Maia Jacques

A “colony kid”, Maia always dreamed of more. A no-nonsense technological savant, she went into service on local starships before most people have had their first kiss, earning a reputation as the ‘go to’ for keeping a ship in the air. It was no surprise when she was approached to join the crew of the Dauntless, but it was the thrill she’d been looking for. Finally, the chance to break through the barrier of colonial space and see what’s really out there!

## **Strengths**

#### Ship Whisperer

* A gifted engineer you have a natural intuition for machines and know what makes a ship tick no matter who built it. It’s almost as if they can speak to you.

#### Cool Under Fire

* You’ve seen some shit in your day, so it’s going to take more than robot assassins and crazed human/alien hybrids to stop you from doing your job!

#### One of the Guys

* Don’t let the boobs fool you. She can burp, fart, and swear with the best of them, and she’ll drink you under the table while doing it.

#### Astute

* You have a knack for reading people and can easily discern who to trust and who to avoid with little more than casual observation. This makes you a bastard to play poker with.

#### Smooth Talker

* Sure you have a tendency to occasionally put your foot in your mouth, but when you ARE on your game you can talk the panties off a nun.

#### Gambler

* You know when to hold’m. When to fold’m. When to walk away. And when to run.

#### Good Ears

* Engine bays are loud. The ability to single out and identify a noise is what sets you apart from others in your field.

#### Bloodhound

* You’ve got a solid intuition and methodology when it comes to piecing together problems into a bigger picture.

#### Tricks of the Trade

* Sometimes you have what you need, and sometimes you have to improvise.

#### Quick Thinking

* You have the ability to assess and act with a clear mind when shit hits the fan.

#### Mind Over Matter

* It’s taken years of martial arts (and heavy drinking), but you can usually refocus your efforts to overcome all but the most debilitating obstacles. It’s just a flesh wound!

#### What Doesn't Kill You...

* You’ve stared Death in the face so many times he’s sending you Christmas cards. Fortunately you’re resilient and a quick healer. So long as you’re still breathing, you’ll be back on your feet in no time.

#### Spinner of Yarns

* This isn’t your first rodeo. You’ve seen and done a lot and have the scars to prove it. Scars make good stories, and stories make good ice breakers. When all else fails, nothing beats a good diversion.

## **Weaknesses**

#### Trust Issues

* You’ll give just about anyone (or anything) a first chance, but you’re not so quick with a second. You know what they say: Fool me once…

#### I’m a Mechanic, John, Not a Doctor!

* Machines, computers, even robotics are things you can wrap your brain around, but the nuances of the scientific process are a bit beyond you.

#### Dead on Your Feet

* You passed the point of exhaustion hours ago and your reserves are running on reserves.

#### Risk Taker

* You didn’t get where you are by playing it safe, and sometimes taking a chance is exactly what the situation calls for. This is not necessarily one of those times.

## **Subplots**

#### Secure Your Future

* You want to be remembered. You want to make a dent in history.

#### Avenge the Fallen

* You’ve never been a soldier. You’re battle trained, but your comfort zone has always been in the bowels of the ship with your machines. Darryl’s fate altered that. You need to finish what was started. For him, and for anyone that could become him.

#### Pick Up the Pieces

* You’ve been through the ringer. Now’s the time to regroup and recoup. There’s more on the horizon and you need to be ready.

## **Maia in "The Terminus"**

#### Background Details

* "She once pulled together a system that had been actively on fire and gotten it running well enough to traverse the few parsecs back to the colony from whence it came. Saved the hides of the morons that had tried to push it harder than it was built to go, too…" (1.2)
* “*I knew your boy, [Max]…  I didn’t know him well, but he passed through a couple of arms engineering talks I did at the academy…  He was damn smart, your guy…  Had crazy dexterity when dismantling delicate weaponry. I tried to lure him into engineering, but he was hellbent on seeing action. Seemed horrified at the notion of being stuck on the ship when there was shootin’ to be done…  Before the Dauntless wooed me over I served on one of the transport ships that shuttle between the Omega colony and Lincoln station.The Siren. I remember seeing him on a trip out…*” (2.1)
* “*I grew up with four brothers…  I’m the youngest and the next closest had four years on me. They like to refer to me as the happy accident.  My parents both worked at the base and had long hours, so my brothers were my keepers. I know it drove them nuts to have their little sister running around after them, but I loved it. Have always been more interested in getting covered in dirt and grease than throwing a tea party and wearing frilly shit.*
	+ “*When I was six, my oldest brother decided it would be hilarious to line my favourite hat in rubber cement. I had this crazy long, thick hair that I always wore in loose braids, was the only girly thing about me, and the cement just fused to every strand. He had a really good laugh until he realised it wouldn’t come out with shampoo.  I don’t remember how he managed to convince me to shave my head, but I idolized him, so I let him do it. When my parents got home I told them it had been my idea, because I didn’t want him to get into trouble. It was summer and I was always hot as hell, so it was actually kinda a relief to be without it. It became our private joke after that.*
	+ “*[Josh] died in an accident at the base before I went into Basic. The details are sketchy, but I guess someone got themselves chewed up in something and he was trying to help pull them free. Other dude lost an arm, but otherwise walked. Josh wasn’t so lucky. I shaved my head for the funeral, because I knew he’d laugh his ass off about it, and just kinda kept it. I grew the ponytail in to spice things up a bit.*” (2.1)
* “Her brain rattled through the various ship classes she’d worked with until she recalled her time on Lincoln Station, just before she’d gone aboard The Siren. It was there that something niggled at her memory: The cantina on Lincoln station… she’d been enjoying a night off when a certain Darryl James had introduced her to a couple of things that had made the evening infinitely more interesting. Not least of which was a tour of the brand new exploration starship he’d shipped out on the next morning.” (4.1)
* “She opened her eyes at the sound of Darryl’s voice and saw him there as though it were yesterday. His easy smile, the mischievous sparkle in his eyes, the casual demeanor that belied what a deadly soldier he was.” (4.1)
* Magellan Commander’s logs from March 19, 2183: “*Magellan seems stable after her FTL jump; remember to thank Petty Officer Jacques for system tweaks suggested to the Chief. Her CO should promote her."* (4.1)
* “*You remember our last shore duty together? When we were on Columbia station?... We’d left the club and were at that greasy diner trying to sober up before heading back to the barracks. Got to talking about the future and the sorts of heavy shit that falls out of your brain after too many shots. You’d said you were getting bored, remember? That the cruisers and shit were steady and paid well, but you felt stale, like a cog in a wheel that nobody turned anymore... [You] said [you] wanted to go down in history,... Then [you] puked across the table*.” (5.2)
* “[Touring the *Magellan,*] she’d never seen anything its equal. Machinery she’d only seen specs of hummed along the walls of the corridors leading down to an utterly immaculate engine room, which itself was massive, but nearly bare of systems in order to make room for the ship’s hyperdrive. A piece of machinery Maia’d seen a prototype of, but hadn’t realised existed in production.” (5.2)
* “[Lily had] started shy until they got to talking about the drive and other systems, then she came alive and the depth of her knowledge had imbedded itself in Maia’s brain.” (5.2)
* “The angry tirade Lily had gone on after discovering she’d been duped indicated clearly that future contact was most certainly out of the question, and indeed they hadn’t spoken since. Not even at the memorial service Fleet had thrown for the lost Magellan team.” (5.2)
* “She didn’t know [Kevin] well enough to know if he was familiar with anyone on the [Magellan] crew, but she nevertheless knew he understood loss and was clearly reading it on her.” (5.2)
* “While slightly above average height, Maia was still a visibly thin woman, but her years of wrestling with enormous engine components, and a great deal of both formal and informal combat training, had made her deceptively strong.” (6.2)
* “Back in the day, after her brother’s death, she’d drowned herself in work, and a bit of whiskey. She’d get lost in her projects. Sometimes weeks would pass with her immersed in building, testing, and tweaking. She’d eat on the job and take only the time necessary to bathe and nap before going back to work. Being freshly admitted to the Fleet made that easy. Tons to learn and plenty of opportunities to stay buried. With her parents gone, and her other siblings busy with their own lives, it didn’t matter to anyone what she was doing to herself. Then she’d met Darryl and was reminded how good it was to be with family.” (6.2)

* “She’d suspected, of course, that it was Darryl who had led the expedition. Besides having both rank and experience, certain things he’d said during that night before launch had led her to suspect there was more to his new assignment than just adventure in retirement. It had taken a hell of a lot of tequila, but he’d eventually let it slip that he’d been specifically approached for the mission, as opposed to volunteering, which he’d initially intimated. He’d likely already been briefed on the purpose of the mission when he’d sought her out. Was that why he hadn’t pulled strings to get her aboard? Why he’d made sure Lily was left behind?” (6.2)
* “One thing growing up with a bunch of rowdy boys taught her was it’s futile to try and match muscles against a superior opponent, so use a different strength.” (6.2)
* “Hustling to the shuttle, she bypassed the entry hatch’s security code with a trick she’d learned from her brothers as a miscreant youth. It took half a second (a piece of wire, and a screw driver) to convince the door to pop open and deploy the retractable stairs.” (9.1)
* “*Note to self: Profusely thank trainer for all those sparring sessions.”* (9.1)
* “Ten years ago she’d been a new recruit with a chip on her shoulder and he’d already been seasoned beyond his years. With no concept of boundaries or propriety he’d pissed her off instantly, and continued to do so at every opportunity since.  He’d also helped her through one of the hardest moments of her life. The death of her brother still very fresh, he’d seen right through her cold attitude and used his innate ability to get under a person’s skin to befriend her and pull her through it.  He’d been there for her when she’d most needed someone, and now it was her turn to be there for him.” (9.2)
* “Blood didn’t bother her.  Never had.  She was a rough and tumble kid, with siblings to match, so open wounds and broken bones were a nearly daily occurrence growing up.  Death, however, was something she’d never had a great time coping with…” (10.2)
* Mitch: “*Anyone drinks that much whiskey is either miserable or hidin’ somethin*’.” (11.1)
* “*You still owe me twenty credits for that bet [Hapley].*” (11.1)
* “There were a couple of things Maia had never been too keen on: scorpions, and outward shows of emotion…  When her parents had died, she’d bottled it. When her brother died, she’d bottled it. When Darryl died the first time, she drank the bottle, as seemed fitting. She’d reached a few breaking points on *Magellan*, though under those circumstances she figured she could’ve been much worse, and apparently she’d be drinking another bottle in Darryl’s honour when the world turned right side up again, but overall she was the sort to keep her shit together and deal with the fallout later, without witnesses.”  (11.1)
* “She’d been in trouble enough times to know that when someone told her to just tell them everything and things would go better for her, it rarely went much better.” (43.1)
* “*I’m surprised you didn’t bring up the time you saved my father from a rabid bear in Yosemite.* The admiral chuckled, *I never show my full hand on the first deal, Captain. You know that*.” (43.1)
* “One of the benefits of growing up a military brat is you get to know the people behind the shiny shit pinned to their chests, and while Maia could hardly claim him as a friend, she did know Admiral Davis to be a reasonable individual.” (43.1)

#### Important Story Events

* She remembers Darryl James’ login credentials for the systems on *Magellan --* *Username: DJames9152141; Password: t1ght@$$l0v1n*(4.1)
* In a memory, Maia remembers her last meeting with Darryl James in the cantina on Lincoln Station, where she subsequently toured the *Magellan* and met Lily. (5.2)
* Picked up a plasma grenade, medkit refills, and a double barrel shotgun from the *Magellan* armory. (5.3)
* Discovered that her best friend, Darryl James, was the *Magellan* team leader that touched the alien artifact and slaughtered everyone on board his ship. (6.2)
* Came face-to-face with the mutated alien beast that Darryl had become, forced to fight him and flee. (7.1)
* Forced to end the life of Darryl after he’d turned into an alien beast. (9.2)
* After making it back to the *Dauntless* and ditching the bulky hostile environment suits, the crew is now clothed in their casual navy blue uniforms. (10.1)
* Taken into custody on the *Hermes*. Restrained in the Med Bay due to her many injuries -- laser shot to the shoulder, broken ribs, etc. (43.1)

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