Aidana Skota

**Aidana Skota** is a notable Rogue Trader from House Skota. She is the youngest daughter of Lord Inquisitor Skotus and his lover Cuma Sybbyl. Aidana was fortunate enough not to inherit her parents curse, and so, was left free to chose her own course in life, a rare privilege in the Imperium.

## History

### Early Life

Aidana was born in 807.M41. She and her elder sisters Kymbeline  and Devorguille enjoyed a highly privileged childhood moving, with their entourage of caretakers, from one palatial residence to another in the Sol sector. Their parents were always welcome visitors rather than a regular part of their lives. The departure of Kymbeline and Devorguille for the Scholastica Psykana while Aidana was still quite young was traumatic and is probably at the root of the rebelliousness that has coloured her life.

### Imperial Academy

Aidana's decision to join the Imperial Navy seemed a conventional enough choice of career for a young noblewoman and with her connections she had no trouble getting an appointment to the prestigious Academy Solaris on Luna. She made it through the four years training by the skin of her teeth, her academic scores were excellent but her disciplinary record exactly the opposite. Only the Skota name and money kept her from being expelled on several occasions. As it was she graduated at the exact bottom of her class.

## Personality

In Aidana's personal universe rules are always for other people, she feels free to break any that don't suit her. If she wasn't a member of an ancient Terran Noble House with influential relatives in any adeptae one cares to name she'd be serving in some penal battalion somewhere.

## Appearance

Aidana's original hair color was brown, like her mother's, but she altered it to blond shortly after entering the academy and has worn that color ever since. It goes well with her ice-blue eyes, shading to aqua when she wears green. In feature she resembles her father with the characteristic angular Skota bone structure.

She generally wears a uniform of tight white trousers and green-blue tail-coat lavishly trimmed with gold with positively insane bullion epaulets. She lost her right hand on the Deathworld of Pytthus replacing it with a mechanical augment of distinctly skeletal design that most people prefer not to shake.

## Abilities and Traits

Aidana has been a smashing success as a Rogue Trader. In just over a century of activity she has built herself nice little fief on the western fringe effectively controlling the trade of three entire sectors. Holding onto these gains in the face of fierce competition from other Rogue Traders and occasional challenges from the Administratum or local nobles has kept her entertained and her edge keen.

She is an expert ship handler and more than adequate fleet commander known in both capacities for her unconventional and unpredictable tactics. While happy with her star Galleon and mass conveyors she dreams of someday obtaining a Ramilies-class StarFort. Unfortunately for her these do not exactly grow on trees.

## Capital Ships

### *Miles Gloriosus*

The current Flagship of Aidana's trader fleet is this Ambition class cruiser brand new - as star ships go - from the Kormisoshi dockyards of the Calixis Sector and equipped the firepower of a battlecruiser. The *Miles* was ordered to her specifications when Aidana decided she needed more firepower to deal with the poaching of opportunist rivals like Douchard Bagge.

### *Sanctus Sanguinius*

This Conquest Class Star Galleon dating from the dawn of the Imperium was captured in battle from a now departed competitor back at the beginning of Aidana's Rogue Trader career. The Sanctus Sanguinius is used as a mobile headquarters rather than a frontline battle ship or freighter though she is equipped with the superfired plasma weapons systems salvaged from a crippled Tyrant-class cruiser backing up her original lance armory, and her huge holds are stuffed with valuable cargo.

### *Lady Skotia*

This Gothic Class Cruiser was Aidana's original flagship and is still her favorite for special missions. Aidana was promoted to captain of the *Lady* - then named the *Tellurica Dominica* - after a court martial board acquitted her of all fault in the loss of her previous command the *Kathuria Victrix.* Aidana became quite attached to her new ship. So attached that she took it with her when she deserted. And no, her officers and crew had no problem with that. In fact it is questionable whether some of the Ratings have realized yet that they are no longer serving in the Imperial Navy.

### *Resurgam*

This Dominator Class Cruiser was formerly the *Kathuria Victrix* which was all but slagged and abandoned after her incredible one ship stand against a small fleet under the command of Evisserian Heretics. Recovered by her last captain, Aidana Skota, the ship was renamed and repaired and added to her new Trader Fleet. The *Lady Skotia* and the *Resurgam* are frequently deployed together as their armaments perfectly compliment each other.

## Escorts

### Sword Class Frigates

Aidana has three of this class of ship; the *Caladbolg*, the *Fragarach*, and the *Soluis* generally deployed as protection for the Sanctus Sanguinius or dispatched on special missions possibly supported by one or more of the ships below.

### Escort Carriers

The fleet has two of this ship class, both cranky and temperamental but very useful indeed both as convoy escorts and support for planetary assaults or interdictions.

### Fast Clippers

Aidana has a dozen or so of these small, fast ships used as scouts, blockade runners and infiltrators. Because of the risks involved she is constantly repairing and/or purchasing replacements.

### Armed Transports

These make up the bulk of Aidana's combat rated ships coming in all shapes and sizes and degrees of firepower.

## Freighters

### Carrack Class Transports

The fleet possesses dozens of these large cargo haulers. Normally a convoy will consist of several of these accompanied by perhaps twice as many armed transports and/or a carrier escort.

### Universe Class Mass Conveyors

Aidana uses her four mass conveyors as mobile cargo depots and factories with repair and refitting facilities just short of those of a groundside dockyard.

## Relations

### Family

#### Chesenie Cumalh Skota

About thirty years ago Aidana rather abruptly decided she needed an heir. Who she picked for the father remains a mystery but her daughter emerged from a gestation capsule and was legally acknowledged and given full House Rights in 921.M41. Commander Chesenie Skota is currently C.O. of the frigate *Soluis.*

### Personal Entourage

#### Wai Crissinger

Aidana's bodyguard and near constant shadow. Wai favors tight black leathers, heels to give her some much needed height and a belt fed stubber that is about half her size.  She wanders around in her own private cloud to the music of a tiny recorder watching Aidana for signals but pretty much ignoring the rest of the universe.

####  Anjanie Makkoy

Aidana's right hand woman from naval days. Anjanie was originally a down hive ganger-girl swept up by a press gang headed by Aidana who spotted the girl's potential. Anjanie combines the duties of a personal assistant and private assassin. She can usually be found to Aidana's right and a half pace behind equipped with parchments or hell-gun depending on the circumstances.

#### Loree Laroe

Aidana spent a fairly large fortune on  this immoral, possibly blasphemous and borderline illegal Janus Simulacra. Loree is stuffed with cybernetics under her faux-human skin with a high line cogitator linked to her human cortex. Aidana uses her as a recording instrument and analyzer. She is also extremely decorative and distracting.

#### Victor Corbec

Aidana's pet psyker is a former Primaris Psyker who mutinied against his handler and superior officer Brigade General Gurin Gevorkian after discovering he was dealing with the Ruinous powers. Unsurprisingly Victor found himself blamed for the loss of three regiments and the fall of Aster X to Chaos and having killed Gevorkian in self defense had no way to prove his innocence - though it is dubious whether any evidence would have been sufficient to win his life from the Ordo Hereticus who operates on a 'better safe than sorry' principle as regards high powered psykers.

### Officers

#### Malloc Direson

Aidana's seneschal has been in her service literally from her infancy. He was among the several tutors that instructed Aidana and her older sisters, his subjects being economics and intelligence. When Aidana recieved her first command she invited Malloc to become her 'aide' a position he used to to create the network of political, economic and intelligence contacts that supported her as she established herself as a Rogue Trader.

#### Hastus d'Arquebus

The navigator of Aidana's flagship is a member of the Shrouded House d'Arquebus. Unlike his elders he is less interested in redeeming the reputation and power of the d'Arquebus than he is in enjoying himself. Unlike his peers he does not cloister himself away in luxurious isolation but takes a full part in shipboard social life, mostly gambling and wenching, and is uncommonly well accepted by Aidana's top officers. He also enjoys taking part in the planet-side action relying more on his trusty bolter pistol than his Navigator powers to defend himself and his allies.

### Enemies

Douchard Bagge: Aidana does business with this flamboyant 'arriviste' but she doesn't have to like him - and she doesn't. 'Enemies' may be putting it too strongly but if they can do each other a bad turn they will.

## Notable Quotes

### About

"*Oh! Oh! A Terran plying the space lanes! That is **adorable**. Even that cruiser is adorable. Gee gosh willikers, imagine of all the cargo you can zip around with a beaut like that. Oh wait, I don't have to imagine it, there's like a hundred of those inside the Invariably Victorious In All Circumstances Forever.*"
—Douchard Bagge
"*A fair trader and as a side plus she shares my dislike of that arrogant narcissistic blighter Douchard Bagge.*"
— Peter McRaven
"*My, what a simply... ravishing beauty. If you would please pardon my prying, dear Lady Skota, what is the shade of your blood? I would venture, given the ever so valiant defense you have mounted against Lord Nazath's fleet, that you are certainly of a deep... rich... crimson shade. Ideal for a project I have in mind. Please, come with me, I will immortalize your beauty for all time.*"
—Umbal the Duelist, Raptor Champion of the Storm Draugar
"*Chaos is an inferno of hatred and violence, and the Imperium is the great bucket brigade fighting the fire with rocket fuel. Think on that, Aidana Skota.*"
—Prince Ajax