Beatrix ‘Flipkick’ Mintz, Rabbit (MarsTech Labs)
Beatrix is a 5-foot-9 bunny, well, she’s a GM largely based on a bunny. As an athletic champion, and the most lethal beauty in all of space-dom, she may look like a giant rabbit, but acts more like a noble Lioness! Unfortunately, she has no babies, as GM’s can’t reproduce, so unable to be the mother she so desperately desires to be, she instead tends to ‘mother’ the team instead. Confident, beautiful, assertive to the point of being aggressive, she was a warrior born for overcoming conflict! And a real beauty to behold. And did I mention she smells like a million bucks? Her one weakness, if she has one, is hair conditioner! Especially in the aftermath of the pirate attack that decimated Yor’s Mine and Colony.
Here are a few scenes where we get to know her better.
Excerpt from Starquake Ch 02: Space Gold
* * *
And now standing next to John, and also deep in thought and reading the same damage reports at the display table was Beatrix, the new Second Officer, who was what you would recognize as a bunny rabbit, if she weren’t five-foot-nine—over 175 cm—but she looked considerably taller due to her long ears that were like Bugs Bunny—but you took your very life in your hands if you ever said so in her presence!—as a champion and deadly kick-boxer, which was how she earned the nickname ‘Flipkick,’ she had the musculature of a serious body-builder, although it was mostly hidden under her luxuriously silky, tawny fur—she was an ideal athletic specimen and a real beauty to behold. Oh and she smelled marvelous!
“Oh, not that it bothers me,” she said, “but several families with children already mentioned to me—” but no one was listening … It gave her a candid moment to add under her breath, nearly in a whisper, “—I wish I could have babies—”
Yes, the one thing missing from Beatrix was her babies. She had a mothering instinct that would sadly never be fulfilled. I didn’t mention it before, but GM’s are made sterile. None can breed—I mean none can reproduce offspring on their own. It didn’t stop her mothering instincts, so instead she took to mothering the team—’smothering’ the team was more like it sometimes. But you knew you could trust her. She had your back!
“Hmm?” … that meant John was kinda listening.
She repeated herself, “I said, not that it bothers me personally but several families with children already mentioned to me they’re worried about the temperature falling so low inside the colony. They asked if we can’t just turn up the heat a little.”
John looked at the console, “Why is the temperature still falling? The air leaks alone can’t explain it. But Livingwater says the magnetic magma coils are all still working.” He exhaled in frustration, “How can we solve a problem we don’t even understand?”
“I’m just telling you what they asked me. Livingwater, can you just turn up the heat? And why do we have to keep reminding you?”
“Sorry, Ma’am,” the colony mainframe replied with a slow, Texan drawl. “Don’t you fret, now, hear? I’ll take care of it for ya, ma’am.”
“Pff!” she scoffed under her breath, shaking her head!
* * *
Excerpt from Ch 10: Work Or Trade:
Chase was wearing a striped navy blue vest, or what you may call a waistcoat, that made his thin body look even more thin, and with a faded cap, which he now held in his hands that were folded in front of him, he was the perfect picture of a polite, service man or laborer. And when he spoke he always addressed everyone politely with a ‘sir’ or a ‘ma’am.’
John liked him at once. But still didn’t understand who they were.
“Can I help you?”
Then an interruption from the landing deck.
Beatrix was calling over the com, “John, how many colonists did we have before—30,000, right?”
Rocky replied into the mic “Yup, about 30,000, do you need an exact number?”
They heard her over the com speaking to someone else in the background: “See, I am NOT making this up because I’m a dumb bunny.” Beatrix was obviously arguing with Prowse, who was being his charming self and was blaming and insulting her for his lack of correct information.
They overheard Prowse speaking to her very rudely, “We do not have space for so many people. With so many medical evacuations, we have even less space.”
Over the com Beatrix said, “John … Captain Prouds says he can’t fit everyone because they thought we only had 23,000 people.” She was more than a match for him: physically, intellectually and attitudianlly, if that’s even a word. And she was not going to be spoken down to like that! She continued, “He thinks somehow it’s MY FAULT they began their mercy mission with a wrong estimate of our population and it’s all somehow because I am a DUMB BUNNY.”
Oh, that’s not good.
The way she said ‘DUMB BUNNY’ gave John chills. Even he knew better than to upset her on purpose!
Into the mic: “Um ok, I’ll be right there. Tell him, sorry but they never asked us how many people we had, and they must be operating on old information.”
Rocky said, “How could he say it’s our fault? They never asked us anything!”
John said into the com very impartially, “How could we be at fault for not telling him the answer to a question he never asked us? We’re more than happy to share any information they need, of course.” It was so annoying!
But when Beatrix spoke, she sounded … angry … everyone knew by now they were leaving all the GM’s behind intentionally and she saw no reason to let him continue to insult them on top of that … “Yes, his information is five years old, just as old as his emotional intellect appears to be.”
Rocky spat trying to hold in a laugh.
Into the mic: “Um, that’s not helpful.”
Over the com she said: “Maybe he wants to arm wrestle to decide which one of us deserves to be blamed for his incomplete preparation? Do you arm wrestle, Captain Proud?”
Nearly shouting into the mic: “BEATRIX, that’s NOT funny. DO NOT ARM WRESTLE WITH HER, CAPTAIN! Beatrix please … calm down … I’m coming.”
Rocky laughed darkly because he knew what John was talking about. It was two years ago at a MarsTech sponsored inter-colony sporting competition—this was over a year before she joined Yor’s Mine, but people were still talking about it, and it’s just fortunate they make such realistic prosthetic arms these days.
Into the mic John repeated, “Captain Prowse, please do not arm wrestle with her!”
* * *
In Book One Beatrix also meets Juno, a freed wolverine, who had his illegal brain implants deactivated, but is slowly adjusting to a free life … She at first dislikes him, he’s a dangerous predator after all, but when preparing for the battle of the Bantam Bay they have a candid talk, and she sees him in a different light.
Excerpt from Ch 18: Gifts
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But meanwhile Juno and Beatrix were getting gear ready in the small cargo bay near the main hangar 14 and everyone seemed so focused and serious until Juno said to Beatrix but looking sideways, “You know, the implant is not such a bad thing.”
“Hmm?” she didn’t even look up.
“The implant. It’s not so bad. It can make you … fearless.”
Beatrix looked up at the wall thinking but kept packing.
“Look, what is your name? It’s something like ‘bunny tricks’ … ‘bun-a-tricks s-something’?”
“Bea-trix,” she said slowly, slightly laughing.
“I’ve just never heard that word before in my entire life. It’s just, Be-a-tricks, the thing is—” but his hands were shaking.
“You’re scared,” she said kindly.
“You all seem ready for this. Like you were trained or something. You’ve been bred by real scientists and trained by proper experts to be warriors and soldiers and things … but me? I’m bred just to be a slave. And without the implant—”
“It’s not like that—”
“I don’t have any training. The implant, that voice, just tells me what to do and I do it. I have no way of knowing what to do next on my own!—ESPECIALLY in a fight!—And now that my implant is not even working … I have all these … feelings. I wish I could just turn them off! I was never scared when I had the implant. I didn’t care if I lived or died. Now the fear is making me—”
Beatrix reached over and put her paw on his leg.
“And what if my implant re-activates when I get near the ship? What if I have to kill my old friends? What if we get killed?”
Beatrix stopped packing and looked at him. It was the first time she really saw him. He didn’t look threatening like a predator or scary like an ex-pirate … in fact, he looked small and soft, a little like a lost pup. Not dangerous in any way. Not angry. Not a villain. Just sad, scared … alone.
“Juno, no one’s ever defeated Waveform. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”
“There’s always a first time?”
“There’s always a first time.”
“But we’re betting our lives that it’s us, here, now.”
“No, we’re not betting our lives, we’re already in this fight, and we’re good as dead if we don’t fight back! We’re doing what we need to, we’re not being cavalier about it but we ARE going to show him what a group of defenseless forest creatures can do when they’re cornered and decide to finally defend themselves.” She looked fearsome saying this! “And I don’t want to die, but I am not going to sit around here and wait for HIM to decide MY fate!” She was breathing faster and made a fist just as she said, “And I don’t know what we’re about to face, but I will tell you this! I won’t go down without a fight!”
Woah!! His mouth hung open! He said in awe, “Is that why they call you ‘Flipkick?’”
“Who told you that?”
“The guys. They said you’re nickname was Flipkick. Or Flip-Flop or FlapFlip or something. Is that why?”
“It’s FLIPKICK—you had it right the first time—and no that’s not why … this is.” She got up and hung a metal crash helmet on a peg above an elongated octahedronal cargo crate. It was as high as a man’s head. She turned around to look at Juno with her back to the helmet and suddenly SPUN around so fast like a spring loaded weapon that it startled him and then the metallic—CCCCRAAAAACK—of her foot hitting the helmet and yes, cracking it! It was not just dented, it was cracked! It finally fell to the floor about 15 meters away and made everyone in the cargo bay stop what they were doing and look up!
Juno’s mouth was now WIDE open in a kind of frown of shock! “How did you DO … that? Can you—can you—can you teach me?”
“Like you said, I was bred and trained for this. But yes, I can show you a thing or two.”
“I’m—I’m just glad I’m on YOUR side. I’ve never even SEEN anything like that before! What ELSE can you do?”
“A few things. If I get the chance I’ll show you.”
“Show me that thing with the—the flipkick again—”
* * *
If you want to help with proofreading or editing, concept art drawing of either characters or space ships, or can help me find a literary agent or publisher, just like Beatrix, I’m all ears!