Babbage

Description

Robin Babbage is a lithe woman of just under six feet. She has black hair that's moussed into a spiky look, and wears very little makeup. Her brown eyes can be seen through the lenses of a pair of plastic-framed glasses. Her breasts are fairly small considering her height, roughly the size of large apples. Always present on her left ring finger is a simple gold wedding band.

Babbage wears a black baby doll tee that confirms to her figure nicely. Across the chest is a simple but classic saying: FTW!

Babbage is also wearing a pair of black cargo pants. They're a bit loose where the legs meet, but get tighter as they run each individual leg. When the pants come to an end, they're just short enough to show a little ankle skin, as well as a pair of black flats.

Personality

Babbage can't resist a good story, and probably asks more questions than is wise. She used to be a more of a loner, and her biggest desire was to understand and fix machines. Ever since she got a job on Bonaventure, she's been trying to understand and fix people's problems; sometimes with not-so-great results.

Babbage is, by most definitions, a geek. She'll spend hours talking about math, computers, or television shows from Earth That Was.

Off-Camera History

When Babbage was a child, he was interested in leaning about everything from history to technology to biology. His parents both encouraged this. The only topic that was off-limits was weapons, he was never allowed anywhere near his mother's Lightfoot 42. When he was six, his mother found him using a set of kitchen knives to dissect a dead raccoon that he found. She scolded him for this, and told him that there are times when he needs to keep his curiosity in check. Ever since then, he limited his curiosity and interests to more wholesome things, especially technology.

At the age of ten, he started working for his father's electronics repair company on Ariel. There he honed his skills and formed a close relationship with the man. Babbage's home life was very comfortable. Some might even go so far as to say he was sheltered. While skills with technology, physics, mathematics, and various other sciences flourished, Babbage's interpersonal skills left something to be desired.

When Babbage was sixteen his mother, a guard in an alliance prison, was killed on the job. He wanted to believe that she died standing up against some great injustice. A few months later, a friend of his helped him get some information from the prison database. It turns out that the guards, including his mother, were abusing the prisoners and using too much physical force to keep them in line. The guards pushed the prisoners too far, and a violent riot broke out. Once this happened, Babbage started becoming more cut off from the outside world. His only focus was on technology, on fixing things, because those were the only kind of problems that he could understand.

Around the time Babbage's mother was killed, his father started outsourcing some of the company's labor to a slave colony. While dumpster-diving for old computer parts that neighboring businesses often threw away, Babbage found an invoice from the slavers. He never confronted his father on the issue, instead just pretending not to even know about it. For five years Babbage went on his daily life as if he knew nothing. One day, Babbage decided to abruptly drop the facade. He told his father how he felt, and left on a shuttle for Persephone.

Leaving home was not one of Babbage's most well thought-out ideas. He had no job prospects, very little money, and ended up spending three days completely homeless on Persephone. He spent this time wondering about the lessons his parents taught him. He wondered if his mother was right about about keeping his curiosity in check, or if it was better to know things--even uncomfortable things. Babbage decided that he would not hide things like his parents did, that he'd be an open book for anybody who wanted to know about him.

On-Camera History

After his homeless days on Persephone, Babbage met the captain of Bonaventure and was offered a job. There he started making friends with the crew, and has been working non-stop to become accepted as a part of the family that the crew has formed. During his first couple months on the ship, Babbage has compared himself to 'Cousin Oliver', a character from a 550 year old television program. After some time on the ship, his attitude has changed; he's stopped questioning his place in the family.

For several months, Babbage happily called the Bonaventure his home and the crew his family. Babbage developed a need to take care of and protect his crew. These efforts backfired on him when he decided (without consenting his captain) that a particular piece of cargo was too dangerous to be kept on the ship, and buried it at a beach on Santo. A member of the crew was taken hostage, and her captor demanded the cargo in exchange for the crew's safety. Since the cargo was hidden, the crew was unable to return it -- the situation ended with severe damage to Bonaventure and multiple crew members being hospitalized.

Although Babbage was not fired for these actions, it did stress the relationship he had with his crew. He first resorted to heavy drinking, then to using his work as a form of escapism. When Bonaventure's former CMO decided to start restoring an old Firefly, Babbage was quick to join the crew as an engineer. After some time on the Evening Star, Babbage had cargomaster added to his responsibilities.

In September of 2525, Babbage was appointed acting captain of the Evening Star while the actual captain, Usagi Tesill, was off taking care of some personal business with her family. Upon her return, Usagi saw how well Babbage had taken care of the ship and promoted him to XO.

In January of 2526, he proposed to Rose Ashley using his mother's engagement ring. Two months later, they married on the rooftop of the Medical Wellness Clinic. In September of the same year, the couple decide to have a child. When they got their first ultrasound; they found out that Rose was carrying twins -- who will be named Michelle and Adrian. In June, these kids were born. So far, they seem happy and healthy.

In July of 2527, Babbage started thinking about his gender. Although he wasn't unhappy as a guy, he found that he was the happiest in the feminine persona that he'd adopted for drag competitions. Thinking back on the number of times he'd idly wished he was a woman, he decided to go for it. She started identifying as 'Robin', picking that name to make things easier to those who were accustomed to calling her 'Rob'.

In October of 2727, Babbage left the Evening Star with Rose to seek employment in a planet-based business. She did this because she thought the fresh air would be good for her kids. She took a job with the Special Commando Service

Timeline

July 22, 2503

Babbage is born on Ariel.

September 2519

Babbage's mother is killed. Shortly after, his father started outsourcing some work at the family business to a slaver colony.

June 2521

Babbage graduates from high school.

June 2524

Babbage leaves home, spends a couple nights sleeping on park benches on Persephone until getting hired onto Bonaventure.

Early 2525

After having personal issues with some Bonaventure crew members, Babbage decides to leave the ship. He helps Usagi Tessil restore what is now the Evening Star, and transfers over to that ship.

September 2525

Babbage takes command of Evening Star while Usagi was off taking care of some personal stuff. Upon her return, she sees that Babbage had done a good job with the ship and promotes him to XO.

October 2525

A woman calling herself Sam Malloc is found hiding on Evening Star as a stowaway. She tells a story about abusive parents, and Babbage decides to let her stay on the ship. It is later revealed that her actual name is Jennifer Rossum, and she is on the run from the law. Babbage feels that this is his first major screwup in command.

November 2525

Babbage witnesses several injuries when a hoverMULE explodes. This reminds him of just how useless he can be in an emergency, and he begins studying first aid.

December 2525

Babbage falls out of a 30-foot Christmas tree while trying to decorate it. This resulted in a broken shoulder.

March 2526

Babbage marries Rose Ashley on the Medical Wellness Clinic's rooftop. Their captain buys then a house on Newhall as a wedding present.

July 2526

Babbage loses a bet and is forced to enter a drag competition under the pseudonym Princess Rose. He finishes runner-up.

September 2526

Babbage and Rose decide to have a child. Later, an ultrasound reveals that they're having twins.

June 2527

Michelle and Adrian Babbage are born on June 2.

July 2527

Babbage goes on Hormone Replacement Therapy. Starts identifying as Robin.

October 2527

Babbage leaves the Evening Star so that her kids can grow up on-planet. Gets hired into the SCS.

January 2528

Babbage's wife, Rose, is involved in a hoverbike accident. She is presumed dead.

November 2534

Babbage joins the crew of the Dark Star Security company as engineer for the Firefly class ship.

Adrian and Michelle

Michelle Babbage brown eyes and wavy brown hair. She's the one who makes the most noise, whether it be giggling or screaming.

Adrian Babbage has blue eyes and curly black hair. He is far calmer than his twin sister.

Quotes

"Sometimes you gotta get hurt before you learn your lesson, y'know? Like when you're a kid and your mom tells you not to touch the stove -- you just can't understand why she says that until /after/ you've put your hand on the damn thing."

Mrs. Rose tugs at her life-partner's arm. "Come on. Let's go get drunk and celebrate me being the second hottest woman-dude here."

Babbage gets into a kneeling position on the table, and leaps off of it when those next two arrows are shot. It's a graceful maneuver, almost like Babbage had some kind of agility. Unfortunately the third arrow hits him while he's in the air, and hits where it counts. He lets out a loud, pained yell as he falls flat on the floor with both hands against his crotch.

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