Euphoria Cartwright

Euphoria Cartwright
Fori, in her IGSA jumpsuit
Character
Date of birth:	19th May 3941 (age 52, biologically 30)
Nationality:	Albion, Earth
Language(s):	Commonwealth English
Gender:	Female
Height:	6'
Father:	Atlas Cartwright
Mother:	Moonbeam Cartwright
Occupation History
Occupation(s):	IGSA Scout Pilot
Previous:	Commonwealth Navy Able Spacehand
Service history
Service/branch:	Commonwealth Navy
Years served:	8
Rank:	Able Spacehand
Fought in:	CEN Voltaire Mutiny (3963)
Awards:	Combat Ribbon (3963)
[Source]

Euphoria "Fori" Cartwright (born 19th May 3941) is a former Commonwealth Navy able spacehand who currently serves as an IGSA scout pilot.

History

Born to Atlas and Moonbeam Cartwright in the Albion Arcology, Euphoria grew up on the stories her father told her of distant stars and interstellar empires. From as long as she could remember, she wanted to join the Commonwealth Navy to one day be the captain of her own ship that would venture out into the cosmos, something her liberal mother found herself at odds with. At the age of eighteen, when she was legally considered an adult, she enlisted in the Commonwealth Navy against the wishes of her mother, on some level running from the tense family life that had persisted since her father passed mere months prior - the victim of a malfunctioning environment suit and a lapse in safety protocol in the air scrubbers he had maintained his entire life.

Euphoria undertook basic training at the African Space Elevator. Drill was intense, with a mixture of terrestrial and orbital environments utilised to put the recruits through their paces. She graduated after surviving the rigorous eighteen weeks of training, earning a notable distinction for her piloting, something her instructors deemed she would be ideal for. Instead of listening to her instructors and joining the Commonwealth Flight School, Euphoria instead accepted an offer to join the crew of the CEN Voltaire, a White Shark class battleship, for her first tour, which she believed would serve her better in her aim to one day captain such a vessel.

The Voltaire was assigned to simple patrols throughout the Sol System, protecting shipping lanes from pirates and enforcing the boundaries of Commonwealth Space. Euphoria found this to be incredibly dull and quite the opposite of what she believed she had signed up for. Her only respite from the monotony was the routine stops at the African Space Elevator and Ceres, where she would take her ship leave to blow her wages drinking and gambling. After failing to make commission and learning she was unlikely to make promotion, Euphoria planned to quit after her contract expired.

On the 23rd June 3963, when the Voltaire was out on deployment in the belt, Commander Adela Johansen instigated a mutiny against the ship's captain, Yasujiro Dimitrov, and ordered a change of course. Stationed on the bridge at the time, Euphoria instinctively drew her sidearm and shot Commander Johansen in the leg, although she would later admit she was aiming for the chest. This action allowed the captain to seize the initiative and command security to the bridge to arrest the mutineers. For her efforts, Euphoria was recommended for promotion to Able Spacehand by Captain Dimitrov and she received a Combat Ribbon in recognition of her valor. Commander Johansen would later stand trial at a military court martial, be stripped of her rank and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.

Having secured a promotion and the eye of her captain, Euphoria chose to continue her service, confident that she would secure a commission. Treated as a hero aboard the ship, Euphoria was invited to join various groups she did not even know existed aboard the Voltaire, including what would later prove to be her undoing - the ship's gambling ring. Already a proficient gambler with a mind for money, Euphoria gladly joined, as it allowed her to rub shoulders with many of the ship's commissioned officers. Unfortunately, her ability to count cards mixed with her general good fortune at the table would only gain her the ire of her superiors. After a particularly raucous night she cleaned out the entire table, walking away with fifty thousand dollars, which unbeknownst to Euphoria would all but guarantee she would be turned down for commission.

Captain Dimitrov had to inform her in person that she would not make commission, on the count of her involvement in the gambling ring, which he considered to be unbecoming of an officer. Despite Euphoria's protests about several commissioned officers being involved as well, Dimitrov reminded her that two wrongs did not make a right and that he would discipline his staff accordingly. Additionally, in light of her outburst, she would not be put forward for promotion either. Dimitrov expressed his disappointment in seeing a promising young woman throw away her career over a severe lack of judgement and self-restraint. At the end of her tour Euphoria found her contract terminated with a stipulation that she would be ineligible for reenlistment.

Back where she had started her naval career, the African Space Elevator, Euphoria found herself in a slump. In desperation, she contacted her mother, but she offered no sympathy, instead expressing her relief that she had been kicked out and insisting that she returned home. Dismayed and ashamed at the thought of returning to her boring old life with nothing to show for her career, Euphoria hit up the Commonwealth Navy recruitment office to ask the staff what her options were. They explained that while she was now exempt from further naval service, her high pilot test scores during navy basic training would make her eligible for enlistment with the IGSA Scout Corps.

Now transferred to the IGSA Scout Corps, Euphoria underwent an intensive twenty-four week piloting course, before being given the command of the the IGSA Stormspike, a Mako class scout ship. Her contract stipulated that while ownership of the ship now officially lay with her, it was in actuality on extended loan and that she was responsible for replacing the vessel if it were to be rendered inoperable. Euphoria's assignment was to verify unmanned survey data of the SCR 1845-6357 system, with the journey estimated to take twenty-six years to complete. Delighted to finally be in charge of her own ship as she had always dreamed of, even if it was not exactly what she had in mind, and to have a chance to truly see the stars, Euphoria eagerly embarked on her mission. She left a message for her mother explaining what she was doing and to not to worry about her. She sent back impassioned pleas for her daughter not to go through with it, which Euphoria ignored. Euphoria was determined to do something that she believed her father would have been proud of, and she felt that Earth would be the death of her if she didn't take the opportunity.

The voyage to SCR 1845-6357 would prove to be the defining moment of her life. When she finally arrived in the system, and began the checklist of scans she had to undertake, she brought up the navigational charts, such as they were. While running through a scan of the surrounding vacuum, she turned her ship orientation to look back the way she had come. It took a little effort, and the scan had completed before Euphoria - using the navigational computer and her mark one eyeball - was able to single out a distant prick of light among a sea of stars. She took a long exposure shot with one of the external cameras and Euphoria was suddenly hit with a strange sensation as she looked at Sol.

Future

Work in progress This section is currently unfinished. The author(s) apologise for the inconvenience.