|
|
Tara is a character on OtakuMUSH, and is the intellectual property of her player.
Tara Elizabeth Valentine was born on the Earth colony New Brittany. The fourth of four children, the only girl born to her parents, and the youngest of her many cousins, she was spoiled rotten for the first four years of her life. Her father didn't like what he saw coming, and so he sent her to a private school on the other side of the planet. Faced with the unyielding discipline there, she shaped up fairly quickly (to an extent) and returned permanently to her family when she was ten. Although she was no longer a brat, that didn't stop her from getting into trouble. As far as Tara was concerned, rules were meant to be broken.
That's why her family was more than a little dubious when she applied to the AF Academy. They tried to convince her the military wasn't for her, but as usual, she didn't heed the warnings. All her life she'd wanted to fly in space, and this was her ticket to that dream. As she'd never done anything to elicit official notice, and she met the other requirements, she had no trouble getting in. That's when the beginning of the end started. As always, her marks were excellent- her attitude wasn't. By the time graduation came around, her record held any number of incidents.
The first halfblack laid on her came while she was waiting for the Taggart- the cruiser she'd been assigned to after graduation- to come into port. In the meantime, she was stuck with shuttle duty. Afterwards, she admitted she and another pilot probably shouldn't have been playing chicken. "But," she noted smugly at the hearing, "I won." The other pilot, who'd never been beaten at the game before then, crashed. It was only by sheer luck he wasn't killed. Tara actually behaved herself after that, but everybody knew it wouldn't last. Thankfully, the Taggart arrived shortly thereafter.
Released from the confines of both the Academy and the base, Tara finally let loose. Within four months on board, she'd racked up a record number of times at Captain's Mast (she stopped keeping count after number nine) as well as countless minor disciplinary incidents with the Lieutenants. And with each incident, she became more determined to come out on top (i.e. get away with her antics), and the following time the infraction would be just a little bit worse. At one point she strung along a pair of her roommates, playing one against the other, until the pair came to blows and one of them had a nervous breakdown. (She had run a betting pool among the enlisted ranks, of course, on which would give out first, and won quite a bundle of giros. Her excuse- "I never thought it'd go that far!" The Captain didn't buy it.) It was, of course, during this time that she grew to respect the creativity of her Captain, Riley Addison, but at the same time she was rather scornful that he was unable to stop her. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect a truly damaging catastrophe to result from her actions, but inevitably, that's exactly what happened.
Several years after it happened, Addison summed it up well:
And that was it. Addison laid a well-deserved halfblack on her (not that she'll ever admit it was deserved, of course) and she was summarily dismissed from the AF. After getting over the shock of it, Tara did a bit of wandering, squandered her money, and found herself stuck on a mining planet among its seediest citizens. A bit wiser, disowned by her family, and with a strong resentment toward the AF and especially toward Captain Addison, Tara finally found her niche when she was hired by a local smuggler to navigate for him. She learned the tricks of the trade and after a few years struck out on her own, buying her ship Pyrite Phoenix with giros given her by her boss.
Now it's been several years since the AF tossed her out, and her successful smuggling has brought her to Linnae and Copper Hill, the seat of Alliance government. To her surprise and dismay, she found that it's Addison, now an Admiral, in charge of local Security. Unable to resist an opportunity to be a thorn in his side, and finding that she rather likes the area, she's made Copper Hill her home base.
Ohhh boy, that's a toughie. Well, first of all, Tara's not a 'bad' person. Her ethics and morals are intact- just a little skewed at times. She's grown up quite a bit since she was drummed out of the service. For example, whereas before she wouldn't think twice about using others for her own amusement (as she did with her roomates) she'd never do something like that today. (There is an exception to this- Riley Addison. See below.) She's quite comfortable among the denizens of the underworld, and will go out of her way to help those down on their luck. She cares about folks- she's simply embarrassed about it at times. Of course, most people would never guess this from her cocky attitude. She always wears a mask of carelessness, the better to both be underestimated and impress her customers. Tara's also got a temper that's not easily leashed, and that's gotten her into trouble more than once.
Addison- now here's a subject Tara's never come to terms with. While she was aboard the Taggart, Tara was sure he was the devil incarnate. "He came down like a ton of bricks on the least little infraction," was the way she put it once. That was fairly accurate- the man had a ship to run, after all, and there were regs to consider. By any commander's standards, he went easy on her, giving her many more chances to shape up than could be expected from a Captain. But to this day, Tara refuses to believe that. She underestimated him from the start, believing him weak because no punishment he gave her could phase her for very long. When she was drummed out of the service, her resentment of him bloomed into outright anger and hatred. She even went so far as to keep track of him for a little while, hoping to exact revenge. Eventually, after she was on her feet again, she stopped hating him, and even joked that he'd done her a favor. But she never really forgave him for shattering her dreams of glory in the AF. And now that she's met up with him, old confusing feelings have flared. He's a constant reminder of what she's lost- how can she resist getting a little of her own back at him? She's not making the mistake of underestimating him again- in fact, she's rather wary. She's well aware of what he could do to her if she goes over the line, and a healthy dose of fear keeps her from doing so. Of course, that won't stop her from being a minor yet constant irritation...
It's A Small Universe- In which Addison and Tara meet again for the first time in seven years
Pre-Complex
Beached- The beginning
Anno-Complex
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do- Riley wins again, as Kyara makes a hard decision (this would normally be a log, but as Tara and Kya are both my chars, I find it difficult to RP with myself. ;)
Graphics by Design Originals
Tara's History
"She was navigator on duty as we were headed into a warzone. She'd checked the nav charts a couple hours before, and instead of re-checking them set course based on the old numbers so she could save time to spend gambling on the bridge. Well, the charts'd been updated, and we ended up in the middle of a solar anomaly that shot half the ship's systems for hours and hours...While we headed, unchecked, towards combat... The chief engineer and I managed to get things back online enough to get our tails back out of the sector long enough to get it all in working order. We were within half an hour of the point of no return though."
Personality
Logs
It's Not My Fault!- In which Tara tries to do a good thing, and her usual bad luck with Addison steps in
A Chat With Addison- In which Tara and Addison kick legs out from under each other's world views
Tangling With Security- In which Tara, Roland, and Ali hunt down Guido, and Tara has a bit of a disagreement with Security
Down the Rabbit Hole (Pt. 1 of 2)- Tara tags along with Riley and Niko as they investigate some kidnappings, and gets more than she bargained for
Down the Rabbit Hole (Pt. 2 of 2)- Actual chatting with Addison, and dealing with revelations
Wax and Feathers- Could Tara actually live without hating Addison? Maybe...
Masks- The weird and wacky costume ball
I Need A Vacation, But I Didn't Have This In Mind!- Tara gets arrested. Surprise ending!
Helping Hands- After Tara's return, she finds herself needing some help
More Than Skin Deep- A chat with Clara reveals a little more than Tara expects
Helloooo Handsome!- Tara meets up with Niko again
And Now... The Rest Of The Story- A bit more of Tara's mysterious past revealed
Who Needs Sodium Pentathol When Pizza's Available?- Chatting and pizza with Clara, with some startling revelations on the doctor's part
Talk About Your Blonde Bombshells...- Clara meets and examines Tara's little secret
Clara's A Smooth Operator?- The operation
Girl Talk- Late night chatting in STC
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On- Lotsa fun- Greer's released from STC and meets Niko; Tara jumps to some really wrong conclusions
Hickory Dickory Dock- Greer makes some new friends and wreaks havoc on biological clocks (Warning- High cuteness content in this one)
Bearding The Fluffy Lion?- A chat with Riley, cuteness rays, and a chat with Ali too
There's No Business Like Snow Business- Finances, blackmail, and girltalk, oh my!
Tasty Men And Fudge Giants- Tara meets Ali's fiance, and later chats with Clara over dinner
Slumber Party- Minor non-angsty surgery, and Greer has the time of her life spending the night with Clara
Heroes- Dinner with Clara and Niko. Cuteness factor provided by Greer
Juggling- Tara and Greer meet an interesting (blue-haired) dude on the playground
Dinner and Dessert- Business finalized, and a very pleasant evening indeed
Of Horses and Friends- Niko makes Greer's day, if not her whole year
Fiction
Down and Out- Set a year after 'Beached', we find Tara in rather bad straits
New Day- Tara gets a break
