Eduard Perceval Spriggs

Childhood
Mr. Eduard Perceval Spriggs, Esq., was born in Grand Enaj, Sivad, on 5 April 2985, the only son of Dr. G. R. Spriggs, Ph. D., Professor of Classics at the University of Enaj; and Mrs. Sophia Anne Spriggs, LL. B., nee Coulter, contract lawyer for Kuda Energy, Ltd. After the deaths of his parents in a shuttle accident whilst on holiday to Deserata, Eduard was brought up by his only living relative, his paternal aunt Agnes Victoria Spriggs. She enrolled him in St. George’s Boys Preparatory School, a stalwart Sivadian pedagogical institution since its founding in 2815. He was a precocious pupil, fond of sport and games, whose quick aptitude to learn outpaced the other boys and lead to boredom and the occasional rambunctiousness. His energy would prove a wordy mess for his nerve wracked instructors; in fact, they might have caused another boy to have been sent down from St. George’s if the Headmaster was not an old schoolboy friend of Eduard’s late father. Under the protection of the old man, he was able to torment his peers, and persist in the irritation of his betters; but Eduard was also geared toward the sort of romantic detachment, and yearning for adventure and grand experiences typical of bright youth. He graduated with distinction, in the top ten of his class, a proud member of the Dean’s List; and was an expectant hopeful of the faculty to pursue in the accomplished footsteps of his departed father. Fate, it would seem, would lead him to another path.

Education
Eduard enrolled in the Academy as a young man out of the desire to “do something patriotic and practical.” Like his father, he had a voracious appetite for literature. To that effect, he was the recipient of the Lord Byron Poetry Medal, awarded to the top boy in poetic composition at St. George's. Unfortunately, he lacked the studious patience to devote a lifetime to its pursuit. “Shelly and Coleridge are all fine and grand for the soul, Meyers,” he quipped at his roommate when he was headboy at St. George’s, “But I want to leave my mark -out there– you know, for King and Country.” He thus took to the life of an officer cadet with relish, performing satisfactorily in his core curriculum; and creating a reputation for himself amongst the other students as competitive, forward, and "one of the select" when he was tapped to join the RNA Pope's Dining Club. Passionate for sport, he competed as a half-blue member of the RNA Tennis Team; and a full-blue member of the RNA Sailing Crew - eventually leading the team as Captain in 05/06 in its distinction against the University of Enaj. Whilst enrolled in his military training at the Academy, Eduard nonetheless managed to complete a Baccalaureate Artium with Distinction in Ancient Letters and Xeno-Anthropology.

Sundry
Though his family is not of noble blood, Eduard has nonetheless managed to associate himself with the best society since his upbringing: due, in part, to his inheritance of his grandfather's estate (Sir Gerhard Perceval Richard Spriggs, Kt., a magnate in the polydenum trade, left his family a fantastic legacy of wealth rivaling any grand fortune on Sivad), the successful managing of his parents' hedge-fund since their untimely demise, and his enrollment at St. George's. The result, one could expect, is a certain disdain for those who did not achieve the same distinctive upbringing - the right schools, the right clubs, the right accomplishments - and a general flippant manner about his person. In short, he is polished, cultured, arrogant, and self-confident. However, Eduard is also acutely conscious that - though wealthy and of good stock - he is not a member of the gentry, and is not entirely accepted in the highest sphere of Sivadian society. He is effectively caught between social worlds.

Desperately in love with the young Baroness Katherine Elizabeth Houghton (Kitty), daughter of the widower Lord Mortimer Herald Houghton, Third Baron of Sauderfeld, who holds a seat on the Council of Equals, Eduard is willing to sacrifice himself (and anyone else) in the quest to prove his worth in the Royal Naval Service to achieve distinction, promotion, and eventually impress his beloved's father so that he is permitted to marry. Before his assignment to the HMS Indefatigable, Eduard spent two weeks sailing across Osprey Harbour with her - spending time only to lounge in the sunshine, play tennis, and drink dry martinis and mint juleps before retiring together aboard his yacht. His dry humour and sarcastic wit could be seen as public projections in order to masque his private longings for his distant love; in fact, he spends hours of free time, when off duty (or waiting for transmissions to de-code), composing rhyming couplets in her honour.

Eduard is a member of the Church of Sivad, and firmly believes that faith in God, and loyalty to the King, are patriotic obligations of all Sivadian citizens. Of course, as an officer, he has no public political allegiances, but is nonetheless a staunch Monarchist and Blue Tory Conservative.

Service
After graduating from the Academy, he was assigned the full commission of Third Lieutenant and stationed aboard the HMS Indefatigable. He served aboard the HMS Admiral Nelson, a Third-of-the-Line training frigate, and shortly served with distinction aboard the HMS Puma, prior to his graduation from the Academy in September 3006, and his assignment to active duty. He was the cause of a diplomatic gaff with the Il'stagonians shortly after his assignment to the HMS Indefatigable, inadvertantly offending the alien species when they pro-offered Second Lieutenant Barnabas Rodden a Ts'zuka, a creature proported to be a delicacy amongst their race with every resemblance to a household cat with the exception of its lack of ears and tail, and a pug-like face. The incident threatened to ruin relations with the Il'stagonians except ties were smoothed by the efforts of the Foreign Secretary's Office.

Service Record
{|
 * 3006.MAY.01
 * Assigned to the HMS Admiral Nelson
 * 3006.SEPT.16
 * Graduation from the Academy
 * 3006.OCT.03
 * Assigned to the HMS Puma
 * 3007.APR.08
 * Reassigned to the HMS Indefatigable
 * 3007.JUN.05
 * Promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant.
 * Assigned to the HMS Puma
 * 3007.APR.08
 * Reassigned to the HMS Indefatigable
 * 3007.JUN.05
 * Promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant.
 * 3007.JUN.05
 * Promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant.
 * Promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant.