Lady Dame Vanai Cordé: Servant of the Imperium
"When I left the Navy, I didn't quite know what I would do next, only that I would hope to be of some service to the Imperium. And yet, after my time in the Navy and my knighthood, it seemed rather- mundane- to take up the family business or a teaching position. Much to the disappointment of my father and my aunt, I ended up becoming a Traveller rather than a more respectable occupation. They are correct in noting that my new career choice does have worse retirement plans, less workplace safety, and fewer opportunities to pay off college debt for my liberal arts degree, but the travel is excellent and the people I meet unforgettable." - Lady Dame Vanai Cordé, Personal DiariesLady Dame Vanai Cordé is the leader of this company of Travellers. She was born on the planet Aquitaine in 1068, in the city of Neidong (also known as the City of Scattered Coins) to a family of moderately prosperous means. Her parents, Nathaniel and Soraya Cordé, owned an independent free trader, and together ran the small company Cordé Mercantile, which specialized in transport of luxury and cultural goods to planets on the frontier. Vanai is itself a Vilani name, although her family is majority Solomani Human. Vanai attended the University of Kajaani, majoring in Interplanetary Economics. Upon graduation, however, the War (known to the inhabitants of the subsector as the First Frontier War, not to be confused with the other conflict of the same name), a massive interplanetary conflict extending throughout the subsector, began. This conflict, known simply as 'the War' to those who lived through it, was a four-year conflict between forces of the Imperium and various Loyalist worlds against the Greycoats, a force of libertarian rebels, who were supported by numerous disloyal planetary governments. A theory of involvement by a shadowy conspiracy led by the Kreynos, the militaristic alien species whose empire once included much of the subsector, circulates periodically in certain circles, but is officially denied by the Imperial government. During the War, the Aquitaine planetary government instituted a draft, and Vanai decided to enlist in the Imperial Navy so that she would have a choice in which service to enlist in.
Vanai was accepted into the Imperial Navy's Logistical Branch thanks to her experience in interplanetary trade and economics. She was assigned as a Quartermaster onboard a series of naval space stations in the Aquitaine system, and then onboard the INS Zhang Fei, an Imperial Navy destroyer, having an uneventful first term in service behind the lines, being given a commission and promoted to Ensign for exemplary service. When her ship was deployed towards the front lines in order to fight rebels such as the Greycoats and suspected Kreynos commerce raiders, it stopped on the planet of Guanyin to pick up supplies. She was stranded on the surface when planetary rebels known as the Army for the Liberation of the People, along with offworld mercenaries, overthrew the democratic Republic of Guanyin. She saved the life of Rahul Mishra, a high-ranking diplomat at the Imperial Consulate on the planet, and played a major role in the ensuing evacuation of the diplomats on the surface, including helping the diplomats escape via a smuggler's spaceship, and playing a major role in the Battle of Erlang Station onboard the space station of the same name.
Following this adventure, Vanai was reassigned to the INS Defiance, an Imperial Navy cruiser, as Quartermaster. The ship saw intense action along the frontier, participating in at least six space battles. Ensign Cordé was injured at one of these battles, but continued in service. While traveling through what was believed to be an uninhabited system, Defiance encountered a Kreynos warship, which was apparently guarding a covert Kreynos colony in the system. Vanai was impressed by the Kreynos's martial discipline, and her ship left the system around two weeks later, after reaching an agreement to gather needed fuel and supplies from the Kreynos colony world.
In her third term, INS Defiance continued fighting in the War, taking part in numerous actions against Greycoat commerce raiders. When the ship was assigned to investigate a suspected Greycoat base in an otherwise abandoned system, they found that the base was destroyed. She was part of the landing party which investigated the base for clues. They were attacked by a party of Kreynos marines, where Vanai was nearly killed by a Krey rifle round. Forced to escape into the wilderness with their commanding officer killed, they were evacuated by a shuttle from Defiance, only to find that a Kreynos cruiser had jumped into the system in order to prevent word of the attack from getting out. The ensuing battle was long and brutal. Although a flight of Imperial missiles were able to destroy the Kreynos ship's jump drive, Kreynos railgun rounds penetrated the bridge of Defiance, causing major damage and killing many of the Imperial ship's bridge officers, including the captain. Vanai and the other junior officers continued the fight from the auxiliary bridge, with Vanai staffing the tactical officer's console. Despite taking dozens of casualties and severe damage, Defiance was able to escape out of the system.
The Imperial government and Duke Harris ultimately decided to deny all knowledge of the battle, judging that they would be unable to fight a war against the Greycoats and the Kreynos at the same time. However, Defiance was retired with full honors, and many of the surviving personnel were promoted, including Vanai, who became Lieutenant Cordé. Vanai was also knighted for her service to the Imperium, becoming a Honour Knight, having no lands or inheritable title. Dame Cordé left the Navy soon after. On a whim, she took a middle passage trip to the planet Balthazar, where she first met the people who would form the core of her future party of Travellers.
Traits and Personality
Vanai is 5' 5" tall, with black hair and brown eyes. She typically wears plain, utilitarian clothing, although she does enjoy dressing up on formal occasions. Personality-wise, she is determined but also stubborn, with a strong sense of duty. She sees herself as the long-suffering voice of reason in her band of travellers, as well as its moral conscience. Politically, she is strongly in favor of the Imperium, and a member of the Social Democratic party on Aquitaine. She's cautious, and prefers to make plans beforehand instead of leaping into action. She enjoys drinking tea, reading, writing in her diary, and overcoming logistical and bureaucratic challenges. She doesn't suffer idiots. Things that anger her are corruption, apathy, and inequality.In combat, Vanai uses an autorifle, an automatic pistol, and her Navy-issue rapier for fighting in vacuum or on a spaceship.
