Sing Sing Sing

Name: Benny "The Ball"
Race: Overt Rat Moreau
Height: 4'7''
Weight: 105lbs
Age: 25 In Human Years
Occupation: Chief Engineer
Rank: Lieutenant Commander (Tends not to wear rank unless in diplomatic relations or forced to)
Alignment: True Neutral
Class: Mecha Jockey
Benny's Mech's Name: "Something Good"
Flaws: Mech Obsessed

Meet Benny, a character dreamed up for a D20Future campaign. The idea bounced around in my head for a little bit to come up with an idea, and slowly formed into this one. This idea soon began a life of it's own as my head kept working up backstory and other aspects of his personality even before starting the campaign. I really became attached to him, and he'll live on outside of the campaign. And yes, I know how the D20 modern books portray the social reaction to Moreau, but in the universe he comes from relations have cooled with only echoes of past prejudices here and there.

He was birthed by accident when a rogue genetics lab that was breeding him was ravaged by a group of unscrupulous "salvagers." While a glorified slave aboard their vessel, he found he had a brilliant knack for taking things apart and putting them together. Computers, circuits and machines were all like bread and butter to him, he could and would fix near anything. On a small moon with an abandoned Colonial Council installation being used as a base of operations, Benny would discover the dilapidated skeleton of an old Titan class mech armour in a large pile of scrap, some few miles away. He coveted this find, hiding it and not telling another soul about it and over time he hunts pieces to build upon it with scraps from raids and other hauls of the pirates in complete secrecy. Building on the mech would be his only anchor to his sanity while being a slave to the pirates. Though it would not last for long, as soon the pirate vessel would be seized by UGF patrols and Benny was incarcerated along side his captors. Benny's sentence was lessened by his slave status, it granted him benefit of the doubt, and he wouldn't be held wholly responsible for the pirate vessel's crimes, though still technically guilty by association. Though he was arrested, he still never told anyone of the mech, it also helped keep him sane in prison. He would dream of the day he could get out return to the mech, and finish his work on it. After being released from prison he had nothing, all he had was memories of space and his mech. The first “kindness’ shown to him was from the arresting officers when they treated him as a refugee rather than a pirate or slave, so when he was on the outside his first thought was to join the UGF’s navy and return to space. In time he would gain the confidence of an older officer and that officer would allow him to recover his mech to stabilize the Rat’s anxiousness. With a paycheck and military clearance to access materials, he was able to fully upgrade his mech to exceed operating standards for mechs in current use; He continues to work on the mech whenever he gets the chance, he also feels safest inside it, as it is his “Something Good.”

His name MIGHT sound like a reference to a Top Cat cartoon character, but this is mainly a coincidence. In the character's backstory while training in boot camp after enlisting in the United Galactic Federation, came across a strange music he'd never heard before from one of his bunk mates. It was an ancient music called "Swing" and it turned out Benny had a affinity for it. He would often borrow his bunk mate's music to help him focus in certain high-pressure training exercises, later would dig up information on how to dance (since when he listened to it, he would always want to dance.) He would begin learning how to Lindy Hop, though usually at the ridicule of most of his peers it remained something that would give him joy to do even at the worst of times (Before his mech, that is.) Though, not all his comrades responded to this negatively, he would gain the nickname "Ballroom Benny" first from a few he would practice with. In his case being small and dexterous would greatly aid in his ability to excel at the dance. With serving time in active duty he would have less time to practice his dancing with others, the ballroom would all be dropped from his moniker, and get shortened as time went on; While still collecting swing music and practicing to dance by his lonesome, the ballroom seemed to become obsolete. However, due to his miracles with electrics and machinery, he climbed quickly as an engineer and would be tasked to handle problems all over a ship and would soon find that his speed and agility would be a boon again. This time "Ballroom Benny" would become "The Ball." It would be changed due to his tendency to be bounced from problem to problem on a ship and rapidly responding. It's also worthwhile noting that he still listens to Swing music, and tends to have it blaring in his cockpit in the heat of combat.

Though, due to how he is a Moreau and how he was created, he never had a true surname.

I'd like to profusely and sinceriously thank for making this come out AMAZINGLY. He's super talented, very nice, and totally professional when it comes to making a beautiful finished product. If you decide to get a commission from him, (AND YOU TOTALLY SHOULD) tell him I sent you. If you do, I get a discount for my next commission! In fact, anyone that brings him new customers gets a discount for their next one. Isn't that awesome? So get more people to commission him!

Title is of course the song "Sing Sing Sing" by Benny Goodman www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoTpe…

Art by
Benny belongs to me

P.S. Think you'd like to know more about Benny? His Mech? Maybe you want to use him for something? Ask me for all the things.