Characters thread

[Silent Hunter]

I might as well get this up.

Tina Suvorova will follow shortly.

[Silent Hunter]

Name: Valentina "Tina" Suvorova. AKA Tina the Cleaner, Blackbraid, Mimi Volker
Age: 30

Personality: Putting the "fatal" in femme fatale, Tina uses her feminine wiles to lure in prey - and then kills them in a highly vicious manner. She is not a person to cross. Her cute, benevolent image is entirely an act - the woman is a pure sadist.

Background: What is known of Tina's background to the regular public is limited, especially her war activities. She appears to have served in a commando unit called Force Victor Nine, infamous for their brutality. Before that, she was a petty criminal and sometime con artist.

Since the war, she became a pirate, part of the "Ezra Bucaneers" gang, a group known for doing things "old-school". Like saying "Aaarrgggghhhh!" when murdering people. She eventually reached the third-in-command position before leaving the gang in strange circumstances.

She apparently has a husband, but who would want to marry her is entirely unclear.

[Mischa Brendel]

Name: Brint Dao-Tsun
Age: 26
Upbringing: Persephone

The reason for Brint’s Chinese surname is because he was adopted. He was born on Persephone and had a fairly normal childhood and education. He became an engineer the way most folk do on the border planets: he simply went to work at the docks and helped out there while learning the trade.

Since then he has held several jobs. One of them was on a ship called the Shining Glory, where he worked together with other engineers to fix mules, cars, bikes, skiffs and all that. Basically the ship was a flying garage. He met two of his best friends there: Ryan Bow (who is now – without Brint knowing – the chief engineer aboard the Atlantis) and Nadia Forlay. She and Ryan were in an intimate relationship, but in a big finale everything fell apart: the captain of the Shining Glory lost his ship in a bet and it turned out that the new owner knew a lot about Nadia and her Companion past, which she had not told anybody about. Ryan broke up with her and this meant that the plan of the three friends to start up a business of their own when opportunity would arise, did not happen. Ryan left and Brint and Nadia stayed behind jumping from job to job as the opportunities presented themselves.

Although the two of them are only friends, Brint has always had a bit of a crush on the very attractive Nadia. But Brint is the type of guy who falls for looks easily and he is also one to quickly pursue a girl that he likes.

Little under a year ago Brint found out something about a pirate's whereabouts and he convinced Nadia that the two of them could capture the pirate and collect the bounty. Things worked out differently: both he and Nadia were captured by the pirate and Brint was sold to Gore as a slave. Gore constantly used Nadia as leverage to make sure Brint did what he was told, working for the pirate as a tech specialist. Brint could only obey since he did not want to risk putting Nadia in danger.

But one day things took a sharp turn. After being forced to land on a planet for repairs, Brint managed to find out quite a lot about Gore, the most important piece of information being that Gore had been lying about Nadia: he had sold her quite some time ago. Now that Gore no longer had his leverage, Brint managed to inform the Alliance of the pirate’s whereabouts without much difficulty and the Purplebellies quickly made the arrest, taking some of Gore’s crew along in the process. Brint received a hansom reward for leading the Alliance towards Gore and managed to keep his betrayal a secret to the remaining crew.

Now he had money and a goal: to find and free Nadia. But he didn’t have a ship or the means to free her. On top of that, he had no idea where to look for her. Hoping that something will come up along the way, Brint has decided to stay with what is left of Gore’s crew – this time as an equal and not as a slave – so that he at least has a ship and a crew surrounding him.

[Jason Andersen]

Name: Carolyn Annesley
Born: 2486
Place of Birth: Santo
Age: 33
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 135 lbs
Status: Single
Known Relatives: Mother: Lilly Annesley, deceased; Father: Kegan Annesley, deceased; Grandfather: James Annesley, deceased

Background:
Carolyn grew up on Santo, leading a simple but happy life with her parents. The first 12 years of her life were the happiest she would ever know.


Carolyn spends a happy day with her family at the beach.

All that was taken away in moment, when her parents both died in a mule accident shortly after her 12th birthday. With no other relatives on Santo, some family friends took her in temporarily, while word was sent to her grandfather on Persephone.

Carolyn's grandfather arrived shortly after from Persephone, to take care of the funeral arrangements. In their will, Carolyn's parents left her a large sum of money, but never named anyone to act as guardian for her. Her grandfather was her only living relative, so he took his granddaughter back to live with him on Persephone. The family's assets were auctioned off, and the money was transferred into the account her grandfather had set up for her. It was the last time she would see her childhood home on Santo.


Carolyn leaves her childhood home forever.

Life went on, however, and life living with her grandfather was harder as money became tighter and tighter. The money that was her inheritance dwindled quickly, and in later years Carolyn suspected her grandfather gambled away most of the money that was gained from the sale of her parent's homestead on Santo.


Carolyn helps her grandfather with dinner.

One thing the will had insisted on - and one of the loopholes her grandfather used to get access to her money - was Carolyn's continued schooling. He enrolled her in one of the best academies on Persephone, and her future looked very promising. She took to staying with friends in the nicer areas of Persephone, especially because her grandfather tended to be drunk and abusive much of the time, treating Carolyn like a heavy burden to him. The times she spent with her grandfather grew farther and farther apart.


Carolyn at a party.

Eventually she was approached by the priestess of the Companion house on Persephone, to be invited to join the guild and train to become a Companion. Her grandfather encouraged this, knowing that Companions were paid well and hoping that the money she could bring in as a Companion would help him with his steadily growing debts. Carolyn accepted the invitation, and moved into the guildhouse to begin her training.


Carolyn trains as a Companion.

During her time training, she was taught dance, singing, martial arts, and philosophy. She took mostly to the martial arts, being very in tune to what her body was doing and having impeccable balance. She did well enough in the other subjects to be able to continue her studies, but nothing could top the incredible feel of power she had when she held cold steel poised to strike at another. Sometimes the feelings seemed to overwhelm her, and her instructors began to grow a bit concerned at her sheer delight in the fight.


Carolyn learning to duel.

She was taught manners and etiquette, and how to dress to catch the eye of a potential customer (man or woman). Her trainers tried to steer her away from martial aspects, saying she had mastered what she needed and needed to focus more on the techniques of pleasing her customers. But Carolyn had found the outlet for her passion and rage - the anger of what cards life had dealt her would flood away in the ecstasy of combat. At night her dreams would be haunted by her parents and blades and blood. She took the emotional detachment training the Companions offered her wholeheartedly, applying it to herself completely so that she could remove cares of her family.


Carolyn learning the Companion life.

During her time away, her grandfather became deathly ill. It wasn't until he missed payment of one of his many debts and someone was sent to collect that he was found dead in his night-clothes, bent over a washtub on his bedroom floor, a dried pool of blood and bile in the bottom of it.

Word eventually reached Carolyn, who found the news rather shocking. Her grandfather had been in relatively good health last she had seen him. Carolyn never learned the exact cause of death. Over the weeks after she considered many options - suicide, murder, natural causes. But in the end, she decided she didn't really care. The old man had never been that kind to her, and she was happy he could never touch her again. The real shock came when she was told of her grandfather's debts - which she had now inherited.


Carolyn is told about the death of her grandfather.

Added to this was news of the War beginning. All Companions and their students were to return back to the Core worlds. Carolyn was torn. Her loyalty was with the border worlds, not the Core. She made a difficult decision to continue her training and leave the Border worlds, but before the journey could be made, the Companion house and many of the Companions in it were killed in a bombing. Officially the Independents were blamed, but Carolyn could not understand the purpose of such an action by Independent forces.

Not sure who to believe, and largely abandoned by the Guild in the confusion after the incident, she decided to take what knowledge she had and make her own way. In the slums of Persephone she found that her martial skills and grace in movements made her a very effective thief. Using an alias to avoid the debt collectors, she donned the black leather suit she would wear as a uniform ever after and began looking for a buyer for her skill set.

Hooking up with a crime lord named Jackson, she continued honing her skills, this time by training with the weapons in Jackson's armory.


Carolyn in the armory.

Carolyn trains with the crossbow.

Carolyn trains with a machine gun.

Eventually her old life would catch up with her, however. Someone in Jackson's employee was also a collector, and he recognized her from the time she lived with her uncle. Her identity revealed, she shot Jackson dead when he came looking for his money - money that he had been paying her that was rightfully his.


Carolyn says goodbye to Jackson.

Fleeing to the Eavesdown docks, she signs on with a trading ship, the Fawkes, as a gun hand, running supplies to the Independents. Because of this, she found herself on Du Khang, running the Alliance blockade to deliver supplies. The pay was great, the danger greater.


Carolyn moves through the rubble at Du Khang.

As the War wore on, the Independents were in dire need of additional supplies. At one point, the Fawkes was contracted to steal supplies from a Blue Sun factory on Beaumonde. It was up to Carolyn to infiltrate the factory, open its docking doors, and make it back to the ship alive.


Carolyn on Beaumonde, infiltrating a Blue Sun factory.

Towards the end of the War, the coffers of the Independents dried up, and so did the contracts coming from them. The Fawkes took to smaller paying yet more difficult contracts to keep it in the black, literally.


Carolyn on St. Albans.

After a particularly difficult contract on St. Albans, the Fawkes was contacted for a contract, but the employer would not identify themselves. Claiming the need for utmost secrecy, and knowing their reputation from the contracts they delivered for the Independents during the War, they requested only the captain come to get the instructions on Persephone.

The Captain, smelling a trap, sent his most trusted employee - Carolyn - knowing she would be able to handle anything thrown at her.

Reaching the contact point, Carolyn found several bodies laying in the street. Immediately on guard, she was startled by a light shining at her, and a voice demanding she show her hands and that she was under arrest.


Carolyn meets her contact.

Throwing down a flash-bang, she jumped into a large culvert pipe and moved through the various drainage ducts under the city, attempting to shake her pursuers.


Carolyn escapes the trap.

Eventually the ducts led her to a large underground river of drainage water, and with the officers following close behind, she dove into the water. Making her way through the tunnels under the city, she ambushed one of the armed men, taking his gun, but the area was crawling with Alliance, and she soon found herself surrounded.


Carolyn is finally caught.

Allowing herself to be taken into custody, she waited for an opportunity to escape. It soon came when she was left with only two Alliance officers to process her booking. She used her Companion training to start seducing the officers, and once they let their guard slip slightly she struck swiftly, crushing the windpipe of the first and breaking the neck of the other.


Carolyn seduces the guards.

She quickly made her escape through sewer ducts and back to the surface near the docks. Reaching the Fawkes, she found several armed strangers standing near its ramp. Nearby, she could see the crew laying on the ground. Dispatching the armed guards, she rushed to where the captain lay as the ramp closed. But her return was too late. All of the crew had been executed. Carolyn could do nothing except watch from below as the Fawkes lifted off without her.


Carolyn returns to find the entire crew has been killed.


Carolyn watches as the Fawkes lifts off without her.

She acted quickly, then, using what money she had to hire a ship to follow the Fawkes - right into the heart of the Core, Londinium. There she began the search for the Fawkes - and those responsible for the death of its crew.


Carolyn searches in Londinium.

The first thing she found was that the Fawkes had been re-labeled and sold and was already heading out of the system again. Giving up hope of recovering the ship and any personal belongings she had there, she began tracking down those who actually had flown the Fawkes back to Londinium. She eventually learned the attack on the Fawkes was a paid hit, and that a well known crime boss had organized it. Incensed, she tracked the crime boss down.


Carolyn infiltrates the crime boss's tower.

Taking out the few guards the boss had, she finally confronted the man about the death of the Fawkes. He laughed at her, telling her that if she thought he had been the one responsible for the hit, she was sadly mistaken. Citing her evidence, the boss shook his head. He explained to her that he was just a middle man in this, that someone with much more power had paid him to put out the hit order. When Carolyn demanded to know who, the boss only laughed again. He bargained the information for his life, but while he talked, he had secretly contacted the authorities. When she realized this, she shot the man dead and fled the scene.


Carolyn gets revenge for the death of the Fawkes crew.

Immediately after, she left Londinium, chartering a flight to Greenleaf to clear her head, lay low, and plan her next move.


Carolyn relaxing on Greenleaf.

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