Monica Selkridge

Doctor **Monica Addison Selkridge** is a human social psychologist and academic.

## Biography

Born in an isolated coastal town in Greenland, one of the few frontiers remaining on Earth, Monica descends from a long line of scientists and great thinkers long credited as experts in each of their respective fields. Her father was a lauded psychoanalyst while her mother specialized in paleoanthropology, and when the time came for Monica to determine her own field of study, she blended her parents' fields together and earned a doctorate in social psychology.

Monica was a dedicated humanist whose work led her on expeditions all over the world, learning firsthand the ins and outs of each culture and society she immersed herself in. With a direct, hands-on approach that was unusual for many who shared her profession, Dr. Selkridge was able to experience life differently than those around her, and eventually, her travels paired her up with Arwin Silverman, an upbeat, excitable archaeologist who shared Monica's love of the world and its people. The two of them forged a bond that went far beyond that of mere colleagues, and in the years they spent together they found true meaning and purpose.

The pair married in 2154, and Monica took up a teaching position at one of Earth's most prestigious universities later that same year. She loved being in the field, but was equally eager to pass her enthusiasm on to the young minds of the future.

In 2157, though, humankind encountered intelligent extraterrestrial life for the first time, and the world's leaders were in a panic as they tried to figure out how to proceed. Monica and Arwin were chosen to join a team of the world's best and brightest minds whose mission was to draft a practical first-contact protocol for the Alliance. As the conflict with the turians came to a quick and decisive end and humanity was exposed to the galaxy at large, Monica's sociological insight was a key part of why introductions with the other species went so well. Her efforts received planet-wide recognition in the aftermath of it all, and though Monica was glad to have helped, she was glad when all of the attention around her finally subsided.

With a whole slew of new societies and cultures to explore, Monica took an extended sabbatical from her position at the university to travel with Arwin on the *SSV Boongaree* in 2160. By the end of her sabbatical, she was still not satiated, however, and decided to formally withdraw from teaching in favor of new discoveries at her husband's side. For nearly ten years, the two of them found adventure from Kahje to the farthest reaches of the Milky Way, and provided invaluable research to the scientific community with every new excursion.

As a result, it came as no surprise when Arwin was one of humanity's top picks for an interspecies expedition on Klendagon in 2169. He didn't hesitate to accept, and Monica made no attempt to stop him; an archaeological dig like this was what Arwin had been dreaming of his entire life, and would never stand in the way of that - though that was something she would eventually come to regret.

Monica's husband ventured beneath Klendagon's surface one day in 2174, only to vanish without a trace. The rescue efforts to find him and his missing party were swift and extensive, lasting the better half of the year, but when no clue as to where they'd gone or what had happened was found his grand expedition was halted indefinitely, and the searches were called off. But both Monica and Arwin's colleague, Dr. Daleris T'Mari, fervently believed the lost archaeologists to still be alive, and the two of them have worked together ever since to try and find answers.

After so many years, though, both hope and credits are in short supply, and Monica knows that she must soon face the reality that Arwin will likely never return. But until that day comes, until someone drags her off of Klendagon kicking and screaming, she refuses to give up.

## Personality

* Despondent
* Insightful
* Methodical
* Tenacious
* Caring

## Physical Description

Retaining some of humanity's more recessive traits, Monica is a striking woman with straw blonde hair and vivid grey eyes that remain clear and sharp - even as time has begun to take its toll on the rest of her. Her pale, porcelain skin is marred with wrinkles and worry lines, and in recent months her body has gradually grown weaker in the wake of Monica's recusal from the fieldwork she once lived for. It's obvious just seeing her that Dr. Selkridge is folding under the pressure of her own emotions; her shoulders sag, her eyes droop, and the vivacious personality she was so well known for has faded to a mere echo of what it once was. Monica has nearly lost the little bit of hope that she's clung to so desperately in the year since her husband's disappearance.

## Armament

### Combat Arms

Monica carries an M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol just in case, and her omni-tool is equipped with the combat abilities Energy Drain and Neural Shock.