Natalie Harlow

Natalie Harlow is a technical specialist from XCOM. "Natalie on improvised weapons"

- You'd be surprised how easy it is to turn almost any object into a weapon of some kind, on that note, stay away from the toaster.

Appearance
Natalie has brown shoulder-length loose hair, either tied back or left hanging free. She often wears a light blue sleeveless blouse, jeans and trainers, occasionally also a light grey jacket over it with the XCOM insignia on the arms. When needed Natalie wears a dark blue trench coat, buttoned up when it's cold or raining. If it gets warmer or the great coat may hinder mobility, she wears a black reefer coat instead. While they're often hidden under her sleeves, Natalie has a black and sliver analogue watch on her left wrist along with a few leather bracelets on both arms. Lastly she also has a small crystal pendant in the shape of a circle. Occasionally they're mistaken for having some kind of superstitious meaning behind them, but Natalie dismisses these claims, saying that she just likes them for what they are.

Usually when on-duty in the base Natalie wears an XCOM uniform but she feels most comfortable wearing her combat suit, feeling that the ability to be deployed at a moment's notice outweighs the increased bulk. She keeps a pistol holstered even while at the base, making it clear that she does trust her colleagues but would prefer to be prepared should the worst come to it and the headquarters be attacked.

Personality
"Natalie Harlow, pleased to meet you. I'm the person who makes sure your tech stays online in the middle of a firefight and we don't all die horrible painful deaths."

Normally friendly and easy going, there are two sides to Natalie. The more often seen face is a laid-back, charming, and level-headed woman, going out of her way to help those in need. In conversation she like to discuss a wide range of topics, especially ones revolving around ethics, moral philosophy and technology, often using a person's responses to work out more about their character. She has a slightly sarcastic streak at times, making the odd sarcastic remark at times and also has tendency to become a little arrogant putting her technical skills to use. Natalie's sarcasm is a good measure of her stress; a higher number of sarcastic remarks often indicates a higher stress level. A strong supporter of teamwork, Natalie will go out of her way to help those she trusts, likewise is not hesitant to attack someone for betraying said trust. While trying place trust in her team and other colleagues she dislikes people who do not co-operate or act as if they're superior.

"Which one of you weedles is ready for an ass whooping?"

During combat she usually has a smile on her face when the tide is in their favour, even making wise-cracks at some points, especially when taking out enemies with well-placed sniper fire. When personally hurt or deeply insulted she drops the charming and relaxed attitude, refusing to drop the vendetta until personally satisfied. Natalie relies mainly on two doctrines when in combat, focusing on mobility over defensive power and keeping enemies at a distance ranged suppressive fire.

To relax and kick back she likes to fix up broken equipment as well as design new tools and armors, even if they're impossible to build, on other occasions Natalie plays self-composed pieces on the violin. She doesn't mind company, provided people refrain from touching her work, usually because it results in things inadvertently breaking, much to her chagrin. As she wasn't particularly strong when growing up, Natalie took up more uncommon sports when she was younger, notably sailing and clay pigeon shooting being particular favourites. Lately though during her engineering days Natalie developed a taste for high-octane travel, maintaining and driving a 2014 Aprilia Tuono V4 R.

Natalie's family has strong Jewish ties from both sides of her family, though she sees it more as a heritage rather than a faith yet doesn't often talk about it, finding the matter somewhat less of an issue than other people make it seem. However, this hasn't stopped her from celebrating several festivals with her XCOM colleagues.

One of Natalie's most notable traits is her mind, she has a lightening-fast mind and memory. There is no challenge she doesn't turn down, revelling at the prospect of finding someone who can out-think her. However, despite her tenacity and determination, she doesn't have any particular resistance from mental attacks, if anything the very prospect of a psionic enemy frightens her; the thought that someone could get into her mind and wreak havoc often leaves Natalie feeling unsteady. She is also not a soldier by nature and is not used to employing lethal force, though XCOM training is helping her get used to that.

Weapons

 * CS-03E Electric Shortsword
 * A backup weapon used when enemies close in, the electric shortsword is a short blade with a powerful rechargeable battery built into the handle. When activated the surface of the blade can deliver an electric shock into anything it comes into contact with. The sword is kept in a scabbard on Natalie's waist.


 * XM-42 Plasma Pistol
 * Natalie's preferred close range weapons, she carries two pistol which are often dual-wielded. Both are carried in holsters under Natalie's arms.


 * XM-58 Plasma Rifle
 * A mid-range weapon and used to keep targets from closing in, the rifle is Natalie's fastest firing weapon. It's carried on the right of Natalie's back.


 * XM-86S Plasma Anti-Infantry Sniper Rifle
 * The longest range weapon of Natalie's gear and her favourite weapon, the sniper rifle has a foldable bi-pod and regular scope mounted on top. In order to reduce recoil the weapon's discharge has been reduced per shot but the magnetic field has been modified to fire more concentrated shots to compensate. Natalie carries the sniper rifle on the left side of her back when it's not in use.

Armor

 * TPA-01 Banshee Armor Mk I
 * A customised version of the Skeleton Suit, retrofitted with elements of the Archangel Armor, it retains the main protective structure but has two grapple hooks. The legs also feature magnetic clamps built into the soles, while they're not strong enough for walking straight up surfaces for extended periods of time, they can allow for short running bursts over metal surfaces at sharp angles as well as "wall jumping" between close buildings. Small boosters have been built into the lower leg and ankle sections, the rockets are too weak to provide flight capability but instead are to boost Natalie's jumping abilities and kicks.
 * Due to lack of resources Natalie didn't manage to actually build her suit until joining XCOM, but had kept the designs on her when she initially made them years before. When she did join she promptly managed to get her hands on a Skeleton Suit and modify it her heart's content. The concept version featured a stealth system as well but she didn't include as it was too costly to include.

Equipment

 * Combat Cybertool
 * A small computer located on Natalie's left forearm. The Cybertool is used for in-field diagnostics, strategic analysis and has other technical applications. Custom-designed by Natalie for on-the-go technical uses, it contains a suite of high-powered programs co-designed by XCOM and Natalie for breaking into enemy systems as well as technical analysis of systems. When on missions it can use a satellite link to XCOM's systems to boost its processing power and receive new information from XCOM servers.
 * In order to aid system infiltration the cybertool consists of two sections: a detachable PDA section and a hub built into the gauntlet of her suit. The hub contains the main satellite link as well as wired- and wireless connections for accessing other systems. The PDA section is the heart of the Cybertool and its main interface, in order to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands it is heavily encrypted and programmed to wipe itself if accessed incorrectly. When connected and active the gauntlet projects a holographic interface around it. The system can also be transferred to a "civilian"-use Cybertool hub which links to XCOM systems, allowing Natalie to use the base systems more easily.


 * Technical Multitool
 * A series of several tools (screwdrivers, cutters, wire stripper, pliers etc.) combined into a single device which gives Natalie access to a variety of tools out in the field. The tool is stored in a custom-made holster on the back of Natalie's waist and can be equipped with additional tools if the mission requires. The system is powered by an on-board battery to boost the strength of tools such as the drill, cutters and multi-bit screwdriver. When the multitool is not in use it draws power from the suit's power source to recharge.

Skill & Abilities
"Sure I might not be one for the direct approach, I've never heard any complaints from the opposition though."

Natalie doesn't always opt for the "guns blazing" strategy, preferring to use diplomatic methods and slight of hand if possible. A tech-head by nature, Natalie revels in technology and engineering. She learns quickly and has a large range of technical knowledge at her disposal. To further complement her technical skills Natalie has a superb memory, able to recall minor details with minimal effort. Due to her mindset she has the habit of tinkering with equipment, at first this leads to potentially mixed results but can ultimately be refined to produce very sophisticated results. After countless times of taking apart objects and reassembling them, Natalie developed a very steady grip (finding that not having one could lead to very explosive situations). With minimal effort she found this helped massively improve her aim with firearms. Thanks to a bilingual upbringing Natalie is fluent in English, Flemish/Dutch and can speak limited amounts of French and German.

History
Originally born in Brussels, Natalie moved around Europe a lot when she was younger (most of the time living in England), eventually ending up in Switzerland. While she never fought during the invasion, being only a child at the time, Natalie managed to learn key skills in engineering and information technology. As an engineer Natalie had a clearer idea of Elerium's potential for the world, when she saw the world go to pieces for it she decided to push a united and shared usage of Elerium. The very idea of EXALT repulsed her after seeing a world fall apart once before. Eventually she was scouted for REBIRTH from Switzerland for her technical abilities, excellent memory skills and demonstrated potential with firearms.

Notes & Trivia

 * Natalie once poured hours of work into designing the blueprints for an amphibious armour design, only to find there was no need for one.
 * She is fiercely protective of her violin, threatening to draw a gun on anyone who gets too close to it.
 * Despite having dual nationality, Natalie prefers to identify herself as Belgian, this has often lead to amusing situations due to a very strong Oxford English accent.
 * She is also very supportive of her home country and gets very annoyed when people confuse it for the Netherlands, describing the latter half-jokingly as a "sinking country".


 * Natalie keeps her bike at XCOM, stored in the hangar.