Character profiles: Jackson Brown

Name: Jackson Brown
Age: 35-40

Position: Inventory & logistics and assistant engineer, Martian Freighter Crazy Horse

Personality: Can seem to be quite inapproachable at times as he prefers to keep his own counsel. He is always certain of his own mind and isn't slow to tell other people if he thinks they or a situation is wrong, bad, or being handled wrong.

Misc: A mixture of hired muscle and a steady mind, Jackson is in charge of dealing with port authorities, sourcing cargo, and dealing with any problems that arise. One of Dak's most trusted friends, he is also the one the captain turns to when something needs to be done.

“Jackson seems to be alright, and judging from the language he used when I told him he was restricted to the medical bay this morning I would say he’s well on his way to recovery,” Dr Rivers said, smiling slightly.

Inspiration & character creation: Jackson began as little more than an additional crew member but has become more and more part of the plot as the story has progressed. He has a sense of mystery around him in the story - partly because sometimes when I write him I'm not even sure myself what's going on. It was fun to give him a more key role in discovering the saboteur on board the Crazy Horse - especially as I'd noticed his main role up to that point seemed to be to get injured!

I didn't base his character on anyone in particular, and although I'd had his name in the back of my mind for use in a story for a while, he hadn't really got any personality to go with the name before Alive!.