Aless

## Backstory

As the reboot of famed Gerat Erwan, Aless entered the world with the love and support of Gerat's adoptive child Moth, and--once the local priest could arrange the marriage--Moth's husband, Finn. Together, their family shared the considerable inheritance of the Erwan estate, which lay under the Raynet, in the Nightsedge Territory of Sector O.

Soon thereafter, Moth and Finn Erwan adopted another two androids from the Night--the identical twins, Bak and Mak--and created a third child of their own. This made for a lively and strenuous household, especially for Aless, its eldest child. Neither Moth nor Finn seemed particularly adept at managing domestic affairs, and her tutor and nanny seemed more interested in affairs with her mother and father, respectively. The latter dalliance even produced a fourth and final sibling for Aless, to Moth's consternation.

As these intrigues detracted from the dedication the Erwan family hirelings had to their professional roles, and Aless was of an easygoing and compliant nature, she soon found herself playing parent. Laden with high expectations and unearned trust, it was left to her, by default, to make most decisions on behalf of the squabbling Erwan household, even before her third year of life.

While none who lived there objected to this arrangement, it wasn't socially sustainable. Once Aless joined the Night's Edge Reservists for weekend service, the metaphorical ivory tower in which she'd been placed by her parents began to crumble under questioning from her peers. When she was informed her household's reliance on her wasn't a vote of confidence so much as evidence of a collective effort to use her to enable the rest of her household to enjoy pampered and leisurely lives at the expense of the Erwan estate and good name, her first reaction was denial, followed by violent attempts to remain in denial.

After some time in conflict--and once her siblings were at least partly engaged by their own schooling--Aless was persuaded, at last, to quit serving as her parents' personal secretary, or as a free nanny for her father's bastard. She enlisted, in secret, in the Sector O regular forces, and on the same day she left to take part in basic training, she announced her departure, and within the hour, rode off on the back of a friend's motorcycle.

Joining the military was far from ideal as a liberating act of rebellion, which was revealed to Aless when her first sergeant immediately used the opportunity the arrival of her old commander's reboot as her new subordinate provided to torture Aless, as an example to any who might think they deserved special treatment, or for that matter, to ever receive a promotion without paying in blood (or the android equivalent) for it.

What could have been a dreadful yet otherwise unremarkable life as a former nanny turned lifelong grunt came to an abrupt end when Private Aless and her squad, to the astonishment of their battalion and its leadership, were accepted as Gatecrasher candidates. With this news, they left the glaciers for the sea, and within a few years, were considered ready to launch and serve all sectors in the priesthood's renewed effort to explore through the Gate to Beyond in the Barbican Sunstation--a task as prestigious as any of Gerat Erwan's fame.

Aless's squad was further blessed--or perhaps cursed--to be among those in the room when the blast doors were reopened. The initial scouting seemed to go well. When first contact was made with the Outsiders known as Silverlings, most had illusions these creatures were mostly harmless. Only 'excessive caution' discouraged abductions and loss of equipment--at least until the Outsiders' lost patience.

When threats began to fly, the Gatecrashers discovered the power of the Outsiders was beyond estimation, just as the Silverlings learned the Gatecrashers were not as helpless as they'd believed. The incursion force proved unable to move beyond the Barbican chamber without being routed, yet they also claimed abductees. Teams sent on sorties to recover these were largely unsuccessful. Aless was among those lost, and was last seen caught in pursuit by them after falling away through the portal. Her body was not recovered.