Yliri Requud

> To the Imperial ships, this is the Lady Yliri Requud, Vassal-Admiral of the Hapan Royal Navy. Before you is a fleet with twice your numbers, and ten times your firepower. You stand no chance. Withdraw, or be destroyed.
>
> Yliri Requud to Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik over Andalia, 0 ABY

Lady **Yliri Requud** of Andalia was a Hapan great duchess, politician, and naval officer during the time of the Galactic Civil War. The third child of the reigning Lady Requud, Yliri was not expected to rule the fortress world of Andalia. As was traditional with so-called "spare" children, she enlisted into the Royal Navy, with her noble status earning Yliri a place in the Honor Fleet. Serving aboard the battle dragon *Andalia*, her prodigal instincts for command got her noticed by the fleet's commander, Banneret-Admiral Dalinar Miilarta. Yliri grew to treat the man as a second father, and Miilarta ensured that the young duchess's capabilities were not overlooked by the navy. Yliri's time in the fleet saw her grow ever critical of Hapan isolationist policies, a view she shared with Admiral Miilarta. She spoke her mind frequently, though any officers who opposed her were kept quiet thanks to Lord Dalinar. With a seemingly successful life as a fleet officer before her, sudden news from Yliri's homeworld changed the situation completely. The Andal Torrents, an extreme weather event striking Andalia once every two years, had caught the Requud family's shuttle, resulting in a devastating crash that killed much of the house's line. As such, the Red Seat of Andalia had suddenly passed to Yliri, who returned to the world to become the reigning Lady Requud.

Still reeling from the loss of her family, Lady Yliri had little time to grieve, with Andalia being plunged into conflict. Upon ascension, she had openly called for the opening of the cluster's borders, quickly creating enemies amongst Andalia's jingoist nobles and the Queen Mother herself. When a demonstration against her in Andalmoor grew out of control, Yiliri ordered Lord Gheer to disperse them. Instead, Gheer declared a state of rebellion against the Requuds, stating that the planet itself had spoken (a quip at the death of Yliri's family which she would not forget). Facing down the possible dethroning of her house, Lady Requud prepared for war.

Assembling the forces loyal to her, Lady Yliri elected to strike first. She smashed the rebel fleet in orbit with brutal efficiency, inflicting such a thorough defeat that the rebels were unable to threaten her in orbit for the rest of the war. With the lanes for reinforcement clear, Yliri sent an appeal to Hapes, requesting several regiments to aid her in putting down the rebellion. She received a cold response from the Queen Mother, deepening Yliri's suspicions that the ruler was at the very least sympathetic to the enemy. Dalinar Miilarta, who had expected the crown to aid House Requud in it's time of need, was disgusted by the refusal, abandoning his post in the Honor Fleet and joining Lady Yliri in her campaign. Through his friendship, she also earned some aid from Lady Mirana Galney, Dalinar's liege. While lacking major ground forces to provide, Lady Galney provided a steady stream of credits and materiel that was sorely needed. And where the Queen Mother herself was apathetic to the cause, her son Isolder was deeply sympathetic. He sent his personal guard, Captain Astarta, and her personal squadron of starships to aid in the rebellion's suppression.

On the ground, Yliri waged a methodical and difficult campaign. Much of Andalia's surface was sweltering desert and steppe, and the army's supply lines depended greatly on the long railcrawler tracks lining the planet. A rebel army advancing on Red Marche was repelled by her forces, but the subsequent counter-offensive towards Andalmoor stalled out as the rebels consolidated outside the city. As the coming of the Andal Torrents was expected, Lady Requud feared that the prolonged stagnation of conflict would only embolden her rivals to support the rebel army. Her luck changed, however, with the interception of Commodore Halliot Sern over Manress. Brought to her side, she used Sern to funnel the insurgents deep into the deserts of Andalia. At the Battle of the Eye, where she anticipated the rebel army being crushed between her forces and the storm, Yliri was instead betrayed by Sern, who turned the flanks of both armies and forced them to bend the knee. Sern would leave the world, and the insurgents fled to Vergill, the stronghold of House Algray.

Lady Yliri has long suspected House Algray's sympathies to the insurgents, but allowing their passage to Vergill had proven to be a step to far. With her reputation damaged by the disaster at the Eye, the Requuds planned their counter-attack. The ocean world of Maires had long been a dependency of the Requud realm, ruled jointly by a Mairan council and an Andalia-appointed governor. Setting the stage to bait the Algrays into a trap, Lady Requud appointed Alcyon Lann, the commander of her house guard, as Viceroy of Maires. A series of levies were imposed on the Mairans, primarily against unaffiliated goods that in no way harmed the planet's economy, though Lady Aleson Algray's advisors were none the wiser. Mairan dissidents, singled out by the planetary council, were sent to Vergill. They claimed that Lady Requud's hold on the planet was weak, and an Algray incursion would not be countered. Additionally, they promised the full support of the Mairan people, and would declare Lady Aleson as the hereditary Magnate of Maires. Thoroughly convinced, the Algrays mobilized their forces and moved for the world.

Hungry for revenge and the restoration of her image, Lady Yliri left no room for error. She personally commanded the Requud fleet over Maires, with Lord Dalinar's own Miilarta contingent holding her right flank. His niece and heir, the Lady Sylphrena, led forces on the ground supported by Lann. The ensuing Battle of Maires was more akin to a slaughter, though the brunt of the losses came to Lady Algray's infantry, rather than her ships. Regardless, the Algrays were thoroughly routed, and Lord Benwick Skela of Gallinore was forced to negotiate on Lady Aleson's behalf. The Algrays paid a massive indemnity to the Requuds, and publicly declared that Maires was eternally in the domain of Andalia. The glory of House Requud was restored, and Lady Yliri was appraised as a hero.

Considered the foremost military officer in the Consortium at the formal outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, Yliri was one of Queen Mother Ta'a Chume's most fearsome critics. Her speeches against Hapan neutrality, despite their resonance with the Royal Navy, proved ineffective at swaying the Queen, and Hapan isolationism would not be broken until after the dawn of the New Republic.