Atanica

Hardened from years of fending for herself, Atanica is a quickdraw with her twin Ziphocaster pistols and one the highest apprehension log of AWOL soldiers and their family scales (or shields) in the Scale Hunting Profession. 

While she remains a wild card throughout the series, Atanica is invaluable in a firefight even if her motives aren't entirely clear.

Origins:

Born out of wedlock and later abandoned by her parents, young Atanica's caring demeanor was slowly burned away as she lied/cheated/stole to stay alive.

Atanica grew up jumping from one Aeonite guild to the next to make end's meet. However, she would get expelled by all her masters for her lack of skill and escalating temper.  

Until she found a semi-permanent home in the Courtesan Guild, charming patrons of all ages with her sharp wit and grace. Her skill demanded a high price for her services at formal gatherings for the wealthy elite. And for once, Atanica's rage subdued as she found joy once again...while robbing her wealthy clients blind.

This would all change in the wake of Delot trade embargoes on the Thermetolian Wedge. Merchants left the cluster to sell their goods at Delot ports.

As a result, the guild's work dried up. Forcing their courtesans to perform unsavory tasks for their lowbrow clients. Given her skills, Atanica was saved from performing this degrading work and nearly bought her way out.

Until her assets were seized when charges were levied against Atanica for stealing her clients' valuables. Given their lack of evidence, her case was thrown out and she was free to go.

However, the damage was done. Her court fines took a large portion of her nest egg and her reputation as a pickpocket was spread. None of the guild's remaining wealthy clients wanted her services and she was forced her to take less dignified work.

Slowly, the rage that consumed her youth began to metastasize once again. Until one day, after hearing Larissa (her guild master) was the one who levied the charges against her, Atanica snapped.

She would later find herself on the floor of the Courtesan Guild, surrounded by the mutilated corpses of Larissa, the courtesans & their patrons.

Horrified, she burned the establishment to the ground and ran into the forest. She would survive in the woods by herself until she followed a deserter into a cave where an enclave of deserters and rebels had taken refuge.

After being accepted into their ranks, she lived a rustic life where she learned how to hunt, shoot & cook stringy game in the forest. And hated every second of it.

What made matters worse, one of the courtesans survived the guild's slaughter arrived at the deserters' camp one day. Taking one look at Atanica, she ran away as the cold-blooded Atanica gunned her down.

However, Atanica was captured by Antio-Mar: the masked & heavily-armored leader of the local chapter of the Scale Hunting Guild, hired to investigate the Courtesan Guild slaughter.

Knowing Scale Hunters made their money dragging in deserting soldiers, Atanica made a deal. She would give the enclave of heavily-armed deserters from the Thermetolian Militia over to Antio-Mar in exchange for her own freedom.

The Choice - "With it or On it":

After betraying her comrades to the hunters and finding her true calling in the firefight, Atanica begged Antio-Mar to let her join the guild. The leader initially refused, on the grounds that their business relies on keeping agreements rather than murder in cold blood.

Seeing her calm in a firefight and the rage in her soul, Antio-Mar agreed to take her in. However, if Atanica refused her superiors' orders and forsake the word of their contracts out of spite or revenge. Antio-Mar will turn her over to Thermesian authorities.

From then on, Atanica followed Antio-Mar like a shadow. The masked leader taught her everything about their business: how to find people lying low, disable a deserter and their scale, the ins-and-outs of hand-to-hand combat with a heavily-armored combatant, the procedures on subduing/transporting deserters & most importantly "The Deserter's Choice."

Even though the people they hunt down are cowards and traitors, these deserters are still citizen soldiers in the service of their cluster.

Given their sacrifice in training and Ichor spent in the service of their government's army, the deserter is offered a choice of how they'll be brought home: either with their family's scale to await their court martial or on it in the form of their lifeless body.

No matter the offense, a Hunter is only allowed to execute a deserter if fired upon or they choose death over court martial.

In either case, the scale is the most important part of their contract. 

While most military hardware is replaceable, a family's scale (passed down through the generations) is priceless to the right families. Even though most families would like to see the safe return of their cowardly family members. Most aristocratic families would be content with the return of their scale.

And Atanica found she was very good at her job.

She raked up hundreds of completed contracts (without client complaints) and impressive service metrics for a novice. Employing her skills from the Courtesan Guild to catch deserters by surprise. Or her impressive quickdraw to fight her way out, if need be. 

Atanica grew to love the hunt, earning the moniker: Hot Flash among her fellow guildes. However, Antio-Mar saw through her defiant gaze and realized the mistake in letting her join.

While Atanica saw Antio-Mar as the parent she never had. The stone-faced leader thought by training her in their ways, she'd learn restraint and compassion.

However, all the leader saw in Atanica's eyes was the rage that consumed the angry little girl abandoned by her parents all those years ago. And as a result, Antio-Mar resigned as leader of the guild to atone for the mistake. 

The Ilocanos-7 Contract:  

Coming off the heels of her mentor's resignation and exile, Atanica dove head long into her work. Eventually, she received an exclusive contract asking for her personally.

While familiar with taking on undercover roles to infiltrate and extract a target and their scale. This particular contract required Atanica to infiltrate the Ilocanos-7 shipyards, as an enforcer, and wait for a deserter to arrive within the walls of the shipyards to collect them and their scale.

What Atanica didn't know was that the target was going to be a Lanaxdrian (more specifically Lysandrix).

After the princess' capture and several broken ribs, Atanica was ready to be done with this bizarre contract when her client (specifically UHP Rector Dysomus) met her in-person during the visit of Syracilus.

He offered the hunter a bonus of 2 pints of pure Ichor and completion of her contract, if she can ensure The Psygorellius takes off with the target, the main trio of Ulysses "Ollie" Dylos, AJM-001 & Eucidrie & a suitable crew.

She agrees to these amended terms to their contract. And, during the escape attempt in the pilot, Atanica diverts a bulk of the security drones away from the escapees.
While she planned to kidnap a number of prisoners as mandatory crew members, it was a happy accident that Goram the Persuader and his followers beat her to the punch.

Aboard the Psygorellius:

While Atanica was never fully added to the registry of official Psygonauts in the ship's logs. The crew recognized her as a valuable ally and left her a cabin on the ship to come and go as she pleased. 

While most times they'd have to bribe her with a contract to get her assistance on their missions. A handful of instances, the hot-blooded bounty hunter would join their mission for free.

Finding an indirect purpose in instructing various crew members on combat while working out the underlying symptoms of her rage (with the help of her bitter rival Lysandrix & the horny half-stag man Hafteon-Mar).

Epithelial Title on Psygorellius: The Bounty Hunter

Greek Comparison: Atalanta (from the Calydonian Boar hunt)

Home Planet: Calydrius in the Thermetolian Wedge

Species: Aeonite

Affiliated Organizations:

• The Psygorellius
• Ilocanos-7 shipyards (as an enforcer)
• Calydrian Scale Hunters guild