

Equipment: Tyr's canon point takes him from a scene in which he was gearing up to be Beka's last line of defense, so he is armed to the teeth. While he will not want to relinquish anything, consider pretty much all of it fair game for him to "lose during transport" or to be confiscated.

Tyr's primary weaponry are Gauss Guns (which are guns that fire projectiles at supersonic speeds), of which he has several, and generally keeps three on his person. His beastly, multi-barrel assault rifle, a snub-nose automatic that bleeds ammunition, and a hand gun which he uses primarily in close combat.

He also carries two long knives to be used as a last resort, and a Force Lance, which can fire plasma shots, and smart bullets (which have homing sensors), and effectors (which are smart bullets capable of acquiring targets after being fired, essentially tiny attack drones, they are most often used to intercept incoming projectiles), can be used as a light, and can be overloaded to be used as a plasma grenade. Force Lances also shock anyone who's DNA is not keyed to it when fired.

Writing Sample #1: The room was lit by little more than the dormant glow of panels and screens, silent save the dull hum of hibernating equipment. It was also still, save the slow, quiet creep of his boots across the floor. Though it was too dark to see for human eyes, Tyr needed no light other than the monitors’ dull gleam. It was a simple set up, a bank of monitors that could be manned by one or two people, weapons lockers, and a panel on the far side that likely controlled the lockdown procedures. He skirted the work tables in the center of the room and emerged from the cloying shadows into the silvery light of the largest monitor.

He touched a key, then paused. Wondering what precisely ever motivated any of the peoples of this vast universe to play a note when pressing keys or buttons, he twisted around to survey the darkened room, before resuming his focus. His fingers danced over the keys, playing out a melody just as monotonous and uninspired as the security system he was overriding.

The large screen blinked to life, spilling vivid colored light across Tier, along with a flashing red warning message, and one Dylan Hunt crouched behind a makeshift barrier and returning fire against the Drago-Kazov that had cornered him. With an easy patience most would not have employed when witnessing their captain of near two years trapped in a life and death situation on the other side of the complex, Tyr scanned the rest of the monitors that sprung to life around him. Corridors and choke points, all, it seemed. And judging by the movement of the Dragons, it would be a far easier task to make it to the Maru than to mount a rescue for his wayward Captain.

Had this been one year ago, he may have paused to entertain the notion. Were this one week ago, he may have acted without hesitation, but this was not those moments. This was it's own, and Tyr did not falter or consider his actions as he moved to the panel that controlled the automated security systems, once again composing an improvisational ode to mediocrity in lifeless key chimes. It was mercifully short.

The only pause came to confirm that yes, indeed, the turrets and effector banks had shifted their targets, no longer lobbing munitions at a sitting duck but pointing at their very own Nietzschean maintainers. Then double-checking his route. That done, Tyr abandoned the bank of monitors and drew his sidearm.

Raising the Gauss Gun to the ready and jogging out into the hall he had come from, Tyr turned not in the direction of his beleaguered captain, but toward the exit and the Eureka Maru, sitting empty and safe in the brush a few kilometers outside of the base. If there was one man, Tyr thought, who could catch up to him, it was Dylan Hunt. And beyond that, the Maru would do nothing for them if it wasn't prepped and ready to launch.