Arbiter

James "Arbiter" Bixby  is a Ronin Vanguard mechwarrior in Battletech.

Bio
James Bixby was born on Arc-Royal in the Lyran Commonwealth to a wealthy family that, as new money, lacked many of the advantages of the titled aristocracy, most notably land and a family BattleMech. Because of his wealthy background, James was easily able to enter the Somerset Military Academy, where he scored in the top 15% of his class and won a coveted position in a Cadet Trade with House Davion's Albion Military Academy.

After graduation, he earned his callsign 'Arbiter' evaluating recently dispossessed MechWarriors to see if they were worthy of a replacement machine. This was just a stepping stone to getting his own BattleMech, however. He earned assignment to a Griffin after several years writing up reports on other pilots and attending off-hours training sessions. He was assigned to the Storm Company in the Lyran Guard, where he served faithfully for a five year tour.

However, when he was overlooked for a promotion due to his lack of family connections, he realized he had no interest in spending the rest of his life as nothing more than a 'Mech pilot for the military. He cashed out his Savings and War Salvage and headed to the Periphery to see what he could do about acquiring a BattleMech of his own, and bringing his family the prestige it had always lacked.