Another one that got side-tracked during the course of the writing. I wanted a gal that was wholesome, curvy, and, for lack of a better term, relentlessly domestic. Not exactly “emotional,” but much more an intuitive sort than a deep thinker by nature. A bit above average smart, but not a genius. Someone that was tough, but not a tough. Not exactly an innocent, but tending towards the naïve side of things. I hadn’t planned on making her a genetically engineered illegal soldier, or pairing up with someone other than Helton. Sigh. Another plan in the dust, but worked out.An amazing number of “throw away” comments turned into major plot points as the story evolved. As her character changed as I wrote words into her, I kept finding someone that is fundamentally good, caring, and really wanting to do good in the world. It distresses her that there are all sorts of bad people and events in the world, but she’s very “home” focused, so she tries making things nice for those around her, like Quinn, then Helton, and the soldiers. She is all about making her little corner of the ‘verse run right, stay clean, and operate smoothly. She’s the one that wants the proceeds shared equitably, even if she has no firm idea exactly what that looks like. She wants life around her to be fair. She loves Helton like a brother, but for some reason it didn’t quite jell into romance; I guess he played it a little TOO cool, then Kaminski showed up.

She’s not really a prude, or unaware that she’s pretty, she’s just kind of embarrassed that men find her attractive – she’d rather be thought of as useful and kind. It’s doing things that have value, not just being. She doesn’t want to just “be pretty.” She doesn’t have a sexy/seductive sort of beauty, more a wholesome, unselfconscious “make a wonderful, trustworthy, dependable, wife and mother to be” sort of beauty.

She likes putting a personal touch on things. She spent time as a child on Taj, and felt safe there, and Taj did she could to help her out as well. She is in many ways very traditional, and is slow adjusting to the concept of being a genetically engineered “soldier.” That path was just NOT on her radar, but the mama bear came out of hibernation a bit in defense of her beau when he was in danger. That is not really her comfort zone, though.