Alira Lancel

STATUS: Alive GENDER: Female AGE: 28 (born November 29, 3282) ALLEGIANCE: Independent HOME SYSTEM: Lulus OCCUPATION: Freelancer RELATIONS: Thera Veles (mother, deceased), Jack Lancel (father, missing), Relf Elafus-Veles (step-father), Anthur Elafus-Veles (half-brother), Alric Elafus-Veles (half-brother) OTHER NAMES: CMDR Lancel (Pilots' Federation License), Alira Veles (Imperial Certificate of Birth)

HISTORY

"The Lady of Fate favours the best." — Proverb of the Pilots' Federation

Childhood (3282-3300)

Alira was born on the Imperial border world colony of Lulus 2 as part of a publicity stunt by her mother, Thera Veles, then a Senator, around the terraforming progress of that Water World under her leadership. Unfortunately, it proved obvious that her husband was not the father, and it was soon learned that her actual father was a scoundrel of a pilot she met at a flight demonstration on Achenar 2. Conflict in the family's penthouse at Baffin Palace on Lulus 1 was rumored but never publicly stated. Alira's father, Jack Lancel, maintained ties with his apparent only child and made it a tradition to visit Alira at each of her birthdays, and as she got older he would take her out in his Cobra Mk III for a few days each time. Her 12th birthday proved exceptionally exciting as they together logged a Stratum Tectonicas on Lulus 5 and Alira was curiously logged with her first ship-to-ship kill - a Sidewinder wanted for piracy which attacked their Cobra in system. Only days after that trip, however, Jack and his Cobra Mk III disappeared and thus far have not been seen again.

Alira's teenage years spiraled downhill when his father didn't come back, falling into destructive thrill-seeking and arrested a number of times while running with gangs and delinquents involved in petty larceny, property damage, underage drinking, and an illegal fight club. Eventually her mother and step-father stopped protecting her from her choices, and a looming financial burden of fines almost saw her put into an arranged political marriage or even forced into a contract of imperial slavery. On her 18th birthday, however, a representative from the law firm Sue, Cripple, and Sneer arrived at Baffin Palace with a missive from her father, which he had arranged to be delivered years before in the event of his untimely end. It left her with a small number of credits, a Remlok flight suit, provision for acquiring a license with the Pilots' Federation, and his old, red Eagle Mk II.

Early Career (3300-3304)

"Just remember, girl, all this, everything we've done here today is yours as much as mine, and maybe one day you can carry it on yourself and blaze your own trail if that's what you want to do." — CMDR Jack Lancel, 29 November 3294

Alira seized her opportunity and passed her Pilots' Federation exam just one month later on 29 December 3300. With her father's name vacated, she reclaimed it as her own on her license, subsequently becoming the next generation of CMDR Lancel. She celebrated her new license through New Year's before getting to work. What followed was a busy series of fighting pirates, missions, and trade over months before she at last paid her debts and started exploring beyond the edge of the Bubble even in that old Eagle. Conflict for her was not to be far off, as the Empire's succession crisis began with the death of Hengist Duval in 5 August 3301, who left no clear heir after disqualifying his only legitimate son the previous year. Historically, Lulus and Senator Thera Veles, held strong ties with Princess Aisling Duval, Hengist's granddaughter, and Alira was pulled in to support the princess's claim to the throne. As a licensed Commander of the Pilots' Federation, Alira was in a prime position to support Aisling more tangibly, and her efforts did not go unnoticed, earning her an honorary title in the Imperial Navy Reserve and an Imperial Courier.

Aisling's claim, however, was overruled by the Imperial Senate, who ultimately selected Hengist's illegitimate daughter, Arissa Lavigny-Duval, to be the new Emperor. Alira reportedly became involved in a fist fight with pilots of Lavigny's Legion in the Pilots' Lounge of Dawes Hub on the day of Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval's coronation, an incident mentioned in the Imperial Herald as instigated by "poor losers". The fallout of this period is notable in the broader context of House Veles, as the defeat of Aisling in her run on the throne further impacted Senator Thera Veles' influence in the Lulus system, which had been dwindling now for several years.

Alira all but dropped off the radar for years after this. She is believed to have been chasing rumors in her Imperial Courier outside of the Bubble, wild stories like abandoned settlements, unknown artefacts, and even the Guardians and the Thargoids. She was spotted fighting the Thargoids in the Pleiades, but rarely more than Scouts, and even then never more than one at a time. Her final large effort of this initial conflict with the Thargoids came with Canonn Interstellar's Gnosis Expedition to the Cone Sector in September of 3304. Drawn in by the possibility of exploring the heart of Thargoid space, Alira joined the expedition only for the Gnosis to be hypderdicted at the edge of the sector, leaving her systems crippled and CIC largely offline as the Thargoids attacked. Confronted with evolved Interceptors, Alira's Imperial Courier did not last long in the defense of the Gnosis. A Thargon clipped her Imperial Courier's port nacelle, forcing her to eject before the cascade systems failure destroyed her ship. Although she was rescued, the harrowing experience aboard the Gnosis saw her return home to Lulus in the weeks which followed.

Interwar Period (3304-3306)

"There is only the Empire." — Arissa Lavigny-Duval, Emperor of the Empire of Achenar, 25 January 3305

Alira spent months in recovery at Baffin Palace on Lulus, though her time home was not pleasant with Nova Imperium on the rise and House Veles by now in dire straits. Alira became involved in defending her mother against accusations of her complicity with Nova Imperium, with political tensions in Lulus boiling over around the turn of the new year pushing Alira to defend against a coup. Nothing went her way, with Thera Veles losing her senator status and House Veles itself being overthrown by her own husband, Relf, who had staged the coup himself. It was around this time that Imperial Intelligence uncovered sufficient evidence against Alira's mother to be convinced of her involvement with Nova Imperium, as well as turn up evidence of her involvement with the Marlinist movement. Now-Patron Thera Veles was present at the Imperial Senate floor on 25 January 3305, with Thera being gunned down along with the other conspirators behind Nova Imperium by the Imperial Guard where they stood. Alira was also present, but had not been implicated by Imperial Intelligence, and so was not mentioned in the Emperor's decree. She left Capitol in her Asp Explorer immediately after.

Despite that history, Alira returned to the Empire for the Witch Head Expedition later that year, where she had been recruited by a young, wealthy prince of a noble family from a local system to command his own mission of research in the area. That crew was hooked up with a brand new, kitted out Anaconda for the job through the prince's deep pockets, and Alira commanded the ship through barnacle cataloguing and combat with the Thargoids for the weeks which followed. She ultimately ended up retaining the Anaconda after the expedition, later rigging it for mining as she, like many pilots, ran for the Borann Low Temperature Diamond Rush of 3306. She spent a few months chasing riches and fighting pirates before the hot spots dried out, earning a small fortune in that time. Alira would again turn up after the starport bombings by the Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army in September, signing back on with the Imperial Navy Reserve after the assassination of Prince Harold Duval. She took part in the round up of Marlinist radicals, the boarding of the refugee megaships, and even took up the sword against notable engineer Liz Ryder during her failed arrest. Alira would later be critical of the Empire's handling of the situation, stating how a too-broad and ruthless campaign targeted millions of non-radicalized civilians who were callously forced from their homes and the Empire as a whole.

The Thargoid War (3307-3310)

"To all humankind: This is Salvation. Future generations will remember our triumph today - the Thargoid threat consigned to the past..." — Caleb "Salvation" Wycherley at the Battle of HIP 22460, 9 August 3308

By 3307, Alira's involvement once again fell outside of the Empire. Her past experience with the Thargoids and knowledge of the esoteric, as well as her growing Combat rating reaching Elite later that year, drew the interest of certain organizations. She was involved in the Coal Sack Nebula expeditions and drawn into the circle of Taurus Mining Ventures and the then-mysterious figure known as Salvation. Imperial Intelligence shows she aided Taurus Mining Ventures in repelling Aiden Tanner's siege in T Tauri, that she had a hand in the development and deployment of the Proteus Wave in multiple systems, and even have her imaged in a small crowd in person with Salvation during one of his announcements. Upon learning of their connection to Azimuth Biochemicals from the previous war many decades ago, Alira suddenly distanced herself from the operation, but would nonetheless engage in the fated Battle of HIP 22460, and was present in orbit near Bright Sentinel when the Proteus Wave was fired unsuccessfully.

Expecting the real Thargoid War to now be imminent with the defeat at HIP 22460 and the destruction of Salvation's flagship Bright Sentinel, Alira spent considerable time on the Bubble's frontier facing toward Barnard's Loop and the infamous permit locked Collinder 70 systems. Her Anaconda's high jump range gave her excellent ability to scout deep space, but her past was sooner to come up. She had based herself out of the Hyades cluster, near which was Concordia, the capitol of the newly formed Marlinist independent colonies. Concordia became a hotbed for activity in the time between the Battle of HIP 22460 and the landing of the first Thargoid Titans. Rumors had begun spreading that the colonies were being swallowed by rival factions in the region, and in between ventures outside the bubble, Alira elected to investigate.

In the Hyades cluster, she became embroiled in a political turmoil over the incoming Thargoid invasion and the use of the new, high tech starports which the Marlinists now possessed. A period of diplomacy, espionage, and even external moderation arrived at no conclusion before the Thargoid Titans began to arrive in December of 3308, including Titan Taranis which landed practically next door. The invasion disrupted all further attempts at negotiation and the entire Hyades region collapsed into a war torn hell. Alira fought on behalf of the Marlinists against humans and Thargoids alike for two years straight across hundreds if not thousands of star systems, both on foot and in space, at Spire sites and Titans. Ironically, she would use Stillman Hub in Concordia for the very purpose some of the Marlinist rivals intended, relying on them to support research into the Thargoid Titans in conjunction with Aegis after Princess Aisling Duval worked to reforge it. Her reputation grew, as did the resources she had at her disposal, mainly ships and weapons, moving from a Krait Mk II to a new Python Mk II in the late war period. By the time a means of destroying the Thargoid Titans was found, Alira had become involved in anti-xeno operations across the Bubble. She participated in strike missions against each Titan as they became vulnerable, playing a hand and witnessing the destruction of each until finally Titan Cocijo melted down at the Battle of Sol on 18 December 3310.

Post-War Period (3311-Present)

"Fly the Future." — Marketing slogan of the Zorgon Peterson Mandalay

The end of the Thargoid War brought an uneasy peace to the Hyades region, the aftermath leaving many factions decimated, but the Marlinist colonies intact. Though bad blood and clean-up operations against the Thargoids were still ongoing, Alira took the victories, the medals, and the opportunity to extricate herself from the war. Her war career ended with paperwork and a handover of certain resources. Through the connections she had established since 3307, Alira acquired for herself a top-of-the-line Zorgon Peterson Mandalay upgraded with all the bleeding edge of technology offered to Commanders over the years. After some time spent away from the Bubble, she now seems to base herself primarily out of Tionisla with Imperial Intelligence reporting her involvement in operations in support of Nakato Kaine. Curiously, that line of involvement extends back to even before Nakato Kaine's power base establishment, though to what depth is unknown due in part to Alira frequenting Tionisla over the years. Alira has not been particularly active for the past several weeks, but her passport has just recently been scanned on Cubeo 3.

PERSONAL HABITS

"I don't expect a perfect life, just a happy one." — CMDR Alira Lancel

Analysis of Alira's spending habits show a penchant for luxury typical for someone of her birth despite the circumstances her life has put her in. Visiting records show disembarkation at a wide variety of tourist destinations, spas, and a handful of visits to WorldCraft resorts. Each vacation typically comes at the conclusion of some prolonged period of major mission contracts or operations she was participant to. She takes personal expeditions into deep space regularly, logging considerable cartography data and exobiology data on the side. A consistent thread through all of this is an apparent love of hiking and mountain climbing across anywhere from Earth-like worlds to desolate moons orbiting brown dwarfs. She also has a strong interest in the musical arts. Despite being a space pilot, she takes her fitness very seriously, and makes every effort to avoid muscle atrophy from prolonged zero-G. She also spends considerable time on her appearances, keeping her own hair and cosmetics in nearly any circumstance. Her lifestyle has led to a number of incidents of physical injury, typically thermal or ballistic trauma, but after such incidents she elects to pay extensively for highly skilled cosmetic surgeons to remove any scarring. Although she is often fine simply wearing a skintight Remlok suit with a little style attached to it, typically a white-topped black piece with red striping, visits planet side sees her updating her fashion to current trends and buying the latest Ubifex hand com.

ASSOCIATES

"Dig deep enough and you can find dirt on anyone. The question is whose dirt actually pisses you off." — CMDR Alira Lancel

Imperial Intelligence has deemed that the complexity of Alira's associate history warrants its own topic. She has shown few certain loyalties across her career with periods of vagabond mercenarism extending back to when she first became a pilot. Her decisions on what causes she fights for are are mercurial, but often passionate. For example, she was a part of the very suppression of Marlinism in the Empire that she criticizes, while now fighting campaigns on behalf of the fledgling Marlinist colonies. Her support of the Empire follows through to several initiatives, but her Imperial Navy Reserve service has been inactive ever since the NMLA were dealt with. She has supported Aisling Duval in the past, but now spends much of her time in and around Tionisla and possibly may have had a hand in Alliance Councillor Nakato Kaine's rise to power. She initially supported Salvation, but seemingly parted ways when his support arm rebranded as Azimuth Biotech - not that this has stopped her from accessing their experimental weapons. She could even be described as supporting Lulus, though that region has gone independent during the Thargoid War. Lulus itself is now under the administration of the Citizen Party regionally based in the Bahpu system and, like many communist revolutions in history, they take a dim view of Alira's former nobility.

Certain evidence suggests that she is surprisingly well-connected to various factions, powers, and influential figures through her long career of activities. Many at various points in her lifetime have been willing to supply her with considerable resources when her cause aligns with theirs. Some analysts say that her history doesn't adequately explain her connections, and suggest that she may have the support of another overarching organization in secret, though what that organization may be or if it even exists is unverified.

ATTRIBUTES

"My Inara profile exists purely to be a monument to my vanity. #Elite" — CMDR Alira Lancel

PHYSICAL

HEIGHT: 170 cm WEIGHT: 65 kg HAIR COLOR: Red EYE COLOR: Gray SKIN TONE: Fair

• Natural Body: Despite a history of war, Alira still somehow has all of her organs and appendages intact. (Natural abilities and skills)
• Titan Slayer: Alira participated in dozens of strikes to take down the Thargoid Titans, and it doesn't really get bigger than that. (+5 when attacking targets much bigger than she is)

MENTAL

EDUCATION: Upper Secondary (High School graduate level) OCCUPATIONS: Pilots' Federation Commander (10 years) PILOTS' FEDERATION RANK: Triple-Elite

• Cleithrophobia: Alira's fear of being trapped isn't helped by recurring nightmares of waking up inside a Thargoid Bio-Storage Capsule. (-5 mental defense when movement bound)

SOCIAL

TITLES: Princess of Lulus (Dispossessed by exigent circumstances); Commander (Pilots' Federation) CITIZENSHIP: Empire of Achenar; Lulus System ASSOCIATES: Undetermined, suspected ties to Marlinist Colonies and Nakato Kaine SOCIAL MEDIA: Inara

• Noblesse Oblige: Although her noble titles are defunct, Alira still knows how to carry herself with proper grace and form. (+5 Charisma when in formal settings)

SHIPS & NOTABLE EQUIPMENT

Equal laws the Sisters make, Kings' and peasants' threads they take, And one weapon cuts them all. — Honorat de Bueil de Racan, La Vie, st. 5, II. 4-6

• Moira (Mandalay): Although Alira flew a number of ships during her career and during the Thargoid War, many were provided through her connections for the purpose. She briefly test flew the Mandalay when it was first produced and acquired her own after the war, attracted to it by its amazing jump range, manageable size, and modest combat effectiveness. Moira has been engineered with the bleeding edge of technology, incorporating elements of Guardian hybrid tech and Titan Drives. She is designed to perform a variety of roles, being a capable explorer while still performing as a highly effective light combat and multirole fighter. Moira has also been customized to switch the main throttle to the beefed up landing thrusters to allow Alira to set a continuous lateral acceleration, giving her a level of simulated gravity to walk her ship in deep space without magnetic boots to help keep her fit.

• Eagle Mk II: Although not her father's main ship, which was a Cobra Mk III, his red Eagle was often used for the odd gig at an air show or just for showing off. Alira's father had it refurbished and put into storage to give to her on her 18th birthday. Apparently it's the very ship he flew at that fated show on Achenar 2, something Alira really tries not to think about. She now keeps that Eagle safe in storage, only occasionally bringing it out for nostalgia and to make sure it keeps running. Unlike her other ships, she doesn't let the engineers touch it.

• InSight (Personal Gadget): Alira wears her InSight as a matter of daily routine using discreet contact lenses, ear pieces, and integration with her always current generation hand com. Under normal circumstances it provides the usual features like access to interstellar media, music player, notes, and contact list. It can further be integrated with any personal utility slot, expanding its capabilities to include combat and analysis modes for the local environment.

• Embroidered Sport Dress: After being away from the Empire for years, most of Alira's wardrobe was terribly out of date, but she was quick to get something appropriate on coming to Cubeo. Her dress is styled as an Ion Shadow sheath dress with a short, black leather-like top coat to define her shoulders. It wears well over her Remlok Flight Suit, or it can be worn on its own if she wants to show a little skin. Complementing her ensemble are stylish shoes, a pair of pumps with 55 mm tantalum heels.

• Manticore Tormentor: Alira's Manticore Tormentor has been her trusted sidearm for several years now. It has been carried through several wars, including the recent Thargoid War where it once downed a Banshee during a hectic battle at a Spire site. Of course, that was only because multiple other weapons had been emptied into it just prior, but some might say it's the last shot that counts.

(Timezone: GMT-5, available most afternoons and evenings)