Captain Whitaker is a merchant captain, recently retiring from active service with Ling Standard Products. Rupert was originally from the highlands of Drin on the major continent of Dingir in the Solomani Sphere, but now calls the spacelanes home.

Rupert is an imposing, barrel-chested, powerful figure, rather larger than the average man, almost 6'4" tall, and weighing about 250lbs. He obviously trained with weights, and while he isn't fat, he has been in better shape. He has a shaved head, thick neck and full, black moustache and goatee beard. Rupert has twinkling brown eyes with laugh-line crows feet, but this belies his temper. He is also known among the LSP crews to have a mighty temper, and not to suffer fools lightly. His deep voice matches his size.

Whitaker has a love for all things gravitic, and for physical exertion. The first stems from a childhood love of model gravplane racing; and the second from growing up in the highlands, and being involved in sports. He played rugby during school and while serving with LSP. It's been only six months since he was on a side.

He started his career with a local company, doing deliveries and working on their fleet. He did this to get money to keep up his gravplane racing hobby. His understanding of gravitics opened the door to the engineering department of LSP. He worked his way up to Engineer, then on to the Deck Department.

Much of his successful career was in speculative runs, opening new planets and establishing trade under the LSP flag. This kept his wanderlust in check. When he discovered that he was going to be grounded, in other words, assigned as the LSP 'Director of Business Operations' on a newly opened world, he claimed his pension and 'retired', now striking out on his own.

He holds a recent MBA from New Oxford University, New London.