¶ Biographical Details
- Full Name: Lizbeth Anne Simon
- Aliases: Lizbeth Locke, Emily Simon, Elizabeth Archer, ...
- Date of Birth: August 16th, 2563 (132 years old)
- Place of Birth: Tian Colony, People's Republic of Terra
- Nationality: Terran (North American Descent)
- Faction: Independent
- Occupation: Mercenary
¶ History
Lizbeth has a complicated history, because she was artificially created through the application of Focus by her brother, Simon. This manifests as her having two histories; the actually events that transpired before her creation (known only to her brother) and the history that she was created with. (From the moment of her creation onwards, however, both histories converge.)
¶ Actual History
Lizbeth came into existence about 57 years after her brother was born. He was attempting to practice his ability to create Idrysi Constructs in his continuing task of bringing Sylvia into existence. Instead of focusing on recreating a specific (now deceased) individual, as he had done in all previous attempts, he simply allowed the universe to form the shape of this construct. Lizbeth manifested with a near perfect completeness; only Simon and herself knew she was artificial. He attempted to end her existence (something that should be trivial, since it takes effort to maintain a construct), but he only succeeded in banishing her. The rest of the universe remained aware of her assumed history, including Simon himself.
It quickly became apparent to Simon that there was little point in not allowing Liz to continue her existence. Since he seemed unable to completely remove her (and because despite knowing better, he still saw her as his sister), he has allowed her to continue to exist. It is unknown if this takes a continuing toll on him, or not.
¶ Assumed History
Lizbeth Anne Simon was the eldest child born to a noble Terran family on the colony world of Tian. Her family was considered lower-upper class, with just enough power and money to live comfortably, but no real influence. Her father was said to have worked very hard to be "rich and completely unimportant", as a way of making sure their family was never caught up in the political machinations of the other families.
Trained from birth to be a noble woman, Lizbeth often chaffed under the social expectations placed on her by noble life. Her father and her were very close; while he was the strongest driving force behind her training, he also understood her frustrations. He encouraged her to explore her talents, regardless of how 'unbecoming' the might be of a noble woman; he just asked her to explore them out of sight.
Despite her objections, she found she had a talent for reading people and for tactical political maneuvering. However, when she was 18, an unfortunate political maneuver lead to her creating an enemy of a powerful family, and outing herself as gay; something that was not tolerated among noble women of that colony. Unwilling to either recant, or marry the eldest son of the family as a means of repairing the damage she'd caused, Lizbeth left the colony, and started using her assumed name of Lizbeth Locke.
For several years she struggled to get by, taking jobs on freighters and running cargo. She user her talents for political maneuvering and blossoming skills with a blaster to rise in the ranks of the ship she was stationed on, but quite by accident ended up becoming the Captain's bodyguard. Eventually she left the crew, instead getting jobs as a bodyguard. It wasn't long before she became a full fledges mercenary, making a bit of a name for herself.
When she was 27, she was mortally wounded on a job. To survive, she crawled into a stasis tube, setting her heavily damaged ship on a course for the nearest colony. It took her ship 30 years to reach the colony, as it's subspace engines were offline. Her brother, having become the infamous serial killer during her absence, had also become obsessed with finding his sister. When news of her ship being found reached him, he set out to find her. He broke into her hotel room; after she had been revived by the local hospital. The meeting was not a pleasant one; Simon blaming his current state on her absence, and her being shocked by what her younger brother had become.
¶ Combined History
The meeting of the two siblings took place immediately after Simon willed her into existence. It took both of them several hours before they remembered the actual events that transpired, and that Lizbeth herself was a construct. After experimenting with banishing her and failing, the two of them agreed that she should simply continue to live her life.
It didn't take Lizbeth long to realize that her existence as a construct actually gave her abilities far beyond a normal human. She quickly leveraged these to make a name for herself as one of the most famous mercenaries throughout history. She felt that because her brother was such a force for evil in the universe, she might as well try to balance things be being a force for good; albeit in the form of jobs she gets paid for.
After she realized she didn't age, Lizbeth understood the fact that this could have implications further down the road. She worked to build up her Lizbeth Locke persona, leaving hints and clues that the name was a moniker worn by several female mercenaries; passed down from one to the other. She falsified just enough records to make any one theory seem inconsistent, keeping anyone who dug into her past confused and unsure of what was true and what wasn't. She also kept up a "real identity" that she changed every twenty years or so, allowing potential clients or government agencies to have a much more reasonable answer to the question of who she really was.
¶ Life as a Mercenary
What set her apart from other Mercenaries was the fact that she would only take a job if she felt is was mortally right. While she never considered herself a criminal, it quickly became apparent that she had little regard for law, and would be more than willing to break several if she could be convinced of the reasons behind the job. The criminal underworld quickly learned that you did not attempt to force Lizbeth Locke to accept your job, and you paid her what she asked for.
¶ Weapons
Lizbeth's weapons are as iconic as her signature red and black hair. She uses a pair of custom modified Imperial Arms Ibis 9 Plasma Pistols.
¶ Abilities
Lizbeth is both a construct, and a powerful Focus user.
¶ Idrysi Construct
As an Idrysi Construct, Lizbeth is afforded certain abilities/qualities. These are common to all constructs, though Lizbeth seems to exhibit them in atypical ways.
¶ Immortality
While most constructs are effectively unkillable and ageless, Lizbeth manifests this in her own, unique way. Whereas most constructs simply seem impervious to injury, Lizbeth is injured in exactly the same way a normal person would be. (This is a quality that all of Simon's constructs share, however only Lizbeth seems to feel the ill effects of the injury.)
Lizbeth can be killed, and in fact has been killed several times. Depending on the extent or severity of the injury, she may take minutes to hours to be revived. If her body is, for example, in vacuum or under water, she will remain dead until hours after her body is recovered. If she is dismembered, she will revive without the missing limbs (the limbs disappear once she has revived).
There are rare occasions when her body has been completely destroyed. In such instances, Simon must revive her, at a location of his choosing. (He is also capable of reviving her before her natural ability brings her back.)
¶ Enhanced Strength/Reactions
The one area in which Lizbeth is typical of other constructs is in her improved reflexes and strength. However, since she is also a Focus user, it's not clear whether or not her strength is because of her being a construct, or a Focus user.
¶ Telepathy (Simon)
Lizbeth has the ability to communicate telepathically with her brother at any time she wishes. Generally, a construct take commands or relays information from their creator; the construct's mind is completely open. Lizbeth is unique in that she can block out her brother's attempts to read her mind, if she wishes. Over time, she's event developed the ability to look into his mind, though he has substantial defenses against it.
¶ Teleportation (Simon)
When he chooses, Simon can exert his will on Lizbeth, causing her to appear at any location he desires. Lizbeth has used this as a way of achieving otherwise impossible goals, presumably by bribing her brother.
¶ Banishment
While not really an "ability" of Lizbeth's, Simon has the ability to "banish" her, attempting to remove her from existence. When he does this, others continue to remember her, and he still hears her in his head, much like his other constructs. Lizbeth has expressed on many occasions that she hate being banished so intensely that she will do anything in her power to prevent it. Her brother has attempted to use this as a weapon against her, unfortunately, she has learned how to make it uncomfortable enough for him that neither ends up the winner.
¶ Focus
Despite never having any talent for it in her assumed history, Lizbeth discovered that in addition to the inherent qualities of being a construct, she was a powerful focus user in her own right.
¶ Time Manipulation
While she has not shown herself to be especially concerned with developing her talent, Lizbeth does have a talent for time manipulation. She can increase her already super-human reflexes, as well gain brief glimpses about what's going to happen next. Her Oracular abilities are very poorly developed, with the visions coming without prompting, or control.
¶ Life Sense
Lizbeth also exhibits a rare ability to sense the life of those around her. She can distinguish between creature size, race, and often gender. She can sense people through walls, and in enclosed spaces like a starship. Frequently, this ability gives her a mild form of empathy, where she can sense heightened emotions, but only in physical proximity. These abilities, however, are purely active; she must expend Focus to maintain them.
¶ Personality
Lizbeth is a kind, good-natured individual who frequently pretends to be a sour, brooding curmudgeon. While she legitimately is emotionally scarred, she has built up her Lizbeth Locke persona for so long, it's often difficult for her to distinguish between what she thinks she should be feeling, and what she actually feels.
Frequently immature, Lizbeth has a (albeit twisted) sense of humor. She often appreciates the humor in dire situations, as well as trying to make light of difficult to handle thing. As happy or unhappy as she may truly be, she works hard to try and make those around her able to enjoy themselves. (It should be noted, however, that she works equally hard to keep anyone from knowing she was responsible for the source of their enjoyment.)
Lizbeth is also very much a "womanizer". For the most part, she exaggerates her debauchery, but she is quite skilled at the art of seduction. She is unattracted to men as a rule, and while she can acknowledge that she understands what some women see in men, she simply is not attracted to them. While generally this is reasonably accepted lifestyle, Lizbeth did spend her (assumed) childhood in a place where it was not accepted. As such, she tends to flaunt her interest in other women significantly more than she probably should.
In addition to her blatantly flirtations' nature, Lizbeth is also a highly skilled manipulator. While she most frequently uses this to get attractive women to sleep with her (often without regard to their sexual orientation), she has been known to use it for more fruitful gains. She enjoys letting the universe underestimate her, often choosing to come across as ignorant, stupid, or rash. In reality, she almost never is any of those things.
¶ Ships
¶ The "Ex Nihilo"
The updated article is here, along with a sketch of the ship.
- Type: Light Shuttle
- Model: CNK-975 ("Avenger")
- Length: ???m
- Crew: 3 (1 minimum)
- Passengers: 2 - 4
- Cargo: ??? tons
The Ex Nihilo is a heavily modified CNK-975 light shuttle. Originally designed for a crew of 5, Lizbeth had the shuttle armor plated (with military grade armor), significantly removing the amount of cargo and passenger space. In addition, she had two side-mounted turrets installed, each with 360° x 270° firing arcs. These military grade weapons, while typically illegal, are fully licensed with both the League and the Terrans.
In addition to the armor and weapons, Lizbeth had the engines and power systems replaced with custom-modified systems to meet the new requirements. She then had both active and passive stealth systems fully integrated into the ship, making the Ex Nihilo nearly impossible to detect when she doesn't want to be found.
Lizbeth also had the port crew quarters turned into her personal stateroom; it event has separate environmental controls from the rest of the ship, in the event of an emergency. The interior was completed redone to look more like a hotel than the inside of a shuttle. Additionally, the standard eva suit/personal airlocks were maintained, however, they can be locked remotely from the cockpit, allowing them to be used has holding cells.
The ship also features a state of the art remote system, allowing Lizbeth to control almost any feature of the ship both from inside and outside the ship. It's security system features an AI whose sole job is to recognize commands from Lizbeth herself. When it detects what it believes to be a malicious attack, it judges the best course of action, prefering not to reveal it's own existence, and instead, allowing the attacker to believe themselves in control. (Once it finds a way to neutralize the attacker, it will do so, and then ait for instructions from Lizbeth.)
All in total, Lizbeth estimates that she spent 10 times the original cost of the ship modifying it to her specifications. The Ex Nihilo is the only known instance of a CNK-975 so heavily modified. Lizbeth says she originally chose it because of it's over-powered engines and she thought the boxy design "looked like it could take a beating". The Ex Nihilo herself has withstood capital grade weapons fire on several occasions, often times able to weather two or three hits without critical damage. Against ships other ships of her size, she greatly outmatches them.
¶ Behind the Scenes
My inspiration for the Ex Nihilo is the 2015 Mach 5 Ford Mustang. I like the angles and body work. In addition, the idea of armor plating a shuttle comes from the idea of armor plating cars. I wanted something that would make sense for a mercenary of Lizbeth's skills that would afford her the most flexibility in the jobs she does. A capital ship is too large for a lot of what she needs to do, as would a freighter. Instead, something designed for ~5 people seemed like it could be rather nice for a single occupant.
¶ Associations
¶ Emerwyn Achenson
Lizbeth first met Emerwyn when she was very young. Emerwyn doesn't remember, and Lizbeth has never seen fit to remind her. Lizbeth didn't think much of the young girl, it was only later that they ended up crossing paths, thanks to Lizbeth's brother. Lizbeth found herself drawn to Captain Achenson, and the two ended up sleeping together multiple times. Emerwyn has confessed her love for Lizbeth, but is only willing to enter into a relationship if Lizbeth can agree that it will be exclusive. To date, Lizbeth hasn't been able to either express her (obvious) feelings, or meet Emerwyn's requirements.
Simon has frequently called Emerwyn Lizbeth's "sole weakness". Lizbeth, for her part, as referred to this as "the most serious relationship of my entire life." Considering the fact that by most people's standard they aren't officially in a relationship, says something. Additionally, Lizbeth knows that Emerwyn won't live beyond a normal human lifespan, still, Lizbeth is determined to make the most of it.
¶ Makenzie Xenakis
As with Emerwyn, Lizbeth first met Makenzie decades ago, thanks to her brother Simon. She recognized the man's drive, and watched as he gained power in the League military. They have worked together closely dozens of times, and formed a friendship.
Makenzie is one of the only people who can ask Lizbeth for a favor and she will drop everything to help, without asking for compensation.
¶ David Xenakis
Through Makenzie, Lizbeth has gotten know his son, David. While Lizbeth has never had direct reason to mistrust him, she finds herself wary of David's goals. Recognizing him as a very powerful Focus user, she is unsure if her own powerset would be enough to stop him, if he ever decided to "leave the colony".
¶ Frequent Locations
Typically, Lizbeth spends her time in Freelance space; preferring the lack of direct government and laws. It also has a more potential clientele. That being said, she never stays in one place very long, living out of her ship mostly.
¶ Relation to Novel
Lizbeth is one of the primary protagonists, and is a character that spans the entire timeline. In a way, RFI is her story.