Lessa

"Where was the UNSC when we needed them? They show up when its convenient for them and expect us to tremble at the might of Earth's grand military. Not happening."

- Lessa responds to Kip Silas' concerns about violating the UNSC Salvage Directive.

Lessa is the young pilot of the Ace of Spades, a heavily-modified captained by Rion Forge. Her little brother, Niko, also serves aboard the vessel as its technology expert.

Biography
Lessa was born around 2535. She and Niko grew up together on the impoverished outer colony of Aleria. The two of them eventually worked out a scamming system wherein Lessa would fein interest in a target and charm them while Niko lurked nearby, hacking into the victim's commpad. In 2555, Rion Forge was visiting the mining slums on the planet when Lessa and Niko targeted her for their scam. Rion managed to catch on to what Lessa was up to, however. Instead of turning her and her brother over to the local authorities, she offered both of them positions on her vessel, the Ace of Spades.

After completing a six-week long job that included a stop at Komoya at the end of 2556, the crew of the Ace of Spades returned to New Tyne, Venezia in January of 2557 for what Lessa and others presumed would be a time of restful shore leave. Rion had left room in her mind for other plans, however. While she met with Nor Fel at the Kig-Yar's clearing house, Lessa and the a new hire, Kip Silas, waited outside at their truck. Rion eventually emerged and broke the news to Kip and Lessa: they had a new objective. Lessa responded to this revelation with apparent frustration and anger, since the crew had been promised a break. She quickly calmed down and resigned herself to the change in fortune, however, and Rion surmised that as much as she protested, she couldn't resist a score any more than she or any other crew member could. The next stop was the dive bar, Tiny Birds. Fel had told Rion that she ought to talk to its owner, Rouse, about the potential of a large piece of salvage waiting to be discovered. As the trio walked through the bar, Rion was accosted and harassed by a man named Cottrell. Cottrell's words caused Rion to momentarily lapse into a state of memory that she was only brought out of at Lessa's insistence. After meeting with Rouse and learning the location of a ship's wreckage, Less, Rion, and Kip made their way to the New Tyne Airfield where the others and their ship waited.

Personality and traits
Lessa's youth granted her an abundance of spirited energy and passionate drive. She is impulsive and easily provoked. These emotional traits are what lead her to seek out adventure and profit. She is constantly improving her skills as a pilot; learning and growing with every trip. Rion is proud of her and thinks of her as the little sister she never had. She is trusting her with more responsibilities as time goes on and believes she is continually becoming more reliable as the Ace of Spades' pilot. Rion also sometimes sees a little girl who has seen too many tragedies when she looks at Lessa. She still bears scars underneath her fiery exterior.

Lessa has a friendly face, a beguiling smile, and a mop of tight blond curls that don't stay tucked into her braid for very long. She learned early on how to use her good looks and personality to her advantage, most notably in her scams with her brother. It has been said there is no human or alien that Lessa can't strike up a conversation with.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Fractures
 * Into the Fire
 * Halo: Smoke and Shadow
 * Halo: Renegades