Captain:Anima Lux/Original

"I've always found the ability to, even when the days have turned dark and sour, push onward and fight for what we hold dearest to be one of the most extraordinary and captivating qualities of all sapients. Nothing makes a life more worthwhile than taking up a sword, or pen, or the spoken word and using every ounce of strength you have to defend what is meaningful to you. And even if you falter or find yourself running, as long as you stand up again and continue your fight you cannot be faulted for it. I may hate you, I may be disgusted by you, I may even want to see you fail, but as long as you have something to stand for, to fight for, to die for, then I can still respect you, even if you never find the strength to do the same for me."

- Anima

Anima Vasílissa Lux is a female serving as the Chancellor and effective leader of the. Having formerly been a political scientist and, for a short but more recent period, reformist politician in the now-defunct, she is largely credited as being the founder of the Resistance, alongside its now-Chief Admiral Kavaat Sus. In addition to her position as Chancellor of Muara, she holds the degree of Doctor of Political Theory, awarded by the Gelid-3 Academy of Social and Political Sciences.

While initially limited to the fringe of Romanian and international politics for her unorthodox political views and theories, since the rise of the Resistance she has become something akin to the political face of Segmentum Exterioris, both to the rest of the galaxy and Gigaquadrant and in defiance against. While not all are inclined to agree with her generally scientocratic policies, few have strong arguments against its results, though those who believe in more absolutely democratic systems have occasionally found themselves at odds with her.

Ultimately, Anima prides herself most on her mind as an intersection of passion and reason, though her somewhat stunted social awareness and executive function capabilities can be a source of trouble and stress for her, on top of the ever-present fact of the aggressive Teyan occupation.

Childhood
Anima was born in 2710 on the Romanian fringe world of, the second child of two of the earliest genetically distinct Psari. A backwater world in Andromeda with little notability of any kind, the gradual infiltration of its society and planetary government by anti-Psari "Purist" extremists went largely unnoticed by the federal government, and thus little action was taken against them by the powers above. While her parents had been politically apathetic for much of their lives, and for a significant part of Anima's childhood, they slowly began to speak out against the Purist-spun prejudice and injustice that was robbing them of their freedom and quality of life, concerned that if they did nothing their two daughters would leave the house and enter a world devoid of any opportunities for them to build meaningful lives. During this time, Anima had trouble making close friends, partially because of the political climate, and partially because of her personality quirks and difficulties socializing.

When Anima was twelve years of her age, she was shaken by the sudden death of her father at the hands of Purist extremists, whose hold over Cantica's government severely delayed any investigation into the circumstances of his death. Anima's mother rapidly fell into seclusion, and began to close off from friends and family alike, forcing Anima to often take care of herself in the year that followed. However, a beacon of relief would enter her life when her sister Hecati, an accomplished biologist who had left Cantica prior to any significant Purist activity, returned to care for her and her mother after learning of the severity of their living situation. By the time Anima reached the age of nineteen, Hecati arranged for her to leave the planet and live with a close friend and former research partner on Diadem, far from the tentacles of Purism. Shortly after arriving on Diadem, Anima would lose all contact with her family back on Cantica, leaving her with a great pain that she forced herself to bury while she pursued an education in sociology.

Early Studies
Anima's first deep interest was the evolution of Romanian society since leaving Earth, and using knowledge of its history to predict how it might evolve over the approaching centuries. She was particularly curious about how the exodus of Romania aboard a fleet of arks, which had led to its relatively distant initial placement in the compared to the rest of humanity, had impacted its social development, which lead to her studying of general 28th century human sociology. However, her past troubles with the anthropocentric Purists caused her to struggle with dissatisfaction while studying this field, and she began to struggle with her own feelings of misdirection as a result. This would be subsequently relieved as one of her AI instructors suggested she branch out and look into how interaction with alien societies had impacted Romanian social development, and as a result Anima found herself with a renewed passion for xenosociology, studying it for several years at the Gelid-3 Academy of Social and Political Sciences.

The Yphreli Glaciation and Belphrim Republic would both be of great interest to Anima, as the immediate alien neighbors of Romania's Andromeda extension. In 2741, she began studying abroad in the Glaciation, given its heavy cultural and political focus on science and education. Here, she would begin to develop the predecessor to her later political philosophy, spending years observing the ethical harmony of a scientocratic government and considering the application of a similar system to Romania. In addition, she entered into a brief relationship with naval recruit, though the two would eventually part due to Jjuna'ome's poor trustworthiness. In 2778, she traveled to the more isolationist Belphrim Republic to analyze its more democratic system and compare it to that of Romania; much to her surprise, the Belphrim preferred not to give authority to a concrete leader, but to a directly elected Senate that would appoint situational leaders as needed, a concept which fascinated Anima. Here, she had the delight of encountering Belphrim politician, who sought to help the Republic break out of its reserved astropolitical state and engage more with nations other than the Glaciation. When Anima returned to Romania in 2782, the two remained in contact and continued the close friendship they had built in the Republic.

Political Theorist and Activist
Anima's career as a political theorist was truly launched when she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Political Theory by the Gelid-3 Academy on account of the extensive research she had engaged in during her international travels. Following this, Anima and several other political theorists began to correspond and collectively develop a theoretical political system that merged democratic, scientocratic, and technocratic concepts. While it received very little public attention, and no overwhelming support from those who knew of it, Anima and her colleagues succeeded in getting it added to the standard curriculum for various political science and philosophy courses, allowing awareness of the concept to spread more rapidly in the years following 2790. With much of her scientific work done, Anima decided to begin a political career in order to further the ideals she stood for, with the return of Purism into her life being a prominent factor in this decision.

In 2793, Anima managed to contact her family back on Cantica, and learned that while extremists were dying off and the situation had improved for posthumans, Purists still manipulated various sectors of the planetary government. Anima decided it was here that she would begin her life as a reformist politician, returning to her homeworld and taking up a job within bureaucracy that allowed her to build a reputation in both the government and with the population, which allowed her to win a seat on the Planetary Council in 2813. However, her status as the world's first Psari Councilor caused a Purist backlash, and extremist activities gradually increased over the next five years. Thankfully, she found political allies in the form of fellow Councilor and Councilor Octavian Petri, the latter serving as something of a mentor to both of them.

Meeting IX
In 2818, Anima's attention was caught by an anonymously filed report that an individual known as was being held without legal counsel or justification by the Cantica Police, which Anima knew to be corrupted by Purists. Infuriated, Anima personally visited the android vigilante in custody and worked out a plan to free her: they would leak the information to local news media in order to ignite the ire of the population, which would push more moderate members of the government to begin a speedy investigation of IX's unlawful imprisonment. Much to her surprise, Anima was secretly approached by the supernatural entity, IX's companion, who offered his assistance in ensuring even Purist-sympathetic news outlets released information on the situation. The plan was successful, as Canticans began demanding that their usually ineffective government take action on the issue, if only to prove it was still capable of governing, and IX's was freed within days. With few other close associates gathered in her constant travels, IX found solace in her recently forged bond with Anima, and chose to remain in Cantica to aid the Psari politician in battling Purism. It would be less than a year after their first meeting that the two would begin a romantic relationship.

As the 2820s began, Anima continued corresponding with Sadál, with the forging of stronger ties between the Belphrim Republic and Romanian Commonwealth being a frequent subject of discussion. Sadál, who was seeking a position in the Belphrim Council of Ambassadors, suggested that Anima petition for the construction of an official embassy on Cantica while ties between the two nations became more economically and politically involved. Dragos, meanwhile, had left Cantica and forged a notable political career with surprising speed, eventually being elected to represent Musa County in Parliament, with Anima often assisting his campaign.

Teyan Subjugation War
While Anima's petition would be heard, implementation of it was cut short by as it invaded Romanian territories in both Exterioris and Carina. Dragos, now President of the Chamber of Deputies, began working with Anima and numerous other political allies to evacuate civilians to the territories of their Yphreli and Eovinjai allies, and personally entered Exterioris to assist in directing said evacuations from Cantica. Anima's reunion with Dragos was short-lived, however, as Cantica itself was invaded, Anima, IX, and Dragos escaping alongside much of the planet's population. Their old mentor Octavian Petri, however, would be caught in the initial point of assault, and died alongside thousands of others who were trapped in one of Cantica's more remote urban areas.

Dragos would leave the two to continue directing the evacuation, while they fled to the Yhpreli Glaciations inner-segmentum territories. Sadál would flee here as well, as the Belphrim Republic began its own evacuation efforts in lieu of the invasion of its territory, and reunited with Anima on, where the trio were hurried into the outpost-city of Muara in preparation for a Teyan assault on the system, as the Glaciation itself had begun to give way.

The Teyan assault was comparatively weak, as the Glaciation proved to be a formidable defender and forced the Empire to redirect many fleets that would have otherwise crushed the defense at Aeolla. Despite this, the defense fleet was still shattered, and the ground defenders chose to simply conceal the city of Muara and wait out the assault. In the aftermath, after the Teyan invaders had been redirected to new targets, it was found that hyperlanes across the surrounding 35% of the Segmentum had been destroyed, replaced with a Teyan-controlled network of Krasnikov tubes. Furthermore, Romania, the Glaciation, and the Belphrim and Mithadorn Republics had been completely overrun and occupied. Soon, Dragos and numerous Romanian government and military officials would enter the Loenxi system, delivering news of the annihilation of much of the Commonwealth's federal government, leaving the presidency and burden of rebuilding it to Dragos.

Within the next year, as refugees and othher surviving military and political bodies would make their way to Muara—which stood as the largest and most well-defended refugee camp in Exterioris—Anima, IX, Sadál, and several allies of theirs would begin pushing for a cohesive effort to strike back against the Grand Teyan Empire, and to form a temporary government for Muara and linked refugee camps. The arrival of Kavaat Sus, an admiral within the, allowed Anima to tip the population and divided leadership of Muara in her favor, with many military remnants choosing to work with and, eventually, take orders from Kavaat. Kavaat's subsequent driving of a incursion from outposts in the outer system proved the effectiveness of a cohesive war effort under his and Anima's guidance, allowing for the  to officially be founded. Anima would be elected as the first Chancellor of the Resistance, while Sadál became Chief Diplomat and IX became a Special Operative.

With Anima now heading the Resistance government, and Kavaat holding command of the rebel fleets, the Muaran Resistance was at a point where it could wage a guerrilla war across Segmentum Exterioris in order to combat the Grand Teyan Empire's merciless advance across the galaxy, and potentially even halt their genocidal march into the segmentum. After nearly three years of organized but scattered guerrilla fighting, Anima's attempts to reach out to the rest of the galaxy showed success, securing the aid of the in time for the Battle of Kaer. With the Imperium's support, Kavaat and the allied fleet descended on fleet guarding the already contested planet, breaking the occupation and allowing the Resistance to establish a firmer hold on two entire systems. Anima and Kavaat would subsequently announce the beginning of the Exterioris Campaign in 2826.

Appearance
One of the earliest Psari, Anima largely resembles the original members of the posthuman race, with light cerulean skin, elf-like ears, and three prominent cranial fins, with the central one extending into a biolumiescent lure. Her hair is black, and is generally worn in a kind of short bob modified slightly to compensate for her fins. Her eyes' sclera are purple-black, with bioluminescent celeste blue irises. She commonly dresses in a simple modern outfit of black and eminence purple, which notably includes rather long sleeves, a synthetic fur collar, and lightly armored shoulders.

Personality
Anima is predominantly a passionate intellectual, scientific and strong-willed in almost every aspect of her life. However, she can also be flexible when the situation requires it, and she is more than capable of objectively judging her own actions thanks to her years of studying philosophy and generally reasonable attitude. However, she has a slight temper which can be ignited by unreasonable levels of pride or ignorance, and when irked in such a way she often develops a condescending and even less flexible than normal demeanor.

In certain areas of cognition and socialization, Anima has historically struggled to some extent, having been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at the age of 17. Her troubles largely deal with certain executive function skills, such as organization and planning, and her capacity to manage stress and anxiety. However, she has found solace in modern technology, specifically in a cybernetic implant known as a Hypnos Key, which allows her to interface with a quantum computer in a state of accelerated but dreamlike cognition. This allows her to make plans and, with computational aid, make time predictions in what would be to an observer incredibly short spans of time, though from her perspective while using the implant the time frame is extended; despite this, she generally uses it while her body is asleep to maximize the compensation for her cognitive faults. Her stress and anxiety, meanwhile, are generally managed via regular meditation, a practice Anima greatly enjoys, combined with various natural remedies.

Anima also displays a large number of eccentric qualities and quirks, including a strange side interest in the Carina Nebula's spaceborne lifeforms, a tendency to avoid large crowds, a preference for a relatively small group of close friends, occasional stimming, and no shortage of odd metaphors and phrases in lighthearted atmospheres. Her social awareness is also, as mentioned above, somewhat limited compared to others. When it comes to both individuals and groups she has influence over, Anima tends toward being caring and unselfish, a trait which she sometimes views as partial compensation for the faults she either genuinely has or believes she has.

Political Views
Anima has often been labeled as unconventional amongst freedom fighters. While she fights for the self-determination of Segmentum Exterioris, and its freedom from oppressive regimes, her political views are not wholly aligned with the common notion of a democratic republic. Rather, Anima believes strongly in the collaboratively developed concept of a "synthesis," a government that merges republican systems and values with aspects of technocracy and scientocracy. While believing all should have a voice in the running of whatever system they live within, Anima is also a follower of evidence-based policy and leading based on capability in addition to popularity. She also believes that policy should not just conform to scientific or logical evidence, but that they should be inspired and made in response to it, to ensure the growth of technology and knowledge are fostered, citizens are able to live decent lives, and an orderly society is preserved without resorting to oppression or subjugation. She and many of her colleagues who support this concept agree that limits must exist on how policy is made and executed with respect to scientific knowledge; government promotion of ignorance or deliberate lies to the population should be restricted by means of a constitution or similar entity, and enforced via separation of powers in the government.

Purists, anthropocentrists, and Progenic supremacists alike all have the ire of Anima, as she sees all sapient species as deserving of total equality and fairness. As a result, she is highly critical of nations such as the Eovinjai Sovereignty, which seeks to promote and defend Progenic civilization above other states. Nationalism, too, is unfavorable to Anima, which is the root of her slight conflict with Dragos Rosetti. However, this does necessarily impact her view of galactic governments, and she detests international systems she deems illogical or oppressive more than the absence of such systems.

Skills
Despite currently being a leader and politician in the Muaran Resistance, Anima's skill set tends to be more scientific than political; perhaps this is why she is so confident in scientocratic ideals. Her ability to keep personal feelings at bay when analyzing situations or making logical choices is almost innate after decades of refinement, and she is naturally pushed to question everything. She is also incredibly creative, and is hardly short of novel ideas when it comes to political theory, policymaking, and nearly every other facet of her life.

"Even when things look their worst, when you're by my side... I really can't do anything but smile."

The deep romantic relationship between Anima and IX is often remarked on by their peers as an ideal one; neither is necessarily dominant in it, and both have seemingly infinite trust for one another. While Anima's quirks can provoke a wide variety of responses from most others, IX appreciates all of them, and while IX does not have the same social shortcomings, her mysterious past correlates, in a way, with Anima's difficulties interacting with others, which were particularly evident in her early life.

"I wouldn't have anyone else working as our voice to the rest of the galaxy."

Anima and Sadál have been close political allies since the 2790s, working to foster closer ties between the nations of Exterioris. As leaders within the Resistance, they are both intent on keeping the sectae within it bound together by their common struggle against the Grand Teyan Empire, and on keeping their allies in close communication and trust to ensure their victory.

Sus
"All these years we've been at war, Kavaat has been a valuable ally, always there to provide an extra advantage over . His devotion and willingness to take risks have won us many more engagements than playing it safe, though I would not be one to stock an entire armada with commanders of his demeanor."

Though their bond was only forged relatively recently, Anima and Kavaat have a strong friendship that has come about from their combined efforts to create the Muaran Resistance, and while several prominent figures exist within the Consensus and various sectae, the two are generally considered the primary and most active leaders in the struggle against the Grand Teyan Empire. The two have come to trust one another's judgement significantly and appear to have an almost fraternal connection, with each citing the other as being integral to the Resistance's existence and continuation.

Friends
"No position of governance over any number of systems could replace the bonds I've forged with you."


 * - "Never stop hunting knowledge, Ka. I've never seen you happier doing anything else."


 * - "It's hard not to get along with a lover's supernatural companion."


 * - "A mind not unlike my own. I hope you can find solace in spite of this war."


 * - "Our tech might not be top-tier now, but you're proof that science and knowledge will be key to our victory."


 * - "Funny I should run into you again; I'm taken this time, though."

Trusted
"The pleasure of knowing you is all mine."


 * - "I've only heard good things about the hope you can deliver to the Resistance."


 * - "I've heeded your advice this far, and you've not led the Resistance astray."


 * - "Well, you certainly don't like to overglorify war."


 * - "Your Astral Knights continue to impress."

Varied Opinion
"Well okay then."


 * - "There are better leaders Romania could've been stuck with, but I'd be foolish not to want you around."

Distrusted
"I'd much prefer to work this out peacefully."


 * - "I've heard many unsavory tales about you."


 * Empress Vaera - "Your rule over this Segmentum will be brief, I can assure you."


 * Archmagus - "I've got no love of cults, or any kind of species-based sense of supremacy."

Enemies
"I'm not usually one for grudges; you must've done some terrible stuff to get on my bad side."


 * - "You brought war to my galaxy, took my home and my family from me... But with the new brothers and sisters I have at my side, we will stop you. Your reign of terror will only be remembered for the brighter dawn that followed and outshone it."

Quotes
"It's been quite a journey, the creation of this Resistance. Here's to hoping we're both still standing once we're victorious."

- Kavaat

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Anima."

- IX

Trivia

 * Contact serves as Anima's unofficial theme.
 * Several of Anima's personality traits and political views are based on those of.
 * Parazrael's own experience with Asperger's is also what inspired him to add it to Anima's list of traits.
 * Anima's apparrel was inspired by that of Mara Sov from the Destiny franchise.