Born in the system of Ekono as an Imperial citizen, Commander Isabella Levine is an independent Commander apart of the mercenary organization TITAN Contractors, and is married to the leader of the squadron, Commander Aurora Adair.
Thrown into the turbulent events that followed the squadron in 3307, Commander Levine's skillset has allowed her to prove herself as a welcome addition to the squadron and its roster of Commanders. Her most notable operations include rescuing SC Adair in October 3307 from a Thargoid surface site, partaking in a Centurion SF raid on a settlement controlled by the squadron's enemies, and joining the fight against the EMBER Syndicate - to name a few.
Prior to joining TITAN, her area of expertise revolved around mercenary work or freelancing numerous different contracts, but also deep-space exploration as somewhat of a hobby. Unfortunately, when she later joined TITAN and began to assist its operations, a job gone wrong followed her and drew the attention of Imperial security forces.
The squadron has, as a result, utilized its resources to prevent and rescue Commander Levine from being falsely framed and arrested by the Imperial Internal Security Service as a terrorist, due to a complicated hauling operation which unknowingly led to her transporting supplies for a Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army cell. The squadron's interference ended up exposing a rogue IISS agent's personal vendetta against Commander Levine's family, and led to her being exonerated - albeit her Imperial citizenship was revoked.
Regardless, before becoming a Commander, much of her skillset stemmed from a young age, ultimately caused by her father's pressure to join the Imperial Navy. Her parents - Karl and Ava Levine - both held fairly prominent positions within the Empire. Her father captained an Majestic-Class Interdictor, a capital-class vessel sported by the Empire's military. Being so strongly loyal to his superpower, Karl was determined to make his daughter follow in his footsteps - pushing her to the 'best, most perfect and proficient version of herself'.
However, Isabella cared little for Imperial politics, cultures, ceremonies, and the society it bred, and in actuality, saw little of her parents. Instead, her caretaker - an Imperial slave as per tradition - was practically the only 'parental figure' she knew. Her father, in the rare times they could spend time together, would instead have her undertake training, or impress long lectures upon her. While this had its special bonding moments, Isabella ultimately had little contact with her parents.
Her mother - an Imperial Senator - was around even less, and practically never showed up to many functions. At the time, her father never elaborated on the reasons why, but that was something Isabella would learn much later on. Into adolescence, her father soon made her undergo professional combat lessons from a naval trainer, which included hand-to-hand combat and accuracy training. This clashed with her rebellious nature, as Isabella loathed the idea of servitude in the Empire, but she pushed forward in order to make her father proud.
By the age of 14, Isabella could adequately defend herself in hand-to-hand combat, and by 15 could accurately shoot a firearm. Upon entering early adulthood at 20, the pressure in which to join the navy amplified by her father, and after reluctantly accepting, Isabella joined the local Imperial Navy forces of Ekono. Although she quickly resented it, she learnt how to pilot an Imperial Eagle, and soon became a rather proficient pilot. Noted by her superiors, she soon was promoted to the pilot of a Vulture, in which she was assigned a co-pilot. But, her resentment for the Empire and what had been forced upon her grew, resulting in her increasing disobedience.
Despite her efforts to force her superiors to discharge her from the Navy - going as far as to unprofessionally fraternize with her assigned co-pilot - her father's status and influence was able to maintain her in the Navy. This led to frequent disagreements between the two, a much more disgruntled Isabella, and a slowly fracturing familial relationship. Unable to handle serving the Empire any more, Isabella went against her father's wishes directly, and dropped out of the Imperial Navy at the age of 23.
Directly after effectively cutting those ties, she turned her focus to the Pilots' Federation, seeking to become an independent Commander - something she already had her eyes on for a significant amount of time. Her training and qualification was swift, and before Isabella knew it - she had officially become a Pilots' Federation Commander. Her adventures began here, leading her to numerous frontiers across the galaxy, going as far as partaking in the Distant Worlds 2 expedition which journeyed across the Milky Way.
Unfortunately, becoming a Commander also marked a rough chapter of her life. Midway through 3307, Isabella discovered that, rather than being conceived naturally, she was artificially gestated in an exo-womb by her father and genetically manipulated prior to her birth. This fractured the marriage between Karl and Ava, as Isabella's mother was revealed to be incapable of having children. Being so fiercely loyal to the Empire, Karl saw this as a disgrace, but still wished for them to have a child of their own.
By birthing Isabella via artificial means, Karl reportedly saw an 'opportunity' in which to genetically manipulate her as well, ensuring enhanced genes that included discrete augments. It was supposedly hoped by her father that, by ensuring Isabella was 'perfect', she would marry into a wealthy Imperial family, and go on to continue the 'Levine legacy'. Naturally, this news was rather distressful to Isabella, as it went against her every expectation.
Unfortunately, this distress led to mistakes, and with her involvement in the moral grey world of mercenary work and freelancing, Isabella took a job that unknowingly assisted a Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army cell. This led to her arrest, and a suspension of her Commander license, but with the little proof against her, she was later released. Desperate to cut ties with what she had been tricked into doing, Isabella moved on and was once again caught in the midst of another incident.
Dragged into a faction dispute, Isabella was contracted to eliminate a group of scavengers who had garrisoned a company settlement. Undertaking the job in a desperate need to clear her head, she suddenly learnt that several details were being hidden from her. Although the scavengers were present and hostile, she stumbled across a young teenager by the name of Violet Watkins, who hid within an industrial building containing massacred civilians. Violet revealed that her father had been killed, along with the other industrial workers, after a mistake led to the local company murdering civilians in an attempt to cover it up. With no remaining family, Isabella took Violet under her wing and went up against the force of the company she had been hired by. Ultimately, despite the risks and difficulties involved, the two were able to expose the company, and what they tried to do.
This turbulent history culminated into Isabella's realization of her loneliness, and how she had figured she became something worse than what her father intended. Although no elaboration was given, it was clear many other jobs prefaced Styx, all forcing her to question her morals. After sending Violet off to school and paying for her education, Isabella moved to seek something bigger, and a place in which she could start anew. With the active recruitment running at the time, this swiftly led to her stumbling upon TITAN Contractors.
Although her new start in TITAN was far from peaceful, her close support of the squadron led to her meeting Commander Aurora Adair, who had just been promoted to the position of Squadron Commander. Throughout TITAN's hardships, and the significant loss faced, the two managed to maintain a close friendship, sparked by their dynamic nature together, and the operations they had undertaken alongside the squadron to expose a dark enemy.
This friendship bloomed into a relationship after one month, which began on the 20th of December 3307, and evolved further into the duo being officially engaged. Despite the numerous struggles, obstacles faced, and revelations made along the way, Isabella and Aurora have remained as close as ever, committed to the squadron and each other. They are now happily married, and still maintain contact and guardianship over Violet Watkins.
Bio co-written by Radium and Maple
NOTABLE STORIES AND CHARACTER BUILDING MOMENTS
#1. Stuck in The Middle (Isabella finds a new purpose and a friend but also finds a darker side of herself)
#2. Wrong Side of The Empire (When she was interrogated by IISS for supposedly aiding the NMLA)
#3. Captured - A Short Story (Where Isabella tries to protect her father but instead puts him in harm's way)