Poppy Thatcher

Summary

Poppy Thatcher was raised in the sort of privilege that breeds either future business tycoons or drug-addled wannabe rock stars. Poppy’s hoping for the former; her parents expect the latter. Growing up, it seemed like Poppy couldn’t do anything right--or at least not as well as her fraternal twin sister, Sloane, could do it. Poppy’s parents (both ultra-wealthy, uber-powerful corporate execs who work in and dabble in politics) fondly retell the story of the time Sloane gave their mother a homemade cake for Mother’s Day. Actually, Sloane had stolen said cake from Poppy. Poppy had spent hours on the damned thing. She saved up her own lemonade stand money (Sloane’s stand earned double her own), shopped for the groceries herself, sent the family cooks out of the kitchen and battled with sticky batter and a temperamental oven to create a delicious, if slightly lopsided, double chocolate pastry wonder. Poppy’s mistake was leaving the cake unattended before the celebration dinner, wandering off to play computer games in her room. Serves her right for slacking off. When Poppy made it back to the dining room to surprise her mother with the dessert, she discovered that the cake was gone--taken by the conniving Sloane. Her parent’s praised Sloane for her kind generosity and thoughtfulness while Poppy sulked in a corner, forgotten and bitter. Even after Poppy insisted that the cake was, in fact, her handiwork, Mum and Dad simply shrugged, telling the tearful Poppy that a true leader knows when to take credit for an underling’s creation.
Things didn’t change as the twins grew up. Schoolmates and potential love interests pursued Poppy to get closer to Sloane. Teachers praised Sloane’s brilliance to Poppy’s face, while applauding Poppy’s “good effort.” Poppy was forever second fiddle to Sloane’s achievements--Sloane was the class valedictorian, Sloane was the president of Model UN and won every computer science prize available to overachieving high schoolers.
The unbalanced sibling rivalry persisted into adulthood. Case in point: Poppy recently graduated with an MBA from the Stanford Business School. She was second in her graduating class. Sloane was first. The twins both earned executive-track jobs in the family business. Sloane took to her leadership role in the company with the ease and grace of a privileged white girl who has never heard the word “no.” Poppy… not so much. Tired of perpetually living in her sister’s shadow, Poppy pursued the one area of the corporation she knew would be off-limits to Sloane: space colonization. Sloane has terrible vertigo; her one embarrassing moment in a lifetime of worship came when the twins visited NASA’s Space Camp and Sloane had to quickly stumble to a bathroom after taking a spin in the MAT. Poppy still remembers her father’s sneering comment after she told him about the incident: “You might not be the smart one, but at least you have a strong stomach.”
Poppy finally seems to be shining with her own light in the Space Colonization & Leadership branch of the company, away from the bright light that is Sloane and the disapproving stares of her parents. When she’s offered a seat on the USCSS Del Paraiso, Colony Ship, Poppy takes to space with nary a glance back. Settling Enoch III is Poppy’s opportunity to shine--finally. While the rest of her family couldn’t care less about space exploration, Poppy knows that the rest of the world is watching. Is it a cliche that Poppy just wants to make her parents proud? Maybe. But Poppy works hard, seldom sleeps, and has her eyes on the prize. It’s colonize Enoch III or bust--and Poppy’s tired of losing.

Characteristics

• British
• Mid 20s
• Corporate
• Company Agent (Wits)
• Corporate Henchperson/Ethicist (Secondary Profession)

Attributes, Skills, & Talent

• Strength 3: Heavy Machinery 0, Close Combat 1, Stamina 1
• Wits 5: Observation 3, Survival 0, Comtech 3
• Empathy 2: Command 1, Manipulation 3, Medical Aid 0
• Agility 4: Ranged Combat 1, Mobility 1, Piloting 0
• Talent: Take Control

Activities

• Founding Team of Boundless Horizons, July 12, 2120

"No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death: and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." --Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

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