Cassiopeia Mead

Cassia being cheeky. Art by Takako15

> *"It doesn't matter if it is top notch technology, or if it's technology from ages ago. If I got the spare pieces, I love repairing it. Machines tell a story in every bolt and every plate, and I love to dive into it all."*
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## General

She is a young but exceptional starfighter pilot and a scrap scavenger, currently living in Boston Station, one of the first colonies made by humanity over a molten world in a permanent space station habitat. The planet itself is uninhabitable and cannot sustain life. However, Cassiopeia comes from another space station, far away from Boston; a ring-shapped colony named The USTC Wesson; which orbits over Ulysses, a semi-gaseous planetary system that resembles the current and distant Earth. Said planet became sterile at some point in its life due the depletion of its natural resources, result of an asteroid shower impact, and eventually the hands of its previous inhabitants. With nowhere else to go, the humans that fled the planet began building space colonies around the planet, and many generations had passed ever since.

Having believed throughout her life that the colony's society in which she lived seemed "false and lifeless", because most people in there believed that there was no future outside Wesson; with the help of her grandfather Cygnus Mead, Cassia restored an ancient starfighter that was kept deep in Wesson's debris storages. After years of working on the machine, and witnessing the death of her only parent figure, Cassia completely restored the craft and modified it to be able for space travelling. Once completed, with all the piloting teachings that Cygnus had inherited her, Cassiopeia made her out of the colony and away from her home, into the endless space, until she made it to a space port placed on the neighboring planet, managing to land a temporary job as a scavenger, gaining experience and funds enough to be hired at Boston Station's security corps.

She currently spends her days in her workshop at Boston, maintaining her Berkut in mint condition while helping out in "The Wanderer", a stranded scavenger ship at Boston, which she now calls "her new home"; visiting the many supply ships that come to the colony in search for spare parts; and defending the Boston from the many pirate raids that often torment it playing her role as a privateer security corp.

## Biography

#### Early Life

Cassiopeia's life started inside the hermetic and overprotective environment of Wesson; the very first colony established by the Ulyssean humans, which escaped their original homeworld in hopes of survival, as Ulysses' capacity to sustain life was blown by a hollow asteroid that exploded into thousands of fragments that rained down upon the planet, which seemed to make the Ulysseans relive the traumatic past that had given name to their world in their first place. Unable to recover from the impacts, and seeing their resources burn away before their eyes, the Ulysseans went into the skies, raising all the materials they could through their space elevators, and slowly, they began to create the colony that Wesson would then become. As the centuries passed, the Ulysseans journeyed deeply into the solar system before them, making Wesson the colony that it is today, while leaving the traces of their history back down Ulysses.

Cassiopeia's life began many generations after Wesson's creation. Ulysseans, despite being quite technologically advanced, were known for being quite shut-in, regarding space exploration. Their culture was very much the same from before the asteroid's planetfall. Unwilling to leave the safety of their own space colonies, Ulysseans relied heavily on their unmanned vehicle technology to explore the depths of their solar system, in search of resources for Wesson's constant maintenance. But among the many corformist Ulysseans, there were a very small number that lived in contrast to such simple life. Among them, there was an old man that went by the name of Cygnus Mead; a man whose profession was seen as orthodox, and to a point, anachronistic. He was a starfighter pilot, a job declared obsolete by Ulysseans, after the wars between Wesson and Ulysses' smaller space colonies spread over their solar system came to a screeching halt, many years ago. Despite that, Cygnus remained loyal to his own passion for flying. A passion that Cassiopeia, his only granddaughter, would inherit later on.

#### Early piloting

With her parents missing; believing that they had left her to her own luck, Cassiopeia had nowhere else to go but with her grandfather, Cygnus. Ever since she started living with him, Cassia witnessed how much of an eccentric man Cygnus was. She had always loved those war stories that the old geezer told her, and she came to respect the man he was, hoping that one day, she would become a skilled starfighter pilot just like him, with the same desire to explore the endless space and cruise among the stars. The old and rugged man would teach everything he knew to the young girl, learning of her distant ancestors, and how they used to soar the skies of Ulysses, when it was once a planet blooming of life. By the age of 14, Cassia was turned into a decent starfighter pilot. She always looked up to raise up and fly in Wesson's artificial sky, to practice her maneuvering skills, with Cygnus on the back seat of their old trainer crafts, which were mostly "flying scrap", like Cygnus liked to call them.

Their dream was to completely restore a starfighter frame to someday flee from Wesson, to explore the planet that Ulysseans had left behind, as life for them in there was just too unbearable. No one wanted a starfighter or a scrapper where there was no wars or scrap to recover. Surviving on a small workshop that fixed Wesson's smaller drones, the pair managed to fund their lives. But Cygnus wouldn't be able to keep up with Cassia's growing audacity, as his age would quickly reclaim the old man. By the age of 17, Cygnus fell ill and passed away, leaving the young starfighter pilot with nothing but their workshop and the scrapped components of an ancient SU-43 "Star Berkut" stratofighter that they had found deep within Wesson's scrapyards. With no one but herself, Cassia decided to carry on with her grandfather's legacy; and spent several years restoring the aging star frame, fabricating its pieces from raw ore whenever she couldn't find scrapped starfighter components on every trash spaceship that passed by Wesson, from time to time. It took Cassiopeia 4 years to finally complete the Star Berkut, and make it capable of atmospherical flying, suitable for Wesson's artificial atmosphere. It was one calm and sunny day in Wesson when Cassia turned to the skies and headed towards the biggest Drone Terminal in Wesson, blowing a hole with two missles that she managed to smuggle for her escape. Being the very first human in the Ulysses colony system to ever fly outwards the black abyss of space, Cassiopeia became a wanted criminal, for damaging Wesson's so precious Drones. But it didn't matter to her, as Wesson was not a place she would ever return.

#### Into the Unknown

Cassiopeia managed to flee from Wesson with her Berkut, managing to outmaneuver every drone that came after her, but her escape damaged her starcraft enough to force her to land on a visiting scavenger ship on the near colonies around the Ulysses system. The scavengers aboard the ships welcomed her reckless and determined actions, however; considering that she was "a kind lost in age", and gave her refuge, hiding Cassia from the pursuing drones that went after her. With that, she managed to fix her Berkut damaged components, upgrading its powertrain to its fullest. It only costed her some workshop service within "The Wanderer" scavenger ship, officially turning into an outlaw "scrapper", much like many crew members in there.

And so the starship left, with Cassia as an official crewmate, which was the start of the girl's journey into the unknown. It was a year unitl her escape from Wesson until The Wanderer reached a distant planetary system dedicated to mining, named Boston Station. There, the Wanderer got suddenly attacked by a space pirate raid that first targeted Boston, crippling the starship from faster-than-light travel. Seeing her new home being destroyed, Cassia soon made it into the stars with her Berkut, and joined the defending forces in Boston on stopping pirate raid.

After an intense battle, the pirates got fended off, with Cassia managing to emerge victorious along the defending starfighters in Boston. As the battle ended, she got called into the station to become part of Bostons private security staff, to which she agreed; as the Wanderer had gotten too heavily damaged for her to keep travelling with her crew. Hoping to gain some money for her crew to repair The Wanderer, she earnestly defends Boston, in hopes of once again setting way onto the scavenger ship, exploring the corners of the universe, hoping to go back to the abandoned Ulysses, to discover the secrets of her ancestors.

A year had passed ever since Cassiopeia reached Boston Station, where she became a privateer pilot under Boston's security corps tutelage, honing her flying skills, while earning a reputation as a promising rookie ace.

## Personal Information

### General Overview

Birth Name

General Physique

Performance Physique

Personal Weaponry

This pistol is the standard for pilots that fly in Boston Station's orbital space, and provides decent firepower for a gun of its caliber. It should give downed pilots protection enough if they find themselves being pursued by the enemy. It can be used in gunfights, but it is heavily advised to not engage in shootouts actively, as the handgun is strictly given for self-protection.

Main Traits
 3

 0

 0

 8

 -5

 -5

 0
 Passive Perception

#### Personality

Cassia is known for being a plucky and brash girl, and doesn't rely on anyone but herself. She doesn't fear danger, as it makes her feel alive. Ever since the passing of her grandfather, she learned how to be an independent person. That said, she is also a dependable and cunning woman, willing to aid the people that help her, with an analytic eye on her actions. She believes that paying favors is the way to gain them back. And on her line of work, she needs every favor to keep her Star Berkut in good shape. She is also an amicable girl, able to make a conversation for the sake of knowing people. It usually comes in handy when she needs to get information on any bounty that she is interested in.

#### Physical Traits

Cassia has an overall decent physical shape, as she needs to be fit to be able to comfortably sit in her starcraft. Her exersices keep Cassia on a decend althetic shape, which grants her great endurance, not only for flying, but also for hunting down her targets on the ground. She knows her share of close-quarter-combat fundamentals, as well as gun handling, but those skills are as good as your average bounty hunter. Cassia excels in dogfighting, in which she is one of the top starfighters in Boston, being able to hold up against a squadron of pirate raiders' starcrafts on her own.

## Starcraft

### SU-43 U/AS Star Berkut

Once an advanced atmospheric fighter from several generations ago, this plane was recovered as a hollow frame by Cygnus, and it's Cassia's most treasured belonging. Ever since Cygnus and Cassiopeia recovered this craft, she has been working on it almost religiously. It's her main mean of transportation, and the one craft that puts money into her pockets. The only thing that says something about it's previous identity it's the serial number within the hull, and the emblem of a flying pigeon (the origin of its nickname), with the acronym "UPEO", each emblazoned on its left and right wing, respectively; which leaves its manufacturer or any known origin whatsoever a complete mystery.

## Gallery

Cassie's portraitCassie escaping from USTC WessonCassie full body shotCassie and the Wanderer's crew supporting Boston Station. Cassie (Front), Franz (left), Shelby (right) and Eckard (bottom). Art by Mimura Tokusa.Cassia's grandfather, Cygnus