Thessa Scorpio

From Age of Alliances Wiki

Thessa Scorpio
Homeworld	Coruscant
Affiliation	Civilians, Jedi Temple
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Height	1.63 Meters (5'4")
Weight	52.2 Kilograms (115 lbs)
Hair Color	Red
Eye Color	Green
Skin Color	Pale

Thessa Scorpio works as a mechanic in the Engineering Corps at the Jedi Temple, and is studying to become a full Engineer. Her parents are getting older and are less able to take care of themselves, so of course it’s her responsibility to make up the difference. Her brothers both have fairly nondescript jobs, one works on the assembly line at the same factory as her father and the other works in the entertainment area of Uscru (He’s also the one that played with the dolls that were supposed to be Thessa’s toys.) She’s slowly becoming known as that girl who can fix anything around the temple and is often seen crawling in and out of maintenance hatches. She’s generally shy around people and more comfortable with computers and machines, but she’ll warm up after a few minutes of conversation.

[edit] Background

Thessa was born and raised in the lower city of Coruscant, in and around the Uscru District. She was the only girl of three children, and the youngest. Her parents were hard working, but poor. They were willing to do whatever it took to support themselves and their family. Her father worked in a factory that mass produced electronic parts, and her mother drifted between jobs, from working in the same electronics factory, as a waitress, a dancer, and occasionally more illicit activities such as theft and smuggling; whatever would help pay the bills. The one skill the woman didn’t seem to possess was the ability to hold down a job for any length of time, even in the underworld.

From an early age Thessa was fascinated with all things mechanical and electronic. This began when her father would bring home odds and ends from work, which she would tinker with endlessly and occasionally manage to make something useful out of, or at least something that would light up spectacularly and spin about before it fried itself. Her father became quite proud of her and encouraged her to develop her talents, especially since neither of her brothers seemed to be finding any sort of direction. Her mother grudgingly accepted that her only daughter was in fact becoming a tomboy due to the influence of all the boys in the house. As she grew older she started going out on her own to scrounge for parts and supplies. Both her parents worked so the kids were often left to fend for themselves. It’s not that they weren’t loved, it was simply that they couldn’t be home as much as they liked in order to provide for the family. In addition, Thessa’s skill was starting to provide a little extra income for the family. She began fixing things for the neighbors and inventing new tools and simple droids. She was slowly blossoming into her mother’s good looks by this time, and most young girls on their own in districts such as Uscru and worse would likely have fallen victim to gangs and end up raped and murdered in an alley. Thessa however, was usually covered in dirt and grease, and wearing clothes that were hand-me-downs from her brothers. Thus she was usually mistaken for a young boy who couldn’t possibly have anything worth taking on him. Her mother’s knowledge of the seedier side of Coruscant also helped her stay out of trouble as well as showing her places where she could get what she needed when the local junkyard failed to provide it. Fortunately when puberty hit, she began to become more aware of herself as a woman. She began to clean herself up after a day of scrounging or tinkering, and allowed herself to be a little more ‘girlie’ At least, when no one she knew in the lower city was around, she had a reputation to uphold after all.

The rise and fall of the empire did little to affect the lives of Thessa and her family at first, the cops wore different uniforms, some laws became stricter, others were relaxed, but the lower city at large knew how to roll with the punches and life continued as normal. One noticeable change came once the newly reformed Republic restored and reopened the Jedi Temple. The Temple meant new jobs and a new life for many of the people of the lower city areas. Among these was Thessa, now in her early 20’s. Her skill at mechanics and electronics got her noticed and she was quickly hired on as a mechanic. She maintained a strong bond with her family however, visiting her parents whenever she could and helping them out financially whenever possible.

Working at the Jedi Temple, one cannot help but notice the Jedi. Thessa developed a fascination of them that almost rivaled her love of machines. She began developing theories of how energy that flows through electronics and high energy devices such as power converters and hyperdrives, likely mimicked the way the force supposedly flowed through everything. She wondered if this might hint at some force ability in herself, and after several months of asking, begging, and pleading, convinced the Jedi to test her abilities. The Jedi already knew the answer of course, but humored her, and after testing she was finally informed that although her connection to the force was slightly above average, indicative of a person who had a strong aptitude for a particular area, it was still far below the level that could be successfully trained. Thessa was devastated by this news, it didn’t help that the Jedi kept telling her that she likely already knew this and simply didn’t want to admit it. For several weeks afterwards she retreated back to her beloved machines, throwing herself into her work and shunning contact with other sentients except when strictly necessary, especially Jedi. She eventually got over it.. mostly. She still quietly believes in her theories of energy flows being similar to the flow of the force and sees this as the closest she’ll get to being a Jedi.