| Lieutenant Penelope Paris |
 |
| Evangeline Lilly as Penelope Paris |
| Alias: |
Penny |
| Age: |
28 |
| Features: |
Tall-ish and lithe; hazel eyes; freckles; speaks with a south Aerilon accent (something closer to cockney than the Scots/Irish of the north) |
| Colony: |
Aerilon |
| Rank: |
Lieutenant |
| Department: |
Engineering |
| Position: |
Maintenance & Repair |
Lieutenant Penelope Paris was KIA on 19 AUG 2041 AE when she was caught in the blast range of a bomb that the SSLF triggered on Sagittaron. There were no remains to recover.
Background
Penny Paris was born in Glade Valley, Allegheny Province, on Aerilon, the third of four children (two older brothers, Homer and Jason; one younger, Lysander). Her father, Pylades, was a farmer and the son of a farmer; Iphigenia, her mother, as a graceful and devout woman devoted to her children, Demeter and (less publically) Hecate. Though she grew up a bit of a tomboy and wild child, dogging the footsteps of her father and brothers, Penny was closest to her mother (and, perhaps, secretly Iphigenia's favorite). It was only with her daughter, Iphigenia felt, that she could share the mysteries of goddess of magic.
Penny was fascinated with how things worked, both mechanically and mystically. From the time she could walk, she'd take things apart — or break things — so she could watch as they were put back together. When she wasn't at temple (or Iphigenia's personal altar in the woods), Penny tinkered with farm equipment, her father's stills (government subsides only went so far — hooch brought in the rest), and the old crop-duster that doubled as a moonshine delivery vehicle. When she'd mastered these machines, she took to accompanying her father on deliveries to the processors and manufacturing plants that bought the farm's raw leaf. There, she often slipped her father's distracted attention and lost herself in the plants, pestering technicians until they let her see the innards of their bigger, better machines. Some of the techs gave her technical manuals or old textbooks from their apprenticeships or school days — these she devoured, and stripped the wallpaper from her room to use the walls for mechanical drawings and schematics.
She wasn't the brightest student at her school, but she was without question the most driven. She wanted to go to college with a passion, and scholarships were the only way that was ever going to happen for a Aerilon farm girl. Though Valedictorian and a consistent 4.0 didn't mean much in her tiny, backwoods school, there were a number of scholarships available specifically for the children of government subsidized farmers in a certain tax bracket. She applied for them all and cleaned up, earning a free ride for her BS in Mechanical Engineering at Colchis University.
When it came to pursuing her masters, however, the competition for the free money was a LOT more fierce — though she'd worked hard and excelled, she simply couldn't get enough scholarship money to make further study possible. That's where the Colonial Fleet came in: four years and she'd be back in school; another two and she'd go home a hero, overhauling the farm from the ground up and making a wild profit. Somewhere in her enlistment, though, coming home to revolutionize the tobacco growing industry lost its luster — the military had much bigger, shinier, FAR more awesome machines. There was so much she could learn, and here they were — willing to teach her ALL of it.
Home on leave, Ensign Paris confessed her crisis of conscience to her mother, who supported her entirely. Iphigenia had always believed Pennny was destined for greater things than a life on the farm, and convinced her daughter that there was no disloyalty in following her bliss. Though Pylades never entirely forgave his daughter, Penny remained deeply loyal and attached to her family, spending every moment of leave she possibly could back on the farm, helping improve things as much as she could, going to temple with her mother, and staying connected to the simple roots that nourished her.
Penny's enthusiasm, loyalty and talent earned her a number of commendations as an ensign and a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade at the age of 23, only two years into her commission. With her promotion to Lieutenant three years later came the opportunity of a lifetime — assignment to the magnificent, Mercury-class Battlestar Cerberus while she was still being assembled above Leonis. To her pride and joy, Penny's hands were among those that made Cerberus ready for her maiden voyage.
So it was that Penny was one of the lucky ones, spared the wrath of the holocaust that annihilated her home. She performed admirably in the first few days, running on adrenaline and insulated by shock like so many others, and then broke down. She hit the wall, the one inscribed with the epitaphs of everyone she had ever loved, all that had given her life meaning. Unable to deal with the loss, Penny fell apart, her performance and mood crashing into a nearly catatonic depression. She was stabilized with what drugs and therapy could be spared when some many others were on the same raggedy edge — which wasn't much.
After a few weeks, she was determined fit to return to active duty — under regular medical supervision. She takes her pills, she sees the shrink three times a week, and she keeps herself alive with denial. Until she sees an asteroid field where Aerilon used to be, she's going to believe: believe that her family escaped the bombs, somehow. That they're hidden down there. Alive. And if she never sees them again, just their living somehow seems enough reason to stay alive, too.
Immediate Family
Service Jacket
Physical Features
A picture of grace and potential energy, she's slightly taller than average, lithe and deftly hewn from the elegance of her cheekbones to the coltish sweep of her legs. Her skin is pale and lightly freckled, the cinnamon dots concentrated across her nose, cheeks and shoulders. Her eyes are hazel, caramel with a nimbus of gold around the pupil, fringed with thick, dark lashes and set beneath skeptically arched brows; her nose is straight and, taken with the point of her chin, slightly fey. Full lips and a wide, winsome mouth seem to be custom made for a wide and emphatic array of expressions. Her head is crowned by a profusion of wild, dark-chestnut hair, pulled back into an incongruously bouncy ponytail high that swings and bobs when she moves.
Penelope is wearing the dark green navy work coveralls. The coveralls are rugged and flame-resistant, and are complemented by steel-toed work boots. Reinforced dark gray cargo pockets and a handyman belt around her waist hold any necessary tools. On her left sleeve is the black, gold and white Battlestar Cerberus patch, and the pins on her collar show a rank of Lieutenant.
Wrapped several times around her left wrist are a lovely set of antique jet prayer beads, from which dangles a small, silver medalion of Hecate.
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