Freelance
Traveller
This article originally appeared in Issue #014, February 2011, of the downloadable PDF magazine.
Obion Joplin 988AC6 Human Female Age 36
3 Terms
Former Emergency Medical Technician
Current Passenger Liner Employee
Handgun-2, Grav Vehicle-1, Computer-0, Medical-2, Brawling-0, Heavy
Equipment-1*, Persuasion-2,
Carousing-2, Streetwise-2, Admin-1, Linguistics-2 (Portugese) (Arabic),
Imaging-1, Backgammon-3, Clarinet-2
*This skill covers use of various heavy cutters, manipulating jaws, powered frames, and the like. Ideal for rescue or damage control.
On graduating from college, this native of Xerxes became an Emergency Medical Technician, responding to medical emergencies in a heavily-armored grav “bus” on the busy streets of Northeastern Sekunder, “Goofball” Alain doing the driving and providing minor medical care, and Obion working as the primary medical technician aboard. She, Alain, and Captain Kroll, the Station Chief, were also a trio playing works by the Atomic-Era composer Gershwin.
Eventually the stress of the job started getting to Obion, and she began to have nightmares, ache all over, not sleep, hate going to work—all classic signs of depression. Once the authorities were done with her on the evening her partner Alain was killed by sniper fire, Obion quite her job, took her savings and the clothes on her back, took a cab to the Starport, and, purchasing a High Passage ticket, left Xerxes and its hot, sticky environment forever.
Once at the Highport over Falstaff, Obion, bright, personable, and quite persuasive, was able to forego he standardized computer-driven interview, and wrangled an actual face-to-face interview with someone in Falstaff Stellar Lines’ Personnel Office.
With her medical experience and knowledge of emergency situations, Obion was quickly hired on as an Officer; the 4th Medical Officer and Physician’s Assistant, but still an Officer.
Obion is 1.2m tall, with long, thick black hair, prominent cheekbones, and eyes the color of milky jade. Her skin is pale. Obion is athletic and has very large feet.
While the position rarely provides the adrenaline-dump associated with treating a patient with multiple gunshot wounds, Obion decided pretty quickly that there are worse things than tending to the minor medical maladies one finds aboard a dedicated passenger liner.
Fourth Officer Joplin is cool and professional on the job, as would be expected. Off-duty, Obion chews Stim Stix (a very mild stimulant with an annoying little jingle that’s heard entirely too often on commercial media). She is also a compulsive hand-washer.
Although she hasn’t found anyone to form a trio with, she still keeps her skill up with frequent clarinet practice. Sometimes one can, while travelling through the crew areas of the ship, hear her playing. Thanks to the proximity of a pair of ducts, this music can occasionally be heard in the passenger section.
At one point Obion had done some harmless flirting with one of the Drive Hands, Jimbo McWatt. A few months later, following a long shift, Obion went to her quarters only to find McWatt already inside, naked and greased up, with a large wrench in his hand. Neither she nor McWatt will discuss the incident.
Obion had been with Falstaff Stellar for four years, and had looked forward to eventually retiring with them, but after the McWatt incident, she decided to move on; getting a job with the Reynard Line, with whom she has been the past two years. She has since learned the use of a pistol and is a decent shot.
Obion loves playing backgammon, and is probably good enough to rack up enough credits to keep her in Stim Stix, but she isn’t really a gambler, so rarely plays for money, as she feels it fosters negative emotions.
Obion’s quarters tend towards sheer fabrics draped in front of subdued light sources, and the presence of an almost mind-blowing number of candles. The life support in her stateroom has been modified slightly to produce slight breezes which are able to blow the different wind chimes. There doesn’t seem to be a standard bed, but one corner has a huge mound of pillows. She has several pistols planted throughout her quarters.
Planetside, Obion loves hitting all the TAS-recommended sites with her imaging gear. She certainly puts out the image of the enthusiastic, essentially helpless tourist, but the streetwise Ms. Joplin isn’t that easy a mark. In addition, she has, when local law level permits (and occasionally when it doesn’t), a pair of small pistols secreted on her person.