Mandy Leverette

Lieutenant Commander Mandy Leverette (born 14th May, 2207) was a member of the Terra Firma Fleet, as well as part of the legendary Dragon Flight, the crew of the nine ships which survived the massacre of Gambit-5.

Family
Mandy was the first of her family to enter the Fleet, though not the first to travel the stars. Her father, Marco Leverette, was a freelance freighter pilot, taking on contracts and cargo wherever there was business. Mandy's mother, Catherine, would not allow her daughter to go travelling with her father, preferring her to stay planet-side and further her education instead. She spent her childhood on Jerentile-2, but the family moved to “Lighthouse Colony” near the Gantuin asteroid belt when she was fourteen, to allow her father to compete for bigger contracts.

At the Academy
Enrolled in the Academy on January 1st 2226, at the age of 18. She passed basic training with merit, becoming a favourite of most of the instructors. Many recommended her for advancement on their courses, but she chose to pursue further education in tactics, linguistics and information processing. Mandy graduated at the top of her class in linguistics, and within the top eighty percent in tactics, completing the Trailbreaker simulation with a 98% survival rate. She also clocked up three hundred hours in flight simulators and solo flights. Mandy failed basic flight first time around, but passed on her second attempt. She r eturned to the Academy after graduation and applied for officer training. She graduated a year later, in 2228, as a Captain.

Fleet Career
Mandy's first assignment after graduating from the Academy was command of the Hero-class patrol ship “Reliable”. Likable enough, her popularity among the crew became something of a benchmark among the other officers in their sector. The “Reliable”s crew and their captain were given a commendation for their actions during the “Seige of Vesuvious”, where a group of pirates occupied one of the Terra Firma Fleet outposts orbiting a planet in the process of being terra-formed. The “Reliable”, with Mandy at command, flanked the station on the planet side and were able to dock while under heavy fire. The station suffered severe damage, but it was recaptured by Fleet forces. Mandy proved herself again and again, including the events that resulted in the loss of the vessel “Eventide”, which cost her an eye. The 'Eventide' disaster became well-known as the greatest loss of life on a single vessel since the Mars Orbiter diaster. Her actions earned her the rank of Major, and she was soon promoted again to Lieutenant Commander.