Daer Lenn's Contract

Near the end of the Saikar Empire's reign, Daer Lenn served as an agent for Saber, fighting against the oppressive and all-consuming empire. Her particular set of skills were regularly put to use, and saw her travelling under fake names to various parts of the Occupied Territories. This contract, though, was different.   There remained at this point, few systems left under Saikar control. And her next mission would take her into the belly of the beast. She is assigned by Saber's leadership to strike a blow at the empire's foundations, to weaken the already collapsing moral of its people as a precursor to Saber's move on Hyperion.   She was to make her way to Hyperion, under the pseudonym Aliana Damai, a refugee fleeing the atrocities of the war. Once in the system, she would find her way to Bastion, and seek out Governor Radhul Torrens. Radhul was the appointed Governor of Hyperion, and as such it was his job to ensure the minutia of everyday life in the system was taken care of, so the Emperor could focus on more broad tasks. She was ordered to assassinate him, hopefully causing the system to devolve into panic and chaos, leaving it distracted from the incoming Saber fleet.   It was a task she had performed many times before, and it was a tactic that had worked quite consistently. But this was different. This was the heart of the beast, and it was very well protected.   Nevertheless, she arrived successfully in Vespa, and got to work. Undercover Saber cells working in the city put her up, directed her preparation and planning. So, when the moment finally came, she found herself on the balcony of Radhul's penthouse in the core of the city. She broke in, in the dead of night, and completed her mission, making it appear as though Radhul had killed himself by throwing him hundreds of feet to the concrete below, with a letter expressing his despair clutched in his fist.   News spread like wildfire, and the chaos she sought was achieved. But, then the complications arose. Vespa, and Bastion, were very well guarded. And an assault was underway. In the chaos, Daer tried to flee and rejoin her comrades, but she was captured by some remaining members of the Technomancer's Guild and dragged away to Eridanus Station, where she was tortured and interrogated. Eventually it became clear that the Empire had lost, and the torture became purely for entertainment. But she persevered, and eventually those around her fell to illness, hunger, madness, or internal conflict. In their weakened state, she was able to escape with a ship, and entered a world wholly unfamiliar.   There was no sign of Saber anymore, and instead, many despotic rulers took up authority across the worlds. Daer tried to reestablish connections with Saber, but quickly discovered it was fruitless, and redirected her attention to finding her way home. But, try as she might, she couldn't fix the gate.   At her home on Calidor, she regaled the small population of wood elves with tales of the days of old, of war stories, harrowing escapes, and the glorious dreams of Saber. She fell in love, married, and had kids, and for a time, she was happy and forgot about the Gate. Until an anonymous letter tipped her off to a trail.   The anonymous tip came from, and eventually uncovered the secret station, Mechanicus. She left in a hurry, unable to articulate where or why she needed to go, and she was never seen again. Her fate was death by the blade of Ralas't'ar and Oberon, on Mechanicus, where she had been told she could find the power necessary to open the gate once more.   Retelling after retelling has muddied, exaggerated, and altered the stories she told, but the core remains. She fought the empire and won, and it only cost her everything she had known and loved. Eventually, this led to the development of superstition over her bad luck, and people began to forget much of the important points of the story.