Fidelia Levassor

*"The first time I met her was in Ibrahim's flagship, back when she was only a lieutenant in the Admiral's command staff. I had gone there as a representative of the army, to clear some matters about the preference of ranks between navy and army during landing operations. I had all my arguments ready and thought I would have no trouble convincing Ibrahim to agree with each of my points. Then, just as we were about to reach the admiral's office, Fidelia arrived, told us Ibrahim was busy and invited us to share some drinks while we waited. By the time Ibrahim allowed us to come in, I was so relaxed I had nearly forgotten all of my arguments and ended up agreeing with all of the admiral's points in one of the shortest military meetings I have ever had. When I came back, Branicki was so furious he demanded a second meeting...two days later he came back, red faced and unwilling to talk about what had happened.*

*And so began the legend of Fidelia Levassor, the young navy officer who defeated two veteran generals with a smile and a dozen bottles of vodka"*

-General Aspinacca, speaking about Fidelia Levassor-

   **Fidelia Strizzen Levassor**was a naval officer in Task Force Manticore with the rank of Vice Admiral. She served under the famous admiral Satayesh Ibrahim , taking part in many void battles across Commonwealth  space and beyond. Famous for her charisma and tactical mind, she is one of the youngest officers in the Commonwealth's navy to command a fleet squadron.

Over the course of her career, Fidelia took part in battles against nearly all of the Commonwealth's foes, from Yaanari  corsairs to the endless ships of the Biluan mind. Always finding herself where the battle is the fiercest, Fidelia has earned nearly all of her promotions in the battlefield, a promotion usually followed by a change of ship due to the intense damage sustained during these battles.

A close friend of Ibrahim, Fidelia spends that time she has out of a fleet battle in the admiral's ship, exchanging information, strategies, reports...and the occasional drink.

## Youth

Born in the Commonwealth planet of Redamon Prime in 2250/07/07, Fidelia was the daughter of Joachim Levassor and Lucia Fritzen. Her father was member of the crew of Battlecruiser Osiris and died in 2259/07/07 during the battle of Tyntregal as a Zracon  volley destroyed his ship. Fidelia's mother, a member of the newly-created psionic division in the planet, suffered a heavy blow when news reached her of her husband's death. Depressed to the point where she became unable to control her growing psionic powers, she was sent to a special center in 2261/08/01 after making twenty people faint with an accidental, psionic attack.

Fidelia spent very little time in Redamon. Unable to visit her unstable mother and with very little money in her family's account, she dropped out of school as soon as she was able to explore the stars and try to make a name for herself, working as crew in all manner of ships. Lively and always eager to hear the stories of the veterans, Fidelia quickly grew to love life in a spaceship. During her journeys, she became the mascot of nearly all the ships she went to and was even allowed the chance to follow the ship's captain whenever he or she landed to make a deal with merchants or planet officials.

### Teenage years

As she grew older, Fidelia began to cause trouble in the ships she worked in. Charming, beautiful and lean, she had little trouble seducing fellow crew members, officers and the sons and daughters of the high officials of those planets she landed on. Daring to the point of madness, she had dozens of lovers in every world she visited, a few of whom were members of important families not to happy with Fidelia's advances. Still, no matter how many fences, walls or guards they put between her and her lover, young Levassor always found a way to get in, spend a night of passion and then get out before anyone could notice.

Messing with so many families with power and influence soon made Fidelia an unwelcomed face in half of the Commonwealth's worlds, to the point where marshals were ordered to detain the teen on sight. Shrewd and used to always be a step ahead of her foes and rivals, Fidelia managed to avoid most attempts to capture her. Nevertheless, as pressure continued to grow, young Levassor finally decided to change her hunting grounds. Joining into the crew of the "Star Child" as a petty officer in charge of the cargo ship's supplies, she traveled to the Commonwealth's eastern borders, completely unaware of what awaited her there.

### Meeting with the Ebony Fangs

As they reached the border colonies, Fidelia had her first meeting with one of the plagues of that part of the Commonwealth's territory: Yaanari corsairs. As a civilian vessel, the "Star Child" lacked any weapons for void combat, its large size and huge cargo halls also making it a big target for enemy guns. Far smaller, slender purple corsair ships with the symbol of three, dark fangs biting into flesh closed in from different directions, signaling the crew of the Star Child to surrender unless they wanted to be slaughtered to a man.

Panic quickly grew in the crew of the cargo ship. With only 40 humans  and half that number in Kithri, the Star Child could not hope to stop a boarding party of veteran, well-armed Yaanari slavers. The destiny which awaited them in the league's factories was no better, especially for the Kithri as they knew they would probably end up sold to the Thadrakos families to be cooked and eaten.

To the surprise of everyone, including herself, Fidelia stepped forwards, saying that there might be a way out of the trap they were in. Throughout the years, she had faced her fair share of stronger, yet also overconfident opponents. The Yaanari would never risk harming a prize like the Star Child, or the contents it carried (living and not). Using their foes greed against them, the crew of the cargo ship could maybe break the circle and flee. Slow as it might be, there was a chance they could run away for long enough for a squadron of patroling Akula corvettes to arrive and make the corsairs flee.

With the corsairs closing in and no other plan, the desperate crew of the Star Child agreed to give Fidelia command of the ship, the first one of her life. Sending half her crew to organize the cargo decks, the new captain of the Star Child waited until one of the Yaanari ships was close enough before sending all power to the engines and shooting forwards like a battering ram. As expected, the surprised captain of the vessel turned to dodge the hit. It was to little to late however, the Star Child's heavier, reinforced superstructure easily crushing the corsair ship's engines and most of its weaponry at the moment of impact.

Since she had only slammed the cargo ship's side against the enemy ship, Fidelia was able to keep moving without slowing down to much, the only areas damaged on her ship being the now-empty cargo halls and a few of the crew's living quarters. Recovering from the surprise attack, the two remaining Yaanari ship quickly turned and chased after the Star Child. Eager to capture the captain of the Commonwealth ship alive and make a cloak with her skin, the leader of the Ebony Fangs personally led a swarm of boarding ships towards the retreating vessel.

A tactic like this, suicide in a battle between combat fleets, was easy business against a ship with no weaponry to answer the boarders. Landing on the scar at the Star Child's side, bands of tall, heavily-armed Yaanari sprung forwards, their war cries echoeing across the corridors as they raced towards the heart of the ship. While they advanced, their clawed feet splashed over rivers of orange liquid, the substance so thick and dense it slowed down the corsair's charge. To late, the leader of the Ebony Fangs recognized the substance: Ligrene, one of the most combustible substances found on the planets of the eastern border.

Safe in the command room, Fidelia gave her crew the order to set the liquid aflame. One moment later, she closed the gates, leaving nearly eighty Yaanari corsairs and their leader to burn to death together in the narrow corridors of the Star Child. As the officer in charge of the ship's supplies, Fidelia knew about the Ligrene's burning power. Thirty seconds after starting the inferno in the ship's corridors, the new captain of the Star Child activated the emergency systems to drain all oxygen from the air, extinguishing the flames before they could damage in any way her increasingly-battered ship.

With one of their ships gone and nearly half of their warriors dead, the remaining Fangs finally turned on their guns and began to unleash a series of volleys on the Star Child. Large and slow, the cargo ship suffered many hits and would have blown up to pieces had it not been for the timely arrival of a squadron of Akula corvettes. Heeding the emergency calls sent by the Star Child, the two ships had made a swift jump into the system, one appearing right behind the Yaanari corsairs while the other came from the front. Outclassed and outmanouvered, the two Yaanari ships were swiftly turned into wreckeges. Aside from a few wouned, the crew of the Star Child managed to come out alive of their battle.

### The Choice

The arrival of the Akulas turned out to be a mixed blessing for Fidelia. The men of the corvettes knew of the girl's identity and had orders to send her to a correctional facility the moment they found her. At the same time however, the ships' captains were deeply impressed by the tactics and valour of the young captain.

While Fidelia was taken into custody, a military tribunal of naval officers debated what needed to be done with the promising rogue. After much debate, a consensus was reached: Fidelia would serve a full year in a correctional facility inNew Sajar for her crimes, but also study and go through tests to see her true worth as a possible member of the Commonwealth's navy. If she was deemed acceptable by her instructors, Fidelia would be given the choice between a return to the Eastern border or a position as a petty officer in an Akula-class corvette.

For Fidelia, the choice was no choice at all. The rush and excitement of battle had been unlike anything the young woman had felt in her short life. Giving her all, she managed to impress her instructors enough to change her sentence from one year to just 6 months. At the end of the sixth Fidelia, now 19 years old, was sent to the corvette "Lance of New Sajar" and joined Task Force Manticore.

## Military service

*"After getting face-to-face with death so many times, I've stopped being bothered by risk"*

### Battle or Arvo

Fidelia's first battle experience in Task Force Manticore was not a minor skirmish against pirates, or a hunting mission to destroy enemy transport ships. Only a few weeks after setting foot on the Lance, Task Force Manticore faced the Biluan Mind in Commonwealth space, in what would later be known as the **Battle of Arvo**.
Fidelia spent the few weeks before the battle mostly with the Lance's crew, her charisma and the many stories of her youth quickly making her popular amongst the crew. There are rumors that Fidelia also began a relationship with the corvette's captain, a young man only a few years older than her fresh out of the military academy. Aside from Fidelia herself, no one in the Lance had ever seen combat before, the ship itself also being an untested model with new, Lyra-type torpedoes as its main weapon.

Knowing that there were some untested crews in her fleet, admiral Ibrahim kep ships like the Lance on the fleet's rearguard, ready to strike the moment the Biluan fleet lost its cohesion. Fleet officers recieved reports about the numbers and composition of the enemy fleet, the tactics most commonly used by the Mind and possible strategies to counter them. Being a torpedo ship, the Lance's main targets would be the far-larger Cruisers and Battlecruisers of the Biluan fleet. Having only a limited number of these weapons in their cargo bay, the captain of the Lance would need to make sure to make her volleys count and stay away from enemy corvettes.
The battle began just as soon as the invading fleet pulled out of hyperdrive. Thousands of guns of all sizes and shapes unleashed their fire on the Biluan ships, the surprise of this attack only lasted a few seconds before the swarm's fleet answered in kind with their own weapons. Merit citadel, one of the largest fortresses in Commonwealth space, nearly matching the fire rate of Task Force Manticore as its gunners focused their guns on any Biluan ship bold enough to get in range.

While lacking the technology of their Commonwealth foes, Biluan numbers made this battle a difficult struggle for Task Force Manticore. Heavy autocannons from swarm ships soon took their toll on Akula squadrons, forcing the reserves to move forth to fill the gaps in Manticore's formation. The Lance, alongside a few other corvettes, moved to cover the right flank. A Biluan Battlecruiser had managed to bring down the destroyer CSV "Hunter" and forced back the corvettes "Shimakaze" and "Justicar". Built and armed to face ships of their size, these two Akulas could not hope to face the incoming ship and survive.

With another torpedo-armed Akula at its side, the "Fubuki", the Lance shot forwards, its captain trying to find the perfect spot to launch its torpedoes at the larger ship's side. Sensing their intentions however, the Biluan Mind made two of its corvettes break from combat and move to intercept the slower, Commonwealth ships. Shimakaze and Justicar, more suited for escort fighting, tried to stop the Biluan attack. However, they were to far away to prevent the first volleys.

Spotting the attack just in time, the captain of the Fubuki managed to dodge the volleys and carry on with the attack run. The Lance however, closer to the incoming corvettes, was hit hard by enemy fire, its shields lasting only a few seconds before overwhelming, autocannon fire finally managed to go through and sink into the corvette's hull. Leading the crew in charge of the ship's only Twin Velite PD laser, Fidelia returned fire as best as she could, but this was clearly a one-sided battle from the start. After a violet shudder, the Lance's engines died, the rooms and corridors inside the ship lighted only by emergency red light as the wounded vessel floated ailessly through the raging battlefield.

Running to the command room of the ship, Fidelia found out the reason for the ship's sudden stop. Several of the Biluan shots had managed to go through, the shrapnel caused by their impacts killing and wounding nearly every member in the command room. Of the Lance's captain only a bloodied mess remained, its body sprawled several feet away from the command seat. For a moment, Fidelia stood there in shock alongside the surviving crew, unable to believe just what had happened. Slowly though, she began to recover and focus on another issue altogether: Why were they still alive? Adrift and without their shields, they could not be an easier target for the Biluan corvettes. Shaking her head, Fidelia decided not to question her "good luck" to much and try to regain control of the ship. Engineers worked on the engines, while other members of the crew made sure no vital systems had been damaged during the attack. Taking the blood-covered commander seat, Fidelia tried to listen to the radio feed to get a better idea of the battle around them. Had they won? Lost? Did they still have a target to take down?

While the Lance fought to stay alive, Fidelia finally realized the reason why the Biluan Corvettes had left her ship alone. Still going for its target, the Fubuki had managed to get within range of the Biluan battlecruiser, unleashing a volley of torpedoes which had destroyed half of the larget ship's engines and several heavy batteries. Eager for revenge, the Biluan corvettes had made the Fubuki pay, forcing its crew to escape as the ship's ships and armor were shattered and destroyed. Shimakaze and Justicar, to late to save the Fubuki, allowed its crew to retreat to Merit Citadel as they unleahed their own weapons against their Biluan counterparts, blowing one up and crippling another.

Seeing her chance, Fidelia turned the Lance to continue the attack run towards the Biluan ship. Still working with the corvette's emergency systems, the ship did not rush in, instead lazily floating towards its target like one of the many wrecks which now covered the battlefield. Still believing the Lance to be dead along with all of its crew, the Mind made sure its battlecruiser focused on other, far more important ships in range of its weapons. Slowly but surely, Fidelia got her corvette within torpedoe range. Knowing that she would probably only get one chance, the captain waited until only a few miles separated her ship from the battlecruiser before unleashing her weapons on the soft belly of the Biluan ship.

At such a short distance and without any engines to attempt a turn, the battlecruiser could do nothing but watch as, one by one, the Lance's torpedoes found their mark, shattering the larger ship's defences before the last two one's sunk into its core, shattering the ship in half before it could attempt to turn its weapons towards Fidelia's corvette.

By that moment, the battle of Arvo was nearing its end. After some needed emergency repairs, the Lance joined the Shimakaze and Justicar in their hunt for more Biluan ships. At the end of the battle, the Lance's torpedoes had managed to cause heavy damage on other Biluan ships, helping in the destruction of one of their last cruisers. For her actions during the battle, and with the consensus of all of the Lance's crew, Fidelia was allowed to remain as the captain of the corvette. To turn her temporary promotion into a permanent one, she would also need to pass the official exams and trials.

Aside from her promotion, Fidelia also earned the "Silver Wing", a medal gifted to those captains who managed to destroy an enemy ship in battle. This medal was personally given to Fidelia by admiral Ibrahim herself.

### Back to school

As the war between the Commonwealth and the Biluan Mind turned to the advantage of humanity and its allies, Fidelia had enough free time to attend the obligatory classes for those petty officers wanting to become captains of their own ship. Having dropped out of school early, Fidelia struggled at first in these classes. While she had learn a lot during her short stay in the Lance and her previous experience in all manner of merchant ships, there were still many new terms she had to memorize and complex calculus she had a lot of trouble understanding.

Needing some help, Fidelia managed to get some extra assistance from some of the other officers taking the exams. For every five days she spent studying with others, Fidelia used the remaining two to throw parties and organize all manner of events with the excuse of "increasing the morale of the crew and creating closer bonds between soldiers and officers".

A story about these parties speaks of the second meeting between Fidelia and Admiral Ibrahim. After a long day planning the next stages of the war against the Biluan Mind, the veteran admiral left her office to take a walk across the orbital base Manticore had landed on to fuel and repair. Taking one wrong turn, the admiral ended up opening one of the bases storage rooms, only to find acting captain Fidelia "having a moment" with the representative of one of Curacao's most important factories. Noticing the pressence of her superior, Fidelia quickly stood to attention, half her clothes wrinkled, the other missing. When asked by the admiral what she was doing at this hour out of her quarters, Fidelia answered: "I wanted to personally inspect the goods brought by Curacao's representative ma'm. I am pleased to inform they all work as well as he promised"

Admiral Ibrahim, to Fidelia's surprise, cracked a smile and nodded only saying "Carry on then captain" before closing the door behind herself.

Incidents aside, Fidelia managed to pass most of her tests. The last one would take place near the planet of Yadrani, close to the weakening kingdom of Yadra. Taking the Lance and its crew, Fidelia prepared herself for the practical test, unaware of what awaited her and her ship in that part of the galaxy.

### To save a dragon princess from a dragon

With most of Task Force Manticore waiting near the Commonwealth's forces with the Biluan Mind, few fleets remained to patrol the border with the Kingdom of Yadra. Still, the nation's high command did not expect many troubles from this part of the galaxy. Plagued by civil unrest, angry noblemen and thousands of Karthemas emigrating to the safety of Commonwealth space, the kingdom was to weak and busy with internal problems to bother with what happened beyond its frontiers.

Taking on board three members of the naval academy, Fidelia began her patrol around the kingdom's border, an uneventfull mission created mostly to see how the young captain managed her crew and ship. Fidelia's lax attitude, added to her failed attempts to get closer to one of her examiners, made the naval officers concerned at first about the young woman's skill and competence. Still, as time went on and the ship continued to work without any visible problems, the examiners' minds changed once more.

As the second week of the patrol neared its end, the Lance's sensors detected a series of ships closing in. Immedately, Fidelia commanded her crew to get their weapons ready but only fire when ordered to. It was obvious that the first ship, a richly-decorated vessel clearly not suited for war, was fleeing from the three chasing after it. While in range, the three attack ships (all no larger than a corvette) refused to fire directly at the vessel, their shots directed instead to the area around it in an attempt to force it to stop or at least slow down.

Waiting until the ship was only a few seconds from the frontier, Fidelia sent a message to the first vessel, demanding it to state its business and identify the ships chasing after it. Immediately after sending her message, Fidelia and the crew of the Lance got their reply as a Karthemas appeared on the corvette's screen. Short compared to other members of her race and clearly scared, she identified herself as Hidlassia, daughter of one of the past emperors of the Kingdom of Yadra. She asked for asylum in the Commonwealth and protection from the Karthemas who now chased after her. The leader of the small fleet chasing after her was Filaban'Katoss, only son of the one of the most important pretenders to the crown of the Kingdom of Yadra. When asked by Fidelia if this Karthemas wanted to kill her, the princess answer saying: *Worse than that, he wants to marry me*.

The situation was therefore a difficult one for the crew and officers of the Lance. Taking in a member of the kingdom's royal family would not only worsen the already bad relationship between the Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Yadra. Billions of Karthemas lived and worked in the Commonwealth, being a majority in some of its worlds. Many still worshiped the royal family, feeling the need to serve them in any way, to the point of giving their lives if asked. If they knew of how the Commonwealth had stolen the princess or dared to imprison her, the consequences could be disastrous. Of course, there was no reason to believe that Filaban's father would use the ligitimacy of having the princess of the former emperor to return the kingdom to its former glory and prepare a new war against the Commonwealth to regain the territories taken by it during previous wars.

Needing time, Fidelia sent a message to the Yadrani ships, ordering them to stand down and wait until proper Commonwealth and Kingdom of Yadra authorities arrived. Ten seconds later, the three ships answered with a salvo of las shots and missiles, all aimed towards the Lance. Fidelia and her crew were ready for this however, their shields already up and engines at full power as gunners answered Yadrani fire with their own volleys.

This was not a battle the Lance could hope to win, so Fidelia ordered Hidlassia to keep moving into Commonwealth space while they provided cover fire. Instead of focusing on the ship's guns or life systems, the young captain ordered her gunners to direct every shot to the engines of the Yadrani corvettes. As long as the princesse's ship could outrun its pursuers, they would have a chance. One of the Yadrani corvettes, an old model which might have been a cetury old, was the first to see its engines malfunction as a lucky shot caused a major malfunction which forced the ship to stop. Another, suffering to much direct damage, had to turn away from the princesse's ship as the Lance came at it from behind, guns blazing.

Maybe realizing Fidelia's plan, the pursuers changed tactics. The third ship, still untouched, left its sibling to deal with the Lance and chased directly after the princess. With her shields in critical condition and a growing number of wounded crewmen, Fidelia knew she could not focus on defeating two Yadrani corvettes and stopping the third from capturing the princess at once. Rather than giving up however, she contacted the royal ship once more, telling princess Hidlassia to be ready to recieve guests on board. After a quick, heated discussion with the officers on board about her plan and Fidelia forcing them to admit that they really did not have a better idea of what to do, the captain boarded one of the emergency pods while the Lance flew after the third, Yadrani ship, avoiding the laser fire coming from behind as best as it could.

Just a few miles from target, Fidelia's pod was shot out of the Lance, alongside seven others, each targeting the princesse's ship. While the Lance turned to once more face its pursuers, the third Yadrani ship slowed down to aim and fire at the incoming pods, blowing several up. Luckily for Fidelia, her own route took her right below the range of the corvette's guns, allowing the captain to board the royal ship just as the last pod was turned into space wreackage. Still trembling a little, Fidelia was quickly helped out by a couple of confused, young Karthemas servants. Nodding her thanks at them, the young captain quickly changed her stance and bowed, showing her brightest smile as princess Hidlassia came into view.

"Morning your highness. My apologies, I had nothing else to wear"

As they ran to the command bridge, Fidelia was able to speak with princess Hidlassia and learn more about the situation she had so suddenly found herself trapped in. Filaban'Katoss, the captain of the ship currently hunting them down, was not only the son of one of the most influencial and powerful nobles remaining in the Kingdom of Yadra, but also a fierce advocate for a new alliance with the Yaanari league and a new war against the Commonwealth for stealing the worlds of the Karthemas people. As Fidelia had suspected, Hidlassia was the key to rally the billions of Karthemas currently living in the Commonwealth to the Yadrani cause. Even if only a small fraction joined the revolt, the damage would still be massive, especially in worlds like Fal'Kaboss, where many Karthemas still remembered all the dead and wounded brought by the Commonwealth invasion.

Taking command of the ship, Fidelia ordered an emergency jump to some nearby coordinates where she expected to find one of the Commonwealth frontier patrols. It was a long shot but, with Filaban closing in and no other resources available to them, the princess agreed.

Less than a mile from his target, Filaban saw the princesse's ship dissapear from view. Enraged, but unwilling to surrender, he continued his chase.

### Stranded

Not built to make such long, sudden jumps, the ship managed to jump half way to its destinations before the engines failed, leaving vessel and crew stranded in the void between galaxies. As most of those who had followed Hidlassia were courtiers and pages without any mechanical experience, repairing the ship would require more time than any member of the crew would have liked.

As they waited, princess and captain began to know each-other better. Hiding the fact that she was only an acting captain with less than a year of experience in Task Force Manticore, Fidelia tried to find as much as she could about the princess and her intentions.

    Surrounded by the portraits of sculptures of past emperors and empresses, Fidelia slowly managed to gain the trust and respect of Hidlessia, if only for the fact that she was the only one in the whole ship who dares to speak with the princess as equals. The rest of the Yadrani, all fully devoted to the royal family and their princess, did not dare to even look at the young heiress without at least bowing their heads once and using her full titles. Isolated even when surrounded by her own people, Hidlessia welcomed the chance to share some of her thoughts with the Commonwealth captain, including the reason for her escape attempt.

Still to young to rule, Hidlessia had witnessed the power struggle which followed the Commonwealth's victory against the short lived Yadrani-Yaanari alliance. With emperors being deposed left and right, the nobles who had once never thought of betraying their leader now began to scheme about the ways in which they could get the throne. Hidlessia did not want to be just another puppet a pretender would use to gain the throne, not when she knew thousands, if not millions would die in the civil wars which would follow. As hard as it was for older Yadrani generations to admit it, the princess knew the days of the royal family were numbered.

Taking the royal ship, and what few servants still wished to follow her, Hidlessia fled her captors to try and reach Commonwealth space. There, she wished for her servants to obtain citizenship, as many other millions of Karthemas had done in the past. Moreover, Hidlessia was ready to help the Commonwealth in its deals with the Kingdom of Yadra. The Yadrani needed not only peace, but food and manufactured goods as well. "Your Commonwealth may still be able to stop a war, save millions of my people" said Hidlessia to Fidelia during one of their many conversations.

As time went by, Fidelia unexpectedly began to form a close friendship with the princess, something which Hidlessia's servants only tolerated under orders from their princess. By the time they were ready to try another jump, Hidlessia's fears of what she might find in Commonwealth space had nearly dissapeared as Fidelia assured her the worst was already behind. Giving the order, Fidelia managed to get the royal ship to the planet of Fal'Kaboss. Once the crown jewel of the Kingdom of Yadra, there were still many Karthemas there who barely tolerated Commonwealth occupation, yet, after much rebuilding, the situation had calmed down just enough normal life to resume in its many cities.

Yet, as they appeared in the border, the royal ship's sensors caught the pressence of a familiar vessel, already turning towards them. Somehow, Filaban had managed to track them down and waited in ambush as they made their jump.

Immediately, Fidelia ordered the ship to speed up as fast as she could towards the planet, hoping that they would be able to land in one of the Commonwealth's military bases before Filaban could stop them. Unwilling to allow that to happen, the Yadrani nobleman wasted no time leading a boarding force to assault the royal vessel. Without any guns to stop them, all pods made their landing. Yadrani knights clad in full armor and wielding powerful blades easily cut a path through the royal ship's crew, sparing no-one as they searched for the princess. They caught her and Fidelia at the escape pods, the knights quickly surrounding them while Filaban, covered in the blood of a dozen different servants, demanded Hidlessia to come with him and swear to become his bride. Thinking that this was the end, the princess agreed only on the condition that Fidelia would be spared and allowed to land safely on the planet. Smiling, Filaban denied her request. The captain knew to much and needed to be silenced.

It was at that moment that the royal ship shook as new pods pierced its hull to unleash their cargo. Instead of Yadrani knights however, these were marines, Commonwealth marines. Alerted by the Lance, several corvettes had rescued the overwhelmed ship and chased after the Yadrani intruders. Following the secret signal Fidelia had been broadcasting since stepping into the royal ship, they now came to rescue captain and princess, the marines of the Lance themselves being the first to get inside and fight their way towards the captain. Seeing they would not get a better distraction, Fidelia activated the pod, throwing herself and Hidlessia in it before flying to Fal'Kaboss.

Without time to write down proper coordinates, the pod landed in the middle of one of Fal'Kabosse's waterfall cities, to the surprise of thousands of Karthemas living there. Confused, they eyed Fidelia wearily before they laid eyes on the princess. At that moment, without a second thought, they all bowed their heads, some with tears in their eyes.

Yet, before Hidlessia could try to calm down her subjects, another pod landed. From it, clad in heavy armor and surrounded by an aura of pure rage, Filaban set claw on the planet and demanded Fidelia to return the princess to him. Seeing the Karthemas surrounding him, the knight shouted that he was on a mission to bring back the old glory days of the Kingdom, that Fidelia had kidnapped a member of the royal family and would die for it. The princess, of course, denied this, only for Filaban to shout of how the captain had brainwashed the young princess and should thus pay with her life.

Alone, and surrounded by thousands of angry Karthemas, Fidelia decided to try one of her desperate bets. Remembering the conversations of Karthemas honor and rules of conduct, the captain spay and pointed two fingers towards the knight, a gesture which made all muttering and protests dissapear in an instant.Challangeing a well-trained, experienced Yadrani knight to a duel was a stupid idea, one which Fidelia felt was amongst the most idiotic she had ever made. Nevertheless, it was the only way to make time while reinforcements arrived.

Angry about being interrupted, yet still feeling the eyes of so many Karthemas on him, Filaban agreed to the duel. Wielding a blade handed to her by a nearby Karthemas, knight and captain saluted, one covered in the best armour the Yadrani Kingdom could provide, the other wearing only the uniform of a Commonwealth officer. Light, yet still strange in her hand, Fidelia eyed the blade she had been handed, wondering how she would be able to use it against Filaban. As she did that, the knight roared and charged at her, forcing Fidelia to forget about her doubts and focus only on staying alive.

To say the battle was one-sided would be a huge underestatement. Only slightly faster than her foe, Fidelia blocked a few blows and tried to dodge the rest, her uniform quickly showing a dozen different, bloody cuts as Filaban gained the upper hand. One punch from his gaunteleted hand send her spinning back until her back hit against the wall. Coughing blood, Fidelia shook her head, gritted her bloodied teeth and rose her blade again.

Twice more Filaban nearly brought her to the floor, yet each time the captain stood on her feet, her vision blurry and her limbs aching as if a thousand needles had been sunk into them. Seeing the captain's determination, some of the Karthemas who had been cheering for Filaban before now fell silent. Growing in anger about the captain's refusal to surrender, the knight delivered another blow, this one so strong it yanked the captain's weapon from her hands.

This should have been the end of the duel, but Filaban still was not done with the captain. Fidelia had made him waste precious time and resources, turned his precious, future-wife against him. This human only deserved death, so she attacked again. Fidelia pulled back, the shouts of the crowd now of anger as the knight broke one of the sacred rules of Karthemas dueling. Trying to stop him, Hidlessia rushed to step between Karthemas and human, yet bloodlust had already taken control of the knight's mind. Still roaring, Filaban directed his blade to the princess. Without thinking, Fidelia pushed Hidlessia aside...and took the blow for her.

Spewing blood, the captain fell to her knees, her eyes so tired she could not even see the blade sinking into her torso. She did not see it either when the crowd, enraged after seeing the knight's attempt of killing their princess, launched itself at Filaban. His screams still echoed in Fidelia's ears as the first Commonwealth troopers arrived to disperse the crowd.

When she woke up, nearly two weeks had gone by. At her side, Hidlessia assured her she was out of danger. The medics, already used to dealing with the millions of wounded of the previous battle in the planet, had stopped the bleeding and managed to save her from the brink of death. To Fidelia's surprise, those medics were not human or Kithri, but Karthemas who had once served the Kingdom of Yadra. After seeing her brave attempt to save their princess, they had felt duty-bound to save Fidelia's life. All across the planet, the story of the duel had been shared from one Karthemas to the other, making even the most conservative elements admit that maybe the Commonwealth were worthy of respect.

Thus, almost by accident, Fidelia managed to ease tensions in Fal'Kaboss and other planets with Karthemas population. Princess Hidlessia had already begun to work closely with the government of Ortus and promised Fidelia she would do everything within her power to improve relations between their two peoples.

But what of her exam? Well, while Fidelia had not completed her patrol, the examiners all agreed that she showed many of the skills required for an officer of the Commonwealth fleet. However, she still had much to lean and lacked experience when it came to following the chain of command, as she prefered instead to fly solo.

Thus, captain Fidelia Levassor would leave the Lance to join instead the command staff of one of the Commonwealth's most important admirals: Satayesh Ibrahim.