Mieczyslaw Olkowska

Mieczyslaw (Misha) Olkowski - Born 1950, older brother of Marta Olkowska.

The pride and joy of the Olkowski family, Mieczyslaw was born in Poznań in 1950 to a father (Ziemowit) who worked in the coal industry (the large mine of Konin is nearby) and a mother (Krystyna) who worked as a secretary for a governmental agency. Always gregarious and outgoing, Mieczyslaw charmed everyone who met him from a young age. As he grew through childhood, his athletic gifts began to manifest. His father enjoyed cross-country skiing, and a combination of Mieczyslaw's natural talents and his mother's political connections landed him an opportunity to participate with the Polish youth biathlon team, where he excelled.

Mieczyslaw was an average student until late in his secondary school years, where he began to blossom academically as well. His family figured that he'd simply matured and begun applying himself as rigorously to his studies as he had to competing in the biathlon, but that was not the case. Under the immense pressure to perform and represent his family well, and finding himself incapable of receiving the marks he needed in school in addition to his other activities, Mieczyslaw began bullying others to complete his assignments for him. His younger sister Marta even wrote papers for him, particularly when it came to the sciences. She adored and idolized him, but Mieczyslaw never really noticed or felt he had much time for her with all the pressure he was under.

At 18, 2 notable events happened for Mieczyslaw. Firstly, he competed for Poland in the winter Olympics in the biathlon. He failed to medal, finishing 17th, but it was still a strong showing from a region of the Soviet Union not known for strong biathlon competitors. He also began his compulsory military service. He longed for some time out of the spotlight after the pressure his family and the Olympics had placed on him. But unfortunately for him, his reputation as an excellent marksman preceded him, and he was placed under mighty expectations to prove his worth, now as a soldier.

Placed in a training regiment for young men with aptitude for marksmanship, Mieczyslaw struggled at first to rise above the average. But soon enough he learned from some of the other members of the regiment that the CO had been providing some of them with diazepam to help their shooting performance. Always willing to succeed at any cost, Mieczyslaw began taking the drug as well, and his performance as a sniper became elite.

A combination of his innate physical strength, marksmanship abilities, and charm saw him recommended for higher education and an officership, so in 1972, Mieczylsaw attended university in Wroclaw where he focused on Marxism and political science. Truth be told, he was happy to step away from the military for a time, as he felt he might be developing a dependency on diazepam. But soon enough, the shortcuts he'd taken back in secondary school caught up with him, and his marks began to suffer. He began using coercion, bullying and intimidation to get others to do his work for him... and he kept on using diazepam sourced from connections from the military, when he needed to calm his nerves.

Ultimately Mieczyslaw performed well enough in university and became an officer and was assigned to liason duties within the Soviet army. His new CO's made sure Mieczyslaw knew that this was a purely token appointment, something to give the Polish people some pride, their Olympic boy now an officer in a more prestigious unit. Aggravated by the insult, Mieczyslaw applied himself diligently for 5 years and excelled earning praise both on and off the battlefield. His habit of using diazepam remained a struggle, but with his charms, he hid it well, and made sure that anyone that would threaten to reveal his secret didn't stay around long. The only issue was that as the situation in Europe began to deteriorate, diazepam became harder and harder to come by, so Mieczyslaw often had to make do with raiding the medical supplies for painkillers instead.

In 1980, the death of his father to a heart attack, the absence of his sister in the family, and a developing hand tremor that could only be calmed with downers caused Mieczyslaw to decide to retire from the military and take up what amounted to cushy office job with the recently formed Wydział Zabezpieczenia (Security Department, i.e. anti-domestic terrorism). He'd hoped to use this new appointment to get himself healthy, take care of his grieving mother, and maybe even see what had become of his sister. It was during this time that in order to assist with his new role, he became fluent in English. But over the next few years, his sister was nowhere to be found, his mother died as well, and his cushy job turned into the very serious business of stamping out western sponsored insurgents trying to undermine the authority of the Polish People's Republic. And of course, his loyal comrade, his addiction, stayed with him all the while.

As the situation worsened and conflict began to rage across Europe, Mieczyslaw was brought back into the army, this time as a special forces soldier. He was stationed on the western edge of Poland in Lubusz, nearby his hometown, and ordered to remain there and conduct rear guard actions as the Soviet forces retreated. But as bombs began to fall and the situation unraveled all around him, Mieczslaw gave up his fight and simply walked along with the column of NATO troops, logistics and generally displaced persons back to Poznań. His linguistic talent for English and charms helped him escape detection, and to sneak some pain killers from medical tents from time to time by sweet talking the nurses. With most of his family dead, Europe smoldering and irradiated, and his homeland mired in war, he returned to his hometown in hopes of locating the only person he had any remaining connection to, his sister Marta. Though they hadn't spoke in decades, he'd hoped she might have the same idea as him, and at very least they wouldn't be alone in this new hellish world.

He was right, as he did spot Marta wandering the ruined streets near their old apartment block (whom he recognized from family photos that his parents had), but her reaction to him was less warm than he'd hoped. But maybe it was to be expected. He'd never been a good brother after all. But with nothing else to live for and only each other left, they decided to travel together and find a way to... find a way.

Mieczyslaw likes to think of himself as a good person, but perhaps it's easier to think of him as 2 people. He does try to do right by others that place expectations on him, and his heart is often in the right place. But he lacks self awareness and has yet to notice that a lifetime of being at the center of attention has made him self-centered. And of course, he has a habit that he needs to feed. He leads with his charisma, tries to resolve conflicts in ways which benefit both partiers, but when the urges get too strong, or when something threatens he and his, he will do what needs done, just like a good solider.

**Moral code**: Always look out for you and yours above all else. Do what it takes so that people think well of you, though it's better if you are doing good things. People who think well of you will help you.

**Big Dream**: Rebuild his own family by surviving long enough to restore a healthy relationship with Marta. Find a place where they can have a home and be safe. Maybe have a family of his own one day.