1,001 Characters #12: Kaluza Klein

12. Kaluza Klein    554873   ex-Other     Age 46      7 Terms

Skills: Air/raft-1, Brawling-1, Electronics-1, Gambling-1, Dagger-1, Mechanical-1.

Benefits: Cr156,000, High Psge

    Kaluza started working right after school as a speeder pilot (Air/raft-1) transporting passengers and small packages. During her second term one of her clients took umbrage with her for having to "lose" a package to avoid arrest when she was stopped by police. This client hired some independent muscle to teach her a lesson, forced to defend herself more than once (Brawling-1) she finally had to take care of the client personally. Unfortunately the police arrived on the scene just as she finished dealing with him and arrested her for murder. Sentenced to life in prison, she spent the next twenty years behind bars. At first (Term 3) she devoted her time to working out (+1 STR). She studied electronics in her 4th Term (Electronics-1) and worked in the prison's workshop to practice, but an accident severed two of her fingers (Ageing: -1 DEX). The next few years (Term 5) she spent a lot more time playing cards with other inmates (Gambling-1). As a result she neglected her physical fitness (Ageing: -1 END). during her 6th Term she won big in a card game, unfortunately the main loser of that game was a gang boss, who decided she didn't like losing and wanted to make an example of Kaluza for making her lose. With her gang behind her this boss intended putting Kaluza in the prison hospital, at the least. It started as a simple brawl, but when Kaluza proved a little too difficult, knives were drawn (she'd taken Slow Drug and Combat Drug). Kaluza rapidly disarmed one and took her knife, the resulting knife fight left two gang members dead (including the gang boss) and four others with serious injuries (Dagger-1). Kaluza was likewise seriously injured, as well as suffering badly from the synergy between the two different drugs, and along with the others spent time in the prison hospital, isolated from the others of course. A new hidden camera system actually recorded the attack and since Kaluza was clearly defending herself she was not charged with murder a second time, but she had also clearly taken some performance enhancing drugs, her sentence was extended to a full twenty years. Her last term (Term 7) was spent in the prison workshop where she learned maintain and repair vehicles and other machinery (Mechancial-1). During her time in prison she enjoyed doing puzzles and quizzes (Mustering out rolls: +1 INT twice). 

    Just released from prison, Kaluza collected her belongings and her meagre savings from her prison wages Cr1000. She was issued a high passage ticket, in the hope that she would use it and depart Liluri, becoming someone else's problem. She made her way to the starport, via a certain public storage facility, where she collected the package she "dumped" so long ago. Cr150,000 richer, she has no one to spend it on or with; all her friends are dead or have moved on, and she hasn't seen or heard from her family in years. She's now looking up at the stars, wondering what they may hold for her.

    Kaluza can be quite ruthless when it comes to her survival and is not above a bit of larceny. She seems to live in the here and now, with little thought of future consequences, the hidden package not withstanding as she intended to recover that, much sooner than she did.

She may be found at the Starport on Liluri, probably in the starport lounge.

 

        Liluri    0302    B4426BA-9        Ni Po                G

Referee: Rather than apply to a career based on enlistment mods, I decided to just go with the draft and ended up with the Other career. When deciding what form her career should take, I looked at the first skill she rolled Air/raft. Most people can drive an air/raft without the skill, but speeders are operated at Air/raft skill minus 1. So only those people with Air/raft-1 or higher can operate them. She wasn't the best speeder pilot, but she could do the job. I then tried to tell a story based around the skills she rolled. Her name came from a random article on wikipedia, it was mentioned in an article about Edmund Copeland.