Name: Charles D'Gal Known Aliases: Species: Vycerian Black-Feathered Invisible Duck (alien species) Age: 28 Height: 68” Weight: Lives For: Vyceria, Revenge Hates: The Invisible Ducks, Deserts, Cold Known Fears: Occupation: Black Knight – Soldier, Pirate, and Mercenary Distinguishing Character Traits: Belligerent beyond all reason, Relentless, Intelligent, Resourceful

        D'Gal is a Vycerian, a rare, black-plumed subspecies of Invisible Duck native to the small planet Vyceria. A few months short of his sixth birthday, Vyceria's sun, Nebera, went supernova. Though Vyceria was far enough away from the star to avoid incineration, severe climate changes and disasters ravaged the planet, prompting Vyceria to send a delegation to the Duck homeworld, Platyria, to plea for assistance. The plea was ignored, and despite fears that Nebera would collapse into a black hole, requests for evacuation were denied.

        Over the next decade, conditions on Vyceria worsened, and widespread famine and drought were common. Raised in a kibitz of sorts, D'Gal and the other children lived a harsh existence, scraping by on barely enough rations to survive. Many Vycerian traders brought food and medical supplies to the planet; however, as conditions worsened, these traders attempted to smuggle individuals off-planet, and were summarily arrested and imprisoned by Duck officials. Those that were not caught on their first run seldom came back to risk a second. When D'Gal was fourteen, the supernova Nebera inexplicably budded off a small fragment of itself; this fragment promptly burst, bathing Vyceria in further heat. The resulting seasons that followed brought with them a death toll so high a second delegation was sent to Platyria, to renew their pleas. The pleas were harshly dismissed; the delegation never returned. Word trickled in through traders that it had been attacked and destroyed by pirates on its return trip.

        That story was as unbelievable as it was insulting. The whole of Vyceria shrieked in outrage, and their small military suddenly found themselves swamped with youthful, teenage recruits, eager to fight for a chance to survive. The recruits were given their own unit, dubbed the Black Knights, and tasked with defending and providing for Vyveria. At fifteen, D'Gal was one of the younger members – but far from the youngest.

        At first, the Black Knights stuck to patrolling the skies of Vyceria, rescuing those who ventured out too far and were dying of exposure. However, traders became fewer and farther between, the Knights began flying with them as escorts – even ferrying goods back to Vyceria themselves. Encounters with Duck civilians and navy pilots often degraded into fights, however, and it was not long before it occurred to the Knights that, given the combined firepower of their fighters, they could take the supplies they so desperately needed from those that had more than enough but were unwilling to share. Black Knight missions soon became pirate runs, preying upon Federation traders, ill-protected Duck shipments, and even other pirates. The Vycerian military did nothing to stop the Knights; they enjoyed “Robin Hood” status at home. They were respected for their courage in defying the Duck Navy, and loved for the live-giving supplies they brought.

        Conditions on Vyceria were steadily worsening, however, and though SpaceFleet had responded to their pleas for assistance, the Ducks had closed their borders to all non-commercial traffic - and until they reopened them, there was nothing SpaceFleet could do to help Vyceria. The Alliance was not about to risk sparking a war by violating the integrity of the Ducks' borders.

        It was D'Gal that came up with the idea of sacking entire freighters and towing them to Vyceria. The freighters carried a great deal more supplies than the fighters themselves could – and, once emptied of their cargo, the freighters could be filled with fleeing Vycerians. Moreover, the refugee-laden freighter could retreat to Federation space - and if they were careful, the Duck Navy would be none the wiser. The long-delayed evacuation of Vyceria could begin. Finally, there was hope for Vyceria.

        Or at least there was for a few months. As careful and discreet as they were in keeping it a secret, word of the operation reached the Duck Navy. For reasons that have never been fully explained, instead of simply allowing the operation to continue, the Ducks became incensed at having their authority undermined by a small band of pirates, and lashed out at Vyceria. The Black Knights responded as the Ducks must have known they would – by attacking the Ducks back. Quickly branding them terrorists for this response, the Duck Navy came down on the Black Knights with all the wrath of an angry god, overrunning Vyceria and hunting the Black Knights down, eliminating all they came across. The Knights could neither stay and fight nor flee for safety. Very few escaped with their lives.

        All this served to fuel D'Gal's anger at the Ducks. The belligerence and violent hostility that had always been channeled into raids was now turned to the Ducks in general, and the Black Knight became a mercenary, working for whomever would allow him to kill the most Ducks. The Radioactive Bagels quickly leapt at this opportunity, snaring the rogue Duck as a heavily-used operative. When the need arose to protect another of their operatives – Galaxia Kiwi, their most valuable spy – they assigned D'Gal to the task…

        …which eventually led to D'Gal being shot down over earth. Stranded on-planet and presumed dead by both those who would employ him and those who would kill him, the angry mercenary's future is uncertain. What does one do when one is cut off from the only things one lives for?