Unheralded and unknown, crew members are vital to any ship function

As the 5th Alliance Tournament nears, the focus is squarely on the capsuleers who control the powerful vessels. But behind every successful capsuleer is a hard working crew that puts their lives on the line every time they go into battle. This is no different in the Alliance Tournament.

In the coming days, the Interstellar Correspondents will follow the stories of three crew members as they crew ships participating in the Alliance Tournament.

The first is Rozalin Fuma, a 32-year old Deteis and a gunnery operator. Ms. Fuma was born on New Caldari as a part of the Tube Children program. As she progressed through school, she set her sights on becoming a pod pilot herself. However, testing revealed that she was a high risk of suffering mind lock. The risk was so high that she was refused enrollment into even entry-level pod pilot courses. With her prospects being entering a business program for Ishukone, the sponsors of her creche, she chose to become a ship crew member instead. In her career, she has crewed seven different battleships, eventually rising to the rank of a chief gunnery operator on board a Rohk before transferring to a tournament crew. Her specialty is in the operation of hybrid turrets.

The second is Axel Adell, a 53-year old Gallente navigation officer. A former member of the Federal Navy, Mr. Adell was honorably discharged a decade ago following his sixth tour of duty along the Gallente-Amarr border. While part of the Navy, he achieved the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. He remained retired for several years, but the itch of working on board a spaceship finally got to him, and he signed with a pod pilot crew. He currently is the chief navigator for a crew that specializes in logistics ships.

The third is Shin Anko, a 24-year old Khanid engineer. Mr. Anko's family is a well-to-do member of the Khanid Kingdom's upper class. Though not Holders, they have considerable wealth and influence in the Kingdom's economy. As the tenth child, however, Mr. Anko had few opportunities inside the family, and so learned all about spaceship engineering. He proved himself a prodigy, taking over the sole crew responsibilities on board numerous stealth bombers. He expects to continue using his expertise with stealth bombers - and other classes of frigates requiring small crews - in the alliance tournament.

As the tournament draws closer, we will find out more about each of these crew members and the duties they perform during the tournament.