Some say Pauling is nothing more than a shipping Smurfette/unnecessary NPC whose purpose is to balance the male-to-female ratio.
I see Pauling as more than that and as a woman who should not be underestimated - sure, the woman may seem calm, withdrawn and polite when need be, but let's look at the bigger picture other than just your average normal human being: any average normal human being brave enough to hang around nine men who are not entirely right in the head + be the right-hand person to who has to be easily the most terrifying woman on the planet next to her Portal counterpart voiced by the same voice actress...is probably an average normal human being to be reckoned with.
EDIT: So there's a couple of misconceptions as to what exactly's going down in here and whether or not Pauling just whooped everyone's ass or she's the unlockable 10th Class needed to save the day because everyone's ass just got whooped. I went more towards the latter route, but if your headcanon states otherwise go right on ahead and assume the former.
Reblog Here![link] Miss Pauling Model from Rebbacus