Payload

Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

the Crusader (i): one of the few space men with the skill to fly it, Mark is the pilot of this massive vehicle. A master fighter pilot and astronaut, Mark can easily put the Crusader through its paces. This vehicle is described in its own entry.

Semi-automatic Pistol (a): though the idea is to fight the enemy from his space craft, you never know when things aren't going to go as planned. Mark can fire this weapon to inflict his Agility +4 damage in a single shot, +5 in a semi-automatic burst.

Space Suit (s): when he has to 'step out' of the Crusader, Mark will usually be seen in his space suit; he typically wears it while flying anyway (just in case), but it's not always totally sealed up unless he's on a walk. Mark's space suit has these capabilities:

* Life Support (s): Mark's helmet has a built in oxygen rebreather within, which helps to recycle his air - so that he need not carry about a bulky supply of pressurized, breathable atmosphere. He has this power at intensity 2 for air (two day supply).

* M.M.U. (a): this oversized back pack, a Manned Maneuvering Unit, allows Mark to maneuver about while in space (when outside his craft, at least). It allows intensity 1 flight in the vacuum of space (not fast, but it's better than drifting).

* Resistance to Cold and Pressure Variance (s): finally, Mark's uniform is a self-sealing, pressurized suit, offering him +10 protection against these damage forms - a necessity when working in the cold, hard vacuum of space (if you want to last a while, at least).

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Aerial Combat (a): not only can Mark fly most any air or space craft, but he can fight with them, too! While he is engaged in aerial or spatial combat, Mark may attempt combat actions wielding his vehicle (whether offensively or defensively) at a reduced difficulty.

Boxing (s): as a part of his basic training in the Air Force, Mark was trained how to defend himself outside of an airplane - and without a gun. When unarmed, Mark may divide his pre-cardplay action score between two attacks, the last of which occurs as a contingent action.

Marksmanship (a): an essential portion of his Air Force training, Mark has learned how to fire most conventional firearms with ease. Whether he's wielding a standard, semi-automatic or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Mark may do so at one difficulty level lower than is usually necessary.

Military / United States (w): Mark is a long time member of the Air Force - it takes a while to make it to Colonel, after all. As such, he knows the S.O.P. like the back of his hand, and can function in a military environment without even thinking about it.

Piloting (a): the thing Mark has trained for all his life, this skill represents his mastery of just about anything that flies. Whether it is in the air or in the depths of space, Mark can fly it at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.

Calling:

Explorer, with a secondary calling of Thrill-Seeker: not to paint Mark's numerous accomplishments in the Air Force in a bad light, but the truth is they were only a means to an end. Mark has always wanted to fly in space, and his military service was mostly just a means to an end.

Costume:

Mark's second Gi Joe uniform is actually a space suit! It is primarily white in hue, a padded and bulky affair to protect him in space. It is accented with orange boots and gloves, an orange domed helmet with a mirrored visor, blue padding on the arms and legs, and an orange chest plate.

Personality:

Mark has felt an overriding need to make it into space since he was a child, and has bent his every waking moment towards getting there. Now that he actually can fly into space with some frequency, he's as giddy as a school child every time a mission comes up for him.

Real Name: Mark Morgan Jr., Grade O-6 (Colonel)
Occupation: astronaut, fixed wing pilot
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: Gi Joe, the Star Brigade (Gi Joe sub-group)

Height: 6' 1:
Hair: light brown
Eyes: brown
Weight: 190 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Mark wears a thick moustache at all times.

Story:

Mark grew up in Cape Canaveral, where he got to see every single rocket the government flung into space. Watching each launch wide-eyed through the hurricane fences, Mark imagined himself riding rough shod on each space shot, and determined that he was going to space some day.

While some have said that Mark has his heads in the clouds, he's actually focusing on a point beyond them; he's not absent-minded so much as focused like a laser on his ultimate goal. Unlike most folks who claim to want to be an astronaut, you see, Mark actually worked towards that end.

Joining the Air Force as a general matter of course, he flew three tours over southeast Asia to 'pay his dues', immediately signing up for the astronaut program upon his return to the States. You can only imagine his elation when he was accepted into the thing.

Of course, Mark didn't wind up flying the Space Shuttle like he'd expected; oh no. As it turned out, a military program with a nigh-unlimited budget gave Mark an offer he simply couldn't refuse; they wanted him to fly a top secret, military-minded space craft instead.

Reveling in the chance to not only fly to space often - much less in a craft that hardly anyone knew about - Mark couldn't sign up fast enough. This program was the Gi Joe team of course, and Mark would be flying aggressive missions in space against Cobra craft.

An experienced fighter pilot already, this didn't seem like too bad a deal, and the instant he and his team were ready, Mark was indeed shuttled off into space, his first mission a rescue of a normal Shuttle that Cobra was attacking - to destroy it's advanced satellite payload.

This mission a success, Mark proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Defiant space craft - and the later Crusader - were effective and necessary tools in the fight against international terrorism the likes of which Cobra was inflicting all around the world... and beyond.

In fact, when the Joes built a more formal unit, the Star Brigade, Mark was one of the first fellows to be pulled onto that unit. Naturally, he was more than happy to go into space with his teammates, using all of his experience in life to date in the protection of freedom.

After the Joes disbanded (for the first time) in 1994, Mark presumably cycled back into the standard astronaut pool at N.A.S.A., what with his extensive experience in orbit. However, should the Joes need him to fly one of their own space craft again, he'd likely jump at the chance.

Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Payload:

* Note: 1993 saw two versions of Payload (Versions 3 and 4).