Delaney Wolff Fox
Delaney Wolff Fox is the second daughter of Ariela Rivers Wolff and Fred Fox.
She was born in 2070.
She has a very high IQ and was taking college courses by the time she was 16. She was enrolled in JROTC (and later, ROTC) continuously, starting in her freshman year in high school. She graduated from college at 20 (2090) with a bachelor's degree in Military History, and was commissioned a second lieutenant straight out of school. So in other words, it was obvious from a very early age that she would join the military, and probably the same branch as her Grumpaw, John Wolff.
Thus her service in the Space Force Marines and a love of puzzles leads her into intelligence work with SFMID, where she performs quite a few solo undercover missions on both Earth and several of the colony planets, gradually working her way up to Captain by 2095. In 2100, she is placed in command over a special, expanded fire team of SF marines (all sergeants) who become Fire Team (Special Assignments) One (AKA "FTSA1", "FTSA One") under SFMID.[1] After two missions with FTSA1, and just before a third, she is promoted to Major in September 2101, and takes charge of what eventually becomes a three-team SF Marines platoon under SFMID known simply as "FTSA".[2] (The platoon is considered part of the 1/1 SF Marines, but in actuality is a special unit off to the side in the TOE and reports through the chain of command to the CO of the SFMID, who in turn reports directly to the Space Force Commandant with cc: to the Space Force Marines Commandant. Read more about the SFMID in its own entry.)
She marries Norman "Harb" Harbinger in 2125, and is pregnant with twins (indeterminate sex at time of writing) in 2249. When she becomes pregnant, she is assigned to do staff time "in durance vile", i.e., the Pentagon:
"This is what staff time is about, hon," Harbinger consoled her, as they ate hot dogs and french fries, seated on a park bench under a tree in the central courtyard of the Pentagon. The weather was cooperating for a change; it was warm but not too hot, and a nice breeze was actually getting into the courtyard. "You're assigned to perpetuate the paperwork mill they have here, and learn both why it's important and why it never ends."
"I should have taken leave," groused Delaney.
"No, you should be right here, doing the staff time you should have done when you were a captain and a major," riposted Harbinger. "And it's a perfect time for you to be sitting behind a desk rather than charging down alleyways, shooting at people and doing doors."[3]
She has straight, dark blonde hair, and is quite curvy (see picture). She hates her body.
"And such a delightful, beautiful bevy of sisters your mother created."
"Well." Delaney chewed her fries for a moment, considering, then swallowed. "The others are gorgeous. I’m just me. My face is too round, my jaw is too square, my breasts are so huge they need custom armor, and my hips are too big. And I hate my hair."
Harbinger grunted. "You have to keep it short so it fits in a helmet."
"True. But no comment about my other hated features?"
He looked at her. "Delaney, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, and that's no lie. You have curves where other women just wistfully think about having them. And yet, you're fit, healthy, and going to have twins. So why are you complaining?"[4]
Her name "Delaney" means "child of dark defiance". She is the object of her mother's first vision and prophecy:
"No," repeated Ariela, coming back to herself, eyes shining with understanding. "The child who defies the darkness will be crownéd in light and glory." She paused, considering, then nodded firmly.
"At the end, as we face the Abyss, she will save us all."[5]
She is an expert marksman and martial arts practitioner, having learned both from her "Grumpaw" John Wolff.
She wanted to be a Space Marine from early childhood, and to follow in her Grumpaw's footsteps in Intelligence since at least her teen years.
Debuts in A Fox in the Henhouse. Appears in A Dragon in the Foie Gras and The Lion in Paradise.
Mesh capabilities
- Has a keen mapping sense ("map in her head") and can use the Mesh like a 3D map/locator
- Her strong leadership skills are part of her "aura", which causes people to look to her as a natural leader
- From her first full awareness of the Mesh, is capable of manipulating it in small ways, such as pulling a bullet out of a wounded person and closing up the wound behind it, or cleaning out a lock mechanism simply by imagining what it should look like new
- Her sense of the Mesh, even before she is consciously aware of it, is probably why she is a hyper-competent spy and special ops Marine.
- Unlike Raven, her marksmanship abilities are inherent/learned, and don't rely on the Mesh