Beatrix Jäger

is an independent freighter captain, operating as a smuggler out in the frontier territories. She's had a long list of previous jobs, ranging from pick pocket, messenger, insurrectionist guerilla, assassin, cabin girl, pirate and big game hunter. Described as prickly, and sarcastic, she's a troublesome and troubled individual, but with a soft spot for those in trouble.

Early Life
Born on Arcturus during a particularly rough winter in '34, she was born to Randal and June (Nee Tostig) Jäger. Randal was a UNSC Army Colonel, and June an Army Ranger Lieutenant Colonel. She grew up never knowing her mother well, because of her constant deployments, but grew up in the care of her father, who was stationed as an officer in the planetary garrison. Growing up with her father, she rarely had time for any particularly effeminate activities, instead learning skills with her father that would serve her well in the years to come. He'd take her out on wilderness trips, teach her field craft and survival skills, and teach her how to utilise a long rifle. By the age of five, she'd gone on her first hunt, killing a rabbit. While she barely knew her mother, she knew what she did. Stories always reached home of June Jäger's exploits in the field, winning battle after battle. Her desire was to follow in the foot steps of her mother as an Army Ranger.

In 2546, her mother was declared missing in action after the disastrous battle of New Llanelli. Father and daughter were left distraught by this, but Beatrix believed her mother was alive, while her father was convinced she died, and started moving along with his life. This created a gulf between the two, and they barely spoke for the next two years. In 2548, Randal's unit was mobilised for deployment off world, but Beatrix begged him to stay, she didn't want to lose her father too. The following year he was killed during the Battle of Paris IV, dying alongside his men as they held a final line of defence between the Covenant and the spaceport. Now orphaned, she became a ward of the colony.

The Orphan
Taken to an orphanage, she quickly grew to hate it there. Between uncaring, authoritarian orphanage employees, and bullying by the older children, she quickly grew resentful of the place, and was eager to escape. Spending a year there, when the harsh Arcturan winter rolled in, she reached the breaking point. One of the few belongings she brought with her was her mother's medal for valorous action in combat, and when a group of older boys attempted to take it from her, she reacted violently. In the brawl she bit a finger off one boy, dislocated the arm on another and clawed the third boys left eye out.

Now in serious trouble, it was all but certain she'd be sent to a juvenile detention facility. The night before the attendants from the juvenile hall were due to come, she broke out of the orphanage. Taking all the warm clothing she could find or steal, she ventured out into the cold winter night, into a snow storm, knowing it would make tracking her impossible. Venturing out into the wastes, she kept going through the night until she reached New Accra. Here she seamlessly blend into the population of young vagrants.

The Pickpocket
On the street at the tender age of 14, she learned quickly, hardening to the difficult life around her. Raiding dumpsters to pick up scraps, she planned to try to work her way back to her old home, and hide out in there. However, on the night time she was jumped by a pair of youths trying to steal her jacket. fighting back, she was saved by a group of older homeless people. Mostly youths, they were lead by an older man, Frank Darby. Taking Beatrix in, they shielded her from some of the worst of the sights the street had to offer. While her survival skills in the wild were sharp, she was less adapted to the urban jungle, and Darby taught her everything he knew about surviving out here.

Finding her to be quick, and whip sharp, he began teaching her the finer points of pick pocketing, and thievery. She learned how to lift a man's wallet from his pocket, how to get what she wanted from slight of hand, how to shop lift, how to break into cars and stores without leaving evidence, and even taught her how to con people out of their money. Beatrix proved to be a quick study, and a quicker thief, soon bringing in plenty of loot. Darby told her there were three rules to abide by as a thief. Never steal off anybody else in the gang, never steal off those who can't afford it, and never get caught. She never broke a single one of these rules.

For a few months she lived like this, sleeping rough, and stealing or conning the money and food she needed to survive. But her thoughts turned to her family home, and they lingered, so she saved up what little she could steal and got a bus out of town, to visit her family home. Getting there after a three day journey, she hoped the outer wall and was prepared to walk calmly back into her family home when she saw the lights on inside. Creeping up to the dining room window, she discovered a new family had moved in, renovating the interior so it was almost unrecognisable. Distraught, she was prapred to smash the windows in, but relented, and decided to bide her time. Once the family went to bed, she broke into the basement. Finding a few family heirlooms in there, she took them and fled the house, but not before alerting the occupants. Narrowly avoiding capture, she escaped the property, and by morning was on a bus back to New Accra.

Her life as a pickpocket would have it's ups and downs, as she and her small gang would come into scuffles with other groups of homeless youths, be apprehended by police officers, and a one or two even went missing, which was an all too common fate for homeless youths. Despite living with this group, she was still somewhat distant from them, rarely speaking much, but she would share her money and loot when times were hard.

The Messenger
Times changed for her group when Darby was arrested by police after lifting the wallet off a precinct captain. In custody, one of the officers broke his right hand, ending his career as a pick pocket. Darby was left so broken by the ordeal that he turned to drugs, with the gang stepping up their activities to support him. Soon, his addiction began to infest the whole gang, with most of them becoming hooked on drugs. Seeing what was happening unfold before her eyes, Beatrix tried to get them to stop, but to no avail. Unable to deal with it, she left the gang.

Pawning a few of her family keep sakes, she decided to try and invest the money in a job. She bought an old bicycle, an old messenger bag, a chain and a sturdy lock, and sought employment as a bicycle messenger. She quickly found work, delivering parcels for a private company. First hired on as a independent contractor, she was paid based on commission. Her quick wits, good stamina and excellent knowledge of the city allowed her to become an excellent courier, getting packages to difficult to reach areas in no time. Her skill saw her accepted as a full time employee of the company. She became good friends with a fellow courier, Heather, who taught her the finer points of being a courier, and gave her a spare helmet, insisting she wore it in case she was in an accident.

For the first time in a few years, she was living a good, clean life, no stealing, no fighting. She was a damn good courier too, if a little aggressive against traffic. She came to live with Heather, who like her, grew up rough on the streets, and now lived in a homeless commune between subway tunnels. Piece by piece, she also upgraded her bike, stripping away anything unnecessary, and replacing many parts with lighter, higher performance parts. While her pay wasn't great, she made by well enough on it. She and Heather even talked about saving up to move into an apartment together. This changed when Beatrix had a bad accident, and was hit on a crossing. Her arm was broken, making cycling difficult and forcing her to take time off.

A week later, Heather was hit by a car running a red light, killing her instantly. The car drove on, and Police had little interest in hunting down the killer of a homeless bicycle courier. Beatrix, incensed by this, took it upon herself to find the driver. Getting a some information off a courier that saw the accident, she tracked the car, and found owner. A poor man living on the lower west side of New Accra, she followed him home on night. Taking up an discarded piece of piping, she waited until he parked up, followed him out and confronted him. At first argumentative, Beatrix confronted him on the courier he killed, and he grew quiet, and couldn't provide a response. Losing her patience, she began beating him with the metal pipe, even after he collapsed and begged for mercy. Screaming at him, she was interrupted when a little girl came outside, asking for her daddy. The man screamed for her to run back inside. At that point, she looked to his run down house, beaten up old car, and scraggly daughter, and realised he was barely any better off than her. Dropping the pipe, she just walked away.

Enlistment
In 2551, she was doing a regular delivery, running a job to an office on the west side of the city. Dropping off the package, she was about to jump back on her bike and ride on, when she saw the office next door. It was a recruiting office for the UNSC Army, with a poster for the rangers on the wall. The poster was taken from a picture, one she had seen plenty of times, showing her mother's unit in victory against the Covenant. After Heather died, she just wanted out of here, and enlisting was her best bet. Chaining up her bike, she went inside and asked about enlisting in the Rangers. The recruiter gave her a form and told her about all the requirements. Taking the form back to where she was staying, she filled it in over night, falsifying her name and age.

Heading back, she handed in her form. The recruiting officer looked to her form, then back to her, and just laughed. He shocked Beatrix by referring to her by her real name, and told her she shouldn't be lying. He had served alongside her mother in the Rangers, and knew her from pictures her mother had kept. Initially thinking of bolting out of the room, the recruiter told her just to stay. He took a new recruiting sheet and filled in her real details, though lied about her age, and stamped her through, then told her to make her mother proud. She smirked and agreed.

Selling her few meagre belongings, with the exception of a few precious items, she shipped out immediately. This would start a new, but brief chapter in her life.

Basic Training
Her father had groomed her for years to be a soldier, and now she had the chance to prove it. Taken into basic training, she quickly proved herself to be a very capable soldier, but her resistance against authority proved to be her undoing in many circumstances. She was often caught fighting with other recruits, and refused to obey orders from drill sergeants on superior officers.