Caroline Whittaker

**Caroline Whittaker** is an Operative in the Council Recovery Corps.

## Biography

Born to Jason and Sherryl Whittaker, Caroline’s birth was an interesting case. Her parents had moved to Eden Prime late in the year of 2152, when it was founded. At the same time as they were getting out of the shuttle, a crash happened at a nearby landing pad, and both Sherryl and Jason were exposed to eezo, not that they realized it right away. It was only after Caroline was born and exhibited biotic abilities that the couple truly realized what that event had meant for their family. Being a middle class family, it was nigh impossible to get their hands on biotic implants for their child. Still, they did everything in their power to ensure that she had everything she needed to grow with the power. Eventually though, there was simply a point in time where she could not get any further than where she currently stood without an implant.

At the age of ten she was sent on to Gagarin Station at took part in Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, or BAaT. The first few years were pretty nice in her opinion; she was free to test and learn about her power as she saw fit, and the Alliance gave her a shiny new implant. It was slow going, but she made progress here and there. Things really picked up when she was 13, however. It was the year 2166, and introduced to the trainees were new turian trainers. None of them really knew where the trainers came from, but it was clear that they weren’t nice people. Worst among them was Commander Vyrnnus. He was cruel and harsh, everything Caroline thought embodied a bad teacher. Granted, he got the job done. Training clearly got better, and quickly at that. Caroline even learned to use Singularity, Lance, and Sphere under his tutelage.. However, what with students dropping left and right, and even a few dying, Caroline quickly grew to hate the old turian bastard, and she was quite happy when he died.

After Vyrnnus’ death, BAaT was shut down, and Caroline was sent back home. She enrolled into high school and began pursuing a career in education, so she could show kids that not every teacher was bad. Not every teacher was like Vyrnnus. She simply had to prove this to everyone. Thus her journey began. In the time that she was gone, Caroline discovered that her parents had both had been saving money, and they used it to pay for biotic tutors for Carol. When the young woman hit the age of 18, she went off to college to study in Education. At around the same time, she began experimenting with her biotic abilities. It took her a long time to find roommates who were okay with this and supported it, but eventually, she found the right ones, and they went to the gymnasium to practice with things. She honed the powers she currently had, while trying out newer, more benign things that her tutors taught her, like Barrier and Stasis.

After mastering both her control over her biotic abilities and her understanding of the field of Education, Caroline moved on to teach at the local elementary school in Constant, aged 24 years old. While off in college, her parents (now in their early forties/late thirties) had decided that their family wasn’t quite large enough, and had adopted two more children- twins! Named Erika and Shauna Whittaker, the two children were actually old enough for Caroline to actually get the chance to teach them. Enthralled with the idea of being a major part of her sister’s educational experiences, Caroline did her best to teach at the elementary school in a satisfactory matter. The school board actually quite liked the work she did, and so they bumped her up to the middle school level, and then eventually to the high school level. Caroline would spend the remainder of her time in the public education field teaching at the high school level, believing she could make the biggest impact there. She supported programs that helped students in dire need, and even started a sort of “Biotics Club” for those rare few who required training; and she did it for free.

In the year 2185, with the advent of the Coffee Shop Massacre, the Dominion, and the Insurrection, Caroline went ahead and purchased an M-3 Predator, for personal safety. She began visiting the shooting range occasionally and practicing, though even by the time the Insurrection and the Dominion were defeated, she’d still not perfected her aim. With the main threats to her and her loved one’s existence removed, she stopped practicing with firearms and only continued with biotics, deeming the weapon unnecessary. However, with the Terminus Confederacy rising up, she found herself picking up her gun once again and visiting the range, almost out of paranoia. Especially with the second Coffee Shop Massacre, she felt that things were dangerous enough to warrant such armaments once more. As GUARDIAN claimed independence from the Council and established Haven, Caroline viewed the colony as a new opportunity to get out there and reach as many young minds as possible. After all, it was a refugee colony, and those refugees had children that still needed to be taught.

With a goal in mind, Caroline moved to Haven at the earliest convenience and got herself a position at the local school, as a civilian teacher. She started another “Biotics Club”, just so any potential biotic children would have an outlet to train safely and without ridicule in the colony. All the while, Caroline had been thinking that she could be of more use to the galaxy still. GUARDIAN, having founded the refugee colony in the first place, must’ve been a good organization, in her mind. Convincing herself it was the right path, Caroline applied to GUARDIAN in hopes of being made a Biotics Trainer for its operatives and their family members. She’d still work part time at the school, doing what she does best, but she wanted to make a meaningful impact upon the galaxy, and GUARDIAN seemed like the place to do it.

However, another calling came forth before GUARDIAN could get back to Caroline. She was offered a position at Grissom Academy, as Director of the Ascension Project. Her work as a biotic instructor had not gone unnoticed in the grand scheme of things, and Grissom wagered she could do more good there than in GUARDIAN. She agreed, unknowingly dodging a bullet with the imminent destruction of Haven and most of GUARDIANs assets.

As one conflict ended and another began, Caroline's paranoia and fear caused her great stress. That an organization like GUARDIAN could be so thoroughly destroyed in a single day made her wonder if her family would be safe. There were reports of things happening beyond the Traverse, nothing concrete, but sinister nonetheless. She took leave time to go back to Eden Prime, worried for her family. Her worries were unfounded; the kids were happy, her parents were in good health. Nothing was wrong. And in the moment that Caroline' s fears were dispelled, they all came to life at once.

The attack was unlike anything she had ever witnessed. Her father was the first to go, giving up his life while urging his family to flee. Her mother threw herself in the way of a Cannibal to stop it from consuming one of the children. Caroline almost lost a sibling to a Brute; it still shattered her legs, but Caroline pulled her little sister away before further damage could be wrought. Her other sister was lucky to remain unscathed, at least physically. It was a GUARDIAN team that became their salvation, pulling them from the wreck that was once their home and delivering them to safety.

The Whittaker family was devastated. Erika had been paralyzed from the waist down; Shauna remained catatonic for nearly a year after the event, and has need mute ever since. And Caroline? She coped the only way she knew how; by returning to teaching. It wasn't the same as before; more hollow. Many a night she cried herself to sleep, wishing she'd been wrong, that her fears had just been things in the darkness. And, in the end, a sort of calm settled over the woman. It wouldn't happen again. It couldn't. She became more lively again, but in a different way. Her students noticed the difference; their training was magnitudes more difficult than before. Their teacher wasn't just preparing them for the workforce; she was preparing them to defend themselves and their friends. She couldn't be there to protect each of them, but she could give them the knowledge to protect themselves.

For four years she did this. Even after GUARDIAN destroyed the Reapers, she still kept at it. Because deep in her mind she feared the return of the creatures. She'd let herself be fooled once, but not again. There was still danger lurking in the galaxy. It was proven by the Batarian rebellion, the millions of refugees, and people who needed help. After an eventful staff meeting, it was decided that the Ascension Project would be lent to recovery efforts, to help speed them along and paint a good picture of human biotics. Caroline was in charge of it, thusly she became the Academy's liaison to the CRC when the organization was formed, and strives to help protect people as best she can.

## Personality

Caroline is, even at a mere glance, a teacher. With every action she takes she tried to impart some wisdom on another, or learn more so that she can advise people on more things. The woman is always studying, always seeking to improve herself, very rarely taking time off or anything. Her idea of relaxing is to be learning something new. This does, however, leave something to be desired in her life; she feels like she's missing something, though what she does not know.

Whilst teaching biotics specifically, Caroline unwittingly takes on something of a "drill sergeant" persona. It's sort of a remnant from her time at BAat, a subconscious drive telling her that "this is the way biotics are taught". Her nature prevents her from being truly cruel, but she is a hard trainer, and will push her students to their absolute limits before letting them rest. Because of this she is both loved and feared by most of her trainees; she will make them give 110%, one way or another. She looks at each individual and thinks of new ways to motivate them, whilst giving them the common goal of merely surviving through the day. After they're done, she softens, allowing them good rest and praising them on a job well done. But don't let her catch someone slacking, or they'll get a real chewing out.

Caroline regards her parents with love, particularly her mother, for putting up with her biotics and everything. She views herself as someone who must “encourage the next generation to do better than the ones that came before them”. Caroline regards war and the concept of killing stoically. On the one hand, it’s something she’d never wish upon anyone else, to have to kill someone. It’s a terrible act and it should only be done to the most heinous of criminals. On the other hand, she has no qualms about bringing harm upon those who would hurt her loved ones. She has even fewer qualms about killing those who would threaten the lives of her students. It is one of the few hypocrisies she allows herself, to condemn killers but be certainly willing to hurt someone if they came after her and hers. This stems from a deep paranoia that her family is always in danger, after the attack on Eden Prime claimed her parents and nearly her siblings too.

## Physical Description

Standing above average height for human women, Caroline cuts a lithe figure. She works out, certainly, but the effects of such exercise are not immediately noticeable to her figure. She isn’t massively ripped nor does she have rock hard abs. However, she’s by no means weak. Caroline knows better than to rely on her biotics for all her strength, and thus she’s built up a nice layer of muscle to go along with it.

With skin the color of coffee, Caroline can trace her heritage back to classical America, and further back to Africa. Her eyes are of a similar chocolate-y brown hue, and her black hair is cut to a short bob. In the classroom, she always wears a white, red, and black uniform which she always keeps several spares of. In general public, she dresses out a bit, sometimes going for sundresses, other days with jeans and a jacket, or shorts and a t-shirt if it’s particularly hot. She prefers outfits with a primary warm/light color accented by cool/dark colors.

### Armament

* M-3 Predator
* 6' monomolecular blade

### Abilities

* Sphere
* Lance
* Singularity
* Stasis
* Barrier