Name: Maria ?The Undertaker? Machado
Age: 26
Sex: Female
Profession: Wandering Physician
Appearance: The first thing people notice about Maria is her choice of breathing mask. It?s more of an antique than anything else, but it still functions regardless. The mask is a big, black thing that covers the entirety of her head - well, except for the back, where her brown hair can be seen clearly among the various belts that fasten it to her head. The hair itself is wavy and usually worn loose. The next notable piece of attire she wears is, of course, her lab coat. With the dust and all, the white has faded into a dirty grey - not to mention the fact that Maria has modified it a bit.
The modification is a simple one: the addition of a black hood and a medic armhood, the former there in case of nasty weather and the latter?s purpose is just to notify others of her expertise, lest they need it. However, there is one thing she carries on her person that scares others away and is probably the source of her epithet: a large hoedad with a blade so long it is often mistaken for a scythe. While the tool is retractable for easy carrying, Maria displays it openly and secretly enjoys the effect it - among with her whole getup - has on people, though she?d be first to correct on the assumption that she is a Grim Reaper of sorts.
Apart from the gas mask that covers her face, the lab coat, or the hoedad, Maria is a rather ordinary person of Hispanic descent. Underneath the mask is a kind face with big, brown eyes, a button nose and a cheeky smile - if she?s in a good mood, that is. Always on her person, around her neck, is a simple necklace with a cross pendant. It?s more a memento or a good luck charm than a declaration of faith. The piece of jewellery belonged to her mother, after all. Underneath the coat, she wears rather drab clothing, just shirts and vests and trousers of muted blacks and greys, her brown walking boots are nothing special either.
Personality: Maria?s a cheerful sort with a smile stuck on her face and is always willing to help people, no matter who they are. Though, she can be quite snarky at times, especially around overly negative people, or whenever she feels like people are treating her unfairly. Many just see her as some sort of nut, a happy, amiable and kind nut, but still a little touched in the head. However, Maria is not stupid. She can school anyone in the basics of first aid and relies on her quick wits and quick thinking in order to save her patients? lives. In truth, the cheery facade is just there to distract herself from the harsh aspects of living on The Rock.
Regardless, there is one aspect of her personality that is definitely isn?t a fabrication: her obsession with tidiness. It is impossible for her to leave a mess untidied, whether it be a spilled glass of milk, an oozing wound, or a dead body. That?s right, she buries every corpse she comes across. The logic behind that impulse is not scientific at all: Maria just believes that with burying the dead, she is bringing a little bit of civilisation to the wild wastes. The Rock may be home to all sorts of crazy, but only in of case of when the majority of the populace stop burying their dead will Maria call it a lost cause. Also, she is a pacifist.
Biography: She was born to a pair of scientist-types, with a doctor for a father and a mechanic for a mother. They travelled across the land in a battered van, just doing odd-jobs and favours to get what they needed. Of course, their way of living was quite dangerous, and they chose to settle in one of the dome settlements as soon as they could, about when Maria turned four. Nevertheless, their day jobs were still the same, the family?s position was a little permanent and stable than before. Maria couldn?t say that she missed it; after all, she has little memory of that time.
However, her mother grew bored. She wanted to continue exploring The Rock, she wanted to hear the cough of that ol? rust bucket again and she wanted to delve into the scrap yards that littered the planet?s surface. So, she left - simple as that. Her father wasn?t able to persuade her to stay with her child, perhaps because Maria had always been a daddy?s girl right from the start, and as a result, mother dearest packed up all of her things - the van included - and departed, leaving only a necklace behind. It took awhile for it to sink for young Maria, but at least she had her daddy. Her mum was always messy and oily anyway.
The rest of Maria?s childhood was uneventful, and her adolescence was even more so, apart from her infrequent bursts of rebellion. She wasted time like she had always done, and just watched her dad work as an apprentice of sorts. Sometimes he even delegated work to her. That was particularly the case when he was appointed Sheriff (as a calm and gentle man who looked after the community?s heath and an avid gardener, he was the obvious choice). He became too busy for minor coughs and colds and he became too busy to read the signs. The settlement of Manzana would regret its choice of Sheriff.
Bandits crashed Maria?s twenty-first birthday party, well not literally. They did what bandits did best and raided the settlement. As just a minor town in the middle of nowhere, the townsfolk didn?t have much in terms of firepower. As their dear, Noble leaders, no-one knew where they went. Almost like they knew about the raid before that. But that?s an entirely different story. Anyways, her father - where other Sheriffs would welcome bandits with a bullet to the head - welcomed them with words. He tried to reason with them, tried to convince them the little town wasn?t worth the trouble...
It worked just as well as that time when his wife decided she wanted out, the bandits were dead set on reducing the town to rubble and the man everyone looked up to was pistol-whipped for his trouble. Not to mention the kneecapping. Thankfully, after that, his death was quick. His last act? An appeal to Maria to run somewhere safe, and she did exactly that. She hid herself away in a ruined husk that used to be her home, and just waited until the bandits were done with their grisly work. Afterwards, she crawled out with what remained of her belongings - the gas mask, the garrucha and a doctor?s bag.
Maria stumbled on the hoedad a little later, as well as the grim sight of what remained of the townsfolk, her father included. She just wanted it to go away, all of it. With a heavy heart, Maria buried them and the finality of that act was a small comfort. Ever since then, she has been wandering and doing odd jobs to survive. Unfortunately, Maria seems have gotten a reputation for someone good at cleanup operations, because of that, she has buried more people than she has saved - a lamentable fact. Nevertheless, it?s how she gets by. Maria even received a rusty old moped from a client for her services.
Notes: In terms of equipment, in addition to the what was mentioned above in the Appearance section, she has a moped, it is similar in appearance to ZiD-50 "Pilot". The doctor?s bag usually just hangs on the handlebars. The garrucha is a small gun similar to a derringer and is carried in the deep pockets of her lab coat. She has never fired it before.
