So had this character brewing in my mind alongside Lyra and here she be along with some lore! Meet Col. Cassandra Helion, commanding officer of the Mech Experimental Regiment, former Colonial Colonel of the 12th Colonial Regiment, and a former Captain and war hero of the M.E.C. (Mech Expeditionary Force) of the First Extrasolar Conflict.
Cassandra is a stoic and fiercely duty bound woman whose life is forged by war, tragedy and cynicism. When she was only 14 her world was upended when a massive war broke out between feuding systems that through the use of nuclear weapons and autonomous combat units rendered several worlds extinct. Needing a stop gap solution to end the war quickly, her government took to turning a classified project of piloted mechs into the spearhead of a reclamation campaign. During this time Cassandra was 'volunteered' among several thousand children to be flash trained and augmented to be ace pilots for experimental combat mechs.
Surprisingly the 'Mech Expeditionary Corp' proved to be overwhelmingly successful at stopping the progress of the belligerent forces and pushed them back to the original boundaries. But in the process the vast majority of the pilots were killed in action due to the quick nature of their training, later complications from the augmentation side effects, or succumbed to PTSD due to the nightmarish battlefields they were often sent into. After 2 years the war ended, and because of the exorbitant spending made for the MEC and staggering losses incurred, the corps were disbanded in favor of a less expensive peacekeeping force.
Cassandra distinguished herself during the war, and became a war hero to the people. Once the war ended she was at a loss at what to do, having lost so many comrades from the fighting and reeling from such a harrowing experience. Eventually once the patriotic fervor died down she was reassigned to command a colonial regiment in the outer fringe of the home system, a command she dutifully held for 30 years.
Over time the tales of the 'mech war' became a distant memory as peace flourished. As the peace grew, the number of pilots who participated in the conflict grew smaller until eventually Cassandra was the last veteran still left in active duty. During the early days of peace Cassandra managed to form some semblance of purpose when she settled down with a wife (a fellow pilot) and daughter, but since the war had only ended there were still pockets of conflict that were being stamped out. Unfortunately her wife and child were killed during one such conflict, which only pushed her further into doing her duty as she had nothing left that gave a reason to live.
As time passed reports of discontent in the outer fringes grew in number to a disturbing degree that command had planned to send their "war hero" to investigate. However before they could do so a system wide surprise attack by the former enemies caught the home system unprepared. Although the attack was eventually repulsed, it resulted in the majority of the home forces decimated, leaving a token force left to defend the system. As one of the few senior officers not killed during the attack, Cassandra was recalled back to home to rebuild their strength. However fate had a different plan as a superior officer proposed to bring back the MEC. However due to the staggering lack of manpower, resources and time to train new pilots as well as a lack of mechs a large expeditionary force like last time was not feasible. Instead, they decided to utilize a method the enemy used in the last conflict, combining mechs with the autonomous nature of an extremely advanced AI they had originally developed for peacetime use. To bring the AI up to speed and develop combat skills, Cassandra was assigned to be the AI's superior officer and trainer. Naturally Cassandra was extremely against this as she considered the very idea insulting to the memories of her fallen comrades who died fighting the 'robots'.
Despite her initial bitterness she still performed her role as professionally as she could, despite the AI's quirkiness aggravating her at times. Over time she eventually came to appreciate the AI's growth and skills, coming to care for her as any of her soldiers under her command, even privately coming to see her as a daughter and even accepting the AI naming herself "Lyra".
Hope you like her!
Cassandra is a stoic and fiercely duty bound woman whose life is forged by war, tragedy and cynicism. When she was only 14 her world was upended when a massive war broke out between feuding systems that through the use of nuclear weapons and autonomous combat units rendered several worlds extinct. Needing a stop gap solution to end the war quickly, her government took to turning a classified project of piloted mechs into the spearhead of a reclamation campaign. During this time Cassandra was 'volunteered' among several thousand children to be flash trained and augmented to be ace pilots for experimental combat mechs.
Surprisingly the 'Mech Expeditionary Corp' proved to be overwhelmingly successful at stopping the progress of the belligerent forces and pushed them back to the original boundaries. But in the process the vast majority of the pilots were killed in action due to the quick nature of their training, later complications from the augmentation side effects, or succumbed to PTSD due to the nightmarish battlefields they were often sent into. After 2 years the war ended, and because of the exorbitant spending made for the MEC and staggering losses incurred, the corps were disbanded in favor of a less expensive peacekeeping force.
Cassandra distinguished herself during the war, and became a war hero to the people. Once the war ended she was at a loss at what to do, having lost so many comrades from the fighting and reeling from such a harrowing experience. Eventually once the patriotic fervor died down she was reassigned to command a colonial regiment in the outer fringe of the home system, a command she dutifully held for 30 years.
Over time the tales of the 'mech war' became a distant memory as peace flourished. As the peace grew, the number of pilots who participated in the conflict grew smaller until eventually Cassandra was the last veteran still left in active duty. During the early days of peace Cassandra managed to form some semblance of purpose when she settled down with a wife (a fellow pilot) and daughter, but since the war had only ended there were still pockets of conflict that were being stamped out. Unfortunately her wife and child were killed during one such conflict, which only pushed her further into doing her duty as she had nothing left that gave a reason to live.
As time passed reports of discontent in the outer fringes grew in number to a disturbing degree that command had planned to send their "war hero" to investigate. However before they could do so a system wide surprise attack by the former enemies caught the home system unprepared. Although the attack was eventually repulsed, it resulted in the majority of the home forces decimated, leaving a token force left to defend the system. As one of the few senior officers not killed during the attack, Cassandra was recalled back to home to rebuild their strength. However fate had a different plan as a superior officer proposed to bring back the MEC. However due to the staggering lack of manpower, resources and time to train new pilots as well as a lack of mechs a large expeditionary force like last time was not feasible. Instead, they decided to utilize a method the enemy used in the last conflict, combining mechs with the autonomous nature of an extremely advanced AI they had originally developed for peacetime use. To bring the AI up to speed and develop combat skills, Cassandra was assigned to be the AI's superior officer and trainer. Naturally Cassandra was extremely against this as she considered the very idea insulting to the memories of her fallen comrades who died fighting the 'robots'.
Despite her initial bitterness she still performed her role as professionally as she could, despite the AI's quirkiness aggravating her at times. Over time she eventually came to appreciate the AI's growth and skills, coming to care for her as any of her soldiers under her command, even privately coming to see her as a daughter and even accepting the AI naming herself "Lyra".
Hope you like her!
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 1400 x 2128px
Listed in Folders
I'd give in to the temptation to grant the mecha girl a puppy
The vivid blue eyes and slim, sharp face remind me of Mizu from Blue Eye Samurai
She's really cool. I love the design and that the officer's suit isn't over the top despite being a little futuristic.
Though... you know she's gotta cave on the whole "no puppy" thing.
Though... you know she's gotta cave on the whole "no puppy" thing.
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