Mercy Quinlan

Mercy Patricia Quinlan (née al-Asma) is an agent for the underground Alhambra resistance network and former police detective under the Martian Soviet Directorate.

Appearance

Mercy is 5'6" and around 150 lbs with green eyes and curly chestnut hair that is starting to grey. She has two bullet scars on her back and a questionable devotion to wearing hats.

Early life and education

Mercy was born September 27th, 2543 in the Hesperia region of Mars. Her father was a terraforming worker and her mother a physician of Yemeni descent. After graduating with a degree in forensics from Ascraeus College (class of '65) she entered the Civil Security Bureau Academy, intent on becoming a detective.

Detective career

After graduating the academy in the spring of 2567, Mercy was assigned a position in Eridania Ossuccio, a modest city home to six massive magneto-shield generator plants for terraforming. She embraced the move and soon found herself enjoying the slightly slower pace of life, though she worked more than enough cases (primarily smuggling related) to hone her skills.

The biggest case Mercy worked, and the one that nearly killed her, involved the pursuit of a fleeing suspect all the way to Kronovostok in late 2570. Once there, for reasons Mercy never discovered, her detective partner Ewald Dreiser placed the muzzle of his pistol to her back and fired two shots. The bullets perforated her lung; she only survived thanks to a passing truck driver who spotted her body and redlined it to the hospital. Dreiser himself vanished and was never caught.

Mercy returned to the force in early 2571, just in time for the outbreak of the Second Martian-Terran War. It kicked her work into overdrive investigating supply pilfering and hunting down suspected spies in collaboration with the Internal Bureau.

Fall of the Directorate

Mercy was on an assignment at the Gallia spaceport on November 4th, 2577, when the news came that Eridania Ossuccio had been destroyed by a nuclear strike. She sank into a depression so intense that she didn't speak for over a week. With nowhere to go and nothing else to her name Mercy remained on the force until the end; she slipped into hiding as the Directorate crumbled.

The years of the White Terror were not kind but Mercy weathered them better than most due to the destruction of so many records of her existence.

Personal life

Mercy met her husband, botanist Bortram "Bort" Quinlan Jr., during her time in the academy. After being assigned neighboring seats on a train they hit it off to the point that Mercy intentionally missed her stop so they could continue talking. They married at the domed botanical gardens not long after Mercy's move to Eridania Ossuccio. While they discussed having children Mercy's near death on Kronovostok and the forthcoming war put dampers on their plans; Bortram was then killed in the bombing of Eridania Ossuccio.

Beliefs and goals

Mercy does not delude herself about the fall of the Martian Directorate. Their communist project has been soundly defeated and attempting to deny that fact will only lead to further disaster. Instead, Mercy understands that she has the responsibility of keeping the flame of communism alive for further generations. She is also quite conscious that with her set of skills she is most useful to the Martian resistance as a field agent.

Aliases

• Brenda Holiday — 'mercenary' identity commonly used in the Nox
• Ismat al-Laith — 'civilian' identity used to conduct her daily life, rent her apartment, etc.
• Vega — Alhambra network codename
• Lauren Platt of Lounging Cougar — founder of an entertainment startup for discerning clientele, used at the Black Astra