Nicknames: Vector, Skyblade, The Woman Who Lands Anyway
Born in 2063 along the unstable coastal salvage belts that would become the Long Docks, Aria Skien grew up in machinery, salt air, and shifting shorelines. Her father was a dock mechanic. Her mother ran small-boat supply routes through the early Sunken Rifts.
Storms moved their home repeatedly. Infected activity shifted the shoreline. Fuel shortages were constant.
Aria learned engines before she learned grammar.
By twelve, she assisted in turbine repair.
By fourteen, she could field-strip a small aircraft engine.
At sixteen, she flew a modified scouting glider used to survey flooded districts.
She did not want boats.
She wanted altitude.
By her early twenties, she had scavenged parts from crash sites and abandoned hangars to assemble her own light gunship platform. It was uneven. Patchwork. Dangerous.
She refined it year after year.
By 2088, the city knew the sound of her engines.
Aria’s identity is inseparable from her aircraft.
Gunship: “Vector One”
A heavily modified pre-Fall light attack platform rebuilt from mixed salvage components.
Capabilities include:
Vertical takeoff and landing
Dual forward-mounted cannons
Side-mounted suppression guns
Reinforced belly plating
Upgraded sensor array
Custom short-burst acceleration tuning
It is not sleek.
It is not pristine.
It is brutally functional.
Painted matte dark with minimal markings. No decorative insignia. No dramatic callsigns painted on the hull.
When Vector One approaches, you hear it before you see it.
On her person:
Flight-rated armored jacket
Reinforced pilot harness
Compact sidearm (rarely drawn)
Aviation headset integrated into helmet
Her weapon is timing.
She does not circle dramatically.
She does not linger.
She does not showboat.
She arrives on schedule.
She extracts on schedule.
She fires only when necessary.
2088 — The Highspire Collapse Extraction
An upper-tier enclave suffered structural failure during infected convergence. Ground routes were sealed. Vertical access failed. Communications were fragmented.
Aria descended through unstable wind shear and active small-arms fire.
She landed on a rooftop that was actively collapsing.
Seven survivors boarded in under thirty seconds.
She lifted before the roof gave way.
No second pass required.
After that, her name circulated fast.
If you could afford her —
You lived.
2089 — Rift Surge Lift
Medical cargo trapped at Stillwater Hold during unstable tide window. Airspace turbulence severe. Most pilots refused.
Aria held hover within safe margin, absorbed crosswind shear, completed transfer, and cleared the zone before infected movement clustered toward the dock noise.
No cargo loss.
No delay.
Foundry Edge Extraction (2091)
Pulled a salvage team from Cinder Verge perimeter while thermal plumes destabilized local airspace. Engaged infected only to clear landing zone. Extraction window: under two minutes.
Scar Rapid Drop (2092)
Inserted two mercenaries into a vertical conflict zone and exfiltrated before UDF patrol vectors adjusted to unauthorized flight signature.
Total air presence: under three minutes.
The Gale Window Run (Rumored, 2090)
Unconfirmed reports claim she flew through a storm front others deemed unflyable to extract a Bastion-adjacent executive. No public confirmation. No denial.
Vector One was seen landing the next morning without visible damage.
By 2092, Aria “Vector” Skien controls the sky above New Hope more than any formal authority.
Rumors say:
She can feel crosswinds before sensors register them.
She has memorized every safe rooftop within three districts.
She once outran Bastion tracking drones by diving between half-collapsed towers.
She has seen the Reaper from above and chose not to engage.
What is confirmed:
She has never missed a scheduled extraction window.
She has never abandoned a contracted pickup.
If she agrees to lift you —
She lands.
Even if she shouldn’t.
Even if the roof is failing.
Even if the wind says no.
If something is closing in —
You call Vector.
If she answers —
You get there.
How “Vector” Views the Other Legends (2092)
Alric Veil — “Nightrunner”
She likes him. He’s one of the few ground operators who respects timing as much as she does. Clean handoffs, no ego. If he calls for extraction, she shows up.
Bartholomew Beckett — “Red Wake”
Professional respect. He understands logistics the way she understands airspace. They’re not close, but they operate on compatible discipline. She never flies over his waters without thinking twice.
Cassia Lynn — “Data Queen”
Necessary friction. Cassia provides flight window data she values — but Aria doesn’t like being watched. Respectful, distant, occasionally tense.
Evaline Farnel — “The Spider”
She doesn’t fully trust her. Anyone who moves districts with numbers alone makes Aria uneasy. If Evaline routes a contract to her, she reads it twice.
Fayte — “Stryder”
She enjoys flying him. He’s calm under rotor wash and doesn’t panic under fire. Not friends — but she’d take his contract again without hesitation.
Richard Arc — “Galahad”
She respects him deeply. She’s seen corridors he’s held from above. She thinks he carries too much weight on his shoulders — but she’d provide air cover for him without negotiation.
The Reaper
She’s seen him once from altitude. Didn’t engage. Didn’t hover. Something about him makes her engines feel loud. She prefers distance.
Vander Westin — “Bloodhound”
Quiet, intense, controlled. She’s transported him once. He barely spoke. She respects his focus but wouldn’t want to be the one he’s tracking.
Vayron — “The Despot”
She keeps airspace clear of the Neon Lung unless paid well. She doesn’t admire him — but she respects the fact he holds what he claims.
Wyatt Knox — “Highnoon”
She likes his simplicity. Clean jobs. Clear objectives. He doesn’t complicate extractions. That alone earns her respect.
Kysara Vellune — “Twinflare”
She understands her. Both left structured systems behind in their own ways. There’s mutual recognition — sharp, fast, instinct-driven.
Serena Starr — “The Neon Siren”
She rolls her eyes at the spectacle — but she’s streamed a concert mid-maintenance before. Serena reminds her what the city sounds like when it isn’t screaming.
Leora Caster — “The Pale Walker”
She avoids the Q-Zone core when possible. If she ever saw that pale figure from the cockpit, she’d climb altitude immediately. Some things don’t need confirmation.