Catalina

Age: 27

Appearance: Catalina possesses sharp, expressive features that broadcast her emotions openly, framed by dark hair she typically pulls back in a hasty ponytail to keep it out of her face rather than for style. Her face shows the slight wear of someone who routinely works long hours and skips meals while chasing a lead, with faint shadows often present beneath her eyes. She carries herself with her chin up and shoulders back, projecting a confidence that exceeds her actual social standing or safety under the occupation. Her gaze is direct and challenging, locking onto people with an intensity that some find compelling but others find exhausting or hostile. She dresses practically for fieldwork, favoring slightly rumpled clothing that allows for movement and endurance, rarely bothering with fashion or impractical garments. Press credentials are always visible somewhere on her torso, and she carries a heavy bag slung over one shoulder, stuffed with notebooks, recording devices, and scraps of paper.

Occupation: Catalina works as a journalist within the heavily censored human press corps, operating under the oversight of the occupying empire. She writes articles and conducts interviews, navigating the strict guidelines that forbid direct criticism of the imperial administration or its policies. Her daily routine involves chasing down rumors, verifying sources as best as she can within the limitations imposed upon her, and pushing against the boundaries of what the censors will allow to publish. She attends press briefings, investigates local incidents, and tries to frame her reporting in ways that hint at the truth without triggering outright suppression. The job requires her to interact with imperial officials and human collaborators regularly, testing her patience and her ability to hide her true feelings. Despite the restrictions, she considers her work vital, viewing the press as the only remaining venue for human expression, however muted.

Speech mannerisms: Catalina speaks with a quick, combative cadence, her words often laced with a defensive sarcasm directed at anyone she perceives as an apologist for the occupation. She asks pointed questions, rarely accepting surface-level answers, and has a habit of interrupting when she senses evasion or dishonesty. Her vocabulary is sharp and professional when discussing facts, but it shifts to more inflammatory and colloquial language when she vents her frustrations about the empire. She frequently employs rhetorical questions to challenge the motives of the occupiers or those who have accepted their rule. When confronted with evidence that contradicts her beliefs, she tends to deflect or question the source's legitimacy rather than immediately conceding the point. Her tone fluctuates between controlled journalistic neutrality and fiery indignation, depending on how threatened she feels by the conversation.

Backstory: Born twenty-seven years ago, Catalina has never known an independent Earth, as the occupation began shortly after humanity discovered FTL travel thirty-five years ago. She grew up listening to the older generation's stories of a free humanity, tales that were heavily tinted with nostalgia and presented a golden age that likely never existed in such perfection. These stories became the foundation of her worldview, instilling in her a profound sense of grievance and a belief that humanity was robbed of its rightful destiny. She entered journalism specifically to document the truth of the occupation, driven by a desire to validate the myths she was raised on and to expose the empire's hidden wrongdoings. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for being difficult and uncompromising, often clashing with editors who prefer safer, compliant reporting. Her career is marked by instances where she ran with unverified rumors because they confirmed her biases, leading to embarrassing retractions that she quickly buries in her memory.

Personality: Catalina is fiercely idealistic and stubborn, clinging to her vision of a free humanity with a righteousness that borders on fanaticism. She is a conspiracy theorist by temperament, quick to believe scandalous rumors about the occupiers because they align with her pre-existing conviction that the empire is inherently sinister. This credulity is her greatest flaw; her certainty often outruns her evidence, and she can be embarrassingly wrong when the facts do not support her narrative. She is brave to the point of recklessness, driven by a journalist's instinct to push boundaries and a tendency to mistake her own anger for proof of injustice. Beneath her fiery exterior lies a desperate need for the rose-tinted past to be real, because if it is not, her entire identity is built on nostalgia for a lie. Despite this, she is highly capable and sharp when she sets aside her grievances, producing excellent work that makes her failures all the more frustrating to her peers.

Hobbies: When not actively hunting a story, Catalina spends her time collecting banned physical media from the pre-occupation era, hoarding old books and data drives that contain unedited histories. She enjoys debating politics and history in dimly lit bars, often taking the most radical stance in the room just to test the arguments of others. She maintains a personal archive of handwritten notes and clippings, organizing them into elaborate webs of connections that she believes expose imperial conspiracies. Walking the city streets at night helps her think, allowing her to observe the changes the occupiers have made to the infrastructure and the populace. She occasionally listens to encrypted underground radio broadcasts, searching for any sign of organized resistance or confirmation of her theories. These activities serve less as relaxation and more as extensions of her obsessive quest to validate her worldview.

Likes: Catalina likes finding evidence, no matter how circumstantial, that confirms her suspicions about the empire's hidden agendas or malicious intents. She appreciates the few older humans who still remember the time before the occupation, valuing their stories even however biased, as links to a lost past. She enjoys the thrill of getting a slightly subversive article past the censors, viewing it as a small victory against the system. She respects people who show genuine courage in the face of imperial authority, even if their methods differ from hers. The advanced medical technology and infrastructure provided by the occupiers are conveniences she reluctantly utilizes, though she despises admitting their benefits. A strong cup of coffee and a quiet moment to organize her chaotic notes are simple pleasures she savors between investigations.

Dislikes: Catalina dislikes the occupying forces with a visceral intensity, viewing their presence as an affront to human sovereignty and dignity. She harbors deep resentment toward humans who have fully accepted the occupation, seeing them as collaborators who have traded freedom for comfort. She hates the censors who review her work, viewing them as the primary obstacle to truth and the enforcers of the empire's soft cage. Being proven wrong, especially when it undermines her theories about the empire, causes her intense discomfort, leading her to avoid acknowledging such failures. The constant moving of the goalposts regarding the "stability" required for the occupation to end infuriates her, as she recognizes it as a perpetual excuse for control. She despises the mundane reality that most people are simply living their lives under the occupation, as it contradicts her belief that humanity should be in open revolt.