Astraea Mehrkuri

Astraea Mehrkuri Barrina (2148 CE - 2224 CE) was the late Primarch of Digeris and wife of Antraxes Partinax. In 2224 CE she lead a rebellion against Primarch Desolas Arterius II of Palaven, singlehandedly throwing the Turian Empire into a brief but bloody civil war. Additionally, she was also responsible for ordering the political assassinations of a large majority of Desolas' highest-ranking allies, in an event known as The Night of Martyrs.

Astraea was finally captured on the field of battle by Desolas' daughter, Sarena, with the aid of the Prothean Javik. She was publicly executed by Desolas for her crimes on the steps of Cipritine's Signis, an event that would act as the catalyst for Desolas' eventual ousting from power and the murder of his daughter. She is one of very few primarchs in history to have been tried and executed for treason.

## Birth and childhood

Astraea was born in Apparatus, the capital city of the turian colony of Digeris, in 2148 CE. She was the first child of Castella Mehrkuri and her husband, Asterion Barro. She had two younger siblings; a sister named Caeistia Mehrkuri and a brother named Maxim Mehrkuri. Both of her parents were distinguished naval commanders in the Digerian Navy, her mother being the highest ranking of the pair with the rank of admiral. Her father was a captain. Despite marrying for politics, her parents were very close with one another, having been friends before their marriage. The family was a very close unit, Astraea and her siblings grew up wanting for nothing.

At the age of fifteen, as dictated by turian law, Astraea enrolled in Bootcamp on Digeris. Like both her parents before her, she was a model student. Her aptitude scores ranked her as one of the top cadets in her class, particularly in the categories of leadership skills, tactics and strategy, and battlefield awareness. When interviewed by her commander Astraea expressed a fervent desire to serve in the navy, as it was tradition for the firstborn children of House Mehrkuri. She made an impassioned speech about how it was her familial duty to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors, dropping the names of three of particular: Fidericus Mehrkuri, who had broken the Siege of Digeris during the Krogan Rebellions; Pallax Natanus, who had been the first turian to travel through a mass relay; and her house's founder, Valeria Mehrkuri, who had stood at Aurelion Imperator's side during the Unification War as the admiral of his fleets. Moved by her dedication, her commander forwarded her file to the Digerian Navy who accepted her into their ranks. For Astraea it was a time of great celebration, her family publicly praising her for her achievement.

## Children

Astraea is something of a tragic figure with regard to her children. Of her seven pregnancies, only two produced healthy children. The rest were either miscarried or stillborn. While she refused to speak of her trauma to anyone besides her husband, each loss cut a little deeper into Astraea's heart, hardening her to the outside world. She notably forbade her subjects from celebrating any news of her pregnancies, for fear that such joy was premature and thus tempted fate.

All of Astraea's children - living and dead - were named by her husband, to whom she presented each child after their birth.

## Civil War

### **The Night of Martyrs**

Before instigating her invasion plan, Astraea began to orchestrate a plot to destabilise the empire, with the help of her husband. Using Antraxes' old Blackwatch contacts, a list of targets was drawn up, all of whom were either close confidants of Desolas or high ranking military leaders loyal to the Primacy of Palaven.