Birdy McCourt

**Birdy McCourt** is a human colonist formerly of Elysium, responsible for a series of murders in the Celestial Church during the Skyllian Blitz.

## Biography

Originally a sheltered young Christian from the midwestern United North American States, Birdy's life didn't truly begin until after the discovery of alien life in 2157. Following the First Contact War, with organized religion in shambles, for the first time ever she was finally free of the constraints that had held her back for so long. Having gained the courage to strike out on her own and see what the galaxy had to offer, Birdy was among the first of the colonists to put down roots on Elysium and begin anew.

With the support of the Alliance behind it, Elysium flourished, and Birdy with it. Now a teacher, she felt she was finally doing something she could be proud of, though she still didn't truly feel like she belonged among the stars. So, when she heard of a small religious organisation aptly named The Celestial Church, who claimed their intent was to help people feel at ease in their strange new reality, it felt like fate. Initially Birdy was simply happy to have a guiding figure in her life again in the form of the Church's leader, Solomon Heartley, but things between them quickly developed into something more.

Birdy became absolutely infatuated with Solomon, and the longer she was with him the more willing she was to give everything up to be with him. Though she was hardly the only woman in the Celestial Church that Solomon slept with, Birdy wholeheartedly believed that he cared for her the most, and she proved her devotion to him by having his first child in 2167. Two more followed, in 2168 and 2171, until a string of miscarriages created a barrier between Solomon and Birdy and led him to shift his attention onto other women within the Church.

Jealousy that had been stewing for years under the surface finally boiled over in 2176, in the midst of the Skyllian Blitz. While taking shelter in the church, Birdy murdered Balara Shah and Juniya Choi, two of Solomon's mistresses, before confronting him with the choice of staying faithful to her alone or dying with them. When she was found by Alliance marines after the Blitz was successfully repelled, she was manic and covered in blood, screaming that pirates had gotten into the church and killed them all. She was brought to a hospital first, then a mental health facility when it became clear that the only help she needed was psychological. She was there for three years before finally being deemed well enough to be released, and where she went from there is a mystery.

## Personality

* Calculating
* Disturbed
* Melancholic
* Resentful

## Physical Description

Birdy is a fairly small woman, with pale, freckle-smattered skin, amber hued eyes, and unusually vibrant red hair that flows down her back in wild, uncontrollable curls. The youthful beauty she once possessed has been lost to time and hardship, with her face now gaunt, her eyes dark and sunken, and her lips dry and cracked. Looking at her, one's first thought would likely be that she was on drugs - and while understandable, they would be wrong. Though Birdy has deteriorated physically, her mind - though damaged - remains her deadliest asset.