Michael Ruxbundy had always worked hard; from his youth, he had been inducted into the military. One time he attempted Technical College which gave him an edge in Covert Ops, but that was about all that he could expect for a normal life. Living on Halloran V in the Capellan March, he had seen plenty of incursions by the Capellan Confederation.

While at the planetary Technical School, he was prone to engage in games of chance and became fairly adept at them; however, they tended to creep into his thoughts, sometimes distracting him from the task at hand. “If I could better apply myself and focus, I would surely be far more advanced at my skills”, he would think. These thoughts of gambling also sometimes distracted him when in a brawl, causing him to take a punch the wrong way, and causing more pain than it should.

In all, he had learned various lessons, being shown so many doors available in the military, either as a soldier, or some of the higher brass. Sadly, he tried to learn as much as he could, and didn’t focus on a few specialties. As such, he has basic knowledge on a wide range of skills, mostly to do with slipping past people and getting into places where he shouldn’t be.

Before signing on with the 13th Provisional Company, he managed to engage in a particularly rewarding game of chance; needless to say, his opponents weren’t impressed with that and demand a chance to win back their money. 8,000 C-bills is no small change to sneeze at.

Ever since being nominated as Major (a position he was never sure how well he’d fare at), he’s gotten some rather quick lessons about leading, but always felt he needed more applicable, practical information to do well. He’ll gladly accept ideas for plans from his council and judge which to use. He’s always needed experience with negotiations and such, having learned more the grunt side of things, rather than the planning side of things.

As the Unit CO, Paladin is the one to make the final “hard” decisions, something he isn’t too comfortable with, but has realized that his unit trusted him to act in their best interests. He spent much of his time dealing with paperwork, maintaining relations with the unit “allies”, such as JeriCorp, and (in their time as independents) the Snow Dusters. He was always assisted in administration of the unit by Senior Tech Howard Paderewski, Senior Tech Rima Fakih, and Captain Jessa Dajus-Marik “Dragonfly”.

Senior Tech Paderewski served as something of an executive secretary, maintaining files and paperwork, and assisting in the logistics, keeping track of the hundreds of Dingo personnel and outside contracts, and has continued in this office following Paladin’s retirement from active duty. Tech Rima Fakih is his personal assistant, a former model whose appearance belies a skill in administrative matters. She has since followed him into civilian life and serves as his adjutant in most practical matters. LtSG Dajus-Marik is a former staff officer of the 3rd Marik Militia, who has extensive command experience, and often acts as the “mouth” of the Dingoes, directing individuals to the appropriate command officer. She remains in this position within the main operational line of the unit’s technical and administrative offices.

Relieved at successfully evading Lt. Colonel Carla “Razor” Chestine, then retrieving most of the former unit from System – Pilpala with nominal damages, and then with their first professional contract as a mercenary unit defending The Colony of Little Heaven (which endured little loss and much gain), Paladin gradually acclimatized to issuing commands, though his “bedside manner” needed some touch-ups. He quickly accepted that the other Dingoes have experiences and knowledge which he didn’t, and he tried to rely on them. He also kept an eye out for their weaknesses and tried to ensure they wouldn’t arise in the future; that’s proving to be quite a juggling task. His office on the “Blood Rock” (then “Dingoes Den” ) was sparsely set up, minimally decorated and contained the bare bones necessary regarding crew roster profiles, communications, schedules and the like.

After registering the Dingoes as a mercenary unit and earning a blood mark on everyone, Paladin had come to realize that he was more naive than he thought, and intended to be more mindful about what he said and to whom, in the future.

Paladin’s personal tech was Lt SG Thadeus Marakov, who oversaw a very capable team of AsTechs. Due to the Master Tech’s position as lead of the Technical units, and particularly its Salvage operations, he was often seen working closely with the Line units. Despite spending much time in the “Blood Rock” looking after spare parts and other maintenance stores for the technical teams, he was based from the “Brush Wolf”, and tended to let his AsTech team deal with day-to-day maintenance issues.

Rumors began circulating about Major Ruxbundy and Major Erika Hartmann “Glamour”. The two often sparred with each other, and had been seen in close-quarters contact with each other over “matters of business”. Nothing was ever confirmed. Paladin acted as unit commander from a rare “SL-Royal Command-version” BLR-1G Battlemaster, with MechWarrior Elias Whitlocke “Stargun” (Deceased) as his pilot in the command module. This had allowed him to employ his burgeoning skills in tactics and strategy to give his unit an edge not often seen by mercenary units in the Periphery. Promoted to Colonel, Ruxbundy maintained a new small office aboard the “Brush Wolf”, though the bulk of his administrative staff were stationed on the “Blood Rock”.

As the years passed, the Iron Dingoes continued growth and success had given Paladin more confidence in the troops abilities, strengths and weaknesses. His hesitancy to make tough decisions gradually diminished, but he could still get flummoxed in certain situations, such as his surprise courtship and wedding. Personally he had expressed no special interest in a romantic relationship while as an active member of the Dingoes, fully aware that he could leave a widow behind, though really that could happen at any time for any number of reasons. He viewed the marriage to Lady (Major) Heather Jemmas as little more than a professional courtesy to a past ally / employer, so much so that it’s doubtful he had even come up with a pet name for her.

Following their two-week honeymoon in The District of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, Paladin decided to retire from active leadership of the Iron Dingoes, and “retire” to his position as a “Sword of the Realm”, taking control of the unit’s landholds in-system; namely Garrison, Miguel, and “The Factory”, though others would follow. Granted a fine estate north-east of town, he was also given a SDR-5V Spider as a wedding present by the * “The Dead Man’s Hand”. He quickly organized the unit’s military reserve force, * “The Dingoes Muster” at his wife’s suggestion, and officially leads this troop in defense of the unit’s holdings, with his reduced rank of Major. Nonetheless, most troops and citizens still refer to him as “The Colonel”. As a “Sword of the Realm”, he is also given the title of “Lord” among the local landed citizens, a rarity in Sangria.

In early-3026, he took over the leadership of the unit’s Dingo Brand Corporation, as an extension of his position as the unit’s Freehold Steward. This position has improved his reputation among the The Industrialist’s League, and he spent much of his time in Ciudad Garcia over-seeing the headquarters construction and took the helm of the unit’s corporate interests, when Advocate has left the landhold on contract. He also oversaw its inclusion into the Industrialist’s League.

In early-3029, “The Colonel” began to take an active role as an adviser to The Commonwealth of Nations. He has been instrumental in forging the details of the military arm of this organization, The Commonwealth Star Guards, and many felt it was only a matter of time before he was suggested as the Secretary-Marshal of the nascent unitary government.

In early-3032, he formally denied being offered the nomination for the position, and distanced himself from the organization in anything but an adviser’s position. He cited “personal reasons”, which many speculate that his wife may finally be pregnant and the couple preparing to start a family. Immediately after this public statement, the social circles at the highest levels began to whisper at the potential for an heir to the couple, perhaps the first noble to be born in Sangria in generations.