"I'm usually the reason people smile... or the reason they drink, whichever works."
Natalie Shortman -- informerly known as "Lee" -- is a 26 year old Biotic Citadel Security Officer who goes by the username pygmyOfficer on the forums.
Lee has been employed at the CItadel for three years, and she also co-owns a large apartment with a turian named Rooklyne Quanilious who also shares the same profession, said turian often going by the nickname "Rook".
General History[]
Lee was born into a large military family back on June 21, 2157 in Quebec, Canada, being the youngest of the ten children born to Marina Shortman. With five older brothers and four older sisters, Lee was prepped to extremes for when she would eventually choose her own role in following the family tradition, hopefully to pursue the role of a soldier in the Alliance Military. Lee was taught not to be fazed by common happenings such as death, betrayal, sacrifice, as well as other such negligent actions if she were to survive out in the field. With little personal time to socialize and mingle, Lee was often seen to be conservative, obedient, and one to always follow the rules whether or not she personally agreed with her moral standards. She found little much else to do than to want to please her parents at a very young age, but as time grew on and more options began to make themselves apparent, she found herself becoming more curious and distracted from the training and authoritarian view of the family in her early teen years.
Unfortunately in the year 2176, she had been one of the first of many in her generation to be enrolled into The Jon Grissom Academy when Biotic powers began to make themselves more visible and apparent -- likely due to her long-term exposure to eezo dust carried in by her father, an amateur Petrologist and Dendrologist. While the academy had been able to keep her within an interactive and social setting, she had also made a few enemies among friends of the family and had at one point gotten a few of the teachers fired for misconducts of poor teaching, bribery from students, permitting drug use, as well as allowing "misuse" of Biotic abilities between students. The details of the scenario have changed over time, the structure of the event often taking a dramatic or over-exaggerating turn and the likeliness of it being true remains unknown.
Despite her outgoing nature, smart-mouthing, and quick learning, she was able to overcome most obstacles and excelled as one of the top Biotics -- as well as one of its many, many students in general -- of her class, her visual learning and over-active training in gaining control of her Biotics had granted her an early graduation in 2179, the abrupt beginning of the Reaper War leaving the celebration of her graduation short-lived.
Upbringing[]
Being under the constant eye of her prestigious parents as well as being in the shadows of the past nine siblings had put an extreme amount of pressure on Lee, causing her to often be extra cautious to find loopholes in deals made with her parents and siblings to lessen her chances of becoming a full-time militant. It left her parents distraught and displeased with her awareness -- though it left her siblings impressed and has since been granted more respect for her trait.
As time went on and Lee grew more and more reluctant to follow in the family tradition of joining a permanent military position, she found herself more of help to the community than she did in charging into simulations of enemy bases, thus leaving her in a problematic position for her well-respected family.
During The Reaper War[]
The Reaper War began during the final years of a heavy disagreement between the children and the parents, thus putting the debate on the childrens' forms of independence aside until the war had ended.
As predicted, Lee herself was found to be more applicable monitoring and aiding those on the Citadel rather than on earth. Her siblings followed her example, the majority of them spreading out and assisting on other planets and in other systems with their respective areas of specialties. Lee had positive feedback upon assisting the refugees an civilians in the Holding Area on the Citadel at the time, guiding those who were lost or confused about the area and giving emotional support where she could. One of the Shortman children had died in the line of duty during this time period; the grief that befell on the remaining family members gave them more of a reason to bring an end to the war, as well as bring in a new perspective to the previously conservative parents on their views of independence.
During the Cerberus Attack on the Citadel, Lee had been one of the many volunteer officers that had been taken and were assumed to be executed. Beaten and bloody, signs of strangulation and torture with stun sticks, she was found with various injuries of many degrees within being stuffed in the air vents. Most of her scars have healed -- but there are few and between that stick out when wearing something revealing her middle torso or her entire back -- and the human was quick to educate herself from her experience that it doesn't hurt to be extra cautious. How she approached others with this new information, however, made them more leery of her presence.
Calm After The Storm[]
When the Reaper War finally came to an end, the tension between the parents and the remaining children of the Shortman family had be eased. Within a few limitations, the children are able to do more activities independently as they please as time goes on. Should they show a promise of good behavior, the lesser the reports need to be made. The remaining siblings keep in close touch, never too far away from the nearest Mass Relay and generally ready to aid the sibling[s] in need.
Appearance[]
Lee is the very definition of "unassuming" confined in a small, curvy body. In height, she is hardly passing five feet by an added three inches -- six when she's wearing her most comfortable heels at best -- and it also has earned her a ever-lasting nickname "Pygmy" in more places than just the forums. She is a compact and bottom-heavy human with strong, full hips and legs that make up for most of her weight -- as well as most of her height -- while the upper half of her body holds an average-sized bust with strong but smooth arms. Her figure, along with her "babyface" and almond-shaped eyes, also have her often mistaken for a cadet rather than an actual officer.
Her body is strewn about with scars, some received from past lovers and others before and during her time as a cop, that vary in size and length; the only scar that can be seen on her face is her most recent one, starting under her lower lip and ending at the lower edge of her cheekbone.
What sets her apart from her fellow officers is her particularly fluffy, Cobalt-blue hair -- an act of revenge that backfired and one that she's learned to grow around -- that is often kept short, but is cut and tied in various styles.
Outside of work, Lee can be seen wearing clothes that vary from loose-fitting and casual styles -- like large jackets and baggy pants -- to clothes that hug her figure and/or show off certain areas of her body. Most, if not all of her clothes, are made to either fully conceal her form or flaunt her scars -- most commonly the ones on her back or rib area.
Quirks And Warnings[]
Lee is normally seen with a blank expression when she's by herself, but her face always breaks into a friendly smirk once she starts talking to someone. She's been known to talk about everyone and everything in person, though she is quite vague when it comes to sharing information online. Known for her friendly and playful nature, she is often underestimated in her performance as an officer; this, along with her more open-minded and compromising traits, often pegs her as a "soft" cop and someone who can easily be manipulated and taken advantage of.
However, she can can also be just as impulsive, nosy, blunt, and as prudent as she would be as her usually casual, informal, and flirty self. This easygoing nature also tends to lead her to giving off the wrong impression, peers sometimes believing that someone with such a casual nature shouldn't be part of C-Sec at all, or they feel that they have been lied to when she shows her more businesslike side. This is more or less just how she is when she's on the job versus when she gets to go home and pass out on the kitchen counter.
While Lee does have emotions, she often casts them aside in favor of more logical and tangible pursuits, tending to theorize and play and experiment more during meetings and gatherings than to make things personal and risking attachment. She puts the "how I should feel" view over "how I actually feel" extremely often, favoring to get the job done without any personal harm done to most parties than to cause trouble for herself and others, so commitment isn't her strong suit when romantic relationships begin to form or are foreseen by those around her. She'll eventually explode into a shaking mess of emotions when she puts deep thought into previous conversations or events, to the point where she'll even get herself sick from not venting out her bottled up energy and emotions. The aftermath, to her, is kicked off like nothing ever happened.
Trivia[]
- The reason Natalie's hair is blue is due to a prank the youngest brother had played on her; the initial prank included temporary color-changing dye, but the brand was an experimental blend made by a friend of said youngest brother. He has yet to actually apologize for it, and he also works at Huerta Memorial Hospital.
- She always carries a pistol and a knife on her, more out of habit from her upbringing than to feel secure.
- Natalie wears brown contacts; this is due to her not wanting a full-on blue scheme all the time, but once in a great while she'll intentionally take them off.
- Her brothers -- William, Charles, Stephen, Alexander, and Louis -- are named after age-old Prime Ministers of Canada.
- Her sisters -- Junie, Madeline, Daria, and Jane -- are named after children's storybook characters.
- Natalie's father, ironically enough, is named Richard Shortman.
- She's a xenophiliac.
- She is also fluent in Québécois and Native French, but she only actually uses it when cursing or speaking with family or very close friends at home or in private.
- She is able to play the lyre and the electroacoustic harp.