Paulina Tomczak

Born in postwar Poland to middle class farmers in the Opole province, Paulina was a child prodigy who graduated from the university of Warsaw with a degree in molecular chemistry. She worked as a PZPR youth leader and an associate professor of scientific history at her alma mater. Seen as one of the rising stars of the Polish People's Republic, she was made Minister for Youth and Associate Minister for Education in the cabinet reshuffle that followed the announcement of martial law. Despite her youth she was considered a pro-Soviet hardliner.

During the war she was evacuated to the Soviet Union along with many other government figures when NATO forces invaded, but the evacuation effort stalled in Belarus when the Soviet convoy transporting her was attacked by marauders. She managed to join up with a group of Polish soldiers and made their way back to Soviet occupied Chelmno where she made contact with the Soviet command structure. When the decision was made to give the Polish People's Republic control of Lublin, Paulina was the last surviving member of the prewar government who could be located, so she was placed on the WRON along with two Polish generals and a Soviet advisor.

Somewhat surprisingly given her non-military background Paulina has gone on to become the dominant figure in the WRON and has earned the grudging respect of the Soviet generals her government negotiates with. She is reasonably well respected by the people of Lublin although she still has to rely on military force to control her territory.

Paulina is first and foremost a coward. Her experience fleeing through Belarus scarred her and she does not want to be put in physical danger again - something that is never far away, even in the relative security of the Lublin enclave. Driven by this cowardice, she has become something of a moderate - while previously she believed that the USSR was the most advanced country in the world and communism was clearly superior, she has come to empathise with the average Polish person's fear for their homes and their family. She is still quite pro-Soviet but this is by necessity, since she knows that the Soviets could put her in danger without much fear - she correctly suspects that GRU agents are planted close to her and are ready to move if necessary.

Paulina is a young woman and she looks it - she has long, fine blonde hair she wars in a ponytail and hazel eyes. She usually dresses informally in a rolled-up shirt and worker's pants. She never carries a weapon and doesn't really know how to use one. She speaks several languages, including Russian and English.