Astera 'Asta' Laukkanen
"I'll protect Finland from the cancer of socialism regardless of how many times it comes back."Theme(s): Jääkärimarssi
B A S I C I N F O R M A T I O N
Full Name: Astera Suojella Laukkanen
Nickname: Asta
Date of Birth: December 14th 1898
Place of Birth: Viipuri, Karjala, Finland.
Gender: Female
Race, Ethnicity: Caucasian, Finnish
Eye Color: Grey
Height: 5'7
Weight: 130lbs
D E T A I L E D I N F O R M A T I O N
Titles: Jäger/Jääkäri, was Upper Middle class but not nobility by any means.,
Appearance: Astera is a lean, blonde-haired grey-eyed woman with an extremely pale skin colour. Her height is above average for a woman so she is outstanding within a crowd. Whilst having a mostly lean, average body weight, muscle tone is definitely there upon her shoulders and legs. Most of her attire is comfortable, loose fitting clothes or her formal military attire combined with a hood that she tends to don to try and cover her features from onlookers and the sun of wherever she is from.
O C C U P A T I O N A L A N D F I G H T I N G A B I L I T I E S
Past Occupation: Astera was from an upper middle class family in Viipuri, volunteered for the Whites and was trained as a Jaeger in Germany.
Current Occupation: Weapon Specialist
Equipment:- Karabiner Model 189AZ - Astera's had a lot of weapons from her time as a soldier, but this has stuck with her the longest. A weapon from when she had went to Germany to train as a Jaeger, she has had plenty of use from it from her days of service. She usually keeps it strapped over her shoulder.
- MP-18 - Astera's favorite gun. She had received it along with a large amount of Jaegers to complement a different style of warfare, and it had proved immensely successful.
- Astera's Puukko - A puukko is a traditional Scandinavian multi-purpose knife. They are usually personal to a person, especially in Finland and this is true to Astera. Having carved the handle of her blade herself, she takes great pride in her weapon and sees it as part of herself, often keeping it on open display at her hip.
- Kantele - A 5 string Finnish harp that Astera brings along with her. She keeps it as a memory of home and to play for both those around her and her own comfort.
Notable Talents/Abilities: What skills does your character have to offer that complements their trade?
- Dead Eye - Astera is one of the best snipers on the planet, which is why she was able to train as a Jaeger. There are few people who can out-shoot her with a sniper rifle. She earned her keep and helped free Viipuri with the use of her rifle, and has no difficulty using a sniper to optimal effects.
- Exceptional Strength - Astera is a woman and not exceptionally muscular, so one would think that she wouldn't possess much physical strength. They would be wrong. Astera possesses the same amount of strength as a man her height, often able to beat out her comrades in arm wrestles and tests of physical strength, making her able to operate on the same playing field as men in regards to close quarters and trench warfare.
- Comradery - Astera as a person is pretty agreeable and often brings people together due to her personality, nature and social ability. She’s not perfect, but because she speaks multiple languages and has the experiences of a soldier, she’s able to connect with a vast array of people and bring their morale up just through conversation. Whilst able to understand and speak multiple languages however, a heavy accent is present and idioms/phrases will slip right over her head except for when she is speaking German or Finnish.
Reasons why they are a crew member aboard this vessel: Do not write this part yet.
P E R S O N A L
Hobbies/Pastimes: - Conversation - Whilst not one people would expect to be a good chat, Astera is surprisingly sociable. She often enjoys telling stories(some of which are false) to entertain and is always fond of jokes.
- Alcoholism - Astera takes alcoholism to a new meaning. She’s obsessed over finding the right stuff, and is a very heavy drinker with an even higher tolerance. She knows her stuff.
- Singing - Astera has a pretty good voice and enjoys singing, especially war songs. She is especially fond of the ones from the finnish civil war but has come to learn plenty, from German to Russian ones.
Talents/Skills: - Literacy - Can read or write Finnish, Swedish, Russian, German or English.
- Game Expert - Astera is an expert at any games. Dice, cards, knife, drinking, chess or even arm wrestles,, she seems to have the natural ability to outdo her peers much to the frustration of their wallets.
- Cooking - Whilst not gourmet by any means, Astera due to both her upbringing and time in the military has some competency as a chef. Her meals by all means are edible and she can make something out of nothing if the situation calls for it.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
Astera, despite being a soldier for nearly half her life is a free spirit, defying all expectations. She tends to do what she likes and has strong opinions and views that she likes to protect and uphold whenever she can. This combination of traits is both a positive and a negative, as whilst she never allows herself to be trampled upon by others, it had led her to a lot of unnecessary trouble. Everything about her is rather carefree, to her lazy clothing to her un-brushed hair. She has no filter to her voice, and the only time you might find her addressing others with respect if there is a noticeable difference in accomplishment or rank. Those who are not above her will find no courtesy. There is not a trace of femininity in her being and this shows, from her ethics, morals and feelings to her presentation, the fact that she’s a woman does not matter to her.
Astera is also exceptionally lazy when not motivated to perform a task. One would think that both of these traits would make an awful combination for a soldier but it turns out that they have worked to her favour, as she has often found the quickest route to solving a problem in order to conserve her energy. She's incredibly efficient and resourceful with whatever she has and although she is lazy, she isn't much complainer. She prefers to fix whatever is plaguing her and get it over with than dwell and talk about it, and this philosophy extends to basically everything that she does.
Including those facets of her personality, Astera has become first and foremost a soldier. Despite her free spirit, she respects order when it directly concerns her, and despite her laziness, she will complete assignments to the best of her ability when it is within those parameters. She is a social creature and despite being a sniping lone-wolf during her time in the military, does not enjoy being alone as much as she enjoys the company of her comrades. Other than protecting her nation, nothing brings her more joy than betting on a game of chess or cards, or drinking in their company. Despite her brazen attitude, she is very amicable and easy to get on good terms with. She enjoys being the centre of attention and tries to gain the affection of her peers constantly, looking at every way to break barriers between her and those she works with.
B I O G R A P H Y
The story of Astera begins in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Astera was born in Viipuri, the largest city in the province of Karjala. She was born to parents that were wealthy but lacked the noble name and the Russian blood to enter the aristocracy despite their many accomplishments. Her father was a military officer who had earned his keep in the Crimean War, leading their family to the upper middle class. This had lead for a sleepy, easy life for Astera for the majority of her childhood, as she had nothing to worry about in her quiet hometown.
At her young age, she had always held a deep admiration for her father and her deeds, and grew to be quite the patriot. This led to her wanting to serve her country and given what a determined person she was, she knew even at that young age that she wanted to be a soldier. Whilst most looked at this with silliness, her father was a different man. He saw potential in her given that she was very athletic and tall for a girl her age, and held the knowledge that there was nothing deadlier than a child trained by a specialist. Given that she was his only child, he figured he could see whether women could actually serve on the battlefront as more than a nurse. Her mother didn't object, given that she loved seeing the sheer amount of freedom she received at that age compared to what she had, almost as if she was living another life through her daughter.
Every single day after tutoring, Astera would go out to the garden with her father and practice shooting for hours and hours. She was so committed to her word that her father had commented that "the family would not get to eat because we had to sell the food for bullets." Once she'd finished shooting in the range, she'd go and exercise her body and sleep. In any other case, this would not have worked but given the conditions that Astera had, the setting was perfect for her.
By the time she had entered her teens, Astera was something else entirely. She had been completely blessed by athleticism and strength, and her skills had vastly improved. However, her training was cut short before she could fully blossom into what her father had envisioned, as the Great War had kicked off, and her father was called upon. She badly wanted to serve but she was naught but a 16 year old girl with a premature body. They simply wouldn't take their chances when the manpower was not necessary. Astera saw this as a challenge however and continued to practice and hone her skill almost to a dangerous level going days without eating merely to practice her shot, or improve her physical conditioning.
Astera at this stage was desperate to go and prove herself. The opportunity arrived when Germany began recruiting volunteers and given the nature of the conflict, they saw nothing wrong with experimenting with Astera and seeing if female soldiers could truly function on the battlefield. Whilst they wouldn't get to learn this until much later, Astera was extremely grateful for the training they had provided as it far surpassed anything she performed. Promises of an independent Finland motivated her to push herself further as she continued through her training. However, much to her discontent she was not deployed, as the October revolution had begun by the time she was available to be deployed thus leading her to be sent home along with the other Jägers.
Astera finally received what she wanted. Combat. It turns out that the experiment was a success. Too much so. She never remembered how many people she killed. She had one mission in mind once the civil war had started and that was to free her city. Communist after communist fell to the scope of her rifle, as she operated in a lone sniper role that earned her the nickname the 'Ghost of Viipuri' by the reds as she perhaps employed some of the earliest displays of guerrilla warfare that had been seen before.
Eventually the offensive was taken directly to the city by the whites, and she proved that she was not only a sniper but someone who would gladly face battle headfirst. Following the liberation of the city, victory was close to the whites and they achieved their goal, and she had hers. She had served her nation and protected it from socialism, but she felt wrong. Both of her parents had perished due to the terrors of the Great War and more specifically socialism. This led her to have a great appreciation for the Germans who had trained her and helped save her country from such terrors.
Unfortunately for her, when Finland had become a democratic republic due to the German failure to establish a monarchy there, she felt trapped. She did not believe in democracy in the slightest, and did not feel like living under a system that could so easily turn south in her eyes. On top of this, the majority of her assets had been destroyed by the communists and she hadn't exactly earned enough to live comfortably in Finland, nor did she want to settle down. She was at a dilemma because whilst she wished to serve her nation, she did not have the means to do so as an officer, and she didn't see another war coming until she was useless to her country. She figured she'd serve Finland in another way, by becoming rich and powerful enough to prevent socialism from ever touching her nation again.
Now, how could a soldier get paid without any wars to fight in?
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