<div class="floatright">(http://www.lionsdenu.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2428044_f520.jpg)</div><strong>Player ID:</strong>Pumpkin Seeds<br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: French Script MT;"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 20pt;">Character Basics</span></strong></span><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Danuka Skala<br/><strong>Gender:</strong>Female<br/><strong>Nationality:</strong>Poland<br/><strong>Specialty:</strong>Heavy<br/><strong>Rank:</strong>X-Com Operative Level 2<br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: French Script MT;"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 20pt;">Character Appearance</span></strong></span><br/><strong>Height:</strong>180cm<br/><strong>Weight:</strong>67.8 kg<br/><strong>Hair Color:</strong>Dark brown<br/><strong>Eye Color:</strong>Blue<br/><strong>Build:</strong>Powerfully muscular<br/><strong>Distinguishing marks:</strong>To the left forearm is a rather detailed and involved image.  Roses bursting with dark red color are to be found on her skin along with tightly wrapped vines containing the infamous thorns of such rose bushes.  Periodically along her arm the thorns appear to pierce her flesh and rivulets of blood descend from the open wounds.  This image extends from elbow to wrist.<br/><br/>To the right side of her back extending down to her right thigh are healed scars of a flash burn.  Though the scars are not readily noticeable, on inspection they can easily be noticed by sight and touch.  As if in response to the wound there is another tattoo working down her right side across the ribs.  “So long as I breathe, victory is possible” is etched into her flesh there.<br/><br/>The newest addition to the collection of tattoos is the emblem of the Polish Special Forces Unit known as GROM.  Her father served with them and she is unofficially recognized as a member due to her covert service before the X-Com project began.<br/><br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong>Danuka Skala is a determined woman with an iron clad will to survive and excel.  She is goal oriented to a fault and is drive forward by words such as “cannot do” and “impossible.”  Already the woman has shown a willingness to sacrifice much of herself to preserve these principles with her covert operations.  Quiet and patient, she is also willing to wait for her goals to be achieved.  Often she will research and study a matter before hand to gain the best understanding of how to accomplish her goals before taking her first action.  She is a calculating woman in regard to her career.  Outside of work she is a fun loving woman that does have aspirations of a family and life not involving the military.  Time spent with the mercenary unit in Africa has gotten much of her wild youth out and she is wanting more to settle into a comfortable lifestyle and routine.<br/><br/><strong>History:</strong>The world is full of challenges.  Every day of existence is a challenge to make it to the next one.  Few can appreciate that simple hurdle like a soldier or someone that is spending their last days alive.  Danuka Skala was raised by both.  Born the youngest child and only daughter to a proud member of the Polish Special Forces, she learned early about discipline and structure.  More tragically she learned about grit and determination from a mother that waged a futile battle with cancer for much of Danuka’s young life.   On the woman’s death bed she told all her children she would never sacrifice one day of the fight.  That image remains burned into the conscious of Danuka to this day and she draws greater strength from the pair who raised her to adulthood.  From there her course in life seemed set as she regarded the words “no” and “impossible” as merely obstacles and not stopping points.<br/><br/>Being raised amidst a household of men, the initial interest became weights and wrestling.  None are sure which came first in that regard as she took to both with a single-minded determination.  For his part, her father remained a passive supporter as he thought she did this to work through her mother’s death.  Perhaps she started with that goal in mind but the end result exceeded anyone’s expectations.  Never a small child or woman, she pushed herself hard to achieve what other women had not done and into the realm occupied predominately by men.  Across Europe she competed in lifting competitions and wrestling matches, beating many women.  Unofficially she pushed herself to compete against men in impromptu competitions.  At the age of sixteen her father had enough as she returned home battered and beaten after shaming a man before his friends in Germany.<br/><br/>While he did not restrict her from the gym, he took her away from the competition circuit.  Instead he pushed her toward the studies, taking advantage of her competitive nature and determination to angle her studies into science.  Chemistry and physics replaced her competition spirit.  The gym was then balanced with studying so that she could achieve both.  Graduation soon followed and the military seemed a natural fit for the young woman as all of her brothers had already joined.  Additionally the service combined science and physical fitness into a lifestyle she thoroughly enjoyed.  Demolitions became her new interest and she pursued the path with gusto for her career.  The newest challenge then became enlisting into the Special Operations much as her father had done.  From the onset she was doomed to failure, but she pushed.<br/><br/>Multiple attempts were made to join, but she was always rejected.  None would give a concrete answer to her rejection until one of her brothers solidified her suspicions that being a woman held her back.  Angrily she left the service and indeed the entire country of Poland the next night.  Danuka entered the dangerous world of a mercenary lifestyle soon after, taking a placement in Africa protecting the oil rigs and diamond mines of billionaire corporations.  She had to fight for her respect, but she did not mind.  Soon she was seen as an equal by those that served alongside her.  Additional training was given to her in regard to demolitions and also heavy weaponry.  Often able to carry and lift more than her male counter-parts the job seemed perfect for her.  Additionally she had a knack for applying maximum firepower in a near surgical manner.<br/><br/>Years slipped by while she made her money and put her time into the lifestyle.  Never truly pleased with the legacy she would leave behind, Danuka saw few alternatives.  The Polish military then approached her to perform a covert operation on their behalf.  She would become an unrecognized member of the GROM unit and then infiltrate a working terrorist group in South Africa.  Danuka could hardly believe that this was occurring when she signed up, but she already knew there would be a hard road ahead.  Finally able to join the same unit as her father and then perform operations to protect Poland was nearly a dream come true.  The dream nearly cost her everything from her honor to her life.  Over the next two years she performed acts to earn trust, pushing deeper into the secret cell of the organization.  From sexual acts to murder, she calloused her soul so that she could uncover the true depths of this group.  Unknown to her she had stumbled upon a greater conspiracy that reached out beyond even this planet.<br/><br/>Danuka had infiltrated an EXALT cell nearly to its core.  Just before this realization struck her the leadership of the cell discovered her identity.  Men and women far stronger and faster than she was capable assailed her.  Only through the use of her beloved demolitions was she able to survive, setting off a proximity mine deep within a diamond mine.  She suffered tremendous burns along her body and was nearly buried alive in the explosion.  Once recovered she was inducted into the GROM unit while unconscious in her hospital bed.  X-COM came shortly after.  An elite team dedicated to defending the world from EXALT and from beings unlike any she had seen before.  The condition was simple, if she recovered she would join and if she did not then she would be silenced about what she had seen.<br/><br/>Danuka pushed through rehabilitation in record time.  Drawing on her training from weight lifting, wrestling and military service she was soon stepping aboard a Sky Ranger for parts unknown.