Elena "Angel Eyes" Amadeus

Early Life
Elena Amadeus was born to a family of minor nobles in the Rezina Duchy sometime in the 620s, the oldest of 5. She had a happy childhood- wanting for nothing and spending her days playing with her brothers and sisters(2 each). As she aged became more and more aware of house politics and the outside world, she learned that the outside world was dangerous and she took to her self defense lessons with a passion. In her teenage years she ignored her many suitors, her family eventually gave up trying to arrange a marriage and simply let her live her own life. They had no problem with her fulfilling their obligation to Medici's military. As the oldest child she felt it was her duty.

Military Career
Due to her family connections she was destined for a comfortable career in either Battlefleet Medici or a minor officer’s rank in one of the Guard Brigades (Most noble families on Medici required at least one child in each generation to serve in the military). She chose the navy, graduating from the Medici Naval Flight Academy and being assigned to the Gothic class Battlecruiser Avianna Superbus(Medici naming conventions had Battlecruisers named for prestigious Noblewomen) as a Vulture gunship pilot. Her nickname “Angel Eyes” came from a mocking remark from a junior officer who noted that she looked like a porcelain doll his sister had owned as a child, pretty but fragile and with no practical purpose. ''“She has angel eyes- there’s nothing behind them, all sweetness and light, how will she fare in an actual fight? When the missiles start flying will she just fly away?”-'' anonymous officer The name of this officer has been lost to history but she used it to motivate herself to excel and the nickname developed a double meaning. As a pilot the most of her face that most saw was her eyes. While she fought in every battle her ship did after that the most noteworthy battle she fought occurred on Szerkasia.

Szerkasia
She got the chance to prove herself when Avianna Superbus was sent to Szerkasia. She proved herself, volunteering for some of the worst air combat the campaign had to offer. In the end she indirectly won the campaign. Mukkrukka commanded from the back of a Squiggoth officially refered to as “Iron Hide” but informally and more commonly known as “The Party Wagon”(the Szerkasian nickname stuck) and all attempts to destroy it had failed. One last desperate attack finally broke through. Her Vulture was the only one to make it past the AA batteries on the beast’s back but her copilot was killed and her Vulture was damaged, running on only one engine She had just enough control left to aim it on a ramming course and then bail out. The collision killed Mukkrukka and his senior Lieutenant Muzzlunk. The Orks who captured her deemed her “ ‘ard ‘nuff” and simply let her go. Once news of the victory spread the Ork forces disintegrated into infighting. She returned to her vessel surviving many more combat missions ensuring that no one Ork would be ever strong enough to take over Mukkrukka's position. In the process of doing so she became a triple ace in air combat in both a Vulture and a Thunderbolt and was credited with the destruction of 35 Wartrukks. She was also assured by Brada Dubrov, commander of the Szerkasian Starlords, that she would never again have to pay for her own drinks anywhere on the planet and that among Szerkasians such an honor was not given lightly. (Petros Alexander was given the same honor) She spent the rest of her piloting career aboard Avianna Superba fighting pirates and Orks in  The Kashidaan Cluster and the Kanye Cluster.

Later Career
Her later career saw her transfer to fleet command and receive command of a light cruiser on several uneventful cruises for the next couple of decades.

Just because they were uneventful did not mean that she did not see action. There were 2 battles that came to define her later career the first of these was the Battle of Dust 154

Dust 154 was a large asteroid a group of pirates were using as a base, she was sent to put an end to their actions against local shipping. The Pirates, lacking anything larger than a Cobra Destroyer and hundreds of self produced fighters knew how to use the terrain to their advantage. This meant nothing to Amadeus, she used her superior firepower to her advantage, shattering smaller asteroids and letting Dust 154's superior gravity pull the debris in. With their fighter support gone they were left with a single Destroyer running at less than full crew. It was an easy victory for Captain Amadeus

Her last battle however would be her greatest. She was ambushed by 4 Ork vessels under the command of the notorious Ork Freebooter "Kommador Bilgeskar Hookhand". She won, destroying all 4 vessels but the price was far too high, her crippled vessel was damaged beyond repair, she was scrapped for parts, and her destroyed left leg had to be amputated. But she was able to save the majority of the crew, who were shuffled to other postings in the fleet.

Retirement
This was her last battle as she was allowed to retire in recognition for her accomplishments, having spent her life in the service of Medici. upon her retirement she married Berno Ciardo, a nobleman she saw between deployments. She was in her 50s at this point but due to the juvenat treatments she received,(she was a noble and could afford them) she was still able to give her husband several children beginning a dynasty of command officers that lasted until Medici's fall to the Tyranids. As for her- she was content to manage her family's estate and business interests

Personality and Appearance
she was generally a kind person but not afraid to stand up for herself and inflict a beating on her tormentors, an act which inevitably gained her their respect. Her family was part of various political alliances which she was not afraid to use for her benefit. she was also unable to sit still and never sure what to do with her hands when not gripping controls or a weapon- she herself never knew why but it never hindered her in any way. She was also quite proud of her skills and successes and rightly so.

She was well known to be beautiful but also fairly short 1.524m (5'4") and despite having a thin build was stronger than she looked. She also acted on a naval tradition, having a tattoo artist ink an image of her ship and tally marks of her triple aircraft kills into her right arm and tally marks for her Wartrukks into the left.

Abilities and Traits
she was noted to be beautiful but she was more than that, she was also a talented and very capable Vulture pilot, surviving many dangerous encounters that killed lesser pilots. Outside the cockpit she was also known very capable with a laspistol and in martial arts, having been taught various self-defense tactics from childhood(required by Medici noble families)

Equipment
aside from the aircraft she flew she also carried a knife with her name and graduation date engraved into the blade(given as a gift on her graduation from flight school) and a laspistol. upon her transfer to fleet command she was also issued a Medici Officer Pattern Chainsword

Friends and Allies
She had few friends among her fellow officers, keeping mostly to herself.

Berno Ciardo
her future husband, she met him at a family dinner when both were on leave and both would later claim it was love at first sight. It took them many years to marry(they were both in their 50s but as both could afford Juvenat treatments they appeared to be in their early 20s) as they both served on different naval vessels and were always apart. However during that time, they remained in touch, sending each other images(in which she always wore makeup to look her best) and on the rare occasions when they were together they were inseparable. Both families encouraged the relationship as it would make the political alliance between the 2 families even stronger.

Enemies
The only beings she counted as true enemies were the Orks and pirates she often fought, viewing her tormentors as simply ignorant and misguided but servants of the Emperor nonetheless.

By
''The Emperor protects, that's the only logical explanation for surviving what I have. Of course I'm also good at this... I'm more than just a pretty face, I'm a triple ace with 30 plus vehicle kills. You cross me at your own risk. ''

''War isn't some Regicide game, the players are flesh and blood and there are consequences to every action. People die, it's an ugly thing but needed. Risks and gambles, when not taken in haste, may save lives. Every action taken is dangerous with the possibility for dire consequences, especially NOT acting at all.''

About
''She has angel eyes- there’s nothing behind them, all sweetness and light, how will she fare in an actual fight? When the missiles start flying will she just fly away?''

-anonymous officer

''Juvenat is wonderful, it's given me many more years with Elena than I would have gotten otherwise. She's as beautiful today as the day I married her but even without it I would still think her so.'' -Berno Ciardo

"That woman has no idea what to do with her hands. Do we sell anything for that?"

- Douchard Bagge