Lizbeth Locke
¶ Overview
- Full Name: Lizbeth Anne Simon
- Aliases: Lizbeth Locke, Emily Lake, Emily Simon, Elizabeth Archer, (many others)
- Codenames: Circe, Bond
- Species: Human / Idrysi / Jyse
- Ethnicity: Asian / Caucasian
- Nationality: Terran
- Height: 180cm (5'11")
- Born: August 16th, 2563
- Place of Birth: Tian Prime
- Gender: Female
- Sex: Female
- Sexual Identity: Lesbian
- Faction: Independent
Liz is a rough around the edges, charismatic rogue in the truest literary sense. She is an unabashed womanizer, does everything in her life to excess and is just as likely to wake up next to a beautiful woman whose name she doesn't know as in the dankest cell of some prison on a forgotten colony in the middle of nowhere. She is also a loyal friend who loves quickly and deeply. She likes to think of herself as 'complex' and 'enigmatic', but in truth she's easy to read and her softer side is always there, just beneath the surface.
¶ True Nature
Despite Liz appearing to be a woman in her early thirties and there being records and historical events going back over a century proving she exists, she is not in fact real. She is an Idrysi Construct, i.e. a Focus creation of her brother. To complicate things even further, he unknowingly focused through a jyse (focus), making her actually a Jyse (Race).
This nature makes discussing her history and sense of identity difficult. Even referring to Simon as her brother is dubious; he is technically her creator, he simply created her as his sister. But that act of creation caused both of them to view that fact as true. (Where required a distinction will be made between history before her creation, and history after her creation.)
¶ Physical Description
Lizbeth Locke (AI Generated)
Lizbeth is a 1.8m curvy bombshell with an hourglass figure. She relatively muscular, though she prefers clothing that hides that fact. She has raven black hair that goes down to her mid shoulders that she wears in a center part. She dies the front portion a bright, unnatural red, creating two locks of red hair framing her face. She has bright ice-blue eyes that almost seem to glow. She does her makeup subtly, mainly because she rarely can be bothered to do it at all.
Most of Liz's Asian ancestry can be seen around her almond shaped eyes, and a little bit in her facial structure. Depending on how she does her makeup, she can either look very Asian, or incredibly Caucasian. (She has been known to take advantage of this when dealing with Terran officials.)
¶ 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.
She is a relatively easy going person, with very little shame. She uses humor to mask awkwardness or strong emotions. She is incredibly charming; even people intent on hating her often find themselves growing fond of her over time. She has a tendency to fall into a "big sister" role with people she sees as needing it, and she is quick to form attachments.
Under the surface, Liz is very insecure, with a fear of commitment or responsibility. She has a very special form of imposter syndrome; since she knows herself to be an Idrysi Construct, she views herself as "not real" and everything she does is either unimportant, or attributed to her brother, not her. This has a tendency to push her into deep depressive episodes, often leading to cycles of self-harm. She tries to pass these off as her simply being "broody", but those close to her know the truth.
Another aspect that hurts her more often than not, is the fact that she is a creature of passion. She loves quickly and deeply, sometimes becoming incredibly emotionally attached to someone or something in very unhealthy ways that end with her in pain. While she knows this about herself, she also would never change it; she'd rather experience the universe with all it's sharp edges and pain than to "dull" that.
Lizbeth has cultivated a "womanizer" persona. For the most part, she exaggerates her debauchery, though 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 this is generally accepted in the wider universe, Liz's childhood was spent around people where it was not accepted. As such, she flaunted her interest in other women significantly more than she probably should. It became a habit and, eventually, part of her "Lizbeth Locke" persona.
In addition to her flirtations' nature, Lizbeth is also a highly skilled manipulator. While she most frequently uses this to get 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.
¶ Special Abilities
¶ Natural Charisma
Lizbeth has a natural charisma that she often uses to get herself out of (or into) trouble. She is famous the galaxy over, and not just for other abilities; people want her, want to be her, or both. She can walk into a room with a group of strangers and come out with a room of friends (or mortal enemies) in minutes.
As part of this, she is a natural leader, easily able to earn respect and inspire those under her. Unfortunately, she's terrified of responsibility, so she rarely has a chance to show off this side of herself.
¶ Seduction
Liz has the uncanny ability to seduce almost anyone that strikes her fancy. Very few are able to resist her charms, even people who don't normally find women attractive. Her ability borders almost on supernatural; it's entirely possible that she's using a previously unknown Focus skill to enhance her attractiveness to her targets. If so, she doesn't realize she's doing it, as she's brushed off all implications of it being anything other than natural charm.
¶ Ace Pilot
There are few people in the galaxy as naturally gifted at handling a ship as she is. While there are a few better fighter pilots, her mastery of small craft or starships is second to none.
Where her true skill shows, however, is in piloting Ex Nihilo. She has bonded to that ship on an almost spiritual level; she can anticipate how the ship will move on an unconscious level, allowing her to pull off nearly impossible stunts with a ship of it's size. It's also why she can get away with the rather insanely oversized weaponry she has installed on it; most people assume it's for show until it's too late.
¶ Weapons Specialist
Liz has spent nearly a century training with all manner of weapon, both ancient and modern. While she has her own guns that she prefers in most circumstances, she can pick up most modern weapons and be very proficient with them. She prefers ranged weapons, but she's a decent swordswoman. She has a near encyclopedic knowledge of human firearms, and explosives. She is also an expert bomb maker.
¶ Idrysi Construct
Liz is an Idrysi Construct , meaning she is created and maintained by another's will. In her case, it's her brother who is keeping her in existence. Because someone is actively willing her into existence, she is very resilient to things like death or even injury.
¶ Invulnerability / Healing
Liz is very resistant to being injured. She can be shot or cut, but the damage is never as much as would normally be expected. She also heals incredibly fast, often able to heal in the middle of a fight. Biologically, she's nothing special; this ability comes entirely from the fact that another person's willpower is resisting these changes to his creation.
¶ Immortality
With enough effort, Liz can be killed. (Shooting her in the head usually works quite well.) She will, in fact, die. Depending on how bad the damage is, she will remain dead from anywhere from a few seconds to a few days. (Too much damage has the opposite effect; she has been incinerated or vaporized and returns instantly, though not always to the same location.)
She also does not visibly age; she's appeared younger in old photos, but since Simon's mental image of her is with her in her late twenties to early thirties, that's how she currently appears. (In theory she could force her to age, but he's never shown any interest in that.)
¶ Enhanced Strength/Reactions
Typical of other constructs, Liz has 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
Lizbeth has the ability to communicate telepathically with her brother, though rarely can she initiate it on her own. Generally, a construct takes commands from or relays information to their creator; the construct's mind is completely open to the one who created it. Lizbeth is unique in that she can block out her brother's attempts to read her mind, almost automatically. This has limited his ability to influence her to simply whispering thoughts to her. (She finds it incredibly annoying and distracting.)
Over time, she's event developed the ability to look into his mind, though he has substantial defenses against it. (She hates doing it, because his mind is so fractured, it's very difficult to make sense out of what she's seeing.)
About the only time the two can communicate unfettered is when she's dead. She "returns" to his mind for a brief period of time, allowing the two of them to communicate almost normally. When he is unconscious, however, she find herself in his subconscious, which is a terrifying fractured landscape filled with a mingling of nightmares and memories, each threating to drag her in.
¶ 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 hates being banished so intensely that she would do a lot to avoid 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.
When she is banished, while others remember her, there's a sort of fog around her that makes it hard for some people to recall details about her, and some people will forget her entirely until reminded. Just how strong this effect is depends on how much willpower Simon puts into keeping her banished.
¶ Focus User
Lizbeth is a mostly self-taught Focus user. She is very gifted and powerful, however she lacks the discipline and rigidity that comes from having a master train her. Simon, though self-taught himself, has taken to the study of focus as an academic exercise, and is very disciplined in it's use. Lizbeth, instead, is more intuitive and imprecise in her usage.
¶ Presence Masking
Liz can hide her presence not just from living people but from security devices. This allows her to enter locations or rooms without triggering security devices. She has to be trying to do it, and she doesn't always know if there's security devices around or not, so she can still get caught unaware. Still, with enough effort she can use this ability to hide from pursuers, even if they are practiced Focus users.
¶ Time Manipulation / Perception
Liz can slow down time for herself, allowing her to appear to move at super human speeds. It makes things like talking impossible, and most normal weapons are still limited by the laws of physics, but her velyki weapons can move at the same speed as her.
She is also able to see what's going to happen a few seconds into the future, if she tries. She struggled with periods longer than a few minutes, but she sometimes gets strong impressions about future events months or even years out. She generally keeps these to herself, since she's found that messing with time is a dangerous game at best.
¶ Life Sense
Lizbeth 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 impressions normally require her trying to sense them, but sometimes can come unbidden. Strong negative emotion (like pain or sadness) are the most likely to force themselves unprompted.
¶ Signature Weapons
Liz uses a pair of heavily modified Ibis 9 plasma pistols.
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¶ History
Simon and Liz rarely get alone.
Because of Lizbeth's true nature, she has, effectively, two histories. There's the history that was brought into being when she was created, and the history that she shares with her brother around that creation. It is easier to see these as two distinct timelines, both of which she remembers.
¶ Creation
Liz was created by Simon in an attempt to perfect his Idrysi abilities. Up till that point he'd always tried to bring back people whom he'd killed; to him recreating someone he knew (and killing them was a way to know them, in his mind) then he'd be sure he got the details right.
When it came to Liz, he didn't go into the creation with a plan. He meditated for three days, focusing his will the entire time, waiting for the the details to come to him. He didn't eat or sleep, he just dove deep inside himself waiting for the universe to tell him what to create.
When it came to him, it came all at once. He knew her, knew their history, all of it in an instant. He reached deep into the universe, and he pulled out his sister, someone he'd know his whole life and yet was just created in that instant.
Finished, Simon passed out from exhaustion. When he woke up, hours later, he was on his bed, and sitting on the other side of the room from him was Lizbeth. All she said was "About time. Oh, I ordered food; hope you're in the mood for Chinese."
¶ Instant Regret
As soon as Simon realized what he'd done; rewriting his own history and putting this creation of his in the middle of it, he tried to banish her. He succeeded, but still remembered his life with her. He checked and he still had photos from their childhood. He checked security footage or records for his family and there was no evidence of her in most places, but a few still listed her, though they were contradictory.
Soon it became obvious to him that Liz hadn't simply vanished. She was in his mind like his other creations, though they had all been his victims. She never was. Eventually she clawed at his mind enough he brought her back, and instead of the usual effort it took to maintain her, it was almost like a relief bringing her out. She still took effort, but not nearly as much as she should. (Over the years, she's taken less and less.)
¶ Truce
Eventually Liz and Simon formed a truce. He would stop trying to 'undo' his mistake, and she'd play the part of sister, until something better came along. The more time she spent in the universe, the harder it was to dismiss her, and the more he didn't want to. Liz didn't mind; she got to exist, after all.
Most interesting, however, was the fact that Simon was fine with her capturing and confinement of him. He could have removed her from existence at least long enough to escape; but he didn't. The longer things went, the more he accepted her as his sister, not his creation. She suspects on some level this is the outcome he always wanted.
¶ Childhood
Lizbeth Anne Simon was born to Teressa Elise Simon and Robert Duncan Simon on August 16th, 2563. She was raised in a manner that befit her station; she would be the heir to House Simon, one of the Ten Original houses, and a Most Respectable House in every aspect. She was trained in etiquette, tutored in every subject from Art to Music to Science. She played three instruments before she was twelve and was considered a vocal prodigy. She was raised to be a proper Lady, and the perfect Scion of House Simon.
And she hated every waking moment of it.
Even as early as the age of five she would find ways to rebel against her parents. She was known to bring strange creatures into the middle of a dinner party, or sneak dye into the food that made everyone's mouths blue, or even paying off servants to knock drinks onto particularly obnoxious guests. Her parents were livid with her, but her Uncle encouraged patience, he had four daughters and swore she would grow out of it.
In truth, he and Lizbeth made a deal; she'd behave and he'd teach her things her parents never would, like fighting or piloting. He'd been the black sheep of the family for many years before settling down and becoming "respectable"; Liz loved listening to the stories he would tell about his exploits.
As she grew older, however, it became harder for her to keep her deal with her Uncle. At thirteen she had her first crush on the daughter of one of her father's business partners. Spurred on by her Uncle's stories, she set up a situation while they were out shopping where she could "rescue" the girl from a "mugger" (one of the family servants Liz had paid) and win her heart. The poor girl was terrified first by the mugging, and then by Liz kissing her. She screamed at Liz shoving her away and saying she hated her.
By the time they got back to the house, Liz was already both crushed and horribly embarrassed. But when the story was recounted and the girl's father called Liz a 'degenerate' and immediately broke off all business relations with House Simon, she learned the truth. This life would never accept her for who she was. That was made even more clear when her parents turned on her, degrading her and asking each other where they'd failed. She tried to explain that she just wanted to be like her Uncle, that she'd tried to recreate one of his stories and that backfired in the ultimate way. He was disowned, his wife and children exiled from the Sector. Liz was forbidden from ever having contact with him again.
¶ Rebellious Teenager
After they took her Uncle from her, Liz set out to do everything in her power to ruin her parent's plans for her. She wanted them to exile her too; at least then she could go live with the only person who'd ever really been a parent to her. She made it a point to embarrass them at every turn; and once she was a bit older she turned their worst fear into a reality; she took great pride in fooling around with daughters of important guest her parents would have over, then flaunting it in everyone's faces. She was completely out of control and didn't care who she hurt.
The entire time, her brother watched his sister rebel and was told what a disappointment she was and how he'd better not turn out like her. He was constantly being compared to her and was expected to be the perfect child, which he was. But he never got praise; the best he'd get was 'thank god you're not like your sister.'
When Liz turned 15 she was sent away to a special school for troublesome children of nobility. They specialized in 'hard cases' like hers. It was hell; even now over a century later she refuses to talk about her experiences there. But even three years at that school couldn't break her; she was just more determined to not give a fuck about anyone or anything.
¶ Parent's Death
When Liz was 18, her parents received a special invitation to attend the maiden cruise of the Entranza Agios. When the ship was lost, Liz was informed that her parents were dead and she was now the Head of House Simon. She was dumped out of the school back to the family estate and the life she hated.
She wasn't even home for more than twelve hours. She used her newfound access to money, ships and information to find out what had happened to her Uncle and she left to go find him. She never returned to the family estate.
¶ Presumed Dead
Her brother was left to fend for himself as an orphan and he defacto head of a Noble House at the age of seven. After five years, she was presumed dead and he was declared the new Head of House Simon. Unlike his sister, he bid his time, learning how to run the house and giving the other Nobility some hope that things were finally returning to normal for House Simon.
The entire time, however, he was looking for rumors about his sister. He knew Liz wasn't dead; and he wanted to find her. When he turned 21, he left, setting out for some of the border colonies where he'd heard she'd been seen.
¶ Life with her Uncle
Liz had spent those years hunting down her Uncle, who she'd managed to find. His wife had left him, his children had gone their own ways, and he was living alone, designing firearms for Imperial Arms. He greeted her with open arms. While he was dismayed that she'd walked away from House Simon, he accepted that she refused to go back. Instead of lecturing her, he met her where she was, and did his best to guide her in a better direction.
She lived with him for several years, learning how to modify and improve firearms, practicing with them, and taking the kinds of jobs a young woman with penchant for firearms and hand to hand combat could take. She got good; her skill kept improving and she kept taking more and more dangerous assignments. Her Uncle cautioned her, but she didn't listen. She was mad at the world and still didn't care who she hurt.
¶ Birth of Lizbeth Locke
Over the next decade, she built up her skills and reputation, making a name for herself. She went with the moniker 'Lizbeth Locke' since she couldn't use the family name, and 'Locke' was the last name of her first crush. She didn't expect it to stick, but it seemed to, and she was becoming well known as someone who would take any job, and execute it well. Her Uncle didn't approve of some of her jobs, but she just stopped telling him about them.
Together, with her Uncle using his underworld contacts, and her using her skill, Liz started taking on bigger, more lucrative jobs. It was no where near the amount of money she could have had if she simply returned to House Simon, but she didn't care. She was free.
¶ Her Brother's Search
Over time, she became aware her brother was looking for her. She did her best to hide who she really was (for multiple reasons), but she also took great pains to frustrate his search. When he turned 21 and left to look for her, she refuse to meet him. He was basically a stranger to her; someone she'd abandoned. Her Uncle gently encouraged her to entertain the idea, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had too much guilt and was afraid of what he'd say. Instead, she used her own contacts to try to go completely off the grid so he couldn't follow her anymore.
After a year of barely being able to work, while her brother continued to search for her (doing some impressive security breaching in his attempts to find her) she realized this problem wasn't going to go away. She was finally making plans to find him and meet with him when one of her last jobs went sideways. It seems people got the wrong impression about her falling off the grid and decided the couldn't trust her to keep their secrets and she instead had to be eliminated. They set an ambush and she was injured very badly, only making it out because her Uncle had been given word through an old friend and managed to come in and save her at the last minute. Unfortunately, he took a hit while rescuing her and didn't survive.
Distraught, injured and unsure what to do, Liz headed for her brother. She took the ship that her Uncle had let her borrow for her jobs, whatever possessions she could scoop up in a few minutes and set out to the last place she'd heard her brother was living. She barely made it, barely able to stay conscious enough to land the ship and stumble through the city.
¶ Meeting her Brother
What Liz didn't know was that Simon had already broken, committing his first two murders before she arrived. He was in a precarious place, teetering on the edge. Just the right push in either direction could've either saved or damned him. Unfortunately, Liz was in no shape to see any of this, and she couldn't have imagined the existence of Sylvia. She explained the situation to her brother and accepted his offers of help without question. She had no idea he was being manipulated by another being, or just what he'd be pushed to do.
Under the guise of taking her to get medical attention, Simon had her put in suspended animation. He was still Head of House Simon, after all, and he had access to rather impressive resources. So he removed her from the equation while he indulged in his bloodlust.
¶ Breaking Free
Ten years after her brother put her away, she managed to escape. Despite being in suspended animation, she had slowly become aware of her brother and what he was doing. Just like her brother, she was naturally talented in Focus, and as he grew more power, so did she. Eventually, she woke up and broke out of the facility holding her. Confused and betrayed, she immediately set about making a plan to find her brother and get revenge for what he'd done to her.
¶ Lizbeth Locke, Focus User
Her new found Focus abilities gave her pause. She didn't understand what they were, or why she now had them, but they started coming in handy almost immediately. She managed to reconnect with some old contacts, took several high-risk jobs to make money quickly and while the first two went off flawlessly, she was killed during the third.
Except, she woke up a few hours later, took everyone by surprise, and managed to kill her target. She then stole a ship and set off looking for Simon. Whatever had just happened, she knew it was his fault.
¶ Reconciliation with Simon
All told, it took her a year since breaking out to find him. When she did, he was passed out on the roof of a building, looking like he'd been sitting there for days. Feeling some level of pity on him, she took him inside, watching over him to make sure he wasn't going to die. After several hours, he finally came to. Her first words to him were simply, "About time. Oh, I ordered food; hope you're in the mood for Chinese."
¶ Unified History
From this point onward, both histories become true; Liz and Simon are both aware she's created, but also aware of the past where he put her in stasis for a decade. The universe seems to think the later was true, but they both know the former is as well. While it can get confusing to outsiders who are in the know, both Liz and Simon will refer to events from either past as if they were true, even when they're contradictory and the other one never questions it.
¶ Ships
- Ex Nihilo - One of the most famous civilian ships in the known galaxy.
¶ Major Associations
¶ Jonathan Simon
- Relation: Sibling
...
¶ Alastair McKenzie
- Relation: Confidant, Sometimes Employer, Often Friend
...
¶ David McKenzie
- Relation: Godchild
...
¶ Glyse McKenzie
- Relation: Godchild
...
¶ Emelyn Achenson
- Relation: Lover
...