This one's for Tony

Character Portrait - Petra St. Andrews

Character Name: Petra St. Andrews
Nicknames: None as such, though she is known to use various aliases as needed.

Gender: Female

Age: 19 (claims to be 26)

Appearance:

Petra boasts a stereotypical gymnast's build: barely five feet tall; 106 lbs; somewhat muscular and broad-shouldered for her size; short arms and legs; small bust. She has green eyes, wears her pink hair in either a short ponytail or a French twist, and looks much too young for her real age of nineteen years, never mind her supposed age of twenty-six. Her skin is pale, almost unnaturally so, and she burns easily in sunlight without protection.

For combat, she generally wears her form-fitting Sparksuit (see Equipment). For everyday wear, she tends towards dark colors, short skirts and dresses, skinny jeans, tights, and capris, heels—in short, anything that makes her look even a little taller. Thanks to her Resistance training, she makes heavy use of disguises; many of these lean towards punk or gothic styles, as it fits with her pink hair.


Class Teaching:

-Primary-
Computer Science

-Secondary-
“Applied Tactics”

Personality:

Petra is cunning, quick-tempered, rabidly loyal and at times maddeningly stubborn. The mental image of a toy dog acting as if it were White Fang comes to mind, except that Petra can and will back up her chutzpah by any means necessary. She can be utterly ruthless in battle, feels no qualms whatsoever about the use of firearms, cheap shots, disguises, false colors, ambushes, sabotage or other “dishonorable” combat techniques, and will kill without a second thought if she deems it necessary.

She does not suffer insults, frustration or disappointment well, and tends to express her anger through either passive-aggressive behavior or violence. She has problems speaking when flustered, which limits her verbal outbursts to a few snarky or bitter words. However, where before she would focus solely on hurting the enemy, regardless of the danger to herself, she is now more cautious. Against a more-powerful opponent she will hang back, assess their abilities, and bide her time, waiting until they are most vulnerable before she makes her move, and she tends to advise her students to do the same. A threat to someone or something she truly cares about (like her adoptive daughter), however, usually results in her to throwing caution to the wind.

Skills:

Marksmanship (Expert w/ pistols; Good to Very Good w/ other firearms)
Guerrilla Warfare (Veteran; specialization in Urban Combat)
Computers (Expert)
Fairbairn-Sykes Style Close Combat (Fair)
Disguise (Good)

Powers:

Electrokinesis: Petra has the ability to manipulate and control the flow of electrical energy within a radius of about fifty meters, rendering her effectively immune to electrical attack. She can also draw power from nearby electrical sources (outlets, power lines, generators, her Sparksuit's flywheel, etc.) into herself, hold it for up to ten seconds, and release it, allowing a number of attacks. The more powerful the source, the more powerful an attack possible.

Cyberpsi: Petra can also "talk" to computers over short distances, using a telepathic style of communication. This, combined with her knowledge of computer networks, makes her a fearsome hacker. Note that this does not allow automatic access to a computer; rather, it allows her to do the same things a "normal" hacker could, but faster and without the need for a physical input device (keyboard, keypad or what have you). It should also be noted that a complex or well-defended system, including any sort of AI, android, or the like, will have a chance to resist a hack attempt, much like a mind has an opportunity to resist a telepathic invasion or attack.

Arc-Riding: Apparently an extension of EK, but so far Petra's been the only person in her timeline to manifest it. This is the power to transform into either an electrical arc or a datastream, which can travel through power lines, telephone wires, fiber-optic lines, wireless networks, satellite up-links or anything similar. She can re-materialize within 10 meters of a standard electrical outlet, computer or communications device, and within 100 meters of more powerful devices, like high-voltage transmission lines, radio telescopes, actual power stations or power plants, etc.

The drawbacks are that this requires a fair amount of power, imposes a delay of exactly 3.24 seconds before she can re-materialize, regardless of the distance traveled (so if she Arcs across a small room, it'll still be three seconds before she reappears on the other side), and requires that she wait at least two minutes (120 seconds) before trying to Arc-Ride again. In addition, the transformation is extremely painful, and results in a severe “ins-and-needles” sensation after she rematerializes, leaving her and anyone traveling with her vulnerable for several seconds. Because of these problems, she tends not to rely on it in battle, except as a tactical retreat option.

Under very limited circumstances (read: when the GM permits), this power can also allow her to travel across dimensions, but this is both risky (the chances of mis-jumping--ending up in the wrong spot, or even the wrong dimension--are high) and draining (shorts out ALL of her powers for several hours, and leaves her rather weak physically).

Petra can carry a limited amount of weight with her (current max. is about 300 lbs,), but this makes the strain of Arc-Riding even greater. Normally, she can only carry living beings (including humanoids, up to her weight limit) or metallic objects with her, unless they've been specifically constructed (her Sparksuit, for example). Other items (including clothing and other non-metallic gear) are destroyed or left behind. Petra can attempt to bring such items across safely, but this increases both the power requirements the difficulty of the jump, and isn't always successful.

Weapons & Equipment:

Handheld: Designed to outwardly resemble a modern Palm or PocketPC, this little device is in fact an advanced computer from her home dimension. Besides all the usual applications, it including a GPS for setting up long-range Arc-Rides, a power-regulation system, allowing her to use her EK more efficiently, and a scanning app that can detect the energy signature from things crossing to or from other dimensions. Also, using her Cyberpsi power, she can record everything she sees or hears for later playback—even things that didn't register at the time she saw it. (This is useful for reconnaissance and for post-mission debriefings.)

Sparksuit: A skintight battlesuit for electrokinetic combatants, designed for Veline and taken by Petra after their duel. The suit has no visually obvious seams, zippers or other fastenings; rather it is electromagnetically-sealed (and unsealed) by the wearer’s mental command.

It is made with a layer of superconductive material, allowing Petra to jump while wearing it with little effort. It also has a Flywheel Energy System (FES) within an armored pod on the back, that allows Petra to make a limited number of EK attacks even if there are no other electrical sources available. When other power sources are available, she can tap into the FES to greatly amplify her attacks (see Powers for specific details). This suit is designed to be worn comfortably for days at a time: it includes a waste-relief system and is insulated to keep her comfortable in extreme weather conditions (from -60 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; more extreme temperatures can be borne for short periods). It can be made NBC-resistant with the addition of a hood and gas mask (carried in a small storage compartment in the suit's flywheel housing; she can have them on and sealed within fifteen seconds), has a 10 minute air supply (this can be increased by adding on air tanks, but they must be obtained separately), and has a layer of advanced ballistic weave to provide some armor protection.

Cerametal inserts: An optional add-on to the Sparksuit, these heavy, metal-ceramic plates can be inserted into the Sparksuit, greatly increasing Petra’s armor protection at the cost of mobility. Usually only worn for very heavy combat. Only protects the torso.

Heckler & Koch P7M8: 9x19mm Parabellum; 8+1 rounds, 4 extra mags if wearing Sparksuit, 2 otherwise.

The P7 has a unique feature: a squeeze-cocking lever built into the grip. If gripped properly, the hammer cocks automatically; the gun then only requires a light single-action trigger pull to fire, allowing for an extremely quick first shot. Serves as her primary weapon.

Walther TPH: .22 LR.; 6+1 rounds, 2 extra mags.

One of the smallest commercially-produced semi-auto pistols on the market. While its small-caliber round doesn't boast much stopping power, it is extremely accurate for a pistol of it's size, and oftentimes even a “mouse-gun” is better than no gun at all. Useful as a backup weapon, for situations where her disguise or other circumstances won't allow her to conceal anything else, or (with the addition of a silencer) for clandestine work.

AK-103: 7.62x36mm Kalashnikov; folding-stock, 30 rounds, 4 spare magazines.

For all practical purposes, a modernized AK-47. Includes a KOBRA red-dot sight, both to make quick aimed shots with both eyes open, and to help compensate for the Kalashnikov's somewhat-screwy ballistics. Though not the most accurate weapon ever made, especially at long range, it is incredibly reliable, simple to operate and maintain, hits hard—and now, with many of its parts replaced by plastics and composites, is light enough for Petra to wield effectively. Additionally, because the AK family is so common worldwide, ammunition and spare parts are easy to obtain and difficult for authorities to track.

Kukri: A large, deadly curved knife. Petra's favored weapon on close-combat.

550 lb-test Para Cord: Shoelace-thin, lightweight, but very, very strong cord. Similar to bungee cord in texture but much thinner and doesn't stretch. Useful for climbing, tying people up, certain traps, making repairs....the applications are endless. As the name suggests, a single length of it can hold up to 550 lbs of weight without breaking; this can be increased by braiding it into a rope. Petra keeps a 25-foot length of this wrapped around the sheath of her Kukri for emergencies; she can add more to her kit if she anticipates a need for it.

Flash-bangs (x2): Tiny grenades that give off a deafening bang and a blinding flash of light. Excellent way to start an attack.

Weaknesses:

1) Though Petra can manipulate electricity, she cannot create it. Her EK and Arc-Riding powers are both dependent on her having an external source of electrical energy to control-- natural lightning, power lines, her Sparksuit's flywheel, car battery, something. If there's no source available—or if she's already drained or burned it out—she's out of luck.

2) While Petra is no longer totally mute, the neurological damage done by the lab that captured her has resulted in a serious speech impediment. Similar to the way a dyslexic person's mind processes written information differently from others, the part of her brain that control speech signals her mouth to make sounds different form the ones she's trying to make, so that it comes out as gibberish. Over time, she's learned how to process the sounds so that she can make the sounds and words that she wants to say, but this is difficult and requires concentration on her part. A careful listener will notice that she has to exert an unusual effort when she speaks, and when she's excited, frightened or otherwise under stress (during a fight, for example), her words can become garbled, making it impossible for others to understand her and forcing her to rely either on gesture or her hand-held computer to communicate with others.

History:

"Petra" hails from an alternate dimension, where the local year is 1967. It's similar to our world in many ways, but far more technologically-advanced (in fact, their technology in the late 60's actually EXCEEDS our current tech level) and with a radically different history.

A bit of background: Here, rouge members of an dimension-traveling civilization with vast psychic powers, including dimensional travel, broke their people's most sacred traditions and tampered with this dimensions history for the sake of entertainment, introducing technologies far ahead of their time and providing key information to certain national leaders. Long story short, this resulted in the war going far worse for the Allies, culminating in Dies Irae, a ”limited” nuclear exchange between both sides that lasted from November 2-4 1944. Between blast, fallout, and famine induced by nuclear winter, nearly a third the world's population ultimately died, on top of the massive casualties already suffered during the conventional phase of the war; civilization nearly collapsed as a result. What remained of the world's governments quickly agreed to a ceasefire-in-place, as they struggled both to keep their people alive and restore social order.

When other members of this race realized what had happened they executed the ones responsible, but the damage was done. They then abandoned this battered timeline to its fate, unaware that, before he was hunted down, one of the guilty parties had sired a child by a human woman. The war had also dramatically increased background radiation levels worldwide, which caused numerous mutations in infants born around this time. Most of these mutations were crippling or fatal, but a number actually beneficial--telepathy, ESP, psychokinesis, and (in Petra's case) electrokinesis.

One common mutation was Hyper Intelligence Syndrome (HIS), where children displayed stratospheric intelligence levels at an early age. Desperate to rebuild and gain an edge, both sides sought out HIS babies and put them to work; it's because of these geniuses that the world's technology level has advanced so dramatically. Many of these children are now slaves in all but name, having been abducted or forcibly “volunteered” for government service. Their work paved the way for a technological Renaissance: by 1950, computers were commonplace (at least for the wealthy), and by '55 a worldwide network had been established. Despite these advances, however, life for the common person in this world is still very hard, especially in Nazi-Occupied Europe.

Soon, a new kind of “low-intensity” warfare broke out between the remaining Axis and Allied powers. Blaming each other for the death and destruction caused by the war, both sides wanted revenge, and the cease-fire be damned. However, thanks to the massive loss of life, fielding huge armies was no longer an option. Nor did either side want to risk drop more nukes; both sides had quickly restored their nuclear arsenals and would respond massively, and likely finish off humanity in the process. Instead, battles were fought between small elite units, many of them augmented by children with psi abilities. More often than not, these children, like the HIS babies, were abducted, brainwashed and pressed into service with little regard to their safety or well-being. People with electrokinesis, or "cyber-savants" as they were called, were especially sought after, for fighting battles on the Net, defending against enemy hackers, etc.

One of these children was Irene Shawnessy, conceived even as the bombs were raining down around her parents. She was the product of a illicit union between one of the aforementioned dimension travelers (posing as a Whermacht officer) and Lydia Shawnessy, a British physician unaware of her lover's true nature. Baby Irene's prenatal radiation exposure resulted in unusually pale skin, a freakish hair color, and a borderline case of HIS (if the fact she was reading Mallory by age three was any indication).

Fearing the SS-Lebensborn, which was tasked with “acquiring” such children, would seize her for the rebuilding effort, Dr. Shawnessy went to great pains to keep her daughter's mutation secret. She failed. When she was 11, Irene was harassed by a drunken soldier; the girl panicked, and her latent EK triggered, killing him. Almost immediately Irene was arrested, and her mother executed for treason for keeping her hidden.

Determined to exploit Irene's powers, they tried to turn her into the perfect soldier, by “editing” her memories, teaching her combat skills through hypnagogic (sleep-teaching) technology, and conducting genetic experiments to boost her powers to still-higher levels. However, the science was still in its infancy; while the combat skills took, her subconscious stubbornly refused to accept the memory-manipulation. In the end, all it did was turn her mind into a confused mish-mash of pain, fear, and anger, and scramble the part of her brain that controlled her ability to speak. At this point, her confused, amnesiac outrage rendered her completely uncontrollable.

Eventually, with more and more EK children manifesting, Irene was declared a write-off. Genetic samples were taken, and the girl herself put into cold-sleep in the hopes that she might later be cloned. As a final insult, her name and nearly all records of her past life were destroyed, leaving her to be identified only by a serial number and a name scribbled in grease-pencil on her stasis tank: Petra.

Thus the British Resistance cell that found Petra during a raid on a Nazi lab complex in Scotland, floating in a stasis tank, had no information about her, and simply gave her the name scribbled on the tank. Months of work by Resistance telepaths managed to restore "Petra" to something approaching sanity, though they were unable to repair either her memories or her voice. The result: a sullen, embittered killing machine out for revenge.

She proved herself valued and loyal member of the Resistance, even if her fellow soldiers found her aloof, violent nature a bit unsettling. She fought both on the Net and on the streets of London, where the pink-haired girl became well-known and feared by the enemy, so much so that a bounty of two million Reichmarks was placed on her head. Her full potential was not realized, however, until she was wounded in an ambush; the pain from her injury caused her to dematerialize...and reappear in our dimension. Petra drifted aimlessly for a time, before settling at one of the few boarding schools for people with exceptional powers. Here she spent the next several years trying to survive, coming to grips with her new abilities, and figuring out who and what she was, in that order.

She made little headway until she was abducted by Veline, a clone bred from scratch by SS geneticists using her DNA, force-grown to maturity in less than a year, given equipment and training to better utilize her powers...and driven completely mad in the process. Veline ultimately defected from her Nazi masters, but went after Petra anyway, just to prove she was better than the original. It was from Veline that Petra learned the both full story of her past, and of her clone “sister”'s inferiority complex. She eventually exploited the latter to escape, but was forced to kill Veline in the process, which she still regrets.

Determined to prevent another clone from being made, Petra destroyed as much of her clone's experimental data she could, then warned the Resistance of the danger they and the Allies would face if Germany ever regained the means to cross the dimensional barrier. She then left the dimension, to ensure that she herself could not fall into German hands...and that the Allies wouldn't be tempted to start a similar project. It was bad enough that her ancestors destroyed her timeline in the first place: she wasn't going to let them learn of the magical and other special powers available in this one. They had enough ways to kill each other as it was.

She returned to school, mastering her abilities and graduating with honors. Along the way, she stumbled across a young girl named Kamora Rinka, herself a psychic and product/victim of government experimentation...and, as it turned out, a master at tugging at Petra's heartstrings. Inexplicably, Kamora latched onto Petra as a mother figure; not having the heart to send her away, Petra gave in and (unofficially) adopted her. Though she was uncomfortable with the arrangement at first, and still has nightmares that she'll someday become a target, having someone other than herself to watch out for has done wonders for Petra's sanity. Today she works alternately as a freelance hacker and a “troubleshooter-for-hire,” carrying out industrial espionage, sabotage and the occasional assassination. To her credit, however, she is careful about who she takes assignments from.

Recently, she picked up something that conformed her worst fears: an energy signature suggesting that someone or something was traveling to and from her home dimension. Aware no good could come of this, she investigated; the signal was coming from the Home Islands, though she couldn't ascertain the location. At the same time she learned of an opening for teachers at an boarding school in England. Like the one she attended, it catered to students with special powers. After creating a false background to help explain her experience and skill set, she applied, figuring that a teaching job would give her a decently-paying cover for her real activities.


model and this image © Liz Gibbs