Sergeant Amara Locke

Sergeant Amara "Mercy" Locke is a military medic serving aboard the Vitae ark ship. She is also the only daughter of Rear Admiral William Locke, the commanding officer of the Vitae.

Childhood
Amara was born on Argo station, a military base on Mars, where her mother, Amanda, was stationed. Young Amara spent the formative years of her life on this military base, not far from Arcadia, Capitol city of Mars. This upbringing instilled a deep sense of pride and honor in young girl. Mars may have been a harsh, barely habitable ball of rock and dust but Amara was always proud of her planet and her people.

There were two people that Amara was even more proud of though. William and Amanda Locke were always Amara's heroes. They may not have been around as often as she would have liked but Amara still idolized them. In her early years, Amara was raised as much by other family members as she was her own parents but she never held that against them. She knew their work was important. She was proud of them.

A Death in the Family
Just a few years after the three day war, young Amara '' s life was thrown into turmoil when her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. At just six years old, Amara was only barely able to understand what was happening but she knew that her mother was going to be taken away from her. Just a few short months later, despite battling valiantly against her illness, Amanda Locke passed away, leaving Amara heartbroken and alone.

The young girl wasn't along for long though as her father returned from active duty to care for his grieving daughter. From that point on, wherever William Locke went, Amara went with him. He was all she had left.

Overachiever
In her teenage years, Amara became the typical overachiever. She strove to become great at everything she did. But her main focus was her study of medicine. She was determined to live up to her mother's legacy and continue to help those in need like her mother did. By the age of 15, Amara knew more about human anatomy than most med students did.

During this time she also developed a love of sports and began taking classes in gymnastics. Like most things she really put her mind to, Amara became very good at her chosen sport. She was even encouraged by her coach to take her skills to a professional level. She may have considered this career if she didn't already know what was coming.

Military Life
After graduating from high school, Amara entered her mandatory two years military service. Unlike many people, who saw this stage in life as a burden, Amara relished the opportunity. She was proud to serve. Living up to the legacy of her father was difficult but Amara quickly earned the respect of her brothers and sisters in arms for her bravery.

Making use of her considerable skills in the field of medicine, Amara's superiors allowed her to be trained as a battle medic. Amara felt like she was born for this career. Bridging the gap between her parents careers while honouring them both. She loved it. It could be dangerous and downright emotionally scarring at times but she didn't want to do anything else.

It was during this period that Amara was given the nickname Mercy by her unit.

The Lost Years
After her two years in the military, Amara was given the opportunity to join her father aboard the Vitae Ark ship on Earth as it prepared for launch, still a number of years away. Amara decided not to go to Earth and instead took some time to herself. She had spent so long trying to be just like both her parents that she felt like she had better take the time to just be herself while she still could.

During this time, Amara had surprisingly little contact with her father. Quite what she got up to during this period is unknown and when asked about it she will mostly just give the asker a smile and change the subject.

Aboard the Vitae
Once Amara joined the crew of the Vitae, she quickly settled into a role as a confident and capable, if somewhat taciturn, medic. As her new job often took her all throughout the massive ship, she grew to know a large number of the growing crew. She didn't make many friends however. Many people saw her as distant and even brusque when she did interact. The fact that she was the Rear Admiral's daughter didn't exactly help either. Although she tried to avoid letting others know of this relationship.

Amara may not be particularly well liked aboard the Vitae but she has never let peoples opinions of her affect her. As the Vitae launches into orbit, Amara stands ready to help and protect anyone who needs her.

Personality
Amara tends to hold off on displaying her emotions, leading others to believe she is distant and somewhat cold. Her sometimes harsh bedside manner also contributes to this but she actually cares a great deal about her patients and she will often put herself in danger to assist others. She is somewhat reckless with her own safety if there is someone who needs her help.

With quite a wry sense of humor, Amara often makes jokes that don't seem like jokes to those who don't know her well enough.

Amara is also highly driven to succeed and stubborn as a mule. When she gets an idea in her head, there's very little anyone can do to dissuade her.

Skills

 * Medical Training: Amara is somewhat more skilled than the average medic tends to be. She has studied medicine from an early age, taught by her mother, and could easily have become a full doctor, had she chosen that particular career path.
 * Hand to hand combat: Amara is well trained in both armed and unarmed combat but prefers to use non-lethal ways to take down an opponent, should the need ever arise. She has become quite skilled in using her own body as a weapon.
 * Athletic: Skilled in gymnastics, Amara is able to get around an environment with surprisingly fluid grace and is fond of using this skill to get to out of the way places. She is often seen traversing the catwalks of the Vitae, high above everyone else.

Weaknesses

 * Reckless: Amara gives little thought to her own safety when others are in danger. She is often the first medic on a battlefield, while weapons are still being fired all around her. She hasn't yet been seriously injured in the line of duty but her luck may only last so long.
 * Distant: Amara can seem very distant and even cold to those who don't know her. She isn't very talkative and often prefers to keep to herself rather than work with others. She isn't much of a team player.

Trivia

 * Amara often works alongside other medics. Her most frequent partner is her best friend, Clara Albright.
 * Amara may or may not have a slight crush on chief security officer TreVayne. She vehemently denies this but Clara will tell you otherwise.
 * Among the few personal effects Amara brought aboard the Vitae is a collection of various knives. She is fond of bladed weapons and will often carry at least one with her on all field operations. While she prefers not to kill, she isn't stupid and realises that the need may occasionally arise.