Ford Sierra
| Ford Sierra | |
| Born | Misty Carlson September 10, 1983 |
|---|---|
| Residence | 37 Fides |
| Nationality | United States |
| Ethnicity | Human |
| Citizenship | Gearheads |
| Occupation | Mechanic. |
| Years active | 2008- |
| Employer | Roughriders |
| Home town | Chicago, Illinois. |
| Height | 1.7 m |
| Weight | classified. |
| Partner | Jet Jaguar |
| Parents | Janet and Paul Carlson |
Contents
History
Starting off in Chicago, living near an old gun shop for most of her life, Ford Sierra went by the name Misty Carlson. And for a time, this was good. She picked up her skills as a mechanic working on the shop owner’s old Shelby Mustang, and for a time dreamed of owning one like it. Until she found out how much they normally sold for. Her first car was an imported Ford Sierra Cosworth, in a very fetching blue.
The then-Misty acquired her first can of handwavium soon afterwards, and set about turning her car, into a spacecraft. It was, one of hundreds of space-cars, but it was still hers and it served her like a loyal puppy. A hitchhikers fan, she adopted the name Ford Sierra from it, in part to save her family from the authorities back home, and in part because it sounded pretty cool. For most of her first years in Fenspace, she used it to travel between callouts, establishing herself as a ship to ship mechanic who always knew where her towel was.
Sierra was injured in an accident in 2009, loosing an arm, a leg and most of her hearing. She got them back a few months later courtesy of some stellar work by AC Peters.
Repairing her car, she got back to work herself, earning a good reputation as a person who could jury-rig fix just about everything, and made a good living for herself operating her own towing company, using her waved car and a bit of strengthened chain. It was crude, but effective, and the Cosworth was more than up to the job.
When the Boskone War began, she found herself being hired to salvage wrecked or abandoned spacecraft and recover lost cargo. She ran a gauntlet out in the main belt, and had gotten pretty good at it too. A few close calls scared her, but they were rare enough. And she always got away. That changed when a Boskone ramship ambushed her as she moved in to claim an abandoned bus. The Boskonians rammed her car, destroying most of the front end and crumpling the cockpit, before leaving her for dead... Having seen the internal atmosphere vent, they assumed she’d died with it.
A jury-rigged pressure helmet and her cybernetics kept her alive long enough to be rescued by a passing courier going by the name Jet Jaguar. Jet kept Sierra alive using her own life support system.
She finished the war putting her mechanical skills to good use on Mars, before finding a new Ford F-150 truck for herself to continue her work. Post-war, she continued her mechanics business, with herself and Jet spending most of their free time together over the next couple of years. Neither of them had much.
Their relationship is a... weird one to say the least and can seem very standoffish to those who don’t know the couple better. They compliment each other well however. Sierra is Jet’s anchor in humanity and reality, while Jet brings Sierra to the stars. Sierra is one of few people Jet trusts to do her maintenance, probably one of two who know the truth about what’s under the armour and who’ve seen a picture of who Jet used to be. The couple have developed their own way of being intimate with each other, despite each other’s bodies getting in the way. Perhaps other people have forgotten just how beautiful a simple kiss can be. And there’s always Turtle Wax and or KoFen if they’re feeling...adventurous.
When Jet was assigned to an RSG team operating in North America, they both took the opportunity to return to Earth and live together for a time,
It was about this time that Jet built a functioning hardsuit for her, which the FAA insisted she get a CPL for in order to operate in American airspace. The pair found themselves working in Hollywood for the next couple of years, doing aerial filming. Sierra did some work on the Bubblegum Crisis trilogy, her hardsuit being used as the model for the movie’s ‘Linna’ hardsuit. It surprises many to learn that many of the more spectacular shots were not done with a computer, but were performed by Sierra herself.
But the pressure of living in the ‘danelaw was getting to the couple. Sierra opening her own specialist garage in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the business failed due to a smear campaign by a local news commentator looking to make a name for himself by attacking the weird space monster robot lesbian couple in the name of Christian decency and Republican Democracy, while Jet had to jump through ever more elaborate hoops to keep her residency permit.
It was Sierra who convinced Jet to return to Fenspace in 2019, with an armour piercing slap of almighty proportions. It was Sierra who forced Jet to admit she was just hiding in her own shame.
Sierra now puts her mechanical skills to good use as a mechanic for the Roughriders, using her hardsuit, suitably modified with a set of onboard tools, to perform in-space running repairs of Roughrider craft, aswell as to help with maintenance in the hangers. Day to day, she lives out on 37 Fides, spending most of her time working with the HARDES team.
She is also working on a rather hush-hush project, known right now as Project Elwood.
Description:
Sierra is of average height and build, with a dusky complexion to her skin. Her eyes are a pale brown and her hair is cut short to keep it from getting caught in vehicle parts.
Normally, she wears cheap denim clothes and an old Cubs t-shirt which she can afford to get coated in oil. That's not to say she doesn't have more stylish clothes for when it'd be appropriate, she prefers not to get these dirty. On a job, she'll wear an armoured leather jacket, with a bulletproof Kevlar lining. She brought it up with her from Chicago
Equipment:
Sierra has her own hardsuit built for her by Jet, painted a deep green and styled similarly to OVA Linna’s. Oddly, it transforms her voice to sound like Yoshiko Sakakhibara when wearing it. The suit is fitted with an advanced stabilisation system, and instrumentation to help Sierra orientate herself properly in space. Also included is a set of camera mounts on the helmet, from it’s days of use in Hollywood and a number of built in power tools in the forearms, including an arc welder.
She usually has a set of mechanic’s tools available, stored in a handwaved Dark Highland Green 2002 Ford F-150 in truck for more complicated jobs. The truck itself is one among many, and is utterly unremarkable and ordinary looking.
Her right arm, right leg and both her ears have been replaced with good quality cybernetics, constructed and upgraded by AC Peters.
Mundane attributes:
Yes we can!: Enthusiastic towards her work, and routinely quotes an Illinois Senator’s campaign slogans to herself before she starts a big job.
Lady McGuyver: Sierra can usually jury-rig anything, either a new tool or a quick repair, so long as it hasn’t been too badly damaged or at least seems reasonably plausible to do. Provided she has access to duct tape.
I can see the Fords: Ford fangirl. Can pull most Ford engines apart in her sleep, and can do a pretty good job on just about any other vehicle, waved or not waved. She hates GM’s with a passion, and generally won’t work on one unless it’s an emergency, or she’s being paid well.
Cost me an Arm and a Leg: Sierra’s right arm, leg and both her ears have been replaced with cybernetic parts. They’re not much stronger than the originals... otherwise they’d tear out of her body, but they are more resilient to damage than a normal human’s arm. Her hearing is also somewhat sharper than normal.
Gunsmith Cat: Sierra was taught to shoot by the owner of the gun shop whose car she regularly fixed. She’s a competent target shooter, especially with her own customised Berretta 92. She’s not yet fired it in anger.
Certified Pilot: Sierra holds a recent US Commercial Pilot’s license, with a special rating for her hardsuit.
Fly me to the Moon: Sierra and Jet are long term partners... and has variably described Jet as her ‘Girlfriend’ or ‘Partner’ depending on who she’s talking to and what their sensibilities are.
Handwavium attributes:
None noticed. However:
Quirks:
Spindizzy: Sierra gets dizzy and disorientated very quickly. Originally thought to be a cybernetics glitch, it may in fact be the result of a minor biomod. Her hardsuit has been adapted for this with stabilisers, and a few software assists to counter.
Zarkin’ Frood: Sierra always seems to instinctively know where her towel is. Or where to find one.
Trivia:
Project Elwood: Ostensibly named after Elwood Blues from the Blues Brothers movie, project Elwood involves the development and construction of a functional near full-hardtech motorslave unit, compatible with Jet-designed hardsuits being brought into use by the A-team.
As of 2020, the project has evolved to a technology demonstrator prototype stage, constructed from a Honda Valkyrie motorcycle, and armed with a 30mm cannon. Full production is expected to begin by 2021.
