Jerel
From Cowboy Bebop: Space Cowboy
Jerel Marshall Fletcher, M.D
Jerel was born in what remains of the north eastern United States on Earth. Although the region in which he lived was not severely damaged by the Gate Disaster of 2021, the social and economic impact was profound. With the grain belt destroyed and communications and transportation infrastructure devastated the survivors had no choice but to become self-sufficient in order to survive. This self-sufficiency led to a tendency towards isolationism and distrust of outsiders. By the time Jerel was born society had returned to a degree of normalcy and outside trade had been reastablished. Jerel spent his childhood devouring any news and information he could get about the rest of the world and the Solar System at large. He had a wild streak and longed for the excitement of space travel as opposed to the monotony of his every day life. He developed an obsession with the stories of Bounty Hunters, modern day cowboys travelling the solar system and ridding it of villians and ne'er-do-wells. He longed for the day he could take to the sky and join them and in preperation he spent his free time training his mind and body for the time he would leave Earth.
That day came in early spring of 20-- when he negotiated passage on a space truck bound for Ganymede, ready to join the ranks of the Registered Bounty Hunters. This is where his plans begin to unravel, as he was robbed of his possessions by the crew who's ship he had booked passage on and was left on the colony of Zephyr on Mars. Undeterred he made his way to the nearest ISSP office and registered himself as a bounty hunter. Although, he managed to snag a few small fry he barely made enough to keep a cheap room and a full belly and sometimes not even that. In time he grew more desperate and began engaging in petty theft and drug dealing just to keep himself alive. In time he found himself abandoning all the moral truths he held so dearly and eventually started using the very drugs he sold in an effort to escape from the emptiness of his existence.
It was only a matter of time before the law caught up with him and it did in the form of Zeiram. This would turn out to be the turning point in Jerel's life. Although he managed to escape any serious jail time the experience left him with a renewed sense of purpose. That and a donation from a mysterious benefactor left him with the motivation and the means to continue his cause. He returned to the world of bounty hunting with a new understanding of what it takes to bring them down. Laws are great for polite society but you have to be willing to use any means necessary to stop those who would threaten society, regardless of the moral or legal ramifications. Sometimes, it's necessary to bend the law to bring in those who break it.
Jerel began to bring together like-minded individuals to his cause forming a loose organization known as the Rogues. First he would need his right hand man, an old friend from Earth, Marent. He contacted Marent and managed to arrange his passage to Mars. Together, they began to gather more agents and informants connecting them with all of the major syndicates and with the ISSP. Initially, they were quite selective as to who they brought into the organization. In time, they began contacting new arrivals to Mars via their contacts with Martian Immigration Services. Their offer was simple; they would give these new arrivals wulongs, equipment, and guidance in exchange for the single requirement that they remember what the Rogues had done for them should the Rogues call upon them for "favors" at a later time. Despite their connections the Rogues time was short however as the ISSP eventually cracked down on their vigilante actions once their numbers had grown too large to be ignored. Although the Rogues were not destroyed the ISSP's actions forced them deeper underground. It was at this time that Jerel decided that it would be best to retire from active hunting and turned over control of the Rogues to his strongest ally Marent.
Using the money he had saved from his time as a bounty hunter Jerel enrolled at the Zephyr University, eventually earning a Doctorate in Medicine, with a specialty in Pharmacology. It was around this time that Marent repaid his debt. Pulling some strings with some powerful people he managed to get Jerel a position as Leader of the ISSP. It was a new experience for Jerel and a brief one. Shortly, after accepting the position of Leader, Jerel was called to bring down a infamous terrorist by the name of Hayden Montague. In that battle the ship Jerel was piloting was brought down by Hayden's craft and was forced to make a crash landing in the barren deserts of Mars. Barely conscious, Jerel dragged himself to the nearest colony and collapsed into a comatose state.
When he awoke in a local hospital some time later, he found that he had been declared dead and that his position had been replaced and his home on Io sold. After confirming that he was still very much alive he returned to the ISSP where he was taken off of active duty and assigned to Forensics. It wasn't long before disagreements between Jerel and the higher ups in the ISSP lead to his resignation from the force at which point he opened an office in Io and began his private practice. Specializing in Pharmacology, Jerel has had a modest degree of success in his new career as a freelance practitioner of medicine. Jerel's clientele varies widely from ISSP agents to syndicate leaders which can lead to some unusual questions from the Medical Review Board. Although he continues to run his modest private practice his focus lately has been on expanding his business empire in the form of RogueCorp.
