Suun, Dakota

Suun, Dakota
The main protagonist of the story.

Dakota is a mercenary employed by Carcharodon Company.

Profile
Sex/Gender: Female/Bisexual

Birthplace: Lycaste City, Republic of Aphrodite, Venus

Age: 28

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 140 lbs

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Light Blue

Build: Athletic

Alignment: Neutral/Neutral

Attitude: Sarcastic, Defensive, Strong Willed

Background
Dakota was born and raised on Venus in the Republic of Aphrodite, more commonly known as Aphrodia, in the city of Lycaste. Her mother Tau Gethsemane is an expat from the Euro-American Union on Earth, born in former Ethiopia, although she lived in the former United States most of the time she was on the planet. Dakota's father, Hui Suun, was originally from the Venusian nation of Lian Hua but defected to Aphrodia. They had three children, Dakota, Nebraska, and Idaho, all named after places from Earth, a tradition common in Post-Neo Wiccanism which their mother strongly subscribed to.

Dakota's upbringing was simultaneously privileged and difficult. Her mother is a Post Neo-Wiccan, a very spiritual and metaphysical religion created out of response to ecological disasters present on Earth. Conversely, her father was a hard line secular scientist who strongly emphasized empiricism. Though her parents loved each other and their children, their mixed messages put Dakota off from much of their personal lessons. Instead of lingering at home where she felt more confused than comforted, she instead became rebellious and spend much of her free time interacting with the local Street Leagues; various motor sports groups that often blurred the line between athletes and gangs.

Dakota's younger sister, Nebraska, was much more similar to their mother and followed in her footsteps closely. Her brother and the youngest of the siblings, Idaho, studied science like their father. This difference in paths only further divided the family, especially for Dakota. When Dakota turned 18, she left her hometown and her family to take up professional armored combat sports in the Aphrodian capital of Ionia.

Dakota had a fairly successful carrier in gladiatorial combat but frequently struggled with alcoholism, drug abuse, and petty crimes, namely public fighting and gang affiliation. At the age of 23, she suffered a loss in a match that ended in serious injuries, including the destroying her right eye, arm, and leg. The incident prompted the attention of a mercenary commander, named Ares Voight. Although she had lost the match and was nearly killed, Voight had been scouting her and was impressed by her prowess, even in failure. Voight floated Dakota's medical bills which included military grade cybernetics. After her recovery, he offered her a job working for his mercenary company, the Carcharodon Company. Initially she declined his offer knowing that the majority of mercenaries in Aphrodia were contracted to work as paramilitary forces for the state. She had become very disillusioned to politics after the time she had spent living and participating in gang activity.

During Dakota's recovery, her sister Nebraska had also moved to the capital to take part in political protests. The government had recently been promoting war propaganda with their greatest competitors on Venus, the nation of Ishtar. One of these protests turned violent and ended with Capital Police open firing on civilians. Nebraska was killed on live feed along with many others. Despite Dakota's distance from her family, the event shook her deeply. Wanting to enact revenge, she offered her services to Commander Voight. Not long after Ishtar declared war on Aphrodia.

The Carcharodon Company became a pivotal fighting force for Aphrodia and greatly benefited from Dakota's skills. The war quickly ended in a tenuous peace treaty. The conflict only furthered Dakota's disdain for politics, so when Commander Voight offered her the chance to leave Venus and work for commercial contracts off world, she quickly accepted. Dakota would spend the next five years with the company taking various contracts throughout the solar system, mostly defending corporate assets under assault from pirates and splinter nations fighting against the control of the EAU. Dakota had no interest in the EAU's mission to manipulate and unify the numerous political entities of the outer solar system. Her only concern became making money and fighting which was mostly a cover for the pain she had for the loss of her sister and the disillusions of family.

Dakota is not very fond of Commander Voight personally. He is shrewd and usually emotionless, something that scares her because of how much it reminds her of herself. However, his tactical mind has made the Carcharodon Company one of the most successful in the system. Their reputation garnered them many illustrious and well paid contracts. This notoriety drew the attention U.C.'s black operations division, specifically for a highly top secret project created to develop faster than light travel. Knowing that the exploration teams will need the best armed forces to defend them into unknown territory, the U.C. hires the Carcharodon Company. The project will eventually lead to the greatest and most daunting mission Dakota has ever faced.