Diane Romero

Diane Romero was a cadet at The Pilgrim Space Academy, and a close friend of Margaret Dale.

## History

### Background

Her father was Carlos Romero, who ran a hovercar repair shop on Planet Ymir during most of her childhood. She never knew her mother, who was apparently an arms dealer from Alpha Centauri.

From an early age, she was an extremely talented engineer, as also quite a proficient thief thanks to the lessons of her father. She knew how to pick locks by the time she was five years old.

She built her first droid when she was eight years old, and named him Norbert.

### New Friendships

Thanks to her remarkable gifts, her father managed to enroll her as a first-year cadet in the Pilgrim Space Academy in 2214. At first she struggled to make friends, particularly with her disagreeable roommate May Martinez, but she soon connected with a fellow outsider named Kenrick Morse. He helped her to make significant improvements to the artificial intelligence of Norbert, whom she had smuggled along to the academy.

She would later find a soulmate in Margaret Dale when she arrived at the academy. After hearing Maggie's story about surviving an attack on Latona Station, Diane researched the station and found that it was not mentioned anywhere on the Galactic Register. She tried to warn Maggie that there was something strange going on, though she was reluctant to listen at first.

Eventually, Maggie changed her mind and Diane helped her to investigate a couple of faculty members who had been acting suspiciously. A teacher named Kathy Brown was ultimately revealed to be a traitor working for a shadowy organisation called Fractus. When Kathy held Gail Pilgrim and the other faculty members hostage in the gymnasium, Maggie and Diane used Norbert to save the day. Norbert was destroyed in the process, but he was later rebuilt as Norbert 2.0.

The following year, Maggie confided in Diane that she'd had a strange vision in which she experienced Kenrick's memories as though from his point of view. Diane helped her look to into what was really going on, and they ultimately discovered that Maggie seemed to be developing some rather unusual psychic abilities.

### Carlos' Visit and Disappearance

Carlos Romero visited Planet Abassi in 2216, intending to spend some time with his daughter. However, he was detained by space port officials for carrying too much Straczynium in his luggage. His old friend Masaki Abe got him out of trouble, and in return Carlos agreed to pay off some old debts.

To repay those debts, Carlos enlisted the assistance of his unwitting daughter in attempting to steal the Galactic Star from the Museum of Military History. Following the intervention of Maggie and Jaime Bishop, Diane refused to help her father and demanded that he return the artifact to its rightful place.

Once Maggie had revealed the existence of her abilities to Sabina White, Diane accompanied the two of them along with Kenrick Morse to the Eskeri Moon Colony, where a team of scientists working for Project Triarch were eager to investigate further. While she was there, Diane learned that her father had gone missing. The authorities in Aegina City wished to talk to him about some irregularities on his travel documents, but they were unable to locate him.

Meanwhile, Maggie found out that her mother might be in the Sun Systems and ran away to look for her.

### The Search for Carlos

Returning to the academy, Diane enlisted the help of Gail Pilgrim to search for her missing father in Aegina City. Gail agreed, but only on the condition that Diane focused on her schoolwork and did not take part in the investigation.

Ignoring this request, Diane did conduct her own investigation and both she and Gail infiltrated a group called the Silver Masks where they found Carlos, who had been hiding out from Masaki. It turned out that Masaki did not bear any ill will towards Carlos and wanted to work with him. Diane informed her father that she would not come to his rescue again if he chose to continue in a life of crime, and the two of them separated.

Back at the academy, more perils ensued when two traitorous space wardens attacked the girls dormitories intending to assassinate May Martinez. Diane led her into the service tunnels beneath the building to escape, setting up various booby traps to hinder their progress. They were ultimately saved by Gail Pilgrim and Vera Vansen, who shot and killed their attackers.

### The Search for Maggie

When Gail Pilgrim learned of Maggie's location and went looking for her, Diane and Kenrick stowed themselves away on the Starship Quicksilver. Gail didn't have time to turn the ship around, so she was forced to accept their assistance despite the risk.

Once they landed in Yamaichi City on the Forest Moon of Pan Gu, Diane went with Sabina White to investigate some places where Maggie might have been staying. However, it was Gail's investigation which ultimately revealed that Maggie had gone to an abandoned facility Shiryō Island.

Arriving at the facility, they were confronted by a team of mercenaries led by Captain Vance. Gail decided to try and sneak inside, and Diane insisted on going with her. After helping her to fashion an explosive which allowed to enter through an old tunnel, they found their way to the laboratory where Maggie was being kept captive by her mother Marion Dale.

Marion held Gail and Diane at gunpoint and attempted to leave with Maggie. Diane refused to let that happen, so she was shot and killed by Marion. In her final moments, Maggie entered Diane's mind and attempted to save the life of her friend, but she was powerless to prevent her death.

Diane was buried near the Pilgrim Space Academy at a final service attended by her father, teachers and classmates.

## Personality

When Maggie first met Diane at the academy, she was very passive and often allowed people to push her around. However, her friendship with Maggie helped her to develop greater confidence and assert herself more.

Despite having an extremely nervous disposition, Diane demonstrated her bravery on a number of occasions. Her desire to help others would often land her in dangerous situations.

## Appears In

* Space Pilgrim Academy: Year 1
* Space Pilgrim Academy: Year 2
* Space Pilgrim Academy: Year 3
* Space Pilgrim Academy: Reunion