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"Take a picture, it lasts longer."
This was the closest thing I could get Andromeda to give me.
Name: Cheyenne "Shy" Jung
Race: Human
Gender: F
Class: Engineer
Age: 24
Homeworld: Earth
Race: Human
Gender: F
Class: Engineer
Age: 24
Homeworld: Earth
Appearance:
Shy's Korean father and Scandinavian mother came together to create a blonde-haired half-Asian woman with trace amounts of other ethnicity from the last hundred years of Earth's global unity. She isn't particularly imposing in either height or build, standing at 5'5" and weighing in at 120 lbs with a modest bust. Her skin is rather pale in only a somewhat unhealthy fashion, but mostly because of the two genetic sources for that trait. Said skin is unblemished for the most part, save for a few beauty spots and a plasma burn scar on the far end of her left jaw. This is hidden by her hair when its down, but is mostly faded by now and isn't terribly noticeable even when its exposed. While she has got some amount of muscle from her line of work, she's not cut by any means and tends to have other people do the heavy lifting for her, resulting in a little bit of squishy tissue over an otherwise skinny woman.
She's got the body of a woman who can do work, but would also prefer to lounge instead of actually doing the work, and the only reason she isn't any heavier is due to an inexplicable metabolism. She's got a soft face that's otherwise laden with sharp, feline features. Such features include her slanted amber eyes and high cheek bones, and the angles of her diamond-shaped face makes a sharp turn from her cheeks to create a pointed chin just below her pink lips. Her nose, though small, is long and hawkish enough to make up the difference. The expressions typically shown on her face range from sardonic and bored stoicism to carefree or cocky, which gives away her attitude without you even having to talk to her. This is only amplified by smudged, day-old or older makeup around her eyes that she never bothered to clean up, or the total lack of any makeup at all. It's a peculiar thing that no ever seems to see it freshly applied.
Her blonde hair is short, hanging just above her shoulders, and is somewhat choppy in a stylish sort of way, like it was cut by a razor. But it's also pretty uneven, which can only lead one to assume that she tried to do it herself. Her bangs isn't even or symmetrical with some strands being longer than the others, and it seems to gradually - just slightly - get longer toward the right side of her face, and if she keeps it down, she's typically sporting a bed-head or similarly unkempt sort of appearance. It's not particularly oily, so it's probably just Shy's own neglect at keeping her hair brushed. However, she prefers to tie her hair back in a short ponytail or tight bun, which her bangs are too short to take part in and one or two strands of hair always seems to get tugged out of her hair-tie. She can be seen pulling a strand or two out after putting her hair up, as if it's the same few spots that always feels too tight and pinching.
For a wrongfully-persecuted "criminal" turned mercenary on the Citadel, she certainly doesn't dress the part. While most mercenaries are decked out in armor or other kinds of gear, Shy likes to hang out in casual wares with a few odd gadgets on her person, and she does so with a confident strut. It's clear that she doesn't have much of a sense of style -- probably inherited from her dad -- opting for a button-up Hawaiian styled shirt (and she has a few of these, all in different colors, but yellow goes best with her hair) and a pair cargo khaki pants which are suitably baggy and comfortable, held up by a belt that might just be a size up from her, and some pricey looking work boots. Gadgets on her person includes the utility belt and what looks like a few watches on both her wrists, which on closer inspection are actually low-profile omni-tools. But when push comes to shove, she probably has an old onyx light armored suit in a footlocker somewhere, though she only really used it for inhospitable environments.
She has a couple of accessories which is composed mostly of piercings. She has two piercings on her left outer brow, an industrial on her left ear, one tongue piercing, and two more piercings that nobody has any business knowing about. She has a colorful, vibrant tattoo sleeve of saturated watercolors depicting a floral pattern, and it extends from her left shoulder down to her elbow -- though so does the sleeves of her shirts, so the intense, beautiful artwork isn't always in sight. There's another tattoo in black ink that goes around her neck that almost looks like a wired choker thanks to its thin, honeycomb-like design. There is one little tattoo on her right wrist of an inch-by-inch square that was done with a special kind of ink that interacts with the electromagnetic spectrum. Depending on the different wavelengths of light it is exposed to, it will either change color or have a faint neon glow of different hues.
She's got the body of a woman who can do work, but would also prefer to lounge instead of actually doing the work, and the only reason she isn't any heavier is due to an inexplicable metabolism. She's got a soft face that's otherwise laden with sharp, feline features. Such features include her slanted amber eyes and high cheek bones, and the angles of her diamond-shaped face makes a sharp turn from her cheeks to create a pointed chin just below her pink lips. Her nose, though small, is long and hawkish enough to make up the difference. The expressions typically shown on her face range from sardonic and bored stoicism to carefree or cocky, which gives away her attitude without you even having to talk to her. This is only amplified by smudged, day-old or older makeup around her eyes that she never bothered to clean up, or the total lack of any makeup at all. It's a peculiar thing that no ever seems to see it freshly applied.
Her blonde hair is short, hanging just above her shoulders, and is somewhat choppy in a stylish sort of way, like it was cut by a razor. But it's also pretty uneven, which can only lead one to assume that she tried to do it herself. Her bangs isn't even or symmetrical with some strands being longer than the others, and it seems to gradually - just slightly - get longer toward the right side of her face, and if she keeps it down, she's typically sporting a bed-head or similarly unkempt sort of appearance. It's not particularly oily, so it's probably just Shy's own neglect at keeping her hair brushed. However, she prefers to tie her hair back in a short ponytail or tight bun, which her bangs are too short to take part in and one or two strands of hair always seems to get tugged out of her hair-tie. She can be seen pulling a strand or two out after putting her hair up, as if it's the same few spots that always feels too tight and pinching.
For a wrongfully-persecuted "criminal" turned mercenary on the Citadel, she certainly doesn't dress the part. While most mercenaries are decked out in armor or other kinds of gear, Shy likes to hang out in casual wares with a few odd gadgets on her person, and she does so with a confident strut. It's clear that she doesn't have much of a sense of style -- probably inherited from her dad -- opting for a button-up Hawaiian styled shirt (and she has a few of these, all in different colors, but yellow goes best with her hair) and a pair cargo khaki pants which are suitably baggy and comfortable, held up by a belt that might just be a size up from her, and some pricey looking work boots. Gadgets on her person includes the utility belt and what looks like a few watches on both her wrists, which on closer inspection are actually low-profile omni-tools. But when push comes to shove, she probably has an old onyx light armored suit in a footlocker somewhere, though she only really used it for inhospitable environments.
She has a couple of accessories which is composed mostly of piercings. She has two piercings on her left outer brow, an industrial on her left ear, one tongue piercing, and two more piercings that nobody has any business knowing about. She has a colorful, vibrant tattoo sleeve of saturated watercolors depicting a floral pattern, and it extends from her left shoulder down to her elbow -- though so does the sleeves of her shirts, so the intense, beautiful artwork isn't always in sight. There's another tattoo in black ink that goes around her neck that almost looks like a wired choker thanks to its thin, honeycomb-like design. There is one little tattoo on her right wrist of an inch-by-inch square that was done with a special kind of ink that interacts with the electromagnetic spectrum. Depending on the different wavelengths of light it is exposed to, it will either change color or have a faint neon glow of different hues.
"What, are you a shrink? No, don't-- don't tell me. I already know."
Psychological Profile:
Shy is a bit of an odd-ball when you set her next to other mercenaries, her own peers comparing her to being more like a salarian than a human. She's a strange combination of intelligence, entitlement, and a casual, laissez-faire attitude that would have her preferring to stay seated than do her job, and this combination is what makes her utterly disarming. She's an easy person to underestimate because of her lack of physical ability, temperament, and ambition, but she also has a chip on her shoulder that makes her feel like she's better than most people. It drives her to one-up those who would slight her and to do so in the most casual manner possible so that her clever ploys indisputably put her over the top. Indeed, she has very little ambition to do much with herself or her life and her prime motivation is spite. Spite is what drives her to surpass others, to tease and make fun of, toy with her enemies, and to survive (and look good while doing it). Don't let her nickname fool you; she isn't shy by any means, and her preferred method of having fun is relaxing and getting a rise out of other people. That said, despite her lack of boundaries, she isn't the type of person who would keep pressing someone's buttons if they're already having a mental breakdown.
And yes, she comes across as remarkably entitled and lazy. That's what happens with you have rich, intelligent parents who can pay for your education and take you travelling all around the world and into the stars above. She has lived a rather charmed and carefree life, so in that regard, she seems to expect a lot from others and is consequently let down when they don't step up or don't meet her expectations. This has developed her somewhat cynical, arrogant, and misplaced perspective on others that leads her to believe that most people are pretty incapable. She also doesn't seem to have learned to treat dire situations with the respect they deserve. She doesn't freak out or mishandle her emotions, but rather, she comes off as too detached from dangerous situations.
Even during her career as a mercenary, when such things started becoming normal to her, you can find her acting casual and without a sense of urgency while in the midst of a firefight and not understanding why you're freaking out so much. She speaks with such a deadpan expression, but also a sarcastic tone of voice -- all of the time, mind you -- that you're never quite sure whether she's being sarcastic or not, and she's too tone-deaf to realize it. On one hand, it would piss you off that she's not taking anything seriously, but on the other, it's nice that there's someone you can rely on to always have a clear head. This trait of hers also makes her seem absurdly brave and ballsy in the face of imminent danger, even when she probably shouldn't be. This isn't necessarily because she's overconfident, though that is certainly an attribute of her's, but because she simply doesn't seem capable of feeling afraid. It's like she can't properly process those emotions.
Make no mistake though, Shy is a prodigy in her field. When she was only in her twenties, she was already working side by side with her parents and some of the greatest scientists and engineers Earth had to offer. She has spent at least half of her life working on and interacting with different forms of computers, robotics, and V.I. and is capable of reading computer code as if it was her native language. Her disinterested attitude seems to be present in all facets of her life except for computing and mechanical and electrical engineering. To her, computers are so much easier to understand than people are (though she would never admit to herself or to anyone that people are tricky.) That's because working with computers is like working with math -- there are right and wrong answers, and if there's a hiccup in the program's execution, then you know to go back and change a variable. People and subjective concepts like art, morality, and the theory of mind -- understanding another person's point of view -- have no such rules, so she opts not to think about it altogether.
There are unique distinctions in her interactions with others which are dependent upon the other’s gender. Even as someone who identifies as bisexual, she approaches men with more caution and is usually dismissive of their advances whether it was due to being harassed one too many times, or being repeatedly disappointed in them after a few failed flings in the past. Even if acknowledging that a man might be attractive, she is still quick to judge their character and capability or doubt their intentions. Even outside of romance, she holds her ground whenever she's in conversation with men as she fully expects to defend herself and what she knows to be true. She doesn't judge people who are in or would otherwise engage in inter-species relationships, though she doesn't think she'd ever do so herself -- with, uh, exceptions, that is. She still finds herself with a predilection for asari despite the fact. It's hard to judge quarians since she has never seen one outside of their suits before. Also snacks. She plans on cashing in on Ardan's stash just in case she runs out of her own.
As one could probably expect by now, Shy has issues with commitment that goes beyond her interests, whims, and fancies. She is capable of working in a team if her history was anything to go by, but she was also surrounded by like-minded researchers who were all pursuing a unified goal that everyone was interested in. In a mercenary outfit full of strangers, Shy would very likely be one foot out the door and ready to bail as soon as things start looking bleak and find some other fools to ride with. Mercs come and go, do they not?
And yes, she comes across as remarkably entitled and lazy. That's what happens with you have rich, intelligent parents who can pay for your education and take you travelling all around the world and into the stars above. She has lived a rather charmed and carefree life, so in that regard, she seems to expect a lot from others and is consequently let down when they don't step up or don't meet her expectations. This has developed her somewhat cynical, arrogant, and misplaced perspective on others that leads her to believe that most people are pretty incapable. She also doesn't seem to have learned to treat dire situations with the respect they deserve. She doesn't freak out or mishandle her emotions, but rather, she comes off as too detached from dangerous situations.
Even during her career as a mercenary, when such things started becoming normal to her, you can find her acting casual and without a sense of urgency while in the midst of a firefight and not understanding why you're freaking out so much. She speaks with such a deadpan expression, but also a sarcastic tone of voice -- all of the time, mind you -- that you're never quite sure whether she's being sarcastic or not, and she's too tone-deaf to realize it. On one hand, it would piss you off that she's not taking anything seriously, but on the other, it's nice that there's someone you can rely on to always have a clear head. This trait of hers also makes her seem absurdly brave and ballsy in the face of imminent danger, even when she probably shouldn't be. This isn't necessarily because she's overconfident, though that is certainly an attribute of her's, but because she simply doesn't seem capable of feeling afraid. It's like she can't properly process those emotions.
Make no mistake though, Shy is a prodigy in her field. When she was only in her twenties, she was already working side by side with her parents and some of the greatest scientists and engineers Earth had to offer. She has spent at least half of her life working on and interacting with different forms of computers, robotics, and V.I. and is capable of reading computer code as if it was her native language. Her disinterested attitude seems to be present in all facets of her life except for computing and mechanical and electrical engineering. To her, computers are so much easier to understand than people are (though she would never admit to herself or to anyone that people are tricky.) That's because working with computers is like working with math -- there are right and wrong answers, and if there's a hiccup in the program's execution, then you know to go back and change a variable. People and subjective concepts like art, morality, and the theory of mind -- understanding another person's point of view -- have no such rules, so she opts not to think about it altogether.
There are unique distinctions in her interactions with others which are dependent upon the other’s gender. Even as someone who identifies as bisexual, she approaches men with more caution and is usually dismissive of their advances whether it was due to being harassed one too many times, or being repeatedly disappointed in them after a few failed flings in the past. Even if acknowledging that a man might be attractive, she is still quick to judge their character and capability or doubt their intentions. Even outside of romance, she holds her ground whenever she's in conversation with men as she fully expects to defend herself and what she knows to be true. She doesn't judge people who are in or would otherwise engage in inter-species relationships, though she doesn't think she'd ever do so herself -- with, uh, exceptions, that is. She still finds herself with a predilection for asari despite the fact. It's hard to judge quarians since she has never seen one outside of their suits before. Also snacks. She plans on cashing in on Ardan's stash just in case she runs out of her own.
As one could probably expect by now, Shy has issues with commitment that goes beyond her interests, whims, and fancies. She is capable of working in a team if her history was anything to go by, but she was also surrounded by like-minded researchers who were all pursuing a unified goal that everyone was interested in. In a mercenary outfit full of strangers, Shy would very likely be one foot out the door and ready to bail as soon as things start looking bleak and find some other fools to ride with. Mercs come and go, do they not?
"Need more gun."
Equipment:
Shy incorporated the same concept of the tattoo on her wrist into a piece of her armor, the light onyx model, in a more sophisticated fashion. A piece of it was treated with a special polymer that reacts with the electromagnetic spectrum and changes in color and luminosity depending on the wavelengths it is exposed to, with small squares side by side for each wavelength. This has proven to be useful when the interference of such wavelengths may interfere with her omni-tool's scanner.
Speaking of her omni-tool, her tool's software is based on the Nexus model, which allows her an interface that can fluidly interact with tech. Her tool is essentially two smaller pieces, looking like inconspicuous watches, that can communicate with each other to make up for their smaller size. The design actually makes the tools more flexible and versatile than the traditional tool, and using both tools at once can create a larger display to give Shy more information at once, and both tools can break run different programs separately and at the same time. This feature helps her use her tech powers all at once. This includes both of the defense and combat drones that which uses the same technology as omni-tools and sticks close to her position.
The aforementioned utility belt carries magnetized contraption which she can use and toss into a direction, which then deploys a hovering sentry turret. She also carries with her a sort of suitcase that has a bunch of conventional engineering and maintenance supplies and a few crude inventions. An automatically unfolding chair or pool bench? Of course. A few power cells? Naturally. Some supplies for inventions, and so on.
As for weaponry, Shy isn't terribly great at using them, but she does have basic Avenger model sniper rifle which she uses for its scope, and only under ideal conditions with very little wind would she be able to make a long-ranged shot. In addition, she keeps a Raikou pistol as her sidearm.
Speaking of her omni-tool, her tool's software is based on the Nexus model, which allows her an interface that can fluidly interact with tech. Her tool is essentially two smaller pieces, looking like inconspicuous watches, that can communicate with each other to make up for their smaller size. The design actually makes the tools more flexible and versatile than the traditional tool, and using both tools at once can create a larger display to give Shy more information at once, and both tools can break run different programs separately and at the same time. This feature helps her use her tech powers all at once. This includes both of the defense and combat drones that which uses the same technology as omni-tools and sticks close to her position.
The aforementioned utility belt carries magnetized contraption which she can use and toss into a direction, which then deploys a hovering sentry turret. She also carries with her a sort of suitcase that has a bunch of conventional engineering and maintenance supplies and a few crude inventions. An automatically unfolding chair or pool bench? Of course. A few power cells? Naturally. Some supplies for inventions, and so on.
As for weaponry, Shy isn't terribly great at using them, but she does have basic Avenger model sniper rifle which she uses for its scope, and only under ideal conditions with very little wind would she be able to make a long-ranged shot. In addition, she keeps a Raikou pistol as her sidearm.
Abilities:
- Sentry Turret
- Combat Drone
- Defense Drone
- Hacking AI/Sabotage
- Decoy
"Well, isn't this a fantabulous shituation I ended up in?"
Bio:
There's not a whole lot to tell, to be perfectly fair. Where should we start? She had a functional family as a kid and was an only child born in a Mexican hospital during her parents' work trip. Her parents both had money, were both genius engineers that had met each other in the field, and they had the resources to give their daughter the same path to success. They were incredibly doting, providing whatever it was their little girl could want, which, to be fair, spoiled her terribly. Even when she was around 7 years old and she started developing strange behaviors, and later, as a doctor clarified to them that she wasn't developing strange behaviors, but wasn't learning the appropriate social behaviors and thought processes in her pre-operational stage of cognitive development. This had put her on the autistic spectrum. Yet, that barely changed anything in regard to how they would treat their child. They continued to raise her as they would have, but exercising a little more patience than they would have otherwise. This also meant tolerating more abrasive behaviors that the couple could have rectified before they became problematic later in life. Though Shy used to have a hard time understanding her dad's frequent use of sarcasm, she became accustomed to it and began to understand it better. However, she also developed the habit of speaking with a sarcastic tone of voice all the time, regardless of her actual use of sarcasm.
They gave her the best education they could afford, which meant an in-depth, engaging virtual program that she could access any time and from anywhere -- and with a united global community, that also meant she was able to travel the world with her parents as they went on their work trips, which would expose her not just to all the great sights and cultures, but also to some of the greatest minds the world had to offer... and Shy absorbed it all like a sponge. In a confusing world of nuance, double-meanings, and perspectives, people were tricky. Calculus? Calculus was easy. Calculus had rules and didn't contradict itself all of the time. She had the added bonus of learning mathematics in Korean because, like most Asian languages, it was better suited to learning math due to language's structure and brevity, leading to a quicker understanding and remembering a longer sequence of numbers. She also had virtually unlimited access to labs thanks to her parents, who would also give her little projects to work on, giving her a hands-on experience with both hardware and software. On very special occasions, her parents would be invited to the Citadel to work on a project. Her first visit was as a teenager, and exposure to some of the greatest minds the entire galaxy had to offer was beyond lucky. Though since Shy considered other humans being tricky enough for her to understand, she wasn't going to even bother trying with alien races.
Of course, then she met the salarians, which didn't take any effort on her part to get along swimmingly with. Likewise, one of them called her the only human they've ever met that made any sense. The asari, though confusing in their own right, were at least less emotional than humans most of the time and had a certain way about them that made her feel like she was understood. She was provided with everything she could hope for, which probably went a long way to developing her sense of entitlement.
It wasn't before long did Shy begin working alongside her parents and their colleagues as an apprentice at 20 years old. She was working on everything from virtual intelligence to sophisticated computer systems and defense technology. She didn't just work on the software, either. She was turning as many bolts and screws as she was plugging numbers into computers and data pads, being as well versed in the mechanics and construction of applied engineering as she was in the theoretic. She also got to play with all of the toys she made, operating and testing them to make sure they functioned properly, and while she is no crack pilot, she can sit in the cockpit and knows how to get a bird off the ground and back on again. She would later receive the equivalent of a futuristic Master's degree at 22 for her work on V.I., robotics, and automated systems. Though she received recognition and high credits for her work on weapons and defense systems, it was given to her because of her personal inventions. They improved convenience, quality of life, and automation, which reduced the risk of injury by having a robot or computer do it instead.
She was already well on her way to being called a doctor of engineering within the next year, and she was working on a project with her parents and their now shared colleagues in a laboratory on Luna; the moon orbiting Earth. Despite the Citadel ban on A.I. technology, the Earth Alliance didn't have such rules. Her, her parents, and the rest of their team was contracted by the Alliance to secretly work on making the jump from V.I. to A.I., and the program was known as Hannibal. They made sure that the team working on the project was aware that what they were doing was highly illegal under Citadel law and that they would be prosecuted if knowledge were to be leaked out of the facility. All of them, Shy included, agreed to proceed regardless. During one of their experiments, the program suddenly went rogue.
Obviously, Shy was able to get away after finding her parents, though very few other scientists were able to escape. With their escape pod being one of the very first to eject, the rogue V.I. learned and adapted, sabotaging the other escape pods before the rest of the scientists could escape. Despite Shy's conflict with her own emotions, what had happened on Luna did take its toll on her, and she still feels a sense of burden and responsibility for what happened. She still thinks about it quite often, and, as someone who knew perfectly well about what was supposed to be going in and out of the A.I.'s programming, it didn't take long for her to come to the conclusion that the project was sabotaged by someone. However, she wasn't given a lot of time to give it further thought. As the news spread, the Citadel took action. Her parents would be arrested and questioned, but Shy? Shy ran away, refusing to take responsibility and be labeled a criminal for what she believed wasn't her fault.
Of course, that meant evading arrest. She ended up where most criminals do: Omega. There are only a few ways for a young girl like her to make money on Omega, and most of them were completely and utterly demeaning. Two options were left: make and sell tech on her own in a cutthroat business environment where others could easily take advantage of her and her lack of people skills, or find safety in numbers and use her smarts and tech to make easy coin. The choice seemed like an easy one to make. So for the last year, she became a mercenary, doing all sorts of jobs with all sorts of unsavory types until she finally settled on one group she thought was only sometimes a giant bundle of meat-headed idiots. Though the transition was alarming and harrowing at first, she was once more able to find her chill again after working a few jobs. To become a mercenary and survive a whole year? She figured that she must've gotten pretty good at it. Though resented by other mercs for her attitude, she was valued for her expertise with tech and her ability to fix or invent damn near anything. Her drones would also make short work of a target without anyone risking their lives. Perhaps one day, soon, she'll be good enough to prove that what happened on Luna was one giant accident. Though she's highly confident in her abilities and self-righteous in her belief that she and her colleagues did nothing wrong, she partially blames herself for not being even better and identifying the error in Hannibal's code before it went rogue, and she carries that burden with her everywhere she goes.
They gave her the best education they could afford, which meant an in-depth, engaging virtual program that she could access any time and from anywhere -- and with a united global community, that also meant she was able to travel the world with her parents as they went on their work trips, which would expose her not just to all the great sights and cultures, but also to some of the greatest minds the world had to offer... and Shy absorbed it all like a sponge. In a confusing world of nuance, double-meanings, and perspectives, people were tricky. Calculus? Calculus was easy. Calculus had rules and didn't contradict itself all of the time. She had the added bonus of learning mathematics in Korean because, like most Asian languages, it was better suited to learning math due to language's structure and brevity, leading to a quicker understanding and remembering a longer sequence of numbers. She also had virtually unlimited access to labs thanks to her parents, who would also give her little projects to work on, giving her a hands-on experience with both hardware and software. On very special occasions, her parents would be invited to the Citadel to work on a project. Her first visit was as a teenager, and exposure to some of the greatest minds the entire galaxy had to offer was beyond lucky. Though since Shy considered other humans being tricky enough for her to understand, she wasn't going to even bother trying with alien races.
Of course, then she met the salarians, which didn't take any effort on her part to get along swimmingly with. Likewise, one of them called her the only human they've ever met that made any sense. The asari, though confusing in their own right, were at least less emotional than humans most of the time and had a certain way about them that made her feel like she was understood. She was provided with everything she could hope for, which probably went a long way to developing her sense of entitlement.
It wasn't before long did Shy begin working alongside her parents and their colleagues as an apprentice at 20 years old. She was working on everything from virtual intelligence to sophisticated computer systems and defense technology. She didn't just work on the software, either. She was turning as many bolts and screws as she was plugging numbers into computers and data pads, being as well versed in the mechanics and construction of applied engineering as she was in the theoretic. She also got to play with all of the toys she made, operating and testing them to make sure they functioned properly, and while she is no crack pilot, she can sit in the cockpit and knows how to get a bird off the ground and back on again. She would later receive the equivalent of a futuristic Master's degree at 22 for her work on V.I., robotics, and automated systems. Though she received recognition and high credits for her work on weapons and defense systems, it was given to her because of her personal inventions. They improved convenience, quality of life, and automation, which reduced the risk of injury by having a robot or computer do it instead.
She was already well on her way to being called a doctor of engineering within the next year, and she was working on a project with her parents and their now shared colleagues in a laboratory on Luna; the moon orbiting Earth. Despite the Citadel ban on A.I. technology, the Earth Alliance didn't have such rules. Her, her parents, and the rest of their team was contracted by the Alliance to secretly work on making the jump from V.I. to A.I., and the program was known as Hannibal. They made sure that the team working on the project was aware that what they were doing was highly illegal under Citadel law and that they would be prosecuted if knowledge were to be leaked out of the facility. All of them, Shy included, agreed to proceed regardless. During one of their experiments, the program suddenly went rogue.
Obviously, Shy was able to get away after finding her parents, though very few other scientists were able to escape. With their escape pod being one of the very first to eject, the rogue V.I. learned and adapted, sabotaging the other escape pods before the rest of the scientists could escape. Despite Shy's conflict with her own emotions, what had happened on Luna did take its toll on her, and she still feels a sense of burden and responsibility for what happened. She still thinks about it quite often, and, as someone who knew perfectly well about what was supposed to be going in and out of the A.I.'s programming, it didn't take long for her to come to the conclusion that the project was sabotaged by someone. However, she wasn't given a lot of time to give it further thought. As the news spread, the Citadel took action. Her parents would be arrested and questioned, but Shy? Shy ran away, refusing to take responsibility and be labeled a criminal for what she believed wasn't her fault.
Of course, that meant evading arrest. She ended up where most criminals do: Omega. There are only a few ways for a young girl like her to make money on Omega, and most of them were completely and utterly demeaning. Two options were left: make and sell tech on her own in a cutthroat business environment where others could easily take advantage of her and her lack of people skills, or find safety in numbers and use her smarts and tech to make easy coin. The choice seemed like an easy one to make. So for the last year, she became a mercenary, doing all sorts of jobs with all sorts of unsavory types until she finally settled on one group she thought was only sometimes a giant bundle of meat-headed idiots. Though the transition was alarming and harrowing at first, she was once more able to find her chill again after working a few jobs. To become a mercenary and survive a whole year? She figured that she must've gotten pretty good at it. Though resented by other mercs for her attitude, she was valued for her expertise with tech and her ability to fix or invent damn near anything. Her drones would also make short work of a target without anyone risking their lives. Perhaps one day, soon, she'll be good enough to prove that what happened on Luna was one giant accident. Though she's highly confident in her abilities and self-righteous in her belief that she and her colleagues did nothing wrong, she partially blames herself for not being even better and identifying the error in Hannibal's code before it went rogue, and she carries that burden with her everywhere she goes.
Strengths:
As mentioned before, Shy is incredibly sharp for someone as young as she is and is an accomplished engineer, mechanic, and inventor. If you need someone to build or fix something, she is the person you want to go to. She can fix or break your ship, your robot, your gun, your VI, your AI, your computer, your mainframe -- you name it and she's all over it. She is also fantastic under pressure and her emotions never seem to leave her control, so she always has a clear head even during the most intense circumstances -- ironically, despite being the worst person to handle other people and is possibly one of the weirdest people you'll ever meet, she seems to be one of the best when it comes to providing a source of stability... and with stability comes comfort when everything has gone to hell in a hand-basket.
Other skills include piloting, though she is not an exceptional pilot and is only just good enough to take a ship off the ground, fly a straight path, and land again. She is also multilingual in Earth languages like English, Korean, Spanish, and Chinese -- but universal translators seems to have made learning new languages somewhat obsolete. Binary code, on the other hand, isn't as easily deciphered and Shy can read it like it's a children's book. She has also taught herself to understand the technology of the other Citadel races.
When she's out in the field, she is what you could call a support. You can trust her to keep a clear head at all times, and she can deploy numerous defensive turrets to hold down a certain location and overwhelm an enemy, and her tech savvy means she can disable enemy weapons, defenses, and other technologies. She can also use decoys to draw enemy fire, which can be useful in as many different ways as you are creative. Between all of her equipment and skills, she can command control of the battlefield if you can give her the time she needs to do so.
So to sum up:
Other skills include piloting, though she is not an exceptional pilot and is only just good enough to take a ship off the ground, fly a straight path, and land again. She is also multilingual in Earth languages like English, Korean, Spanish, and Chinese -- but universal translators seems to have made learning new languages somewhat obsolete. Binary code, on the other hand, isn't as easily deciphered and Shy can read it like it's a children's book. She has also taught herself to understand the technology of the other Citadel races.
When she's out in the field, she is what you could call a support. You can trust her to keep a clear head at all times, and she can deploy numerous defensive turrets to hold down a certain location and overwhelm an enemy, and her tech savvy means she can disable enemy weapons, defenses, and other technologies. She can also use decoys to draw enemy fire, which can be useful in as many different ways as you are creative. Between all of her equipment and skills, she can command control of the battlefield if you can give her the time she needs to do so.
So to sum up:
- Highly intelligent mathematician, capable of solving puzzles, identifying patterns, and creating plans in seconds.
- A masterful engineer and mechanic specializing in computers, robotics, automation, and virtual and artificial intelligence. However, she is still highly capable in other engineering pursuits by transferring her knowledge over.
- Possesses unshakable clarity of mind, capable of staying calm and focused in even the most dire and intense circumstances. Her detached observations of her environment means that she could witness someone die and not be too shaken up by it.
- Amateur pilot and operator. Her knack for operating machinery also extends to vehicles.
- Battlefield control can be obtained by sheer presence via her automated defenses and the manipulation of enemy tech.
Weaknesses:
Oh boy, where to start? Shy is not a close quarters combatant. Hell, she's not even a long-range combatant, or even mid-range. She's not a soldier, never had a soldier's training, and she hasn't even learned to shoot properly until a year ago when she first entered the mercenary business. The most exercise she gets is carrying heavy parts a short distance and turning wrenches and winches. So if she is without all of her tech against the enemy, the only way she's getting out of that sticky situation is if she's armed, they're not, and there's at least five or ten feet separating them. Of course, she has her omni-blade, but she's not so hot in a knife fight.
What else? Oh, and her people skills? Garbage. Don't put her in charge of any mission requiring diplomacy, because she is not good enough at picking up the subtleties and nuances in communications to defuse an unstable situation. If they're in need of a sound and logical mind, then by all means, invite her to the talks. But her impersonal, inconsiderate, and abrasive disposition can create problems with other people. Her abrasiveness can also create issues within her own crew, especially since she lacks initiative, ambition, and a sense of urgency and tends to be the slack that other people have to pick up. She's used to having robots and automation do the work for her, and some people might call that lazy, but Shy prefers to call it genius.
To sum up:
What else? Oh, and her people skills? Garbage. Don't put her in charge of any mission requiring diplomacy, because she is not good enough at picking up the subtleties and nuances in communications to defuse an unstable situation. If they're in need of a sound and logical mind, then by all means, invite her to the talks. But her impersonal, inconsiderate, and abrasive disposition can create problems with other people. Her abrasiveness can also create issues within her own crew, especially since she lacks initiative, ambition, and a sense of urgency and tends to be the slack that other people have to pick up. She's used to having robots and automation do the work for her, and some people might call that lazy, but Shy prefers to call it genius.
To sum up:
- Lack of combat training; she only started learning how to shoot last year when she first entered the mercenary business, so her aim is far, far away from perfect. She prefer to let her drones do all the work for her.
- Physical condition; she's strong enough to carry her supplies around, to give her some credit, but she won't be beating up any marines any time soon and she tires pretty quickly.
- Socially inept; Shy cannot build up a rapport with others even if her life depended on it. She's too abrasive and quirky to quickly make a meaningful connection with others.
- Her lackadaisical attitude can create problems with others. She is often lazy, unambitious, and unenthusiastic, preferring to take shortcuts whenever possible. She usually is never the one to take initiative and will frequently procrastinate on important duties.
Misc:
- Very much dislikes Vorcha, but not for any particular reason. Then again, who really needs a reason?
- Shy is also a film junkie and a huge fan of the Blasto movies. Blasto the Jellyfish Stings is a classic and is almost as good as Blasto Saves Christmas. She is very excited for the highly anticipated movie, Blasto 6: Partners in Crime.
- Playlist