Station's History

Michael's parents were born in the British Isles during the first wave of UGE, when over 30% of the titled nobility were being born with pointed ears. Though both were humans, being raised into such a word would have a profound impact on their lives, as did the creation of the Lord Protector's office in their teenage years and the rise to power of the British Druids. The growing power of the elven and druidic factions was threatening those families with ties to neither, and it was in this world that the two young nobles met.

The young Sir Christopher Baronet Stea and his wife, Lady Catherine, lived on one of the many small islands between England and the newly unified Ireland, and watched very closely the events of this new world in which they lived. As factions unfriendly to their bloodlines gained power on both sides of them, they began to nervously gather their wealth in preparations for what they knew they must do.

Following the Nightwraith incident of 2033 and the 2034 Sidhe coup in the newly renamed Tir na nÒg, the couple knew that their time had run out, and they fled across the Atlantic, to the fledgling UCAS. Anti-metahuman sentiment was very much stronger in general at the time than anti-immigrant, and so they assimilated rather easily into the culture – though money likely went farther towards making the transition smooth than either would realize.

Not wealthy enough to draw too much attention, but still firmly established in the upper class, life in the UCAS was comfortable for the young couple, who quickly learned that the use of inherited titles was considered pretentious, and they soon abandoned them in favor of the more socially acceptable “Mr. And Mrs. Stea,” and by 2040 were firmly established among the New York suburban elite.

Over the course of the next decade, they would have three children: two daughters, Lucille and Elizabeth, and a son, Micheal Sean. To their quiet relief, all three were born without signs of metahuman traits, and neither did they grow into them. Both Lucille and Lizzy, true to their upbringing, attended fine colleges and married into acceptable families of good standing and with old money, bonding the Stea family with existing power structures on the North American continent. Sean, the youngest, however, was a firebrand, and chafed under authority of all kinds. “We're not in England anymore,” was a common expression from the young man in response to reprimands that he should spend more time attending to family affairs.

To the shock and horror of his parents, he manifested magical talent at a young age. Fearing the consequences should this become common knowledge, they attempted to keep it quiet, but Sean, irrepressible as always, would have none of it, conjuring illusions in school to amuse his friends and annoy his teachers. Not only was he shockingly forward with his talents, he had the outrageously bad manners to be a prodigy as well, excelling in spell casting and swiftly surpassing any tutor the school system could find for him.

To make matters worse, he seemed to do it without effort, concentrating more on music and flirting with girls than on his studies. It was only when he was fifteen that a particularly astute teacher noticed that his casting wasn't quite the same as the hermetic formulae she had been trying to teach him. Notifying a researcher of her acquaintance, she was surprised when the man insisted he be flown immediately to Texas for testing at the facilities at Texas A&M.

His parents were shocked to discover that he had not been shirking his studies at all, but that he actually was self-training in the virtually unknown bardic tradition. Though they did not approve of his “choice” to become a magician, they loved their son, and spared no expense in finding the best private tutors for the boy so that he could be properly trained.

It was during one of these “training sessions” that a record executive saw the boy performing in a local nightclub. The rest, as they say, is history. Mickey StarShine became a household word, his music played in homes and dancehalls throughout the world. The revenues from his record (and eventually movie) deals was used to pay for his tutors and set aside in a trust for his later university education – his parents never fully letting go of their idea of what an acceptable life for the young man would be, and seeing his musical career as nothing more than a youthful diversion... although an uncannily successful one.

When the Crash 2.0 deleted his SIN, stranding young Michael Stea in Seattle with no way to cross the two thousand miles and more home, he was suddenly thrust into the world of the shadows, but his “misspent youth” in the clubs and rave bars of a score of nations left him well equipped to make his own way in the Seattle night. His last message back to his family in the east said simply: “Sorry I'm late, some kind of computer error. I am well, will be home as soon as I can. Tell Lizzy and Lucy I love them. Love you, too.”

A naturally social and friendly person who didn't judge others harshly, the underworld of the Emerald City quickly embraced “Sean McFinn” as one of their own. He never spoke of his past or his family, and never asked others about theirs. In this, he was neither unique nor noteworthy.

In time, he came to know many of the petty players in Seattle's shadows. Mostly punks and wannabes, but a few up-and-comers spent their evenings listening to his performances. It was only a matter of time before one or another would come to him and ask him to help negotiate a deal on their behalf. After talking a fixer known as Cherry-Blossom out of more than a few nuyen on behalf of his criminal friends, she came to know and respect him, eventually hiring him on as the “face” for a run against Mitsuhama. The run went smoothly and he quickly began to develop a reputation in the shadows, eventually falling in with a team known informally as “The Runners Grimm.”

Now Station's exploits are well-known among those who watch the shadows, and even those who care nothing for criminal activities are starting to hear the name. How much has reached the ears of a surprisingly politically astute New York family with its ear constantly to the ground can only be guessed, but it's only a matter of time before the antics of the green-eyed bard get back to the Stea family, and they can be appalled at their long-lost wayward son whose antics can once again shock and horrify them.

In the year 2064, a teen sensation was on the rise. 16-year-old Michael Sean Stea, or "Mickey Starshine," as he was known on the covers of his multi-platinum albums, was exploding onto the popular music scene. With his inventive mix of modern techno/synth and traditional Irish/Celtic music, he was on the verge of single-handedly making a musical revolution. His hit single, "The Stars Shine" from his debut album 22, took the world by storm, and was quickly followed by a world tour and another album Don't Fall for Me. Songs such as the title track, "Moonlight," and "Elf Babe," seemed to set his place in music history. His remarkable singing voice, lopsided grin, and emerald-green eyes had the ever-crucial preteen female demographic lining up around the block for shows, autographs, record releases, and appearances of all sorts. It appeared to all that Mickey was the Next Big Thing.

Then came the Matrix Crash. Among the billions of nuyen in damages, the social upheaval, the world economy falling down around everyone's ears, no one asked questions about the occasional celebrity to slip through the cracks. Many careers never recovered, and most people had their own problems to worry about. By 2010, the name Mickey Starshine has become a household word, in the same way as Vanilla Ice, New Kids on the Block, and Chumbawumba before him... the poster child for flash in the pan success. Someone who exploded onto the scene, then disappeared into obscurity.

Occasionally someone might ask "whatever happened to Mickey Starshine?" but no one has ever yet made a real effort to find him. Unlike many former celebrities, it's not a simple manner of tracking down who owns the contract and doing a search for the SIN to force him into one of the myriad "Where are They Now?" type of tridcasts, and few in the entertainment business are willing to go deeper than that when washed-up singers, actors, and models are a dime a dozen on the streets of half a hundred major cities around the world.

The Crash cost a great many people their identities and forced them into the shadows in one way or another. After losing his SIN, Michael Stea, now 24, has become something other than what he was. Now essentially a professional partygoer and entertainer in Seattle's underworld using the name Station, Sean McFinn (as his fake ID names him) is still a person in the limelight wherever he goes, even though he lacks the international recognition, legions of fans, and virtually limitless wealth he once had. If asked, he would say he doesn't miss it. He wouldn't even be lying too much - being a superstar is a headache and a hassle at all times, and Station never really wanted anything other than to make music and inspire emotional response in others.

Unfortunately, preforming at underground raves and street parties doesn't really pay the bills, but like many victims of the crash, he found a ready supply of cash in the form of running the shadows. Not much in a firefight, Station nonetheless more than pulls his weight when the chips are down, blithely charming his way past even the most jaded and obstinate of guards, and assisting with a healthy repertoire of Illusion and Manipulation spells.

So far, no one has connected Station with the former teen star "Mickey Starshine," the later half of puberty having made substantial changes to his physical appearance, but the emerald green eyes and lopsided grin may well give him away one day, violently thrusting Sean McFinn back into the public eye, possibly taking the people around him as well, for good or for ill. Only time will tell how such an event would play out.