Post by Lena Birkin on May 31, 2016 21:17:39 GMT -5
Full Name: Helena Birkin
Alias(es): Lena
Avatar Photo:
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Appearance:
Occupation (studies and job before the outbreak):
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
CalTech: PhD, Electrical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
CalTech: PhD, Electrical Engineering
Hometown (city, state, country): Kennebunkport, Maine, United States
Relationships (relatives, friends,...):
Joel Birkin (Father, Alive, Unknown (to her))
Rebecca "Becky" Turner (Close Friend, Deceased)
Rebecca "Becky" Turner (Close Friend, Deceased)
Weapons (currently in possession):
Steyr M9-A1
Mercworx Sniper
Spyderco Szabofly Balisong
Mercworx Sniper
Spyderco Szabofly Balisong
Items (clothing, backpacks, first-aid kits, etc...):
Olive hempen jacket w/ breast pocket
Mens' Wrangler denim jeans
Pale lavender tanktop
Steel-toed lace-up boots
Canvas-woven knapsack: Electrician tool pack, extra wires x17, flashlight, Apple/Macintosh PowerBook G3, Newnest 9V/5V 10.5W Portable Folding Solar Panel Charger
Mens' Wrangler denim jeans
Pale lavender tanktop
Steel-toed lace-up boots
Canvas-woven knapsack: Electrician tool pack, extra wires x17, flashlight, Apple/Macintosh PowerBook G3, Newnest 9V/5V 10.5W Portable Folding Solar Panel Charger
Mode of transportation: On foot
List 3 or more good personality traits:
Headstrong
Complex
Inquisitive
Adaptable
Complex
Inquisitive
Adaptable
List 3 or more bad personality traits:
Naughty
Irreverent
Rebellious
Naughty
Irreverent
Rebellious
List 3 strengths:
Phenomenal infiltrator
Highly trained in computer, mechanical, and electrical science/engineering
Superb knife fighter
Phenomenal infiltrator
Highly trained in computer, mechanical, and electrical science/engineering
Superb knife fighter
List 3 flaws:
Smokes & drinks (marijuana/regular cigarettes)
Incompetent with a gun
Kleptomaniac/hoarding
Smokes & drinks (marijuana/regular cigarettes)
Incompetent with a gun
Kleptomaniac/hoarding
Describe your character's life before the Apocalypse:
Helena Birkin grew up the only child of Joel Birkin, Chief of Security up at an airport outside of their sleepy little town of Kennebunkport, Maine. She had a mother, of course, but she was the sort that was not to be trusted, as she left her father for sex with another man as well as because he had been working more than spending time with her, making her a cheapskate and causing Helena to resent her mother greatly. Having a knack for building things at such a young age, Joel made bought Helena many toys that required building or assembly, keeping a close eye on her to make sure she didn't try to swallow something she shouldn't be.
When she hit her 10th birthday, her father gave her a few presents, trying to minimalize on what she got to keep her from being spoiled. And it worked. One of the biggest presents she ever got was a desktop computer set, a Dell at that, one that had to be put together. He told her he would put it together for her tomorrow because it was late, but Helena didn't listen. While she did try to put it all together, she didn't get very far, only putting in a few components into the computer case, nowhere near close to finishing it. But her effort didn't go unnoticed; her father, having the day off the next day, was astounded his daughter had accomplished something like that.
He spent the day showing Helena how to build her new computer, having a laptop for his own so he didn't worry about taking this one from her, and showed her how to read a manual for anything requiring assembly, such as the table of contents, diagrams, and slowly showed her piece-by-piece how to connect the cables, which component went where and what did what. Then he disassembled it fully to have her do it by herself, with him watching her. Hours flew by while Helena struggled to put everything in its spot, between the actual assembly-in-progress and looking at the manual as she went. Completed, all that remained was the software.
When college rolled around, she went to MIT and CalTech for a total of 6 years combined with the first few paid by scholarship from an application she made back in her senior year of high school and proceeded to go through both schools for a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Mechanical/Electrical Engineering as well as a PhD in Electrical Engineering from CalTech, graduating near the top of her class. During her college years, she befriended a girl that she layer learned to be the daughter of the owner of the airport Joel works at, her name was Becky Turner. 3 years before her education in MIT/CalTech finished for graduation, Becky went missing, and it took 2 and a half years to find her. Her body, rotten and forgotten, was found in a junkyard on the outskirts of Boston. This left a bad impression on Helena, more than Becky herself was for her. You see, Becky is the person who got Helena into smoking and drinking, partying in general, but she never went so far as to have sex with someone, drunken or not. Despite her adult nature, Becky was a good friend to Helena, she never tried to make fun of her or anything antagonistic; in fact, Helena actually learned from Becky on how to street fight to a degree and how she could use her more lithe and light frame for sneaking. Not that she ever got to try something like that out. Becky's death left Helena a more rebellious woman, and her influence plastered on her permanently like permanent paint on a wall; she inherited Becky's sassiness and naughty personality, and it blended perfectly with her own headstrong and energetic self.
What happened to your character on Outbreak Day?:
One night, after she had graduated from her education in Boston and California, Helena was back in her father's home in Maine, job hunting. Just as she was about to pass out for the night due to being sleepy, her cellphone rang with a number she didn't recognize. She answered it, and in her excitement learned she was accepted for an interview for a systems engineer for a new line of planes at the nearest international airport, with her job involving all forms of engineering, such as programming, relaying through machinery and maintenance on said machines. After happily settling the interview for the next day at the local airport at 4PM, she went out into the hall on the second floor of her home to find her father's room door was partially cracked, the light of a TV flickering on it. She called for him curiously as she nudged his door open, and found the room deserted, like he left in a hurry. She slowly went down the stairs, only to hear an explosion in the distance. More readily going downstairs, she was determined to find him, and was walking through the kitchen to find his phone still plugged into the wall for his charger, and saw he had 7 missed calls and 5 new text messages.
Not bothering to check who either of them are from, she went a bit further around the house, only to gasp when she saw her father run inside from the backyard and frantically locked the door shut behind him, blood on his shirt and hands. When asked what was going on, Joel simply told her to stay away from the doors and windows. As soon as the inevitable sound of someone throwing their weight into the door to open it. Joel took the time to find his Beretta M92FS and handed a similar black case to his daughter. Telling her not to open it right now, he had his gun trained on the door, the very door that soon came crashing open finally, falling off of its hinges, to a bloody man that had the gait of a heavily drunken man. The man, apparently her left-side neighbor named Brandon White, was slowly shambling towards Joel with a soft hiss of air absentmindedly leaving his lungs. Joel warned Brandon to keep back and to not come any closer, but did he listen? No, instead he kept coming, which prompted Joel to shoot Brandon in the stomach and then the heart when it was seen he kept coming, neither worked as the man before them shook off completely fatal damage.
Joel tried to come to terms with what was happening, but couldn't dodge Brandon's lunge in time, getting pinned in the process as Brandon started to chomp at the air in front of Joel repeatedly, apparently intending to bite him! Lena had to act fast, and that she did by taking a large knife from their kitchen and running over to stab Brandon in the head. Finally, he went down as if his life was just ripped from him, it was gruesome. Afterwards, Lena and her father got into Joel's red Jeep Wrangler after packing a few things each, having a new set of clothing and all from her PJ's and her laptop she received a couple years ago as a present, all in a bag, and then drove from their neighborhood down the road. She saw many horrible things on the way; a man's farm on fire, cars ending up in power poles, leaving their drivers and passengers dead if the blood on the windshield wasn't any give-away. Getting into town, there whole road was flooded with people trying to get out onto the highway by car, the military was filtering them but no one knew what was happening. After a minute and saying "Screw this!", Joel drove the jeep back out and to a different road, going into downtown while everyone was trying to get out.
Driving through town for a bit wouldn't have been bad if it hadn't been the enormously large number of people running across the jeep to avoid being hit, reducing Joel and Lena's speed considerably, but it wouldn't be long before an out-of-control garbage truck came from the right and ramming into the jeep, turning it over dangerously. What seemed like half-an-hour would pass when Lena woke up in the overturned jeep, and slowly crawled out with a injured arm, not broken but just injured. Her eyes half-open, everything was in a daze. Then she saw her...Becky, in her usual outfit, beckoning for her to follow her before running into an alley. But why was she there? She was dead, right? Reluctantly and in a hurry, she started to follow Becky before looking back towards the jeep. She saw her father was still there, dangling in his seat unconscious. She took a step forward to try and shake him, but gasped as one of the shambling people, like Brandon, came up to her at an angle that would make it risky to go near her father. She had to make do with grabbing her back and running to where Becky was, knowing her father could fend for himself...after all, he had his gun and knew how to use it, and self-defense. Would probably be coming to himself, soon. Following Becky on what seems like a wild goose chase, Lena was lead to a car, which she got in, and turned the keys that were still inside to start it. Driving to a safe point, Becky's "ghost" comfortingly touched Lena's shoulder before disappearing right at Lena rested her arms on the wheel and her head on them and started to cry. She cried herself to sleep, right there in the car...why did it have to end like this?
Describe your character's life after the Apocalypse:
Nowadays, Lena traverses the United States, either by foot or vehicle, and using her computer to try to find her father and other survivors. She has a gun, the one her father gave her, but she didn't know how to use them. She kept to Becky's advice and uses her form to infiltrate places quite easily to loot or stay for the night.
Three years into the apocalypse, survival was key. She had to survive somehow, stealing was one and hacking and jacking was another. And in these three years, she's refined her trade, learning to lockpick given the proper tools and other such things that would be vital in the apocalypse, along with gas siphoning. But what was most important to her...was surviving to find her father.