Rodge McCaffrey
| Rodge McCaffrey | |
|---|---|
| |
| Titles | Callsign: Rigmarole |
| Aliases | Rig |
| Skills | Ship repair |
| Profession | Engineer, DDF pilots (formerly) |
| Groups | Engineering Corps |
| Homeworld | Detritus |
| Universe | Cytoverse |
Rodge McCaffrey (Rig, callsign: Rigmarole[1]) is a childhood friend of Spensa who is accepted into DDF Flight School with her. He drops out after their first battle, pursuing the Engineering Corps and getting a job there.[2]
Appearance and Personality
Rig is described as lanky and has red hair. He is often self-conscious, but through the designs he receives so much praise for at the Engineering Corps, he becomes much more confident. Rig is very smart, and is good with machinery.[3]
History
Flight School
Rig has known Spensa for a very long time. They studied for their Flight School entrance exam together and Rig received a perfect score. He trains with Spensa at the flight school, but their flight is called into battle after only a short amount of training. In the course of the battle his ship gets struck by a Krell destructor blast, though his shield holds and he makes it out of the battle unscathed. The next day he drops out of the program, realizing that it has only ever been Spensa's dream.[4]
Repairing M-Bot
Rig received multiple offers for jobs after dropping out, then Spensa showed him M-Bot, a crashed, high-tech fighter which she found in a cave. Rig was very excited, wanting to help repair it. Because of this, he decides to accept a job with the Engineering Corps to acquire the parts and knowledge he will need to fix M-Bot. As he learned more and more during his training as an engineer, he was able to help repair M-Bot bit by bit. He managed to get most of the necessary supplies through his job with the Engineering Corps, though lacked a few items, mainly a booster. Rodge wanted to share the designs some of M-Bot’s features, though many of his features were too complicated for him to understand and explain. Some of the features he managed to explain to his superiors, which quickly granted him favor and respect there. When Spensa managed to get a booster from the wreckage of Hurl’s ship, which allowed Rodge to finish repairing M-Bot.[3]
Relationships
“You will not tell her I said those things. She probably doesn’t even remember who I am....Does she? ”
—Rodge talking to Spensa after admitting he likes FM[5]
Rodge has a crush on FM and thinks she is smart, cute, and has nice eyes.[6] Spensa, while playing matchmaker, asks FM about her dating preferences to see whether she would be interested in someone like Rodge, although her attempts to find out information do not go very far.[7]
During Rodge, FM, and Jorgen’s experiments on the Taynix, Rodge is quiet around FM, leading her to assume that he disliked her and was ignoring her.[citation needed] Later FM runs into Rodge while he’s working on Detritus’ shields, and he admits that he likes FM. FM, who feels the same way, awkwardly says she doesn’t know who she likes and changes the subject. Later on when the two of them are in a starfighter together, FM confesses that she shares Rodge’s feelings, and they grow more confortable around each other.[citation needed]
Trivia
- Rodge’s last name is a nod to Anne McCaffrey, the writer of The White Dragon[8]