Kamila Czapnik

Lieutenant Kamila Czapnik (Polish: Porucznik Kamila Czapnik) is a 23 year old soldier of the Stronghold in Tyniec, west of Kraków. She is the leader of one of the platoons stationed there, trained in warfare by veterans from before the nuclear armageddon. Kamila is the protagonist of The Promised Human and one of the strongest female characters in the entire Metro Series.

Overview
When hell on earth became a reality during the short World War III, Polkovnik Mawte - at the time much lower in rank - was one of the lucky few soldiers to have access to a military jeep. As Kraków turned into a nightmarish place of chaos in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear bomb being dropped to the east of the city, prior to evacuating Mawte rescued a 3 year old child from a crashed bus in the middle of a warzone. That little girl was Kamila, whom he adopted and raised, training her in the art of war. She grew up to become the leader of the 6th Airborne Brigade's most valuable post-war platoon, known colloquially as "The Dead" (Polish: Umarli).

As they grew in fame and strength in the Tyniec Stronghold, Kamila's 4th Platoon espoused a new ideology. Believing the errors of their ancestors to be the cause of humanity's downfall, Kamila saw the stubborn attachment of her superiors to the ways of the past as a foolish decision that would ultimately lead to the destruction of their society. She gave her platoon its new name and introduced different rules, as each member had to undergo an initiation test and revoke their sentimentality to the pre-war times. As they symbolically "died", they were born again and branded to mark their transformation.

Kamila meticulously planned out to peacefully overthrow the authority of General Skrobosz and Colonel Mawte, but in the end failed, which resulted in her being sent on a suicide mission to find the Source of the telepathic unanimity beneath Wawel and annihilate it. She is joined by the trusted soldiers of her 4th Platoon, among them are: Corporal Dalia (the medic and cook of the group, always fascinated with slicing up radioactivity's fleshy new creations), Łukasz "Spajor" (who loves to distill his own vodka and is never seen without a cigarette in hand), and various others. On her journey she is joined by Marcin and the Russian stalker "Wesoły", characters from The Promised District.

As a leader Kamila is strict yet fair, she is clearly compassionate towards her troops and cares for them as comrades - brothers and sisters-in-arms. However, she is also more empathetic than many military leaders, which can be seen as an asset. One of her weaknesses is the abundance of confidence in her own abilities and that of her subordinates. On a physical level, she has been described as an attractive and athletic woman who could put most men to shame, thanks to her rigour and combat skills.

Trivia

 * The skull tattoo on her face is a trademark of her platoon's unique initiation ceremony, as each soldier who joins "The Dead" must get their face tattooed with the same symbol - women on the left side, men on the right.
 * Many front covers of books in the Universe of Metro 2033 series are based on real people (e.g. the art of The Right to Life and The Abyss feature the likeness of each of their respective authors). It's unknown who was the model used for the appearance of Kamila. However, her features are noticeably Polish.
 * The red beret and insignia that Kamila and her team wear are from the real life 6th Command Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces.
 * Kamila's first name is the Slavonic equivalent of Camilla, a French version of a Latin given name, estimated to ultimately be of Etruscan origin.
 * The rank of "porucznik" that Kamila has is the Polish equivalent of lieutenant. This is sometimes referred to in English as poruchik and used throughout the armies of the Slavic countries (Serbo-Croatian: poručnik, Czech: poručík, Russian: поручик, Slovak: poručík).

Gallery
Камила Чапник