Emily Colorado

Emily is a woman of fairly average height and fairly average build, if a bit slight and pear-shaped. She is more physically fit than her intellectual aesthetic would suggest, used to working long days in remote locations and unpleasant conditions. Her naturally olive skin has tanned a fair amount owing to her work in tropical locations, complimenting her dark brown hair and eyes.   One noteworthy physical characteristic of Emily's is her missing finger. The pinky finger on her right hand was bitten off during a struggle with a large monitor lizard (of a species hitherto undocumented by science, as far as she is aware) during one of her expeditions at the behest of Wilson Jacowski. Emily now usually wears a detachable prosthetic finger in its place, partially for her own vanity and partially to stop others asking questions.

Emily generally favours smart, professional, and arguably even formal attire. In her fieldwork and in her day-to-day life, she typically wears slightly loose-fitting and breathable button-up shirts and comfortable trousers. This is appropriate attire for just about any climate and just about any social situation. In colder climates Emily will often wear a well-fitted smart jacket over her shirt, which out on the field is usually made of leather. Like all in her field, Emily recognises the utility of a good pair of high boots, and uses gloves to handle anything fragile. She is also quite fond of ties, and usually wears one regardless of whether they're really necessary for whatever situation she's found herself in.   Emily also suffers from myopia and astigmatism, and so has to wear corrective lenses to see clearly. She generally gravitates towards large pairs of circular glasses, and always has a backup pair on her. Though she reluctantly acknowledges contact lenses would likely be more appropriate for her line of work, she is reluctant to make use of them owing to a general discomfort with things touching her eyes.

An archaeologist first and foremost, Emily rarely leaves the house without a collection of archaeological equipment kept snugly in her satchel bag. Fully trained in first aid, and prone to stumbling into situations where she needs to make use of her training, she also usually keeps a first aid kit within easy reach. Emily usually carries around a backpack on her adventures, though it is rarely packed with more than essentials - she simply feels more comfortable having the extra space should she happen to stumble across any artifact of potential significance.   Though Emily has strong reservations about potentially killing anyone, she is required by her employers to carry a firearm for self-defence. Her revolver of 'choice' is the almost comically small Smith & Wesson Model 642 LadySmith, though she would rather it never leave her pocket - in part due to her unwillingness to kill and in part due to her sub-par aiming ability.

Colorado was born in Brighton on the 27th of July, 1972, as the second child of Sergio Colorado (usually known as James) and his wife Irene (née Barrymore). Her paternal grandparents, Leandro and Catalina Colorado, emigrated to the United Kingdom from Gijón in northern Spain as refugees from the Spanish Civil War. Her father worked as a mechanic and was ultimately able to open up his own practise in Brighton, with her mother handling the finances.   From a young age, Emily demonstrated a precocious intellect, a love of learning, and a vast appetite for literature. After she churned through all the children's books in her household, she moved onto thicker fantasy novels and later became transfixed by her parents' small collection of historical literature. Among her favourite books as an adolescent were Frank Herbert's Dune and J. H. Elliott's The Old World and the New. With her older brother John set to inherit the mechanics business, Emily's parents happily encouraged her to pursue her interests in learning and academia. Emily also had a healthy social life, especially enjoying the company of her close friend Melody Fairfax - though Emily often remained a follower to the stronger-willed Melody's antics.   Owing to her work ethic and academic giftedness, Colorado successfully applied to study at the prestigious University of Oxford, where she pursued a degree in archaeology. At the invitation of some of her campus friends, she also began attending lectures and seminars on medicine and epidemiology, which she found similarly fascinating. Upon opting to pursue further research at the completion of her first degree, she decided to pursue a partially interdisciplinary approach to archaeology, incorporating elements of epidemiology into her PhD work. Her thesis, Archaeological Records of Malaria in the Later Roman Empire, c. 550-700, was accepted in late 1997.   Following her doctorate, Colorado accepted a research position at the University of Oxford, and was 'loaned' to the University of Bangalore in south India so she could continue her research into malaria in the context of the Indian Subcontinent. At some point, Colorado made the acquaintance of American businessman Wilson Jacowski, who was impressed by the young aracheologist's wit, drive, and common sense. Jacowski offered to bankroll much of her research in exchange for her services on any expeditions he arranged in the future. Always eager to chase new discoveries, Colorado accepted on the condition that any noteworthy artifacts could be researched and publicised for the good of the academic community. Colorado has recently returned from one such expedition, where she assisted in an attempt to track down the mythical Andvaranaut of Germanic legend. She is currently working on a written account of the expedition, titled The Trail of Siegfried, in addition to her fieldwork and research.

Emily has received a thorough education in both private schools in Brighton and the prestigious University of Oxford. She has a thorough grounding in the field of archaeology, having earned a PhD in the field in 1997, and through electives and other general interests also has a strong knowledge of history, epidemiology, and medicine. Emily has also received substantial first aid training which she renews and even revises of her own volition - her willingness to be a First Aid Officer has helped her several times when looking for employment. In addition to her academic training, Emily also has some basic training in mechanics, often assisting her father and brother in their workshop while growing up. These mechanical skills were reinforced by trips with her friend Melody on the latter's dad's fishing trawler - the old boat would often break down mid-journey and need a few "hot fixes" courtesy of Emily to get back to shore.   Growing up in England, a young Emily was taught Spanish by her father at the request of her grandparents, who wished to be able to comfortably converse with their grandchildren. Consequently, Emily has been fluent in English and Spanish for her whole life. Her studies have given her a firm grounding in Ancient Greek and Latin, and she can usually decipher the meanings of ancient texts in these languages with little difficulty. Having worked in India for a number of months, Emily is approaching a conversational level of Hindi, and can, with enough time and effort, often decipher texts in Sanskrit as well.