<div align="center">(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff167/Melody0322/Summer/river.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Name</strong>: River Tam<br/><br/><strong>Age</strong>: 17<br/><br/><strong>Gender</strong>: Female<br/><br/><strong>Role</strong>:  Copilot<br/><br/><strong>Appearance</strong>: River’s appearance is very deceptive. She is petite, with a lithe, willowy frame. Long, lean arms and legs taper to small, delicately crafted hands and feet. Her build is feminine but not even the kindest person could call her curvaceous. The girl is starting to fill out though. Naturally fair skin that bears the marks of her time at The Academy has golden undertones.<br/><br/>There is nothing remarkable about the features of her oval face at first glance but she possesses a beauty wholly her own. She has a strong jawline and a rather blunt, square chin. Her forehead is broad and her nose and ears are proportionate to the rest of her features. Her cheekbones are high though and she’s got full lips with a slight upwards curve at the corners.<br/><br/>Her eyes, though wideset, are lovely. A warm brown, they belie the rest of her appearance. They are far older than the rest of her. Her hair is a rather nondescript but lovely brown. It is naturally quite wavy and tends to curl when wet. She has a girlish voice.<br/><br/>Normally she wears whatever is handy- thanks to the assistance of Simon and Kaylee, her clothes fit well and no combination looks bad but she doesn’t particularly care what she wears. Her shoes are always sensible though.<br/><br/>The young woman moves with a natural athleticism and grace. An amazingly gifted dancer and frighteningly skilled combatant, her reflexes are unparalleled. However, there is a certain restlessness to her too, like she’s responding to things that others aren’t aware of. Most of the time she’s quite aware of how her body relates to the world around her but othertimes she doesn’t seem to notice or care.<br/><br/><strong>Personality</strong>:  River Tam is an odd one, that’s for sure. She’s far more lucid now that the weight of the secret of Miranda has been lifted but she is still a very damaged young woman. Nightmares still trouble her; she has yet to speak of what was done to her at The Academy to anyone. Certain things bring back memories even more vividly.<br/><br/>She seems to have very little control over her emotions. When she is in a good mood, she’s very pleasant to be around. River is still very curious. There is something childlike about her. She enjoys playing practical jokes. However, underneath that is an extraordinary young woman.<br/><br/>To call her gifted would be putting it lightly. River is highly intelligent and has an incredible memory. Her brother said “There is nothing that doesn’t come as naturally to her as breathing does to us.” An eager learner, her hunger for knowledge is insatiable. She was aware of her intellect and that made her a little arrogant.<br/><br/>The Academy changed her. Whoever she might have been is likely gone forever. They wanted to mold her into a weapon and in a sense they succeeded. However, her mind is fractured. She is wildly unpredictable. Her intellect, training, and fragile mental state make her dangerous and well she knows this. She has a conscience but she also seems to be able to put moral concerns aside to do what she needs to do.<br/><br/>River loves her brother Simon dearly. He sacrificed everything for her. She has come to trust and care for the crew of<em>Serenity</em>too, Kaylee especially. No one has any illusions about her though. Yes, she’s made progress but no one knows what the girl is going to do next.<br/><br/>She is an eerie thing, make no mistake. Maybe she’s psychic, maybe it’s just a result of her mind’s ability to perceive things others couldn’t in a unique way and process all that information faster than most computers. Either way she seems to be able to discern and sense things others can’t…<br/><br/><strong>Background</strong>: River Tam was born on Osiris, a very wealthy and populous Core planet. Gabriel and Regan Tam were supporters of Unification; they believed the Alliance could do no wrong. Her early life was charmed. Doting parents could give her every luxury money could afford. They didn’t necessarily understand the wunderkind but they loved her.<br/><br/>She always was very close to her brother Simon. He was gifted too but not quite like she was. The schools she went to and the tutors her parents hired could only do so much. When she heard about The Academy, she begged to be allowed to go. At first it seemed like a dream come true- a private and exclusive school for the most gifted of the children of the elite.<br/><br/>It was something else entirely though. Things were fine for a while but they didn’t stay that way. The Academy was just a cover. She was cut off from her family but managed to get out at least one letter to her brother and she told him in code about the things that were happening to her. During the two years that followed, she underwent all sorts of experiments (including being given Pax) that transformed her from a well-mannered, curious girl eager to learn into something else entirely.<br/><br/>Simon managed to rescue her eventually but the damage was done… and most likely irreversible. Malcolm Reynolds had no idea what he was getting himself into when he agreed to take on Simon as a passenger. It started to become clear.<br/><br/>As they journeyed with<em>Serenity</em>, she started to get better. On more than one occasion she used her gifts to get the crew out of trouble. Evading the Alliance was tough and became even harder when an Operative was sent after them. A trigger coded into a broadcast in a bar jogged her memory a little bit. Miranda…<br/><br/>A visit to the planet confirmed it. Thirty million people had just… given up. An attempt to reduce aggression and make the population more manageable failed miserably.  People let themselves die. Except for a small percentage of the population, on whom the Pax had a very different effect. The weight of the secret had been very hard to bear and she seemed much better after it was revealed to the public.<br/><br/>It was not without a price though. Shepherd Book and Wash both died in the course of events leading up to it. A brief reprieve gave the crew a chance to grieve for their lost friends and repair the ship. When they were ready to take off again, she sat in the copilot’s chair. Some of the pressure was lifted but the Alliance is still very much interested in those that dealt it such a heavy blow...<br/><br/><div align="center">(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff167/Melody0322/Summer/summerglau-2.jpg)</div>