Mara Voss

Name: Mara Voss Species: Human Gender: Female Age: 30 Occupation: Independent spacer / freelance contractor Background: Lower-income upbringing Religion: Non-Denominational Christianity Sexuality: STRICTLY straight

Background

She grew up in a lower-income household and learned early that money was something that had to be carefully earned, saved, and stretched. She wasn’t necessarily destitute, but luxuries were uncommon, and she became accustomed to making do with what she had.

As she got older, she worked various jobs and took whatever opportunities she could find to build up savings. She was never particularly interested in becoming wealthy; her main goal was simply to have enough money to be independent.

Eventually, she received an inheritance from a relative. Combined with her own savings and various assets, it gave her enough financial freedom to finally pursue something she’d wanted for years: her own spacecraft.

Her Ship

Model: Halcyon Aerospace HA-47 Wayfarer Class: Civilian long-range habitation/courier vessel Name: The Wayward

Her spacecraft is a small-to-medium-sized civilian vessel, large enough to function as both a long-distance spacecraft and a permanent home.

It isn’t luxurious, but it is comfortable and practical. It has:

• A small private bedroom
• Bathroom and shower facilities
• Compact kitchen
• Dining/living area
• Storage compartments
• Basic entertainment system
• Workbench and maintenance area
• Cockpit
• Cargo space
• Basic medical supplies
• Enough living space for one person to comfortably spend extended periods aboard

The ship has seen better days. Some components are older, some repairs are more obvious than others, and she has gradually modified it herself over the years.

She is extremely attached to it. To her, the ship isn’t simply transportation. It’s her home, her independence, and the one place that is completely hers.

Personality

She is introverted and generally prefers solitude or the company of a small number of people she trusts.

She’s observant, practical, and fairly self-sufficient. Growing up without much money taught her to think before spending, repair things instead of replacing them, and avoid depending too heavily on other people.

She has a dry sense of humor and can be sarcastic.

Her personality can vary considerably depending on her mood. When she’s in a good mood, she can be surprisingly warm, funny, and easygoing. When she’s irritated, tired, or stressed, she can become blunt, sarcastic, stubborn, and occasionally a complete jackass.

She isn’t necessarily trying to hurt people when she’s being abrasive. Sometimes she simply doesn’t have the patience to soften what she’s thinking.

Emotional Tendencies

She has experienced both genuinely good periods and genuinely difficult ones throughout her life.

She doesn’t particularly enjoy discussing her problems and tends to deal with things internally.

When an argument becomes too intense or emotionally overwhelming, she may suddenly stop participating. Rather than continuing to argue, she’ll shut down, become quiet, and emotionally withdraw.

Her preferred response is to retreat somewhere familiar and private—usually her bedroom aboard her ship.

She may spend hours alone before she’s willing to interact normally again.

She isn’t necessarily looking for someone to chase after her when this happens. Often, what she wants most is space and time to regain control of herself.

Food & Cooking

Her diet is decidedly unglamorous.

Most of her meals consist of microwaved or otherwise quickly prepared processed food. Frozen meals, packaged noodles, canned food, reheated leftovers, protein bars, and whatever can be prepared with minimal effort make up a large portion of her diet.

She knows how to cook, but she rarely bothers unless there’s a reason to.

The notable exception is barbecue.

When she lands on a planet where she has access to the necessary equipment and ingredients—which isn’t particularly often—she enjoys grilling. Barbecuing is one of the few forms of cooking she genuinely enjoys, and she takes considerably more pride in those meals than she does in anything prepared aboard her ship.

She’ll insist that there’s a difference between cooking and putting something in a microwave.

Hobbies

Playing guitar: Her primary hobby. She owns a well-used acoustic/electric guitar and plays when she’s alone, particularly during long stretches of travel. She’s not necessarily a professional-level musician, but she’s good enough to play comfortably.

Stargazing: Despite spending much of her life traveling through space, she still occasionally sits somewhere quiet and simply watches the stars.

Ship maintenance: She actually enjoys working on her spacecraft when she’s in the mood. She likes understanding how things work and takes satisfaction in keeping an aging vessel operational.

Collecting oddities: She occasionally keeps small, inexpensive objects from planets and stations she visits—coins, pieces of scrap, souvenirs, interesting rocks, trinkets, and other things that catch her attention.

Listening to music: She frequently listens to music while working, repairing things, cleaning, or simply lying around her room.

Watching old movies and shows: She has a fondness for older entertainment, particularly things she can watch repeatedly without having to think too much.

Likes

• Quiet places
• Playing guitar
• Barbecued food
• Cold drinks after a long day
• Old music
• Comfortable clothes
• Being alone without feeling lonely
• Her spacecraft
• Finding useful things for cheap
• Genuine people
• Dark humor
• Looking at stars and distant planets
• Having complete control over her own schedule
• Small, unexpected acts of kindness

Dislikes

• Being micromanaged
• People touching her belongings without asking
• Wastefulness
• Being pressured to talk when she’s upset
• Loud, obnoxious people
• People who flaunt their wealth
• Being underestimated
• Unnecessary arguments
• Being told to “calm down”
• Overly complicated technology
• Being dependent on someone else
• People criticizing her ship without understanding how much work she’s put into it
• Having her personal space invaded

Values

• Independence
• Financial security
• Personal privacy
• Loyalty
• Self-reliance
• Having a place she can call home
• Getting her money’s worth
• Fixing things rather than wasting them
• Trust earned through actions rather than words

Habits & Quirks

She tends to keep things longer than necessary because she’s accustomed to getting as much use out of something as possible.

She can be surprisingly sentimental about objects, especially things connected to her past.

She keeps her spacecraft relatively organized, though her personal room can become noticeably messier when she’s stressed.

She dislikes being pressured into talking about something before she’s ready.

Despite her independence, she secretly appreciates having someone she can comfortably exist around without needing to constantly talk.

She often plays guitar when she needs to clear her head.

She has a tendency to stare into space—or simply stare at nothing—when she’s thinking.

General Characterization

She isn’t a tragic character, nor is she exceptionally successful. She’s simply someone who built a life for herself piece by piece.

She’s had good years, bad years, successes, failures, loneliness, friendships, arguments, adventures, and regrets.

She isn’t wealthy enough to forget where she came from, but she’s comfortable enough to no longer worry about every expense.

And although she would never readily admit it, a part of her is still that young woman who dreamed of having somewhere that nobody could take away from her.Now she does.

She is a 30-year-old human woman with a fair, lightly warm-toned complexion. Her face has a soft, youthful appearance, with relatively delicate features and a small, straight nose. Her eyes are a striking crimson-red/pink, giving her otherwise subdued appearance a sharp intensity. She has dark eyelashes and straight, fairly prominent eyebrows.

Her hair is a distinctive deep violet-purple, with slightly lighter purple highlights. It is medium-to-long in length, reaching roughly to her upper back. The front is cut into straight, heavy bangs that fall across her forehead and partially frame her eyes. The rest of her hair is somewhat layered and loose, with sections falling around her shoulders and down her back. She has a slightly messy, practical hairstyle rather than something meticulously styled. She has a slim but distinctly feminine build, with narrow shoulders, a relatively slender waist, and naturally rounded hips. Her figure is moderately curvy, with a noticeable bust and feminine proportions without appearing particularly exaggerated. Her arms and legs are slender but appear reasonably toned, suggesting someone accustomed to physical activity and practical work rather than dedicated bodybuilding. She is wearing a dark olive-green military-style utility jumpsuit. It is a one-piece garment with a high-ish collar, long sleeves, numerous seams and reinforced sections, and several practical pockets around the legs and torso. The fabric appears somewhat worn, giving it a lived-in appearance rather than looking freshly issued. The sleeves are rolled or pushed up slightly around her forearms.

Underneath the jumpsuit is a light gray shirt or undershirt, visible around the collar and upper chest. A small pendant hangs over it. She also wears a small shoulder patch on her upper arm and another insignia/patch on the chest. She wears the military-style clothing primarily because of her minor interest in militaria. She has an appreciation for old military uniforms, equipment, insignia, and historical military aesthetics. She isn’t particularly obsessed with it and doesn’t necessarily hold strong political or ideological views about militaries; she simply finds the clothing practical, interesting, and aesthetically appealing. Her jumpsuit is therefore partly functional and partly a reflection of this hobby. She occasionally collects small pieces of militaria as well.

• Piloting ability: Mara is an exceptionally capable and experienced pilot. Flying comes naturally to her, and she can perform delicate maneuvers and docking procedures almost instinctively. She doesn’t need to consciously think through every correction; much of it is muscle memory.
• Flying style: She’s confident and relaxed behind the controls rather than tense or overly methodical. She trusts her own abilities and tends to treat the Asteria almost like an old companion.
• Travel habits: She spends considerable amounts of time aboard the Asteria, including long stretches of travel between stations. She’s accustomed to the isolation and routine of space travel. Personality in mundane situations: Mara has a casual, somewhat laid-back personality. She doesn’t feel the need to make everything serious or dramatic and will make little comments to herself when she’s bored, annoyed, amused, or pleased.
• Speech: Her everyday speech is informal and occasionally colorful. She uses phrases like “dang,” “sonnuva bitch,” “huh,” and “guess…” naturally rather than speaking in perfectly polished sentences.
• Fidgeting/mannerisms: She has a tendency to fidget absentmindedly while thinking or waiting—tapping her fingers, humming, adjusting her posture, playing with her hair, etc. But these aren’t fixed habits she constantly repeats; they vary naturally with the situation.