Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel
Name Countess Lyra Caterina Orsini Hale Cassiel
Position Chief of Security
Second Position Second Officer
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human | |
| Birthplace | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Terra | |
| Birthdate (Month, Day, Year) | January 13, 2346 | |
| Age | 25 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'11” (181cm) | |
| Weight | 155lbs (70kg) | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown | |
| Physical Description | A woman of above average height, Lyra carries herself with pride, power, and ease. Her dark eyes are sharp, glittering with intelligence and drive that only enhances her beauty. Lyra’s body is fit and curved; her muscles are defined but not grotesque and the curves of her Brazilian heritage are pronounced and quite pleasing set atop long toned legs. She takes very good care of her appearance. The presence that she exudes is magnetizing, she is very hard to not notice and harder to ignore. |
Family
| Spouse | Boyfriend: Andrei Petrov | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Lord Renato Inácio Hale of Brazil (biological, deceased); Alexander Charles Cassiel (step/adoptive) | |
| Mother | Aurelia Maddalena Paola Orsini | |
| Brother(s) | Raoul Lucius Orsini Hale (y) Antony Alexandros Orsini Cassiel (y) |
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| Sister(s) | None | |
| Other Family | Emperor Antonius VI - Second cousin, once removed Giuseppe Orsini (Deceased) Giana Orsini Elana Orsini Paolo Orsini |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Lyra exudes the power and pride of her Imperial blood, but it is coupled with a shockingly easygoing nature in her day to day life. Control is something she prides herself in, rarely giving in to the mercurial emotions so common in her bloodline. As long as one does not cross her, she tends toward a live and let live policy. She is charming and sociable, though keeps an intelligent amount of distance from people. Very few can say they actually know Lyra Cassiel, but that does not stop them from respecting her nor wanting to call her friend. She is a sensual and very tactile oriented woman, believing actions speak much louder than words, though she is still wary of action itself. It is clear she has ambition, but to what those ambitions are is a mystery. Fiercely devoted to her duty, she will see that those serving under her will perform to their maximum potential and if a firm hand is needed to encourage such a result, she will happily give it. She is dedicated to the protection of the Terrans she serves with and will see it done to the best of her ability. She does not suffer fools and when she is pushed to anger, it is direct and terrifying. Aliens who raise a hand against their Terran betters will find an endless font of ruthlessness and brutality leveled against them and she takes great enjoyment in dispensing Terran retribution. She is quite possessive of what she considers to be hers and demands loyalty in equal measure. For all of this though, Lyra is incredibly skilled at hiding her true feelings and plans behind a smiling face and mountain of discipline. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | + Poised + Easygoing + Reliable + Driven + Charming + Resilient +/- Ruthless +/- Brutal - Arrogant - Prideful - Stubborn - Unpredictable - Callous - Mistrustful |
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| Ambitions | Lyra’s ambitions are known only to a select few, but given the blood coursing in her veins, they are surely great. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Martial and Weapon Combat Training (excels at spears, weapons marksmanship), Painting, Drawing, Piano, Singing, Spear Hunting/Javelin Toss, Meditation, Alcohol, Reading |
| Personal History | Formerly known as Madeline Cassiel Born on a balmy January day in Rio de Janeiro, Lyra’s birth was a happy and welcome occasion to Renato and Aurelia Hale and met with joy in the Imperial family as any new life of their blood would be at the start of their life. For five years she lived as well as any princess might have; private tutors and nannies doted on her, making sure to expand her young mind early with music, language, and arts. She was a happy, sweet child and that was reflected in her love for her baby brother Raoul when he was born. As she matured, she began to show an aptitude toward athletics and was put into track and field training with a number of other high ranking children who did not attend school but were tutored. Her favored discipline was the javelin toss. When she was eight years old, she placed first at a meet and was attacked by the child who had come in second on the podium. While it was brief, it had left her bloodied and Renato enrolled both her and her brother into mixed martial arts much to the annoyance of Aurelia but what would become Lyra’s absolute delight. The scuffle had left a mark on her and even from a young age she was determined to never be laid low again. As the daughter of a lord and one of royal blood, her education was rich, intense, and meant to bring favor from the Emperor and his heir alike. She attended court events when children were allowed and as a matter of course, selections were being considered for a potential match. It was during this time that Renato Hale met Matthias Ivers, a powerful man very involved in the research and production of the Imperial Fleet’s ships. The two became fast and loyal friends, their families often involved in important events with each other. Unfortunately for Renato, he was so blinded by love and loyalty to his friend that he did not see how far Matthias’ ambitions reached. On a misty October morning just after dawn when Lyra was twelve years old, word reached Aurelia that her husband had been murdered by Matthias Ivers’ son Christoph and that Matthias’ people were heading to the Hale’s home in Brazil to finish the job by murdering Aurelia and her children. Gathering only what was necessary, Aurelia and her children fled to Italy to hide. While Imperial retribution seemed imminent, Aurelia plotted with Nolan Nazar to turn this tragedy into something useful to strengthen the Crown’s power and that of the Orsini bloodline. After consideration, Emperor Angelus approved of the plan and the wheels were set into motion. Lyra and her family were relocated to Luna and allied with Alexander Charles Cassiel. His payment for protection was involvement in the coming plot as well as Aurelia producing for him a natural born son of his own whom they named Antony. The Hales were given new names as well as genetic modifications to conceal their identities. Alexander was a well connected, wealthy merchant on Luna who was just obscure enough to not be questioned about his new family and any who did question were quietly and concisely stopped. Lyra became known as Madeline, something she railed against until Alexander’s heavy hand convinced her to comply. “Madeline’s” life shifted drastically in those days. Given Renato only had one son in Raoul, the line of the rightful Lord of Brazil could not be endangered, so it was Lyra herself that was chosen to become the weapon - the blade as Alexander would call her. At just shy of thirteen years old, she began to train under the eye of Imperial Intelligence to become an instrument of vengeance, but that was not enough for Alexander. His thirst for the power this arrangement would offer would not tolerate even the possibility of failure. Alexander was brutal, ruthless, the fact that she was a child meant nothing to her. Over the next several years he taught her the meaning of agony, made her strong, taught her discipline and its importance. Intelligence taught her to read and manipulate people, how to act, how to entice. Alexander taught her how to fight, how to find pleasure in power and control. He gave her to slaves and gladiators alike to learn their skills as both were useful. He personally prepared her for the consequences of failure. Aurelia turned a blind eye to these abuses of her daughter in the name of furthering her family as a whole. In her mind, Lyra could be repaired once the dust had settled. She made sure to be kind and loving to her daughter as much as she could allow, but her focus remained on Raoul and Antony as the heirs to their respective fathers outside of insisting that Lyra still also receive the training and education befitting the daughter of a lord and a future lady of the empire. After all, once their vengeance was taken by her hand, she would serve the family in a different way through marriage and alliance. When “Madeline” was seventeen, the Cassiel family was made aware that Christoph Ivers had been enrolled in the Imperial Academy with sites set on service in the Fleet. Immediately, she was enrolled and accepted into the Academy without hesitation thanks to her excellence in academics; the process was simply hastened by Imperial Intelligence. The Cassiels hadn’t had a member of their family in service for a long while, so it simply made sense. Madeline was driven in her studies, pursuing a role in security as was befitting the skills she had been taught. She impressed her teachers with her combat and strategic knowledge and the drive with which she pursued her studies. She was not overly social, but that was not her goal, this was merely the path. She graduated in the top echelon of her class and her first posting reflected that. Assigned to the ISS Harbinger as a junior security officer, there was nothing particularly noteworthy in her service outside of her being a model officer. For Lyra, this was more of a personal experience, finally being out from under Imperial Intelligence and Alexander’s combined thumb. It was the first place she was able to test the skills she had learned against people in the Fleet. She was known to be quiet but charming and a reliable person to work with and several men pursued her favor despite her only being as a merchant’s daughter. Two years after her initial posting, she received transfer orders to the ISS Hecate. A ship much closer to the Alliance borders, the Hecate was involved in several skirmishes which gave Lyra the chance to not only taste combat and thus urged her to hone her marksmanship skills to the best on the Hecate's security force. It was here that she served in a truly exemplary capacity. On one occasion she even saved the life of her captain during a firefight and earned a commendation for her bravery. Unfortunately, the Hecate was severely damaged during the encounter and returned to Terra for extensive repairs. During this time, Lyra found herself transferred to the ISS Vengeance as a security officer and it was here she was finally placed alongside Christoph Ivers just before the ship set out into the Badlands. |
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| Service Record | Imperial Academy ISS Harbinger ISS Hecate ISS Vengeance |