Israel Hands was born William Hands in 3150, on Marque Station in the Marque System, Q7. Billy had an unremarkable upbringing, but being around starships and spacers for most of his young life developed an overriding desire to got to space himself. He was not academically brilliant like his older brother, who had got a job on a merchant ship as a crewman, but via him was able to swing himself a junior position in cargo handling, and worked his way up from there.
Life on the frontier is often rough and ready and people don't abide by rules, regulations and protocols, and Marque was rougher than most. Billy had always been involved with some of the seamier side of life and knew the ducks and dodges, and found that working in cargo handling gave him even greater opportunity to make some money on the side. He eventually did well enough for himself that he was able to pay his way through college from 3180-3183, and then Astronavigation training, finally re-hiring on the merchant ships again as an astronaut on better pay, but still keeping his hand in on smuggling, as well as branching out into fake registries and all manner of dubious dealings.
In 3193 his ship was hijacked by a group of ne'er do wells. Many of the crew were spaced, but since Billy was the senior astronaut he was kept on to navigate for the hapless would-be pirates. Remarkably they managed to stay ahead of the law for a couple of years before the law caught up with them, and Billy used his old smuggling connections and skill at altering flight plans and registries to keep them going, becoming complicit in their attacks and even leading combat crew in boarding actions. However, the spree came to and end in 3195 when the Esteeler Navy caught them at Matanzas. Billy managed to claim (successfully) that he had been forced into doing what he did and that he had been threatened with death and torture. The Esteelers let him turn State's evidence against his former colleagues, and then extradited him to Earther space along with a group of other 'undesirable aliens' heading for Dolha.
However, the Earther authorities were rather more keen to 'talk' to him, he knew. He managed to lead the other detainees in a breakout, and in a carbon copy of the takeover of the ship that he had been involved in back in 3193 they took over and diverted the ship to Marque.
Billy now became a fully-fledged pirate, calling himself 'Israel' after his ancient pre-spaceflight namesake, and the hijacked armed merchant ship became the 'Deep Fear'. He made a couple of modestly profitable voyages. However, with very little of a reputation among the Independent Traders' community and an inexperienced crew, 'Israel' Hands decided he needed a big score to launch his career. His opportunity came when he met the notorious Captain Flint in 3197.

The Great Berserker Caper [Berserker 0101]
This was an attempt to raid and strip an Exterminator Super Battleship (ESB) which had been crippled by Earther forces at the 2nd Battle of Dyme (3197:332) and which was now lying in deep space near the uninhabited JGJ180X system. The ESB had been discovered by the notorious Captain Flint, who was then looking for other pirate ships to help him out. While docked at Freeport, Israel heard about the job and hooked up.
Five ambitious Pirate ships set out to recover whatever they could: the Bad Dream, the Dead Kenny, the Good Ship, the Crazy Joe and 'Israel' with the 'Deep Fear'. Flint's ship, the Dark Boar, was also originally part of the fleet, but did not exit hyperspace along with the others. It is not known what his plans were - perhaps to pick off those returning with the loot - but in any event Captain Flint was subsequently captured by the 130th Earther Marine Regiment in Operation Meteor Storm at Marque, on 3197: 367. [Or was he?]
In his absence, the captain of the Dead Kenny was elected Admiral and a two-pronged assault on the ESB was planned. However, after some initial success, the operation itself soon became a debacle. The crews of the Deep Fear and Good Ship (led onto the ESB by Israel himself) became bogged down in a protracted battle with Exterminator 'clankers' and combat robots. Meanwhile the Dead Kenny was rendered inoperable by the "accidental" explosion of a demolition charge placed on its fusion drive by the captain "to keep the crew honest." The Deep Fear itself was crippled during the operation by Exterminator DEW fire, during a boarding action in which the Admiral (the captain of the Dead Kenny), who was trying to steal the Deep Fear, was himself killed. The Bad Dream was 'commandeered' by two officers and half a dozen crew members who had recovered an Exterminator brain and had no intention of splitting the loot, and jumped into hyperspace.
Some of the crew of the Bad Dream who had been left behind managed to get off the ESB and outsystem on the Crazy Joe, although their respite was short: the Crazy Joe was itself lost very shortly afterwards to an Earther Q-ship in the Marque system, around 3198:018 (Operation Redberry). The fate of the Bad Dream pirates who left with the Exterminator brain is still not known, although the brain was itself subsequently recovered by the authorities.
Meanwhile Israel had managed to get off the ESB on the Good Ship with a handful of his remaining crew and officers, and a part share in the Exterminator brain that had been recovered by their side of the operation. His ship's share of the proceeds came to a cool Cr30,000, of which Israel pocketed Cr12,000, although given that he had lost his ship in the process the voyage could hardly be described as successful. His crew split to spend the proceeds and Israel went into semi-retirement for a year or so, lying low and living the good life.
However, all things come to an end, and the money ran out. Recently 'Israel' found himself broke and having to sign up as a crewman on the ship of another notorious pirate, Captain Edward 'Deadeyes' Gargunza. The voyage went well until the ship docked in Freeport, and Gargunza cut loose from his crew, leaving Israel stranded planetside with a bunch of newbies and no-hopers…

Now 50 years old, Israel has been a spacer and a criminal of one kind or another for most of his adult life. He knows no other life and can't imagine doing anything else. And now that he has 'form' for piracy it is difficult for him to go back to any kind of 'normal' life. Earther authorities in Q7 still have a warrant out for his arrest for jumping bail and suspected involvement in a number of crimes. Besides, he enjoys the life - the freedom, the camaraderie, the danger, the… crap food, cramped conditions, paranoia. Well, it's what he's used to. Long term plans? Well, of course, he still has every pirate's dream of making that one big score and retiring to life a life of luxury. However, realistically he knows that one day his luck will run out and he will be cornered, and maybe killed or mind-wiped.
Israel is experienced and ruthless (hence the high Leadership), and knows spaceships and smuggling inside out, but he is not a personable man (low Charisma) and his career to date has been less than stellar. In fact, he has been extremely unlucky, plus he has spent a couple of years out of circulation (all accounting for his low reputation and dread scores). Still, this new bunch look like they may have potential (apart from the wussy Esteelers that is). Doc Cpok is a man after Hands' cold heart, and the Xyonist seems cool and collected, if not much of a team player.
Mebbe he could put himself a new crew together (aharr!). Once they get out of this mess that is…