L'Unité est entrée dans l'atmosphère de Benry sous la direction harmonieuse de son timonier. Rayne était heureuse que le turian - elle avait déjà oublié le nom qu'il lui avait donné, ait été appelé. D'une part, elle roulait les yeux devant sa persistance et, d'autre part, elle était tout simplement heureuse qu'il n'ait pas eu le temps de la déranger. Surtout quand elle était sur le point de voler vers la première destination. Le commandant avait communiqué les coordonnées de la colonie de Benry. Rayne ne l'avait jamais été. Bien que l'Alliance l'envoie souvent sur des vols de sauvetage pour leurs troupes d'opérations noires, elle arrive rarement à ce coin des Terminus Systems.
"Arrivé dans deux", Rayne a parlé dans l'interphone, patché directement à l'équipe disparue. Je retire la milice de Benry. C'est simple. Un sauvetage de routine, une frappe au sol, une sécurisation des troupes, un retour au L.Z. L'Alliance a mené cette opération en formation, et elle était assez sûre que les troupes à bord de l'Unité étaient à la hauteur de la tâche simple. Sinon, ils ne seraient pas sur le vol de retour. Un signal rouge clignotant sur la console de l'Unité a amené Rayne à apporter ses yeux à la source de lumière. Puis retournez rapidement vers les fenêtres.
"Drop est chaud, l'équipe de l'extérieur. Je répète, la goutte est chaude." Rayne a pris une profonde respiration et a continué sur le cours. La zone d'atterrissage était à la maison aux cannibales, elle n'a pas pu obtenir un nombre précis, mais c'était moins qu'un escadron complet. Si les forces Reaper avaient même des escadrons. L'un des cannibales a repéré l'Unité et a ouvert sa magouille, laissant un cri d'alerte aux troupes qui étaient occupées à vivre jusqu'à leur désignation de cannibale. Les troupes de la zone de chute ont commencé à tirer vers l'Unité. Rayne a grimpé les dents et a volé au-delà de l'atterrissage, inclinant le navire à gauche pour éviter les explosions - celles qu'elle n'a pas évité de frapper les barrières cinétiques.
"Je vais tourner à l'arrière de la colonie. Équipe au sol, vous allez avoir besoin de sécuriser un L.Z. Pour l'extraction, je ne vais pas voler vos culs en devant surveiller les miens. On s'approche d'une chute de trente."
Rayne laissa tomber l'unité basse, planant sur un terrain plat près de l'arrière de la colonie. Elle doutait que ça resterait longtemps sans Reapers, mais c'est pour ça que l'équipe au sol était là. "Clear for drop, équipe au sol."
Name: Rayne 'Songbird' Teague (That's Rayne pronounced Ray-Knee)
Appearance: An average height of 5'5" with a lean figure that certainly does the uniform proud, at least to the drunk sleazebags at the clubs on the Citadel. Rayne, despite looking like a twig with a trace amount of meat, adheres to physical standards, fudged slightly due to how rare she is in ground combat situations. What muscles are there are evident in her arms, showing taut musculature focused around the biceps. Her hair, cornsilk blonde in color, is cut short, in the common human vernacular she sports a pixy cut. Ostensibly it's to keep hair from her eyes, but in truth she just got tired of ponytails and longer hair. Her eyes are a steel blue and the most common expression on her lips is pursed. A hat is always placed atop her head when in the pilot's seat. It used to be an Alliance standard hat complete with emblem, before she was flying for a non-military specific organization. Her skin is tanned but still clearly pale otherwise. Though hidden by the uniform pants, there's a tattoo of a nightingale on her right thigh.
Race: Human
Age: 28
Biotic ability: None whatsoever
Biography: Rayne (pronounced as 'Rain' by her parents because her parents didn't know that no one names their children after weather, hence 'Ray-Knee') was an Earthborn, born in Cardiff though she didn't stay grounded for long. Her mother was in the Alliance Navy, serving aboard a frigate as a medical specialist. Her father had served before an injury left him without his right leg. He chose not to get it replaced, considering it a sign of a job well done. Plus the retirement benefits didn't hurt. He was stationed at an Alliance facility in the United Kingdom, as a comm specialist. It was her mother that drew Rayne to the world of ships. As a child she would often watch Alliance ships fly overhead or dock at the nearby facility. If she was feeling particularly bold, she would even attempt to enter the facility to watch the docking up close. Her mother caved and took Rayne onboard provided she stay confined to the crew deck.
Her love of ships and ship design drove her to enlist in flight school for the Alliance. She had scraped by on the physical portion of the enlistment, only her slightly above average ability with a pistol carried her through. That and a recommendation from her parents. Which was probably the worst kept secret in flight school. Her fellow potential pilots often mocked her for being a daddy's girl or equally as idiotic names. Yes, her parents helped her get accepted into the pilot's program, but that was the extent of their aid. Everything that happened in training was Rayne on her own.
Though not the top of her class, Rayne showed incredible potential and extensive knowledge of the workings of most class of ship within the Alliance Navy. She graduated and was assigned to the bridge crew of an Alliance vessel. It wasn't the position she wanted, that being helmsman, but she was still happy to have been chosen at all. Sitting on the bridge, Rayne got a first-hand look at the galaxy from the best seat around, both the good and the bad aspects. The worst of it happened a few years into her service. The Battle of the Citadel? She was aboard one of the ships involved in taking down Sovereign and the geth. She was terrified at what she saw. So terrified that it had a negative impact on her ability to perform the job. Fortunately, she wasn't at the helm, or else another Alliance ship would have been destroyed in that battle.
In the years following the Battle, Rayne was both promoted and demoted in one fell swoop. She was promoted to helmsman, but demoted to piloting an Alliance shuttle. It wasn't the helm of a frigate, but at least she had full control. What started as a job transporting admirals and other important figures became something much more important. Rayne began flying evacuation missions, flying a shuttle into combat areas to evacuate small squads, often Alliance black ops troops whose mission went sideways. It was in these assignments that her nickname was earned. To combat the fear she felt flying into hot landing zones, Rayne sang. Old human songs mostly, but they brought her comfort, and brought comfort to the soldiers who were picked up by her.
It was her record of flying under hostile skies that drew the attention of the Unity backers. That she was selected over more experienced pilots is a testament to her potential. Or in the Consortium's faith in her.
Personality: Rayne is confident, though incredibly nervous all at the same time. She knows she's got the knowledge and the ability, but she's constantly doubting herself and in danger of cracking under self imposed pressure. Though she runs the bridge with the appropriate level of authority to ensure her flight crew is doing what they should be doing even before it needs to be done, she considers every member in the bridge her family, because it's on their shoulders to make sure the soldiers on board get to and from their missions safely. To that end, though she'll converse with other members of any given ship she's aboard, she'll never go out of her way to befriend or interact with them. If she could, she'd take her meals on the bridge and sleep there as well. Her cold shoulder to anyone not in the bridge with her has had the unfortunate side effect of making her seem like an anti-social hardass to others. Which, while not true, serves her purposes well. That means less interruptions mid-flight.
Position: Pilot. Helmsman. Whichever sounds better. As far as Rayne's qualifications, most of them are outlined in her service record (the biography), but apart from flying in the Battle of the Citadel, Rayne has proven herself an able pilot under extreme situations. She has not once failed to complete an evacuation mission, though it is important to note that completion doesn't always mean a full evacuation.
Other: - Rayne treats her nickname as a badge of honor. As such, people she trusts also get appropriate bird themed nicknames. This is typically isolated to members of the flight crew, since she has to trust them or else things go badly.
-Though from Cardiff, her accent is not strong. It's noticeable, but she's understandable in her speech, even if it comes out quickly.
-Despite flying in high danger missions, Rayne is still terrified of flying around Reapers, having seen first hand what one is capable of. Her fears haven't yet caused her to lose focus, but on the same hand she hasn't exactly had to fly many missions involving Reapers. Well, she hadn't.
Code: The emotion known as fear.