Francine Dare
Species: Human
Age: 23
Drive: Hotshot
Warpside Assignment: Flight Officer
Groundside Assignment: Morale Officer

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You need to be out here, out in space. You need to move. You have to fly. It’s in your blood. Staying still isn’t an option, it never was.

You grew up in an orphanage back on Pactyas. Most of the kids there — and there were a lot of them, war-orphans with hollow eyes mourning their dead families — were so broken and scared that they never dared to dream. You dreamed of flying, of seeing strange new worlds, of going faster than light. You wanted to build up enough velocity to escape the orphanage, escape Tyro, escape everything. You always had too much energy — you studied martial arts to try to bleed some of it off, and you got into trouble and picked fights because you were bored. You escaped the orphanage and ran with a gang. For a while there, you were heading down a very dark road towards a life of crime and violence.

Then your talent for piloting was spotted by a fixer from Ixion. You flew on the Ixion circuit for four seasons — a lifetime, by the standards of that sport, guiding a twitchjet across the exploding volcano fields. Most racers on Ixion retire when they lose their edge, or else literally burn out when they run into a lava burst. You’re the only twitchracer to quit when you were ahead. You won the grand prize twice, and used the cash to buy out your contract.

You travelled across the Bleed for a year, and then you ran into Aze Hawk. He’s a legend, one of the greatest Combine naval heroes in history. You used to have posters of him in your room back in the orphanage. He was recruiting for a laser crew — you don’t give a damn about law or justice, but it sounded like fun, and you knew you could make Regulator dance like no other pilot could ever manage.

The crew are rapidly becoming your family. You haven’t had real friends in a long time. Maybe you’ll even tell them your secret — you’ve always been different. You’re more than fast — you can see things an instant before they happen, or sense things you shouldn’t be able to know. You sometimes wonder where you came from, and who your real parents were....

Special Rule: Dare has very limited access to Vas Mal-only investigative abilities. She can have a maximum of one point in Dreamsight or Neurosight.

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The Crew:

• Aze Hawk: Captain Hawk was your hero when you were younger... and now he’s your mentor. He’s almost as fast as you are... no-one else can keep up with you.
  
• Revenant: A spooky cybe. You can’t read him at all, and he seems cold.
  
• Tim Zaren: Your best friend on board the ship. If only you could get him to loosen up and relax, instead of always being so serious. Just because he’s genetically engineered to be the perfect cop doesn’t mean he can’t have fun.
  
• Dr. Fairfax: He’s like the kindly uncle you never had.
  
• Volith: She’s a durugh. You get the impression that she knows more about you than you know about yourself, but she’s just so mysterious that it could all be your imagination.

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Plot Arcs:

• Escape Velocity: Dare’s taste for risk-taking pushes the crew to their limits. Can she learn to work as part of a team, or are they just holding her back?
  1. The crew investigate corruption in the Ixion racing circuit, and you discover you’ve got unfinished business with a rival there. Do you still have your twitchracing edge?
     
  2. You and another member of the crew (maybe Hawk or Zaren) are trapped in a situation where there’s nothing to do but wait for rescue. Can you learn to be still, or does your boundless energy get you into trouble?
     
  3. You’re challenged by a mysterious criminal who’s better and faster than you are. Who is this mystery rival, and why does she seem oddly familiar?
  
  
• Daughter of the Gods: Where did Dare come from? Is she somehow related to the Vas Kra?
  1. After you suffer a seizure, Dr. Fairfax discovers that your nervous system is degenerating. He can treat the disease, but at the cost of your piloting talent? Do you give up your edge, or refuse it in the hopes of finding a cure later on?
     
  2. A Vas Mal contacts the crew, and claims to be your natural father. Is he telling the truth, or does he have a more sinister purpose in mind?
     
  3. You find a Vas Kra artefact that seems to enhance your natural abilities. Could it trigger your evolution into something more than human?