Helena Kestrel

Helena Kestrel

A character in X-COM: The Bureau

Role: The Nobody

Trope: Trusty Sidekick

Job: Ex-CIA Black Ops Field Support

Age: Adult (24)

Flaw: I'm too eager to prove myself

Catchphrase: I've got your back!

Played by: Sage Genesis

---

Attributes

Brawn	Nerves	Smooth	Focus	Crime
2	3	3	2	2

Skills

Brawn	Nerves	Smooth	Focus	Crime
Endure 1 Fight 2 Force 1 Stunt 2	Cool 2 Drive 2 Shoot 3 Survival 3	Flirt 1 Leadership 2 Speech 3 Style 1	Detect 2 Fix 3 Heal 3 Know 2	Awareness 1 Dexterity 3 Stealth 2 Streetwise 1

Feats

Mechanic: Gain a Free Re-roll to build or repair Rides and other gear. Physician: Gain a Free Re-roll to find a diagnosis, to operate on someone, or to remove physical Conditions. Silver Tongue: Gain a Free Re-roll to lie, persuade, find a compromise, or to bargain.

Gear & Resources

Gear	Resources
Pistol (Melee 0 / Close 0 / Medium 0 / Long -2) Mags: 3/3	Grit Lost: 0 Spotlight: 1 / 3 Adrenalin: 1 / 6 Cash: 1 Death Roulette: 1 / 6

Background

Helena Kestrel grew up in a military family with a lot of older brothers. Naturally, as a young woman she did not join the army. Instead she became a nurse who worked for the International Red Cross. Mostly in the form of assisting male doctors. Drawing blood, cleaning up, making some coffees. That kind of thing.

That story was true, for about a few months. Her patriotism, psych profile, and skillset made her useful for a different job as well: part of a CIA team on Cuba, pretending to be a Red Cross outreach mission but actually laying some groundwork for the imminent Bay of Pigs invasion. And being the CIA, also administering fake vaccines. Ms. Kestrel turned out to have enough ethical flexibility for the mission, and pulled off several ops because she was commonly dismissed as "just some girl." People find it remarkably easy to dismiss her as harmless, a fact that both annoys her but also she'll exploit to the fullest (which annoys her even more).

Of course, the invasion was a failure. The CIA was quick to cut all connections with her afterwards. "Your time of playing spy is over. Go back to being a nurse. Leave the country's security to your betters." But you can't put the genie back in the bottle. She wants to help and make a difference. A real difference. Director Faulke had no trouble bringing her in, even if her exuberance can seem unprofessional at times.

---

Template originally by Eplov