Liza Maheswaran

Born
 Died
 Political party
 Rank
 Battles/wars

**Liza Maheswaren** (August 17, 2030 – August 17, 2099) was a 21st-century American folk hero, astronaut, soldier, and businesswoman. She is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "Dragon of Venus". She served during the Third World War, the Second Mexican War, and the Guardiola Incident and was one of the founding members of the Interplanetary Trade Commission.

Maheswaren grew up in North Carolina, and entered into the US Space Force Academy just three years before the outbreak of WWIII. During her tour of service on the Moon and Asteroids, she gained a reputation for her fearlessness in combat, and became an almost mythic figure among America's space forces. After the end of the war, Maheswaren joined NASA and was part of the crew of the ISV-03 Constitution that was stranded on Tu. After returning to Earth, her adventures on Tu were made into a series of best selling experience feeds, and she was given a position on Venus Group's board of directors, and eventually became CEO.

Maheswaren became famous in her own lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by experience feeds, books, and virtuals--a reputation she was always more than happy to play up on her social media accounts. After her death, she continued to be credited with acts of mythical proportion. By the time of her death she had become one of the best-known American folk heroes.

## World War III

Maheswaran was stationed on the moon during World War III, and saw most of her service there fighting the Japanese. She took part in the Battle of Tycho, which was where her prowess as a soldier first reached memetic status. During her tour of duty on the moon, she racked up a total of 156 enemy kills, the most of any combatant on the Allied side of the war. She lost her right eye during the Battle of L2, but continued to fight after taping up her helmet, earning her the Silver Star. Outside of combat, however, Maheswaran gave off the impression of always being calm and easygoing. This contributed to her status as a national hero--she more or less served as the personification of Evalyn Jacobi's famous "Have No Fear" mantra. Her customized Raytheon RA-7 exoskeleton, which she had darkly nicknamed *Vulture's Delight*, regularly appeared in US Space Force recruitment advertisements both during and after the war.

## NASA and the Squirrel Wars

Maheswaren's military service easily secured her a position aboard the ISV-03 Constitution on its maiden flight to Beta Hydri d. During the mission the ship experienced a technical fault and she was forced to abandon ship with the rest of the crew. Maheswaren was one of the few members of the Constitution's crew who did not land in Southeastern Kolsaviv, and was instead diverted off course toward the desolate plains west of the Kolian mountains. Cut off from contact with her crew, Maheswaren spent the next 5 years traveling and gathering what remaining crew she could find and often joining local fighters to fend off the rovers that plagued many of the towns in the west. She made contact with her crew near the end of the Squirrel Wars, by which point she had largely built an army of her own and was defacto ruler of a new kingdom in the west.

## Venus Group

Maheswaren left NASA and joined the Venus group board of directors. Originally expecting a dull retirement, Maheswaren's sheer force of will made her stand out among her peers in both the Venus group and the other supermajors of the solar system. Using her extensive relationships with the other members of the terraforming community, she was able to take the Venus project from a backwater program to the equal of Mars.

## Second Mexican War

At the outbreak of the Second Mexican War, Maheswaren returned to active duty in the US Space Force and captained the Drop Carrier *USSS Miranda Ariyoshi* during the South America campaign.

## Guardiola Incident and death

Maheswaren was commanding the gunship USPGS *Jamie Dawson* in the L4 asteroid quarry when the Guardiola specialists launched their attack against the orbitals. Maheswaren led her crew into 17 separate engagements with Guardiola specialists. On August 17, 2099 the *Dawson* was returning to Whidbey Island station when the ship was intercepted by 3 Guardiola light-cruisers. The *Dawson* was flying with no support, and the rest of the Planetary Guard was either already engaged or too far away to provide support. 7 hours after the Guardiolas had attacked the *Dawson* three Colonial Assault Carriers rendezvoused near the site of the battle, only to find all three light cruisers dead in space, and no sign of the *Dawson* or her crew. Colonial Guard forces would not be able to review the scene until months after the conflict had ended, and forensics confirmed that the Dawson most likely detonated its reactor and destroyed the remaining ships in the explosion. However, the story of the battle spread throughout the solar system during the war, leading to many astronauts attributing encounters with unidentified vessels as a ghost ship, "Maheswaren's *Dawson*."

## Legacy

Even during her lifetime, Maheswaran's exploits quickly entered the realm of outright exaggeration. For example, stories were often circulated claiming she not only achieved more kills than any other soldier in World War III, but she also singlehandedly won the entire Battle of Tycho. She was likewise often given sole credit for winning the Squirrel Wars. Still other feats attributed to her have no basis in history whatsoever, but are simply the product of urban legend. One oft-repeated story claims that she managed to save a civilian housing complex on the moon by tricking Japanese troops into attacking their own positions.

By far her most enduring tale is that of Maheshwaren's Dawson. To this day, unidentified spacecraft are often reported to be the Dawson, and many spacers swear their lives were in fact saved by the fabled ghost ship.