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Polly

Polly is the Shipgirl and support specialist aboard the Gemini in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Born in space as a Belter, Polly is a youthful, optimistic, and chatty presence on the crew who yearns to prove herself and achieve something truly great. She specializes in explosives and Demolition exploits, destroying cover and terrain to force enemies into the open. As a Belter, her perspective most directly engages the game's political themes regarding inequality in the Belt.

Quick Reference

Personality and Background

Polly brings an energy to the Gemini's crew that no one else does. She is young, openly enthusiastic, and talks more than most of her crewmates combined. Where other companions carry the weight of disillusioning experiences or hidden agendas, Polly is driven by a genuine desire to do something meaningful. She wants to prove herself, not just to the crew but to herself, and she sees the Gemini's missions as her chance to make a real difference.

As a Belter, Polly comes from one of the most marginalized cultural groups in the solar system. Belters are people born and raised in the low gravity of space stations, asteroid colonies, and ships, and they face systemic discrimination from both Earth and Mars. Their bodies develop differently in low gravity, their cultural practices are often dismissed or misunderstood by Inners, and their labor fuels the economies of planets that treat them as expendable.

Polly's optimism in the face of this reality is what makes her remarkable. She knows the Belt's struggles intimately, but she has not let that knowledge crush her spirit. Instead, it fuels her drive to achieve something that proves Belters are more than what the Inner Planets assume. This makes her a potential emotional center of the crew, the character whose hopefulness reminds everyone else why they are fighting.

Combat Role and Abilities

Polly operates under the Demolition exploit category. Her specialty is destroying cover and terrain outright, removing the defensive positions that enemies rely on and forcing them into the open where the rest of the squad can engage them freely.

In combat, Polly is armored enough to take a hit but mobile enough to reposition quickly. She carries a submachine gun for mid-range covering fire, keeping enemies suppressed while she moves into position to deploy her explosives. Her combat style is about creating opportunities for the rest of the team rather than racking up kills herself.

Polly's expertise with explosives makes her the go-to companion for breaking open entrenched enemy positions. When enemies are dug in behind heavy cover and standard gunfire is not getting the job done, Polly's Demolition exploit can simply remove the cover entirely. This forces enemies to either retreat to new positions (giving the squad time to advance) or fight in the open (where they are vulnerable to focused fire).

Belt Politics and Themes

Among the entire crew, Polly's perspective is the one that most directly engages with the game's political themes. The exploitation of Belters, the wealth gap between the Inner Planets and the Belt, and the systemic injustices that define life in low gravity are all issues that Polly has lived through firsthand. Her reactions to encountering Belt communities, OPA supporters, and Inner Planet authority figures are colored by personal experience rather than abstract political positions.

Polly's connection to these themes adds weight to missions that take the crew to Belter stations like Ceres Station or into conflicts that involve the Outer Planets Alliance. Her presence in the squad during these moments provides dialogue and reactions that ground the political narrative in a personal, human perspective.

Relationships

Polly's chattiness and optimism make her easy to like but sometimes hard to take seriously. Some crew members see her youth as naivety, while others recognize the genuine courage it takes to stay hopeful in the face of the Belt's hardships. Her desire to prove herself means she is always volunteering for dangerous assignments and pushing herself to contribute, which earns her respect from companions who value initiative.

As the potential emotional center of the crew, Polly has the ability to bring people together during moments of low morale. Her enthusiasm is infectious, even for the more cynical members of the team, and her willingness to see the best in people sometimes reveals things about other companions that they would rather keep hidden.

Tactical Notes

• Polly's Demolition exploit is the direct counter to enemies who rely on heavy cover. If an encounter features fortified positions, barricades, or entrenched defenders, Polly should be in your squad.

• She pairs exceptionally well with J or Regina (Precision). After Polly destroys enemy cover, Precision companions can pick off the exposed targets with enhanced accuracy.

• Use her submachine gun to suppress enemies while she maneuvers into demolition range. She is mobile enough to flank, but do not send her in unsupported since her armor allows her to absorb hits, not shrug off focused fire indefinitely.

• In missions set on Belter stations or involving OPA-related storylines, bring Polly along for unique dialogue and deeper engagement with the political narrative.

• Polly and Michael share the Demolition exploit category. Running both in the same squad gives you overwhelming terrain destruction capability, which can trivialize encounters where enemies rely on defensive positions.