Theresa Barrin (Catalysmic Gerosha)

Theresa Barrin is a minor character in the Pilltar Adventures volume of The Gerosha Chronicles in Dozerfleet Comics. She is the wife of Ron Barrin, an eventual pilot of Pilltar. She is also the mother of Stephanie Barrin, the pilot of Strawberry.

Character bio
Ron and Theresa married right out of high school, and believed that only good things were bound to happen. However, Ron joined the army and was sent on various peacekeeping missions around the world. He served time in Iraq as well. He was surprised that he was never promoted, in spite everything he'd done. A few captains even wondered why Ron was not being promoted. In Ron's absence, Theresa took to finding ways to raise their daughter Stephanie on her own - her way. However, she wasn't a very good judge of character. This complicated matters quite a bit for them.

Ron eventually got kicked out after having a breakdown, and was sent home. He and Theresa found communication difficult, and neither of them was willing at first to put aside their pride and talk to a counselor. Ron got his own place for a time. Theresa grew desperate for answers, and was lured into a church-school in the area where she lived that Stephanie viewed with suspicion over their questionable teachings. However, Theresa urged Stephanie not to rock the boat or rattle cages. This request proved impossible, as the behavior of students there tipped Stephanie off there all was not right with the school. She began instead working for and learning from Seth Lambrelli, who lived in the area. Theresa tried to forbid Stephanie from going over there, but Stephanie made compelling arguments for going to visit Seth anyway.

Theresa was considering calling the police to stop Stephanie from visiting Seth; but changed her mind when Stephanie was abducted by the faculty at school. Seth sent Pilltar to rescue Stephanie, and Stephanie told Theresa everything that happened to her. Theresa and Stephanie were finally able to come to terms with one another, though Theresa was never fully willing to give her stamp of approval to Stephanie's work and school arrangements.

Right as she and Ron do decide to make their marriage work out, however, Scott Morrisson returns with Stagtar. He makes a special point of murdering Theresa in her own home, as a way of spelling out to Ron and Stephanie that there is no place safe from him. When they try to flee Iowa anyway, he grows angry and sends Stagtar after them in hot pursuit. The father and daughter grow exhausted in their quest to reach Oklahoma, but finally defeat Stagtar and avenge Theresa.

Personality
Theresa is often very curious and also very shy. She is also not very bright, though she does try to exercise authority beyond her ability. She can get defensive, melodramatic, and is often highly suspicious of whatever is being done by others around her. She can also be a horrible judge of character, blindly trusting both Scott Morrisson and the corrupt teachers at Stephanie's school before that. Yet, she does not trust Seth Lambrelli nor Stephanie's decision to work for him. Overall, she means well. But her poor choices often complicate Stephanie's life.

Development
Theresa was initially intended to be a much harsher character back in 2010, one whose extreme distrust of Seth Lambrelli would lead to family conflict in Stephanie's life on a grander scale than what wound up happening. Until 2013, little was defined about her. She wasn't even given an appearance until then. She would eventually become her present form. Of all the major characters in Pilltar, she is probably the least developed. This is because she was always intended to be more of a plot ticket than a meaningful character; an obstacle for Stephanie to overcome in her journey to becoming the pilot of Strawberry. She was given some redemption in Pilltar 3, but mostly served to tie up loose ends and to give Stephanie a reason to hate Stagtar.