Primus Aria Fulvia
| Name | Aria Fulvia Nobilior |
|---|---|
| Title | Primus |
| Date of Birth | 28.01.31130 |
| Planet of Origin | Cielomina |
| Affiliation | Umbrian Republic Army |
Primus Aria Fulvia Nobilior is a fierce warrior and combat commander. Rising to the rank of Legate, Aria would participate in a number of important battles before personal tragedy would turn the charismatic young woman into a dour shadow of her former self. Resigned to fight until death claims her, Aria would accept an offer from an old colleague to take a more active role in the war, joining Praetor Gaius Aurelius Marcellus's praetorian guard unit.
Aria was born in the Vaghus system, aboard the orbital refinery orbiting Cielomina. Life aboard the station was tight knit and comfortable, and Aria and her younger sisters treated the common areas of the facility as their playground.
Exposed at a young age to the tales of passing spacers and merchantmen, Aria developed a deep affection for space. She'd spend long periods gazing out at the stars, wondering about what might be hidden beyond the limits of her solar system.
Aria was determined to find a pretext for freeing herself from the confines of the station, and made her parents acutely aware of her desires. More worrisome, the system's Viceroy had taken an unhealthy interest in her.
Eager to remove their daughter from the licentious official's grasp, and realizing that they couldn’t keep her home forever anyway, Aria's parents pooled their money and bought her a ticket to Umbria. Her parents tearfully wished her goodbye, unsure of her future but confident that their headstrong and intelligent daughter would find her own way.
A giddy Aria would board the passenger liner eager to dive into the unknown, certain that adventure and excitement awaited. Ever the organizer, Aria began to research life in the capital, and quickly discovered that it would be challenging for her to eke out a living on Umbria.
Her thoughts turned towards joining the military, seeing it as an opportunity to develop new skills and secure room and boarding. However, she wasn't thrilled at the prospect of being assigned a random specialty which might not even interest her. Fortunately, she saw an advertisement for the Republic's military academy.
The problem was, she was a full year younger than the minimum required for new recruits.
While still transiting to the Republic's capital, Aria contacted her parents and informed her of her plans, as well as the roadblocks she faced. Her parents were unsure, concerned that their daughter may end up in harm's way, but they supported Aria's decision. They surreptitiously altered her birth certificate, moving up her birthday and making her eligible for the service.
As her ship arrived in orbit over Umbria, Aria transmitted her application for consideration, and she was surprised to receive a quick response, her Frontier origins fast tracking her for approval. Aria would spend the three months between her acceptance and the start of term working odd jobs and living at halfway houses for other wayward youths. Finally, on a fateful spring day, she boarded a shuttle to the academy.
Aria would quickly make a name for herself as a champion of the underdog. She detested bullies, and went out of her way to stand up for her classmates. She would form fast friendships with Gaius Aurelius Marcellus and Valerian Barbatius, and the trio would become nearly inseparable.
Then the Ascomanni came.
She spent hours on the Hub, digested as much information as she could on the extraterrestrial menace. Aria grew more concerned as she learned of the Republic's massive military surge towards the besieged planet of Battipaglia. She was horrified to learn that the Republic was already preparing defenses on other nearby worlds, and analysts predicted that combat may well spill out into the rest of the Frontier.
Aria's thoughts immediately turned to the wellbeing of her family. Cielomina was as out of the way as could be in the Frontier, but unless these Ascomanni were stopped, one day they may very well find their way to her family's quiet refuge. She was determined to do her part to keep the aliens at bay.
While only an average student, her fine sense of honor and the help of her friends enabled her to have her pick of specialties upon graduation. Aria was accepted into air assault school, and after completing the course, she was assigned to the Ninety-Third Legion, which belonged to Praetor Artorius's battlegroup. She was shocked to find that Marcellus and Valerian were also in her unit, and secretly suspected that Valerian had something to do with their selection.
Aria's first test in combat would come during the Umbrian assault on Lepitrum. She'd find herself ordered to aid her friend Marcellus, reinforcing his position as he attempted to wipe out the Ascomanni's primary munitions depot on the planet.
After the successful conclusion of the battle, the Ninety-Third would be continuously engaged in combat. In 31152, Aria, newly promoted to the rank of Legate, would take over her own legion, the Two-Twenty-Second, or Triple Deuce.
Late in 31152, her forces would be ordered to the planet of Asciano, where the Ascomanni threatened an Umbrian Academy of Sciences outpost working to terraform the world. For four months, she battled with her adversaries amongst the baking dunes and narrow fissures of the rocky planet before successfully driving them off.
In desperate need of replacements, the Triple Deuce would be taken off the line, missing the seminal Battle of Gela. While separated from her friends, she remained in touch, learning of their deployment to Varese. When all contact with the garrison was lost, she feared the worst.
Aria requested permission to return to Umbria in order to join Praetor Artorius, who had become a mentor and close confidant while her command finished preparations to return to the front. Upon arrival, however, she would be greeted with shocking news: The Ascomanni had destroyed the station at Cielomina, killing her family and leaving no survivors.
Grief stricken and drowning in guilt, Aria withdrew into herself. Even the surprise revelation of her friends' survival did little to pull her out of her depression. Aria requested a transfer to a unit currently fighting, which Artorius declined. She then took the extraordinary step of resigning her commission, determined to find her way to the battlefield one way or another.
Praetor Artorius sat on her subordinate's request, and reached out to the newly promoted Marcellus. The latter approached Aria, desperately trying to find any spark of the friend he remembered. Determined to fight, Aria rejected his request to lead one of his legions. However, when he offered her a spot leading his elite praetorians, she readily accepted, eager to have the opportunity to fight the alien aggressors who had murdered her family.
After an uncomfortable reunion with Marcellus and Valerian, as well as a quick introduction to her new commander, Prefect Invictus Flaminus, the army group departed for Aetnaeus, the next world in the path of the Ascomanni assault.