Ilyna T'Rea

Ilyna T'Rea
Alias	Blue
Species	Asari
Gender	Female
Age	295
Birthdate	January 26, 1890
Birthplace	Armali, Thessia
Current Residence	Freedom Falls, Aite
Height	172cm (5'8")
Build	Athletic
Hair	???
Markings	White 'eyebrows'
Eye Color	Blue
Skin Color	Violet
Occupation	Redrock Agency Managment
Relationships	Li (Adoptive Daughter) Ehanis Tioran (Sister) Eriana T'Rea (Mother) Vynira Tioran (Father) Verius Arithus (Step Brother) Iera T'Rea (Sister)
Status	Active
Player	Gisle

"If we're lucky, she won't descend from the sky before we can take off and smite all of us for bringing Ehanis along."

—Jason Wolfe

Ilyna T'Rea is a former part of the Serrice military that is currently working for Redrock Agency. She's also an old friend of Jason and Vasquez, as well as an aquiantance of Tessa. She also adopted Li in September 2185, following the Di Yu expedition.

Appearance

She's does not look much out of the ordinary, being a violet asari standing at 172cm/5'8". She has faint white markings above her eyes and lines along the outermost crests.

She is most often seen in a very modest darkly-colored dress that don't really put too much emphasis on the contours of the wearer. In combat, she wears her military issued armor as depicted to the right.

History

Early Life

She was born in Armali, Thessia to two asari parents. She was very close her parents, but her youngest years were trying given the perpetuated dissent towards pureblood asari. Besides that, her childhood went well, and she got along with a few others who found themselves in the same situation.

Her parents were to experience what risks were associated when she was belatedly diagnosed with the Ardat-Yakshi condition at age 48. However, she and her mother knew long before that, but feared repercussions from the authorities were it to come to light. Her condition was relatively mild, and her mother were adamant in keeping her. Her father, Vynira Tioran, was more pragmatic about the situation and disagreed with this decision; that ultimately led to the divorce. After some back and forth with the authorities, Ilyna was staying.

At age 67, she signed up for the military, seeking to give back to society for the chance she was given. She served well, but political minefields had her kept back from many missions despite her ability, especially those off-world or involving other states.

Breaking Point

That were to eventually get to her, and at age 293, it all snapped for her. During one of her leaves, she got the help of a friend's friend to smuggle herself off-world, ending up on Omega. It was a decision she immediately regretted, but it was too late to turn back.

Her first weeks on Omega were in isolation. Her family didn't hear anything from her, and the people she met were few and far between. She would never have guessed that the people she was about to meet were going to be long time friends. And it wasn't going to last without support or work, and she took the only Aoife's cynical options for asari that fit her and her skillset: mercenary work.

The Evening Star

The first mercenary job was on the The Evening Star, a ship headed to a distant colony that had dropped out of contact. The asari kept to herself for most of the trip, feeling very uncomfortable working with a group of barely acquintances at most. She just wanted to do as she was told and get paid for it.

A memorable moment during the mission was when her squad was set upon by a Thresher Maw as they were investigating a blockade in the road. All they could do was outrun it and hope that it would retreat. It was a hopeless plan, but it worked, much thanks to the sand making for a smooth landing whenever Ilyna used her biotics to propell herself out its path. They were eventually rescued by some of the colonists that had taken shelter in a nearby cave.

In the colonists' care, they managed to rest and let their injuries heal for a while, but it was not yet over. A disagreement between Tarlon and their leader lead to the colonists open fire on Ilyna's group, leaving them no choice but to take them out. After that, they had to wait for the other team to find them, which they did in the end.

It was not over yet, because when they reached the site of the ship, it was overrun with mindless cybernetic beings attacking anything in sight. The others spoke of "Dragon's Teeth" – a name given to the artifacts found on the Citadel after the attack the same year – turning people into these things. After some fighting, the ship was loaded up and off the ground.

Alas, it was still not over. The ride home went wrong when the ship was locked down for a security breach. It had seemed these creatures had managed to get onto the ship and some of the crew had locked everything down but their own way out. They fought their way through the ship until they could board a lifeboat. In a fortunate turn of events, every member of the freelance security team had gotten to the lifeboat and managed to escape the ship.

They were still not in safety. The trip in the lifeboat turned troublesome after they linked up with another lifeboat and some of the cybernetics zombies had gotten onto it. A miscommunication between the team had one of them depressurize the lifeboat cabin, greatly diminishing their already low oxygen supply, and Ilyna felt she was to blame for it, for it was her throw that indirectly lead to the shot hitting the front viewport. Things really seemed hopeless for the mercenary team.

After drifting for another few minutes... or was it hours? At least it felt like an eternity to Ilyna. Regardless, they were eventually rescued by an ExoGeni vessel that picked up their distress beacon. Ilyna didn't ask or care why they had this forunate timing. Now they were safe, and it was over... for a time.

Secrets

While Ilyna has had to keep secrets her entire life, she always felt more comfortable in company that's aware and understading of her issues; people she can turn to when she needs help. That's why she told the others in Fortune's Den about it. The krogan Garr had the most unexpected and memorable reaction to it, for he attempted to goad her on and get her to go through with a melding with him. Being a krogan through and through, he believed he could survive the ordeal, to which Ilyna wholeheartedly disagreed. It made every encounter between the two quite awkward given just how loud the krogan was about it.

Ilyna first believed it was a consequence of this when the mysterious figure approached them in Fortune's Den. They wanted to talk, and they addressed the group by their names, and anyone with their senses intact should see that was trouble. Not that Ilyna would have stayed out of it had she the chance to go back and redo the decision. The reason for that is that the figure – which she took to calling Captain Creepy after Jason did so – knew about her condition. Not only did they know, but they were going to threaten to frame her if she doesn't do as told.

So she did, going with the team from her earlier mission to reclaim the artifact from the ship. The fought hard against the husks still lurking on the ship, but they failed to reclaim the artifact before they had to evacuate the vessel. That's when they realized Hunter was an agent working for the Shadow Broker. While there was no reprecussions for what came after, Ilyna was living in fear of the Broker for a long time afterwards.

Cautionary Tale

Ilyna was part of the first Redrock Agency job on Nicaal. While that job was a nightmare through and through, the parts that stick out to her now all pertain to the Ardat-Yakshi. She suspected their warlord was such a menace ever since they saw the first dead body, but she did not want to speak up. She was hoping that she was very wrong.

It was only when she was certain that she told Jason about it, and she doubts she would have had he not overheard her distraught muttering outside the inn they were staying at before heading towards the temple. She left out the name of the condition when instructing the others about the danger ahead, as well as avoiding explaining why she had such intimate knowledge on the subject.

The final battle was long and brutal, with the agency's team mowing down countless asari thralls of the demon. Ilyna knew nothing could be done to break the demon's control and she did her part in taking out the adversaries. It looked hopeless for a while until the commando snuck up on the demon herself and stabbed her in the back, leaving all the thralls completely motionless.

Asari commandoes doing what they do, they bombed the place. Ilyna did not agree with that, wanting rather that the former thralls get the help they need, but she was careful about speaking up to someone that ruthless. The asari powers always swept her condition and its effects under the rug to maintain the appearance of control, and this was no exception.

The Edge

After the Niacal job, Ilyna built up the courage to speak with Alyssa about the condition after a bad dream where she saw Alyssa taking Vasquez' place on the demon's altar. Even if a non-asari may be more sympathetic to her suffering, she had feelings for her that she couldn't explain. It was an enormous burden off her shoulders when Alyssa accepted her after she told her about her secret.

Alyssa had convinced her that they could make a relationship work, and Ilyna wholeheartedly believed it were they only careful enough. It seemed to do so, as well, but High Command feared that Ilyna was playing with fire and sent someone to reign her in. After brief incarceration at an unknown location, Ilyna returned to find her bondmate gone with only a message in her wake, the Blue Suns had tracked her down.

She had failed her bondmate in her time of need, and she only had High Command to blame for it. And herself, for letting it get this far, for not hiding it from the public. The gun and datapad on the table was enough proof for her father to see how hard-hitting this was.

Drifting Apart

A month later, she went home to Armali again. She has been working towards qualifying to start university, but indecision paralyzed her. Her mother had promised to sponsor her studies, agreeing very much with the asari taking a more peaceful path in life, but that only made the decision harder; she didn't want to waste her mother's credits. During the time at home, she also rekindled friendships from her time in the military that has fallen by the wayside during her months away from her old life.

Reunion

Ilyna went to visit Jason on Aite again in February 2185 after getting back in contact with him. She had missed the friends she made in her short career as a mercenary, and that was evident when she had her arms around Jason within the first seconds of seeing him again at the Respite.

The year at home had healed the wounds from the abrupt end of her relationship with Alyssa, and she appeared much more playful and happy than she's probably ever been. She was still working towards refreshing her secondary education while she was there, but aside from a few interruptions she was perfectly able to balance her time between being around Jason and that.

She got a tour of the Redrock Agency office while in Freedom Falls, and a chance to ask Jason all about it. Ilyna was firm in her plans to seek another course than that of a mercenary back then and expressed little interest in joining the agency. The tour ended with a conversation in his office over a drink or two, which turned quite serious by the end when it turned to loss and moving on from it.

Ilyna promised to not drop out of contact with him, however, lest Jason would come find her and kick her ass. There was no length he wouldn't go to in order to seek her out. It was all in jest, but Ilyna did keep her end up on the promise after time came to depart and return to Thessia.

Back in Action

The university application deadline for this year came and went, and her indecision meant that she would not be attending it. She had a lot of respect for her mother, so the thought of making a poor decision with her credits was deeply horrifying to her. The other side of that story went unexplained.

What set her down the path towards returning to her old life was seeing Jason again again in August 2185, almost half a year after her last visit. She had arrived in Freedom Falls, and learned that he was in the hospital. She barely said hello before they started discussing what had just happened, and she learned that the nightmare on the Evening Star did not end with Hunter's death on Illium two years prior. Jason tried convincing her that there was other ways she could contribute to society than fight, but like him all Ilyna ever knew was the military.

A small job had come up that Jason could not assign. Renala T'Iavay had refused it, and there were few that he would trust it with. A celebrity, Devin Tanner, was visiting Aite to attend a performance by the hanar DJ Zolnon and needed personal security. Ilyna reluctantly accepted the job, and she was to lead a team consisting of her, Leah Mercier and Victoria Steels.

The job started off poorly, as the star had expected someone far more intimidating than the three women. Ilyna had a poor first impression of him, but she kept her calm while the others in her team was far more vocal about what they thought of his behavior. Even when they were out of his earshot for a moment, she did not speak ill of him.

Seeing his family, and then the private conversation in the club was something she did not expect. Her idea of the celebrity's lifestyle was completely alien to her, as the asari did everything in her power to stay out of the public spotlight due to her condition. She could understand wanting to be left alone, and this idea she had of his lifestyle was shattered when that is something he wants as well. She warmed up to him, but she was not interested in anything intimate.

After their conversation, Tanner had an impulse to go out and buy some Red Sand after being directed to a dealer by the club's staff. Ilyna expressed her disagreement early on, but he wasn't going to be dissuaded. She saw the security risks in that, and was on alert. Perhaps it was her prejudice from this trade happening in an alley, but it turned out to be correct; the dealers wanted to abduct him.

With insufficient equipment, they were forced to hold their ground. For the first few minutes of the battle, it was just her and Leah. They held their ground until the local authorities stepped in and forced an end to their fight, and they weren't a moment too late. Ilyna's barrier is extremely inefficient without an amplifier, and the would be kidnappers put a lot of pressure on it.

Ilyna decided that they surrender to the Enforcers, and they willingly let themselves be taken away from the scene. She took Tanner's hand on their way to the shuttle, which turned out to be a poor decision due to the media attention she received from it. That was going to haunt her to this day.

Bryan Cross eventually arrived on the facility where they were held, and they got a chance to explain their situation. After a short conversation, he allowed them to leave and let them stay in a hotel room in the Torthus-Cross building. She also learned that he has met Renala T'Iavay and Steve Briggs, but she never looked into that beyond putting it in her report.

The hotel stay was peaceful, and a stark contrast to what had just happened. They kicked back, had a good meal and got some well deserved rest. Ilyna and Devin stayed up after the others to watch the rising sun on the horizon. They reiterated their prior conversation, and reflected on the day's events. She likened the view to her long days standing on the balcony on Illium. They shared the bed, but there was no 'funny business' as he put it.

The mission wound down with a few days in Freedom Falls before she bid him farewell. It was interesting to get a look behind the curtains on his lifestyle, and she has no regrets taking this job. Despite her positive disposition towards him, she has not attempted to contact him. The media has mostly forgotten about her by now, and she would like to keep it that way.

Di Yu

There was barely any time to rest after her last mission before she was asked to come with them to a far flung colony in Di Yu. They has terrible expectations for what was in store for them, but it was the next step in their search for answers about the monsters they've faced in the past. That is also a major reason why Ilyna vetoed Ehanis being a part of this mission.

Their expectations were met on the ground, and it was by a hair's breath that they got out of this. They found the machine cultists they were looking for, but it ended up leading to the end of the colony of New Longhai. Ilyna was in one of the teams that went underground to investigate the catacombs, not the one that rescued Li and the other children at the cultist's compound.

Ilyna did not witness Vasquez' betrayal after they were out of the catacombs, but she was there moments later along with Halisi. Jason was in no shape to explain what had happened right away, and for all Ilyna knew at first she had just been kidnapped by the then unknown third party.

They made it off-world eventually, and during the trip she took it upon herself to look after the rescued children. She didn't get a connection with any of them, but with all they've been through she couldn't have expected that either. She also promised to help Jason managing Redrock Agency in their recovery from this costly mission.

The Children

Ilyna continued to take on the responsibility of the cultist children, Li, Ping, Johnny, Toren and Evelina, after they were back safe in Freedom Falls. She also lucked out and managed to start a rent contract on an apartment sight unseen.

The older of them were not very happy about their new caretaker, as they understood her affiliation with those that killed their parents in the cult. Evelina, being the eldest, was especially vocal about her distrust for them and would argue with Ping who did not want to hear a word about their old home. Ping did argue and fight with Johnny who asked to go home. Toren was quiet, but within earshot of every argument. Li, however, seemed to have gotten attached to the new caretaker very quickly.

The plan was to contact the Alliance and Hierarchy and ask for assistance in finding these children the care and home they deserved. Ilyna had a lot of trouble communicating this to them as their upbringing did not appear to include much – if any -– education about the greater galaxy. Ilyna had the backing of her family in this mission, and she promised that the apartment and whatever costs involved weren't going to affect Redrock Agency.

Ilyna may have made a mistake not listening more to the arguments of Evelina and the others, and almost paid the ultimate price. She was woken up one night by one of the children, Johnny, falling over her from behind the couch. Ilyna was terrified when she saw Johnny on the floor with a knife on the chest. The only other person in the room was Li, who was not responding to Ilyna at first while she was frantically looking around for a first aid kit. She eventually said that it was because Johnny was going to hurt her, and it was clear that Li was the one to attack him.

She called the hospital while performing first aid, and got through to Halisi after dealing with the unhelpful hospital VI. The doctor made every effort to be there promptly, but even if she had been there right as Ilyna called, there was no saving the child. Halisi arranged for transport to the morgue.

Ilyna then spoke to Li, trying to calm her which was not an easy feat considering that she appeared to understand what she had done. She didn't get much out of her, and she didn't seem calm. The asari then decided that she needed to act much faster, and booked a first shuttle off world.

They all left for the Citadel the day after, and Ilyna looked after them the best she could. She did not even sleep for most of the trip, but she still managed to get them all to the Citadel via Illium without incident. Ilyna went directly to C-SEC, and mostly avoided exposing herself too much to those that might know her from the press gossip surrounding Devin Tanner.

She had called ahead, so C-SEC was ready to accept them. Torren and Ping seemd fascinated with this new place, while Evelina kept to herself. However, that wouldn't be the end of the story for Ilyna, as Li did not want to leave. Ilyna was moved by her willingness to stay, and in a rash decision she agreed to do everything to reverse her surrender.

With the help of her mother's legal connections, Ilyna was able to file the necessary paperwork to reverse the earleir application. The authorities could contest this, of course, so this was by no means a certainty. However, the station's strained child services chose not to, and after a long night they had a reunion in the parking lot where the children were evaluated.

Ilyna was happy to go home with Li, even if she didn't plan for it at all, and Li seemed happy to be with her as they went through the Citadel presidium towards the spaceport. Even if they had a long trip back to Aite, it went much more calmly.

They met Jason and Va'ynna in the Miner's Respite the moment Ilyna was back. Li seemed to get along very well with both of them, but it was an early sign of the incompatibility of Ilyna's work with her new role as mother that Li worried for her when she went up to Jason's room to speak about a mission.

Motherhood

The matron stage can come early to an asari, but the extreme deliberation needed to conceive means that one is rarely pushed out of their maiden stage early. Ilyna's unique circumstances also meant that she would never have a child of her own, though a matron could be childless for any number of reasons.

Ilyna was not ready for what she had signed up for when adopting Li, but she was not regretting the choice she had made. The only doubt she got from those around her was from Vasquez, who was afraid for the possible influence the cult holds over her. Ilyna was not discouraged, and made a subtle comparison to her own problem.

The biggest challenge ahead of her was how the life she lead was in conflict with her new role, and she had barely come back to Freedom Falls when time came to go rescue Vasquez from The Barn. During that mission, she got Ehanis to look after Li. She didn't get a status report from the other asari, but Ehanis was there to.

The next time Ilyna were to see again was at the hospital after the mission, where she sustained an injury on their escape from the space station. Ehanis brought her there from the Respite. Li quickly ran over to Ilyna once she spotted her, and that was the first time she referred to Ilyna as "mommy". It took Ilyna by surprise, but brought a big smile on her face nontheless.

Snowball

It wasn't even a month later that Ilyna would be separated from Li once more for an expedtion. Vasquez had insisted to go herself when bringing the plans up with Jason, but had later decided she did not want to go. However, she did not feel safe without having someone to watch his back and Ilyna was her only option. Ilyna was hesitant to leave Li on so short notice so soon after bringing her back to Aite, but agreed to do so if she was able to find a babysitter.

Ilyna did find a babysitter, and decided to tell Li about it just before their departure. Vasquez and Renala was going to look after her for the first few days, which turned out to be just Vasquez, and Ehanis was going to live with her for the rest. The idea of her being gone for fourteen days was not received well by the young girl, and Ilyna did not have anything to say to make it any easier.

Ilyna did get a chance to speak with Li once during the trip to the planet, taking up a sizable chunk of Jason's limited call time with Vasquez that day. It was a chance for them to catch up, but Ilyna's attempts to assaude her worries were only working against that purpose.

This mission sounded simple: watch a few scientists do their work on this world and come back; nothing to really worry about. That might be what she told Li, but she did not believe that. She knew their luck, and ExoGeni's involvement did nothing to help that. They were also in potential Geth territory, even though that same territory includes Aite. Everything was lining up for this to be another bad job.

Still, there was a long space trip ahead of them with little to do about anything. Ilyna did not have much a hand in the maintenance, and her role in this was just to watch Jason's back and get everyone home unharmed.

Her mission with Devin Tanner was brought up during the movie night, leading to a predictably awkward situation. Ilyna did not divulge any details of her and tanner's conversations, which made her unable to quell the misunderstandings that came from how the gossip magazines and other media in the popular media space covered Tanner's visit to Aite.

What was more important was her voicing her desire to stop doing mercenary work, and leave Aite altogether. Jason did not want to see her and Li go, but while Ilyna did not want to leave him, she felt it was selfish of her to prioritize that over getting Li the safety of a Council Space world along with the chance for her to get education among peers. She did not bring up the legal challenges at the time, however.

The day eventually came where they exited FTL and approached the planet, and it was time to get to work. Ilyna did not have an active role, other than policing's Jason professionality when addressing the science staff.

Skills

Biotic

Ilyna was a barrier specialist in the military, and she can put that kind of field to good use protecting herself or extend it to deny an area or protect people close to her. It's her endurance and resolve that makes her stand out.

The asari is skilled enough in telekinetic abilites to put it to combat use, either as a throw to push them or by lifting a up to 120kg target off the ground. She can handle a much heavier weight when lifting herself, and has used that in the past to bring others up to higher ground. The only problem with that is the slow speed at which she moves, making this only useful once combat is over.

She knows the theory involved in manifesting a singularity, but she has not put in the effort to make them suitable for combat use. At best it may unbalance a light target if they're caught unaware, which is a tough ask in a combat situation. It makes a neat snow globe effect when put above loose snow, which Ilyna discovered on the mission to the ice planet.

Weapons

She can use a pistol and sub-machine gun well enough, and is a passable and patient sniper, though the latter is buried beneath a heap of metaphorical dust.

Languages

Ilyna has mostly grown up around asari, but knowing the galactic trade language was given importance by her education given the asari's diplomatic role in the galactic community. She also worked hard to be able to communicate with her recent turian family members without the aid of machine translation.

• Asari (Native)
• Turian (Advanced)
• Galactic Trade (Advanced)