I would like to introduce you guys to Lizbeth Carter. She’s the new gal in Alliances, and the other half of the titular subject.
Lizbeth is loosely based on my bestest friend in the universe, the one who I’ve known since I was 8 years old. Lyssa’s BFF needed to be based on someone who wouldn’t suffer fools, or let Lyssa get away with half the crap that the guys (Sage, Harms, Vel) let her get away with.
Lizbeth works for the Universal Beings Union Intelligence Agency, Major Crimes Directorate, Insurance Fraud Division, Piracy Branch, a government agency dedicated to finding and eradicating insurance fraud. While they give a pass to actual piracy, thanks to the runners, they do crack down on those folks who operate outside of the pirate web system.
If you think that’s bad, you should see some of the actual business processes in our real government.
The Meet Cute
For as much as Lizbeth is based on my BFF, she’s also got a lot of my day job frustrations. Her team is full of ineffective slowpokes who move at the pace of government. She spends most of her time in the field, getting her hands dirty in her investigations. Which is how she runs into everyone’s favorite bounty hunter.
Lizbeth manages to outwit Lyssa and force her into helping her with her current investigation. Lizbeth needs Lyssa’s money-tracking expertise and knowledge of the inner workings of the pirate underground. And, as you probably can guess, Lyssa needs a bit of… persuasion to play along.
About Lizbeth
Lizbeth has a lot of the same qualities that Lyssa has. They’re both stubborn, dedicated to the task at hand, and have a little bit of an independent streak. But she’s the polar opposite of Lyssa in very important ways. For one, she embraces help, and for another, she is incredibly feminine. I’m going to explore this second topic next week, so come back for that.
Their dynamic is a fun one to write because they are so similar, and so different at the same time. At the end of the day, they begin to mutually respect each other and what the other brings to the table. And that, as they say, is the start of a beautiful friendship.
