Although Luke always wears a mask, he never looks particularly somber. When he first came to the Colossus, he immediately showed his extraordinary enthusiasm to both me and %s... Namely, he seemed to have grand plans to use the Colossus as a mercenary contact point.
Luke is a very polite person. When he speaks, he speaks in a kind, reserved, and measured tone, and he also looks pretty eager to paint portraits for %s. When interacting with him, one hardly feels uncomfortable at all, except...
Except when it comes to the insects that always follow him around. Although he usually asks if it's okay before summoning them... when I see those insects appear all of a sudden, it always seems to frighten me a little! Moreover, when Luke talks about insects, he speaks with such passion... He sounds like a completely different person, which can be a little scary. According to him, insects are the same as Aurorians, and all life is equal in the world. Well... when he puts it like that, there's no denying that Luke is indeed a gentle soul.
—Vice

My life before being adopted by the old commander? To tell you the truth, I can't remember it all too clearly.
I was born in Maida Mesa and lived an ordinary life with my parents. Soon, my life became a fractured picture of confusion. I remember my mother telling me that if I saw a man in white, I should run away as quickly as possible...
They must have sensed impending danger, so they packed up all my belongings and told me to go to the commander's house to play. That evening, when the commander sent me home, I found that the door of my house was open and marked with three bullet holes. The interior still looked quite orderly—it didn't seem consistent with the style of an Umbraton gang raid.
The commander is a very kind man. He told me that my parents had gone far away but would keep in regular contact with me via mail. So, I put on the mask he gave me to hide my identity and became his adopted son. The commander didn't know that I had seen a wanted poster with pictures of my parents on it in a newspaper he had hidden. Whenever I received a letter from the commander penned in handwriting clumsily imitating my parents, I knew that they were never coming back.

After the Darkover Crisis, my adoptive father's health deteriorated, and I gradually began to take over his duties as leader of the White Flame Mercenaries. At this time, I slowly realized the gap between the requirements of this role and my expectations. A professional mercenary must always keep his promises, but a competent mercenary commander needs to abide by less apparent standards.
Indeed, as my adoptive father said, we must expand our horizons if we want to make the mercenary squad stronger. Thus, I gradually began to accept more ways of looking at the world—for example, I turned to opportunities I hadn't paid attention to before, including undertaking certain questionable deals. In recent years, I have gained a deeper understanding of the freedoms Umbraton affords. Behind the widespread notion of freedom lies another kind of freedom—one that is growing rampantly. It has always existed in Umbraton and is an integral part of its unique value.
Having been mentored by my adoptive father for many years, I was readily accepted by most when I became the new deputy commander at the age of twenty-three. I have served as deputy commander for a long time now... Seeing the old man's smile is reward enough for me. Anyway, after I took over most of the mercenary squad's obligations, I've certainly gained more than I lost, but what I lost was far from negligible.

Don't move a muscle, %s—I'm almost done.
I picked up this hobby after I began working in the mercenary squad. Although I am by no means a professional painter, I'm still pretty good in the eyes of Umbraton's bigshots. Working in the mercenary squad is stressful work, requiring one to pay careful attention to each step of a task to get the job done. Painting is an outlet to completely relax my mind and body and express my mood on the canvas however I want.
Even when I first joined the mercenary squad, I used my paintings to solve some teething problems. You see, credibility is something that can only be built up through long-term relationships. The leaders of Umbraton were not so familiar with me when I took over as the new deputy commander, so whenever we'd complete a commission, I would send them a portrait. This quickly became my business card in Umbraton.
Well then, come and take a look. This portrait is for you—please take a step back and take a good look at it. I find realism to be somewhat dull—only by gazing upon this painting from a distance can you appreciate how these combinations of differently-colored segments form a cohesive whole.
Are you interested in impressionist painting, too? Or perhaps you prefer a more abstract style? You're too modest. Please let me take a look at your artwork if you get the chance.

Thank you so much for allowing my little friends to roam free—they've been dying to stretch their legs and their wings... But %s, there's really no need to stand so far away.
Alright, you can come closer—I'll put them away. Sorry, I simply can't stand living without my insects. You see, my first little friend was a butterfly given to me by my adoptive father.
I cared for that butterfly with all my heart and raised it in my adoptive father's garden. I kept it safe with layers of protective nets, picked fresh flowers for her every day, and chatted with her in hushed tones. Eventually, I could make out her thoughts from the curved shapes her antennae would make and the flapping of her wings. One day, when I brought her favorite kind of grass, I heard her say "thank you" to me.
Does all this sound strange to you? Well, from that moment on, I understood the language of these insects and gained the ability to communicate with them. That's the beautiful thing about life—when we love and interact with each other, we can all coexist in harmony... Hmm? You understand what I'm talking about? That is wonderful to hear, Navigator. It turns out that our experience is quite similar in this regard.