Background/History: Joanna Dark is an eager bounty hunter, a raw talent
with laser-sharp reflexes, a reckless streak a mile wide, and a flair
for sniffing out trouble. Her father, Jack, still can't help thinking
of her as 'daddy's little girl' and she often bristles at his
overprotective tendencies.
Joanna is capable of deep,
destructive anger, and often lacks the discipline to keep her temper in
check, which leads her to undertake reckless, ill-advised actions.
Despite this, she is also extremely gifted and adaptable, and this
frequently gets her out of dangerous situations.
Growing up in
the shadow of her father, Joanna was trained from birth to be
self-reliant; this makes it nearly impossible for her to easily trust
someone else, particularly since her youth was spent helping her father
chase crooks, hoodlums, liars, and thieves from one end of the globe to
the other.
Despite a childhood that could best be termed
'eccentric' - most adolescents don't catch crooks with their fathers -
she is remarkably well-adjusted and content to live each day as it
comes. Trained by Jack but untested outside of HoloMan-VR, Jo is
desperate to demonstrate her talents, as much to herself as to her
father.
Q. Where was Joanna Dark born?
Joanna Dark was born in Atlanta, Ga. while her parents were on holiday. The family moved to England shortly afterwards.
Q. How was Joanna educated?
Home-schooled, if it could be called that. Joanna followed her father
and Chandra across the globe as they tracked down the most elusive
criminals. She spent a short time in an American school in Beijing but
never quite managed to fit into such an ordered environment. Joanna was
invited to leave after hospitalising a bullying quarterback.
Her education as a result is patchy; online and remote teaching, some
tutoring by stuffy AI lecturers. Joanna's practical nature means she'd
much rather be refitting a bike's hydrogen fuel plant or field
stripping a gun than find herself stuck at a keyboard. Jack and Chandra
have taught her many combat and technical skills, with her innate
curiosity filling in the gaps.
Q. What are Joanna's like and dislikes?
Jo is an avid supporter and non-professional player of DeathMatch
("Hey, if things had turned out a little different I coulda tried out
for the Seattle Slayers"). She is intensely competitive, so as far as
she's concerned DeathMatch is all about winning.
Jo also
enjoys a variety of adventure sports - rock-climbing, Le Parkour (free
running), dirt-biking and grav boarding (a mixture of surfing,
skateboarding and skitching). As a result Jo has managed to have more
than her fair share of bone-shattering accidents. As Jo likes to say,
"What's life without a little excitement?"
Jo's experiences
with big business have lead her to be naturally distrustful of men in
suits. "What do I dislike? The Hypercorporations. I mean, sure there
are some good guys out there, the ones that face up to their
responsibilities, but in my line of work you get to see how lethal some
of these companies can be. Not every cost of modern business shows up
on the balance sheet. Those guys are interested in one thing, the
bottom line. The law says they have to deliver for the shareholders,
and if someone else gets their head stamped on in the chase for
profits, well, that's business."
Q. What skills and attributes does Joanna possess?
Joanna is a naturally skilled marksman, a lethal fighter and a mean pilot and driver.
Her technical skills stretch as far as wiring up a charge, picking a
lock or hacking a basic system. All pretty practical stuff. Jo's not
big on theory - like the rest of us she still has to concentrate when
some researcher starts rattling off facts.
