Chief Engineer Lyra Leopard

Born to a wealthy and prominent political family in the east coast suburbs of Boston Massachusetts, Lorelei was the picture-perfect daughter that most parents would die to call their own.  She was intelligent, independent, charming, and beautiful.  Her parents of course were the exception to that, because her father wanted a boy to carry out his legacy.

Lorelei grew up and was treated by her father as the son she should have been.  Her activities included hunting, hand to hand combat training, strategy games, and building all sorts of various contraptions in her father’s large laboratory/shop. Lorelei’s mother attempted to overcompensate for her husband’s treatment of Lorelei by overemphasizing and pushing her to be a “proper” lady. As part of this ideology, she pushed Lorelei into taking music lessons, where she found she had a passion for playing cello.

As Lorelei reached the age of 18 her parents were incredibly ashamed that she had no men calling on her to become a wife.  Little did they know she had become very skilled in systematically refusing, embarrassing, and overpowering the advances of the gentleman callers who were not fit in her eyes due to intelligence, secret perversions, and authoritarian attitudes towards women. In a fit of retribution Lorelei’s father forced her to disguise her femininity and take on the persona of “Lawrence” in order to attend the prestigious Engineering school at West Point Military Academy (his personal Alma matter).  For four years “Lawrence” studied the Arts of War, Military command, and Siege Engineering.  Being an accomplished Mechanical Engineer already with an extensive talent for tinkering- this foray into tactics and leadership only solidified the resentment “Lawrence” had for her parents and peers. This was not to say that she did not enjoy the discipline and training, but she really hated pretending to be a man, especially cutting her hair short and wearing unflattering clothing.

Being around testosterone infused men in a competitive environment for four years also created a bit of an alpha personality of which lead to the scandalous act committed by Lawrence at the graduation commencement of the West Point cadets in the class of 1889. Just as Lawrence was about to be honored with a commission into the Army Corp of Engineers working on a special project based on technology that she had only thought to be rumors (the rumors were of a technology that was morally repugnant to Lorelei and could create mass destruction), Lawrence embarrassed the Military Academy by refusing her commission and publicly declaring she was no man by ripping off her uniform to expose herself for the woman she was. 

Lorelei immediately escaped the scene and fled the East Coast of the United States where constables and Military garrisons were put on high alert to find her and bring her back to answer for her perceived outrageous infraction. Being of low priority on most persons political spectrum, Lorelei was able to escape very easily and live rather unmolested until her parents put out a reward for her return.  Being that she was not an Outlaw (and merely a “missing person” of interest) the reward money was not considered a bounty for a law breaker and therefore did not fall under the Anti Privateering Act of 1865. This sent all sorts of amateur and professional bounty hunter types as well as government agents looking for her, incentivized by the enormous treasure of $20,000.  

Lorelei decided that the Wild West would be where she would disappear and begin making a new life for herself…  But escaping her past and family name proved problematic for any period of time she would spend sedentary.  She realized a new identity was required and she chose to change her name to “Lyra Leopard”.  The enchanted leopard had been her spirit totem ever since she spent one hunting trip with her father and was introduced to the prowess, beauty, strategic hunting habits, and the power of the ferocious animal.

One day she happened upon and answered, an unusual and slightly mysterious job posting for chief engineer on a large airship that was consistently on the move.

Little did Lorelei know…This ship was not just a charter vessel, used to ferry persons through the dangerous and treacherous Western territories.   This ship was the Wanted outlaw vessel known as the HMA Dragoon.