Laniis Baker

grayscale portrait

Fleet Seersa rescued from the harem of the Emperor. Formerly Fleet proper, now reassigned to the Fleet Investigation Agency.

Pronounced lah-NEES. Chatcaavan name given by the Queen pronounced kahs-kah.

Appearance and Personality

Laniis is a female Seersa with silver fur and black points on her ears, legs, hands, and tail-tip. Her eyes are orange. She is shorter than the Slave Queen; "the black tips of her ears barely reaching the Slave Queen's neck."

Biography

With a sister in Terracentrus we can assign she was born on Selnor.

Laniis is a Fleet officer, and one of the five members of the Alliance permitted to learn Eldren. She was captured alongside a male who was tortured for information and then executed, and a female who joined the harem but quickly died of sorrow. Laniis lived in the Imperial Harem for 'a year,' as the attendant and companion of the Slave Queen; she slept in a basket near the wall of the Queen's suite while serving in this capacity.

She was instrumental in the success of the conspiracy between the Queen and Lisinthir Nase Galare to free Bethsaida Emil Galare and the other alien slaves, acting as a message-runner whose presence, as a slave, was beneath notice. She was initially told (via Lisinthir) that any attempt at escape from the Chatcaavan Empire by any citizen was a "broken parachute" situation, doomed to disastrous failure. However, Lisinthir and the Queen successfully effected the rescue of her and three other slaves, with the Queen impersonating Bethsaida as a distraction to permit their escape. FIA subsequently upgraded it to "possible landing," meaning that it was no longer a completely hopeless enterprise.

Laniis was loaned to the Fleet Investigation Agency after her rescue, but is is still considered part of Fleet Regular. She did undercover work with Hold 22 on the border, including on the lawless world of Akana Ris under the fake name 'Carol.'

She later gave her shape to the Chatcaavan Emperor.

Family

• has a sister in Terracentrus that she stays with while there (often enough to have a room)

Trivia

Relationships

The Queen was the one who "made [slavery] bearable" for Laniis, though she maintained a rigid formality with the Queen until the arrival of Lisinthir, to the Queen's mild annoyance. The Queen also found her facial expressions (and those of other aliens) difficult to read until the arrival of Lisinithir. Nevertheless, the Queen comforted her when she was upset, including giving her an embrace when Laniis believed that Lisinthir had simply abandoned her to her fate. She was glad to escape her life in the harem when Lisinthir provided a way out, but wept to leave the Queen, who she cared for, behind. She later sent a lengthy message of thanks to both Lisinthir and the Queen.

The Queen called her "Khaska," after the bellringers for the ancient temples to the Living Air. The bellringers were traditionally children dressed in white. The name she chose for undercover work on Akana Ris, "Carol," is in honor of that name.

The Mother often had a kind word for her.

Other Trivia

• Speaks Chatcaavan and Eldren
• Had her own soap, scented with roses and spices, when enslaved and living with the Queen; Chatcaavan soaps are not suited to the skin of most aliens.
• "The only slaves that survived the Empire were like Khaska: stable, solid and dispassionate. The very sensitive were consumed; the very passionate were quenched. Only the creatures in the perilous middle remained."

Quotes

• "I told them we would try to help them, but we were prisoners too. But that we would try."

• "To give yourself freely in service to others is not the same as slavery, Mistress."

• Regarding the Queen Ransomed:
  • "I'll never forget the Empire, and that's not a good thing. That wasn't a surprise. But I don't think I'll ever forget you, and I'm glad. You made it bearable. Not only that, you made my escape possible. You and the Ambassador. I'll be forever grateful."
  • "And if you ever need me—I hope you'll find some way to reach me. I know how things there are for women, but I have faith. And until that day, I wish you well. More than well. I wish you all the best, in whatever way is possible to you."

• "You should have known better, Ambassador. The moment they released me to duty I went back to the border. I pay my debts...!"

• "I’m done bashing my head against this wall. If the Chatcaava are coming, I’m not staying here to die like a civilian."
• "It’s not that I don’t trust them. It’s just… I don’t feel… like they’re looking at me and seeing a person. They’re seeing a problem about to explode. A walking case file. A victim. And maybe I am all those things, but I’m not done.” She thought about that and sighed. “That’s really the issue. I’m not done with the Empire. They made the first move, and I lost that fight. But if I give up now, then they’ll have won forever. And I’m not done."