Casual Encounter - Adelaide Thrupp

Who says you have to use guns to have adventures in Traveller?
 
Adelaide Thrupp 577AC8 Age 50 Diplomat 3^rd Secretary 8 Terms Cr 210,000

Retired, 10,000 cr/year TAS member, 1 High Passage

Gambling-1, Carousing-1, Interrogation-1, Liaison-2, Streetwise-1, Vacc Suit-1, Forgery-1, Computer-2

Adelaide (Addy) came from a solidly respectable middle class family on Gataneau in the Talaveran Empire. She decided to make her career in public service and joined the Imperial Diplomatic Corps (IDC), and was assigned to the Corps headquarters on Talavera.

Third Secretary Thrupp lays down the law. You would do well to listen up, citizen.

In her first term she was assigned to work with the Imperial Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on a case involving an illegal gambling house with extra-Imperial ties. The casino was successfully shut down, and she was rewarded for her good work with a promotion to Third Secretary.

Her second term was all about routine office and paperwork, but she was able to develop her reason and knowledge base (+1 INT). Nothing happened of note so she was passed over for promotion to Second Secretary.

Her third term found Addy once again working with the MoJ on a case of diplomatic espionage; the systematic bugging of Imperial and other nation's embassies on Talavera. Addy participated in many aspects of the investigation including the interrogation of suspected spies. Her dedication contributed to the breaking up of the spy ring and their successful prosecution, but again she was not able to secure a promotion.

In her fourth term Adelaide served as a liaison between several Imperial Ministries and the IDC. She received numerous commendations for her innovative and successful approaches, but was once again surprised at being passed over for a promotion.

Term five brought her back into contact with her connections at the MoJ, this time working to take down a smuggling ring that was using real and false diplomatic credentials to move their goods in and out of the Empire. Adelaide spent a lot of time on the streets personally investigating leads, and coordinated the raid that captured the ringleaders.

Her sixth term went in an unexpected direction when she ws attached to a Naval unit and spent two years in space, aboard ship, on orbital and deep space stations. By now she had concluded that even if she got a promotion, it would probably mean a desk job, and she was having too much fun in her more active service roles, so she declined the promotion that was finally offered.

Based on a portfolio of commendations and accomplishments, Adelaide (she stopped going by Addy in her thirties) pushed on into a seventh term; unusual for anyone below Ambassador rank, and continued her string of successes working with the MoJ. The target was a counterfeiting ring that spanned the Empire, the Correllian League and the Trade Protectorate. The ring was broken up and Adelaide again declined a promotion, but bucked her way into an eighth term.

By now her health was beginning to decline, so she accepted a less rigorous assignment, that of running the project of upgrading the computer systems of all the capital's IDC offices. She alternated her time between running meetings and studying everything she could on computer theory.

Now at age 50, Adelaide has accepted retirement, but not an honorary promotion (“they had their chance back in my twenties”). Her first move upon leaving the IDC was to contact all her remaining connections at the MoJ and set herself up as a freelance operative. She now plies her skills for the MoJ on assignments that need a diplomatic touch or plausible deniability.

Despite having never taken weapons or combat training, Adelaide is not afraid of weapons, and takes a dim view of anyone who tries to intimidate her. She keeps her head about her at all times, and with her experience and education she can talk or think her way out of a tight spot. She's dealt with criminals and Ambassadors and knows the weaknesses of both.

PCs might encounter Adelaide anywhere around the Empire. She may hire PCs for skill support or 'muscle' while she is conducting an investigation. If the PCs are working a criminal job for a patron, Adelaide may be investigating them! She is loyal to the Empire and disapproves of subversive or criminal activity, but will listen to reason if the PCs try to persuade her to support a good cause.

Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/22007612@N05/17611787485/">Gage Skidmore</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>