Character Profile: Amelia Straffin

Amelia Straffin: Tormented Genius

"I have talked to many people about how we survive our exploits. Some believe we are skilled, while others believe we are simply lucky. My personal opinion is that when we screw up, we cause enough chaos that the universe forgets we were supposed to die in the commotion." -Amelia Straffin, in her journal, The Traveler Phenomenon

Amelia Straffin was born in 1078 in Valderon, an insignificant city on an insignificant mining asteroid (also known as Valderon) orbiting the planet of Mondas. She was the sixth of seven children in a poor family, and though her siblings and parents were kind people, she only ever bonded with her twin brother, Erik (the seventh Straffin child). Her parents were miners with no formal education and as such, expected the twins to begin working when they were still young in order to keep the family from starvation. Neither of them exactly took to it, and used their charm and wit (which both of them possessed in great supply) to get out of it whenever possible. Eventually, they reached a crossroads which would change Amelia forever.

In the year 1090, a freighter landed in Valderon. The jet black ship was well maintained, sleek, and clearly of the best make available in the Mondasian shipyards. Embossed upon the side in gold was a image depicting an orange star, surrounded by a spiraling torrent of light being pulled into it. Out of it stepped several figures, dressed in identical black suits, flanked by hulking marines wearing jet black armor. All of the figures wore the star symbol from the freighter. They were offering money for children, whom they said would be fed and trained to become the finest soldiers in the subsector.

To her surprise, Amelia's parents immediately volunteered Erik and her. While their motives were to provide a safe home for two of their children, while saving money for the rest, to the twins, it seemed like they were being abandoned. Erik took it especially hard. With the economic parental transfer (a contract designed to allow a parent to transfer legal guardianship of their child for money) signed, the twins were worried. While these contracts were deemed legal by Mondasian law, children had few rights in the asteroid belt and these contracts were often abused to allow Mondasian citizens to kidnap and brainwash asteroid dwellers in order to gain cheap labor.

Mondas was nothing like Amelia expected. While Valderon had been a small, dim, and dingy underground mining complex, Mondas City was a metropolis. It had layers upon layers of developments, some so deep and old they had been forgotten. This led to the creation of Undercity, a hive of criminals which existed underneath the steel ground of Mondas City. Unfortunately, this was where the ship was destined. Taken to a small processing station, where children bought by Mondas Ascendant (a group of Mondasian patriots that paid for the costs of their organization by selling children such as Amelia and Erik to the highest bidder) were processed and sorted based on their skills. Both Straffin twins got perfect scores on the exam they were given to test them, and were placed in the A group. Erik almost got bumped down to the B group due to exceptional physical frailty, but the slavers figured they would make more selling the twins together.

With their abilities, it did not take long for a buyer to emerge. A woman of exceptionally average build and appearance wearing a black suit (which the twins now recognized as the standard attire for a Mondasian businessperson) came to the building the twins were being housed in. She took one look at them, handed over a fair sum of money to the manager of the building, and left with the twins. After a long ride in a covered air raft, they arrived at a large building in a wealthy district of the city.

The woman, who refused to reveal her identity, declared that the twins were no longer to be enslaved by the economic parental transfer. They would be free to return to their parents, live at a reputable orphanage, or stay with her. The twins took one look at each other and decided to stay with their savior. They were 12 at the time and, for two years, they lived a happy life. During this time, they became increasingly interested in just how what their new mother (she would not reveal to them her name) did for a living to live in such comfort.

When they were 14, they found out. A short man in a (you guessed it) matte-black suit told them that she was a high ranking member of the Mondasian Mafia, a group that controls the planet's government and economy. Most people would have been horrified by this discovery, but not the twins. Idolizing their "mother", they decided to join (she did not approve, but supported their decision). Amelia became a scientist and Erik an Intelligence operative.

Amelia soon took to an eccentric mentor who referred to themselves simply as Professor and only contacted her through messages. They taught Amelia about DNA and genetics, which they referred to as "The Source Code of Life". Amelia took to it, and developed the techniques to perform genetic experiments over the course of two years, while assisting Professor with theirs.

After that, Amelia did her own genetic research, developing modified microbes that destroyed specific diseases (which the mob sold for profit). She also did research on Stem Cells, developing a modified version of human stem cells which could be directly controlled by their host, as well as turn back into Stem Cells once their purpose was served. They were considered "Interesting, but useless" by the mafia, who disliked them due to the incredible amount of energy they consumed.

Soon after she developed them, these Stem Cells found a use. Her brother, Erik, had been poisoned after mouthing off to the wrong person. All the doctors in the mob told her that he was a dead man and that she should give up. Instead, she replaced large amounts of his blood with he modified Stem Cells, hoping that he could direct them to heal him. In order to power them, she put the cells in liquid Phaezite, an material that emits immense energy. His body initially rejected the transfusion, but he controlled the cells to restructure his body, from his organs to his skin, to be compatible. When he awoke, he was a new person. His former frailty was gone, replaced with amazing physical ability. He also awakened Psionic powers, which he used to bend the laws of physics around him.

Sadly, Erik's mind was also affected. He became extremely ambitious and narcissistic, to the point that he pushed his sister away (even when she tried to help him deal with his new body's unsustainable energy consumption). As her brother used his new abilities to rise through the ranks, Amelia continued her research. One day, she received a call from her brother, who she hadn't seen in years. He wanted her to create a cell that would target cancerous tissues, destroying them and holding off the disease. After complying, she quickly realized that the cell was not being used for its intended purpose; other geneticists, including her professor, had modified it to target all flesh. The mafia used it as a biological weapon, inducing necrosis in the flesh of any who opposed them.

When she confronted her brother, he smiled and told her that she had contributed greatly to the organization. He hoped that she would not be troubled by this and would continue her research. She quit but, as she was about to leave, her brother shot her with a syringe gun containing the weapon. While she managed to get away, her muscles were severely damaged, impairing her physical abilities.

To survive and continue her research (hoping to undo her condition and those of the weapon's other victims), she hitched a ride with a Alex Movithi, a trader. While they became fast friends, Alex's financial luck turned and he ditched her on Balthazar to escape those he was in debt to. She stayed their for several years until, one day, she met Alex, as well as two other interesting characters, in a bar. Since then, they have traveled together, sharing their fortunes and misadventures.

Traits and Personality
Amelia is 5'2" with blond hair and grey eyes. She usually wears her lab coat, but keeps her black Mondasian dress suit (with the insignia ripped off, of course) for special occasions. She is very committed to scientific ethics, and to doing as much good as she can to make up for her past wrongdoings. She still is extremely curious, and she faces the world like a student; trying to learn as much as she can. As the youngest member of the group, Amelia is often naive and optimistic about the universe, but is keenly aware of how far people can go for power. Amelia is an multidisciplinary scientist, skilled in pretty much every intellectual field, but has very little physical or combat skill. Her likes include research, asking questions, and densitometers. She dislikes those who operate dishonestly, rule through force, and, most of all, use biological weapons.

In combat she uses her stunner, shock gloves, densitometer (she uses it for everything), and whatever she can build on the spot.