Character Biography: Ashley Ashpaw

[SilverLightsune]

Basic Information

First Name: Ashley

Last Name: Ashpaw

Employee ID: #75659066

Title: First Lieutenant, Nanotrasen Medical Corps

Gender: Female

Nicknames/Alias: Has also been called 'Ash', 'Ashpaw'

Picture: [File not found.]

Age/D.O.B: January 27, 2538

Place Of Birth: Tantalsi Island, North Atlantic Ocean, Terra

Species: Vulpkanin

Blood Type: AB+

Alignment: Neutral Good...with wobbles towards Lawful or Chaotic sometimes.

Affiliation: Registered civilian in the Trans-Solar Federation. Nanotrasen employee.

Religious Beliefs: Inherited a respect for 'Racht' as an understanding of a superior divine will suffusing the universe and living through it. As a matter of practice she tends to consider herself agnostic, uncertain that mortals can come to certainty one way or another about the divine. Has hope for an afterlife, but would admit that she isn't sure it's more than wishful speculation due to the lack of strong proof backing arguments for or against the metaphysical. Has expressed openness to the possibility that bluespace is a shadow of an immortal realm and needs more investigation.

 

Life History

Spoiler

Childhood:

Ashley was born on the artificial island Tantalsi in the northern Atlantic Ocean on Terra. This island largely operated as a research center for ongoing eco-revitalization studies and efforts in the early 26th century. Both her parents were employed here in the mid-to-late stages of the project, having been invited due to their experience as ecologists studying Altam and in the hope that any unclassified results could be sent back to help the dead homeworld of their kind.

As such she grew up around her parents' work and in a multiracial (though predominantly human) environment. She also grew up with strict cleanliness policies hanging over her head. The primary, largest city on the artificial landmass, Minora, was home to less than half a million souls - largely isolating her experience from the highly crowded cities extant for centuries or millennia on Terra's natural land.

She displayed a curiosity about the natural sciences and generally performed admirably in her primary education. However, at age 14 Ashley was at the center of an incident in her chemistry class. Her interest in the subject and subsequent boredom from the course's slow pace led her to work on her own initiative. She added carbon tetrachloride (a common firefighting compound) to a glycerol compound with phosphorous and potassium (which together burst into a smoky haze) and caused a panic when the foam spewed everywhere in the room.

It is worth noting that later on, during Ashley's somewhat prestigious if tumultuous employment, NT's Records Accuracy Division has accessed readily approached records of the event (such as news archives, the school's incident logs, and other data sources) and removed the records with the aim of removing a potential Syndicate influence vector against her.

After this incident, with the possibility of suspension in the air, her parents took up the responsibility of being her instructors. With the Terra eco-revitalization project nearing its completion, this became a mixture of onsite experience, self-directed study, and still some formal education. At the conclusion of her primary studies, she scored in the 97th percentile on standardized tests and would go on to the University of Minora for secondary education.

She speaks Canilzunt and Common fluently, having learned both from a young age. Though a Terran native, her grasp of Sol Common is only surface level enough to recognize it, having had minimal exposure and no education in it at home or in her schooling. When she had time in her teen years, she also picked up Tradeband for better communicating with occasional suppliers and guests visiting the island.

 

Adulthood:

Moving into her secondary education at the University of Minora, Ashley spent most of her time immersed in her own work and studies. She annually met the qualifications for the Board of Directives' scholarship, covering the majority of her collegiate expenses, and covered the remainder through work. Initially this work was in hydroponics to help supply the facility, and later taking part in pharmaceutical internships for work experience.

In her limited free time, she started researching other subjects and trying to keep up on a variety of topics at the frontiers of science - taking a special interest in bluespace and its presently inexplicable properties.

Ashley completed her bachelor's degree in chemistry in 2559 and her master's in organic chemistry in 2561. While an intern, she met Nanotrasen recruiter K. Din (#67290390) and signed on with the company to begin in July 2561.

She spent the next several months on the Nanotrasen Training Station Galakiir, earning internal certifications in emergency preparedness, horticulture, and xenobiology. As of March 2562, she has been a somewhat regular staff member on board the Nanotrasen Space Station Cyberiad and Nanotrasen Space Station Cerebron, both in Epsilon Eridani. In May 2562, Ashley was formally inducted into the Nanotrasen Medical Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant and pharmacological specialist.

While it would be inaccurate to say her time onboard has been uneventful, this section will not concern itself with the particulars of her on-station work. The vixen has distinguished herself as a chemist, with a number of mishaps that are within risk tolerances. She was recommended for promotion and received it in November 2563. As a 1st Lieutenant in the NTMC, she is qualified to serve as a vessel's Chief Medical Officer.

The stress of being a CMO for a number of months following led to health complications originating from severe anxiety, followed by an extended leave of absence.

The company diverted her expertise to a research position at Site TR-14, a blackout research facility on [REDACTED] in the [REDACTED] system. She completed sufficient publishable research into retroviral engineering as to compose a thesis and be awarded a doctorate in late 2555. Many of the results, however, remain highly confidential company information and were not publishable, with Ms. Ashpaw sworn to secrecy under penalty of termination. While she complied in researching viral interspecies gene splicing and testing potential bioweapon agents on EOC subjects, this project appears to have severely strained her emotionally. She has been recommended for low-stress positions on the Cyberiad and been on repeated leaves of absence.

 

Family:

- Relatives:

Mother: Kestral Ashpaw

Father: Dk'mafh Ashpaw

Siblings: Fenrix Ashpaw, Zefan Ashpaw, Kenti Ashpaw. All younger.

No known descendants.

- Lineage: There is only sufficient data to establish one generation of biological history. Ashley's parents were both immigrants to the TSF, and neither SolGov nor the Assembly has an agreement in place with NT to share genealogical records - if they even exist for this family. Current company cross-comparison of employee DNA profiles is of limited utility for vulpkanin employees due to the population bottleneck the species experienced in recent centuries.

According to Ashley, 'Ashpaw' appears to be a constructed Common name legally taken by both her parents upon marriage for documentation purposes, their original Canilzunt family names having no equivalent that could be communicated practically.

- Family Relationships: She doesn't speak much about her family in her work context. Both Fenrix and Zefan are also Nanotrasen employees (hyperlinks pending) and she seems to maintain good relations with both as well as sending messages back home.

 

Detailed Information:

Spoiler

Appearance:

Ashley is somewhat tall for her kind at approximately 5'9"/1.75m. Due to an uncommon mutation (~15-20% of vulpkanin) her fur contains additional chemical markers that taken as a whole lead to unusual pigmentation. Presently most of her coat is a soft blue color with the exception of her hands and feet (or 'forepaws' and 'hindpaws', as she would usually call them). She wears her hair long, draped back below her shoulders, and has taken to dyeing it a gradient to a deeper blue.

Like other members of her family, her extremities are a light gray hue. Despite her ashy paws standing out against the rest of her coat, they're often concealed within medical gloves.

While her uniform depends on her present assignment, she most commonly wears a jumpskirt of the relevant rank and occupation with a yellow-blue armband on the left sleeve. More often than not she'll be wearing the orange-hemmed white uniform of a medical chemist beneath a lab coat, keeping a sterile mask on her person or on her muzzle.

She's rarely seen without a headset tucked against one ear and a pen light against the other. Further, it's actually a pretty rare occurrence to see her deep violet eyes exposed to the air - most of the time when on shift she insists on wearing similarly purple scanning goggles that help her pick out and analyze the contents of a container at a glance while not directly exposing her eyes.

Her lithe frame is often marked by twitchiness and snapping response to stimuli. Perhaps this is a marker of acute, alert senses. Perhaps it is a sign of paranoia. At the least, she is generally quite attentive when someone or something has her focus.

Perhaps one of the strangest components of Ashley's anatomy is found behind her, as she sports a pair of nearly identical tails. This is not a chance occurrence, but an alteration she actively sought recently through modern medical and genetic technology, and is fairly well integrated at this point. Both are more on the fuzzy side than those of some vulpkanin, though she tries to keep them respectably cleaned. This has repeatedly caused confusion to other Canilzunt speakers, but Ashley claims she has no regrets especially when the appendages serve as a source of comfort.

 

Personality:

So long as she is not overly stressed, Ashley tends to keep a level head and narrow focus on doing what she knows and doing it well. While polite and sometimes even cheerful around friends, there's always a certain level of tension in her demeanor - often focused first and primarily on herself. She holds herself to a high standard and her work is generally appreciated by those who know her, yet several of her less positive qualities flow from this high standard.

Her respect is difficult to earn and easy to lose. Those she does not respect she has few qualms insulting, whether to their faces or (more often) privately to coworkers or friends. She is also likely to snap at people or situations earning particular ire at a given moment.

Having high and firm expectations also has tended to make Ashley anxious when things don't go according to plan. She tries to hide the anxiety, such as by hiding her expression (goggles and sterile mask), but chronic fatigue, shaking paws, and a tendency to take even minor slights or inconveniences as personal affronts all speak to high-strung tendencies.

She is generally confident in her competence, having either the skills to back it up or the humility to admit a coworker knows more. In the latter case, she seeks to discover what's being done more effectively so she can improve - though if she can't find out, doubt of her own abilities starts to poison her thoughts. A desire to prove herself and let the results speak for her drives much of her skill, making her effective in the areas she knows well but potentially limiting her social outlets. While she's been encouraged to take steps to spend more time outside her lab, thoughts of the work she could be doing still follow her and it remains to be seen if she can reclaim a healthier work and social life.

 

Medical Record:

Spoiler

There are no noteworthy severe or chronic conditions recorded from her early life. The colorblindness common in many vulpkanin was treated in Ashley at an early age at her parents' discretion.

Ashley has sustained several workplace injuries over time, predominantly involving the compounds she works with as a medical chemist. When focused on her work and her methodology, she displays an alarmingly cavalier disregard for her personal safety. Specific workplace injuries include:

Spoiler

- Donating blood for use in Medical, either by itself or by integration into synthflesh tissue...and drawing so much of her own blood that she suffers exsanguination symptoms.

- Not wearing a provided gas mask due to displeasure with its tendency to become hot and the difficulty fitting it over her muzzle...which on occasion has led to inhalation of toxic fumes.

- Ashley has been rescued from fires or pressure vacuums in the chemistry lab on occasion. She recognizes that certain volatile materials are needed for her work but stresses that they need better containment mechanisms than "storing two liquid bombs in the lab walls".

She has also occasionally been the victim of specific threats to the station. Unless stated otherwise, she doesn't clearly remember these.

Spoiler

- Early in her career, when xenomorph entities were more common in this region of space, she was infected by one but returned to Medical otherwise unharmed. The surgeons were indisposed at the time; she was placed into a cryotube in the hope of sustaining her vital processes while slowing the parasitic organism within. Due to the evacuation shuttle being already en route, she was left in the cryotube while vital supplies were carried out...and then she was left behind, by intent or accident. The healing properties of the cryotube kept her alive while a waking xenomorph larva tore at her insides, unsuccessful at continuing its lifecycle. Ashley was recovered by the cleanup response crew sent to the station and promptly freed from the parasite, but does not appear to recall the experience aside from occasional flareups of stomach pain.

- Abductors have visited the Cyberiad on occasion. Ashley has been captured at least twice, not that she is capable of recalling these abductions. The first one claimed her original heart, while the second claimed her cybernetic replacement. She is presently on her third heart, also cybernetic, which has led to other repeat injuries when in proximity to electromagnetic shocks or pulses. References to abductors or questions of how she ended up with a cybernetic heart appear to cause sharp reactions of panic and adrenaline in Ashley though she cannot place why. Per psychological review and recommendation, other medical staff are not to discuss the specifics of this medical history with her. Exception is made if an NT-licensed psychologist is needed to calm her down.

- One of Ashley's longest-term fears is related to the understandably horrifying creatures known colloquially as terror spiders. She was narrowly rescued from one once, including an emergency surgery to remove implanted eggs. Subliminal therapy and hypnopedia have worked with the mental haziness of shock she physically underwent and convinced her that this experience was a dream - but the deep-seated fear lingers.

- In more recent history, she was assigned to the NSS Cerebron for a time in an effort to remove her from trauma she'd been exposed to on the Cyberiad. During a sudden meteor shower while she was on-site, her lab was directly impacted with her in it. While Ashley was not directly hit, volatile materials in the lab combusted immediately after followed by the room rapidly beginning to decompress. She moved quickly to flee the room with what strength she had - and was very shaken, but survived. The incident is still fresh in her memory.

Psychological scars and chronic anxiety flare up in response to substantial stress, producing physiological responses in her such as unsteadiness, muscle cramping, and phantom pain. Mentally, she may disconnect and disassociate from reality under severe personal stress, becoming unfocused and unresponsive.

Small stresses may help her remain focused, but a long-term plan for behavioral therapy or medication to keep her sedate enough to function without breaking in the face of danger has not yet been decided. There are unfortunately few NT psychologists with sufficient clearance for her to be completely open with. In the meantime, it's a fine edge that she's walking - she tends to work quite competently, but can eventually just break under sufficient pressure as it mounts on top of her high expectations for herself.

While Ashley has never cared for smoking to deal with stress - in fact, she can barely stand the scent - alcohol has been a much more attractive option for her. To date she's passed out from drinking too much on station on two occasions, and though she's sustained no permanent liver damage she is considered to be at risk for alcoholism.

Though she is not known for regular cosmetic surgeries, the mixture of genetic engineering, neural repathing, and surgical procedure needed to graft her second tail was rather extensive. She has reported no complications thus far. Due to the level of alteration, potential complications very well may begin manifesting eventually.

Finally, Ashley has been the recipient of the Nanotrasen Medical Corps' second highest award, the Cryostar, on three separate occasions to recognize her devotion to duty, dedication, and high degree of skill. The validation seems to have cheered her significantly, though she remains in Class 2 quarterly psychological monitoring for further unhealthy obsessive work habits.

 

Security Record

Spoiler

At least six unauthorized explosions in the chemistry lab have been positively attributed to Ashley, all of which she claimed were accidents. These incidents have dropped off in more recent times and may be attributable to growth in experience.

While cross-disciplinary skills are normal and encouraged by NT, it is worth noting that Ashley has displayed proficiency with and interest in pyrotechnics. Though she has no known experience with the on-station toxins lab, she still is practiced in the creation of improvised explosives. These have not to date contained any harmful chemicals or caused notable station damage.

Displays paranoid behaviors, ranging from mild to severe. Prone to snapping at peers (predominantly fellow chemists) for opening restricted airlocks without promptly shutting them. Has a history of filing complaints against clowns and visitors who barged into the lab through unclosed doors. Leans towards mistrusting requests for chemicals that she doesn't already know are useful for the job of the requestor. Lastly on the topic of paranoia, has barricaded herself in the lab and hid in complete stillness on past occasions, especially in proximity to announcements of Level 5 or Level 3 biohazards.

On the positive side of skepticism, she is disinclined to create or hand out suspicious chemicals. Frequently Ash demands proof of prescription or CMO approval before dispensing anything falling outside the narrow range of occupation-related chemicals of which she is aware. Additionally, she has no history of creating narcotics or toxins as anything other than precursors unless duly requested and approved. Allegedly she considers the reputation of both classes of compounds as beneath her professional standards.

Ashley has had concerning contact with enemies of the corporation. Early in her medical career, while still learning related work skills, she surgically healed the wounds of a member of the Wizard Federation. Her claim afterwards was that she had no idea she was treating an EoC but simply fulfilling her duties as a medical professional. Even if her motivation for this incident is truly innocent, she has displayed undue sympathies for the Federation.

She does not appear to harbor any particular affection for the Syndicate, but her contact with its agents has occasionally eroded her respect for the company. One incident of particular note was when she was partnered with a Syndicate agent named [EXPUNGED] to run the chem lab. The two spent the shift talking and working together, but the human chemist eventually admitted to her that there was a lot hanging over his head but he didn't think he could go through with his assassination orders. Taking his own route out, he drew a firearm and took his own life in front of Ashley.

She was badly shaken by the experience - while she despises the Syndicate as an organization, this humanized its individual agents in her perception and she has not responded positively to company education efforts to the contrary. More recent comments suggest that she doesn't care for the role both the Syndicate and Nanotrasen play in "toying with people's lives". Currently she is on our Syndicate Risk Watchlist under the classification Medium Concern.

 

Personal Relationships

Spoiler

Romantically Involved | Romantic Interest | Admire | Respected | Close Friend | Good Friend | Friend | Acquaintance | Neutral/Unsure | Dislike | Hate | Despise | Death Wish | Fear

Schrodinger - <translated from Canilzunt> "We are kin. Not that we can point to a shared lineage, but we are of the same people and share a close bond."

Peyton Berkmiller - "Peyton is generally a joy to talk to and have around. She owes me a drink and a bottle broken over her head, though."

Kincaid Reynard - "She always seems so carefree. I guess you can get away with that when you're just visiting. Always feel like I'm getting just a glimpse of a massive social circle when I see her."

To Sleep Beneath Nightfall - "SBN and I have a good working relationship. We don't have to say anything - which is good since he can't - but I know what he needs and he knows what I need."

Chikitita - "Reasonably competent nurse. I still can't fathom what the whole 'two rum bottles of soy latte' thing is about, but maybe it's just because I don't like either one all that much and it's just a matter of taste."

N'Tari Ianni - "First time I saw her, I thought I was seeing a chain smoking, half-drunk, foul-mouthed feline who had no right to be on staff. On Medical staff no less. Nowadays, I still see a chain smoking, half-drunk, foul-mouthed feline but at least I can recognize her competence and she can recognize mine. However, I cannot in good faith recommend her as a CMO."

Berf Akmin - "Nice enough guy who I helped teach. He really needs to close the lab door behind him though."

Tihihi - "A cargo vox I met once when stationed as a virologist. Invited me to spend time with some cargo friends to just take a breather once my work was in a lull. It was a good experience, and we've met again since then."

Tuin Dashru - "Met through Tihihi, he's another cargonian who also helped me slow down. I don't know, there's just something calming about those two."

Mahjun Hrar - "Met in conjunction with Tihihi and Tuin. Knows plants reasonably well. Pretty well-spoken, though maybe a touch subversive."

Aleister Burnwood - "Probably the fastest chemist I know, and honestly I'm a little jealous. But I'm also a little annoyed. Not only do I not like being shown up, but there's no soul in how he does things. Stuff goes flying everywhere and the chems get made at the end of the day...but I've barely ever heard him speak, and every time I see him he makes a bunch of stuff before a quarter of the shift's gone by and then he runs off, never to return."

Jazzy - "I helped teach her about the chem lab too. Seems a little excitable, but she knows when to pull her claws out and she's covered for me a couple times."

Orrim, Healer of Clan Krzzk - "The handsome Kidan rogue who helped me remember that I don't know everything while being charming enough to not tick me off in the process. A real gem."

Scumzo - "I wouldn't call Scumzo a close friend, but definitely has more respect from me than most clowns. Mixes comedy with enough common sense to actually benefit the station. We still need to finish a game of...what was it called? Not 'Grob', but something like that."

Seneca Whitetail - "Seneca is...uh...it's complicated, okay? At least, she's one of the few friends I've had a chance to visit on her homeworld."

Canis Lupus - "Definitely has the air of knowing what he's doing. More of a friend of my brother's, though."

James Auchwulf - "I don't know. I get that not everyone speaks Common perfectly, even some of my closest friends don't, but with James it's always felt like it was more...awkward, if that makes sense. Very recognizable name, if for no other reason than its owner using it in third-person."

Kslozsoh Szeki - "When he's on your side, everything's great. But I swear that 90% of the time he's up to something sketchy. Though I hear he's left Epsilon Eridani for uncharted space, so I wish him good luck."

(Unknown) - "I'm not always good with names. Though that one time that there were two vox on board almost everyone (including me) called 'Chiki' and all the other vox said I was rude for confusing the two of them when I heard one perished and had no other details. I agree, the death was tragic, but also I feel like the confusion wasn't entirely unfounded."

{If I missed anyone who's had ongoing interaction with Ashley, feel free to tell me. Memory isn't always the strongest.}

 

Faction Relations:

Spoiler

Allied | Love | Like | Neutral | Dislike | Hate | Enemy

Nanotrasen - "Is this on the record? Are you sure it's not? Well...the pay and benefits are some of the best in the field, but there are terrible truths behind NT doors that I can only hope and drink to forget. Sometimes I wonder if I'd be better off working planetside for a research corp, but the cynic in me says it wouldn't be better."

The Syndicate - "Not so different from my employers, just less official legitimacy. At least it's better about not favoring humans so much. Most contact I've had with them involves agents for whom the Syndicate has something hanging over their heads...which is virtually identical to how NT keeps its own secrets. The people, by and large, aren't bad people. For the organization, the water is muddier. I've known a lot of good people get hurt because of NT-Syndicate relations, and I'm pretty sure both sides are at least partly at fault but individuals far below the decisionmakers of either pay the price of the conflict."

Trans-Solar Federation - "Terra is home, at least when I'm not on NT vessels, but I always get mixed signals when it comes to belonging. Zefan is the only member of my family who's technically a citizen. And it's not like people are vocally rude about it or anything, but it almost feels like I have more of a stake in NT. ...that's a scary thought."

Union of Soviet Socialist Planets - "I have good friends from worlds either in or aligned with the USSP. The bloody history is regrettable and they sound pretty disorganized, but I don't begrudge them doing their own thing. Sure, they splintered from SolGov, but I always saw it as more of a human versus human conflict."

Elysium Republic - "A bunch of idiots. If we're lucky they'll take their purity movement too seriously and die of inbreeding before they can actually cause problems. If they don't just die off, they will cause problems eventually."

The Assembly - "All the respect for those of my kin trying to make the best of a bad situation. Terra got better, so I think the homeworlds eventually will too. Being that the TSF is...how it is, when it comes to residency versus citizenship, I've been contemplating applying for provisional citizenship back in Vazzend. Just need to make the time to actually make the trip and visit."

Wizard Federation - "Yes, I know, bluespace is said to contain untold horrors. I'm not trying to downplay that. But it can also be used for so much good. It's like the principles of fission and fusion in chemistry and physics - can be used for either virtually limitless energy or for mass destruction. All I'm saying is, the line's not so distinct between experimental technology and magic, and these guys have a better understanding than we do even if they use gestures and funny-sounding words to make it work. Isn't that worth something?"

 

Other Information:

{Reserved for future use!}

Edited August 31, 2022 by SilverLightsune