Zenith (Engineered to Serve)
Zenith is a special operative with the Astrean Defence Force, specializing in infiltration and information warfare. She and her partner Threnody handle search, extraction, and rescue missions - finding and rescuing Astreans who have found themselves in trouble outside of Astrea.
Zenith's public cover identity is as First Officer for the Astrean civilian heavy mineral freighter Starlit Hypatia.
Appearance
Zenith is tall and willowy with an athletic build. Compared to the Astrean average, she is quite slim and lacking in curves, but compared to unmodified human women she is quite tall but still very much has a feminine figure.
Personality
Biography
Skills and abilities
Relationships
Threnody
Astrean off-colony military operations always involve two-woman teams. Threnody is Zenith's senior mission partner.
Threnody was Zenith's first mission partner, and as the more experienced, senior partner, it was Threnody's job to show Zenith the ropes. Unfortunately, Zenith was never much of a good student. Zenith never had any particular dislike for Threnody, but Threnody detested the unrefined, lazy, young troublemaker.
While Zenith never quite appreciated Threnody's strict military lifestyle or her fanatic devotion to Astrea, she began to develop a deep respect for Threnody's courage, dedication, and integrity. Meanwhile, Threnody started to recognize that while Zenith may be unrefined and mischievous, her earnest dedication to helping her sisters in trouble went far beyond the call of duty, so she began to grow a grudging respect for Zenith in return.
Over their years working together, this eventually became a deep and lasting bond of friendship, and now the two are inseparable. Long weeks alone together travelling in space, forced to rely only on each other, and ultimately sharing each other's beds for comfort, have made both intimately familiar with the other's quirks and foibles, and respectful of them. Threnody has "loosened up" significantly, or at least learned to be more tolerant - or at very least, look the other way - when it comes to Zenith's mischievousness and myriad character shortcomings. Zenith for her part has learned which buttons of Threnody's to push, and which to avoid pushing, to keep the other happy.
The deep and lasting friendship of this pair of polar opposites is the source of much amusement for their friends.
Gossamer
Zenith has always had a playful fondness for Gossamer, as Threnody's younger gene-sister. She realizes the younger woman looks up to her as an inspiration, perhaps even more so than she looks up to her own sister (though Zenith would never say that aloud where Threnody could hear it). And she has consciously tried to be an inspiration for Gossamer... both good and bad - though she has to be very careful about the latter, because Threnody's tolerance of her shenanigans with Gossamer only goes so far.
It was Zenith who encouraged Gossamer's curiosity of the outside universe, and who suggested that becoming a star freighter pilot was a good way to get out and see it for herself. This was partly because it seemed to be what Gossamer truly wanted, and no one else - especially not Threnody - was encouraging her. But it was also partly because Zenith liked the idea of having a friend who was as infatuated with the universe outside of Astrea as she was.
Gossamer is one of the very few people who know of Threnody and Zenith's secret military identities, and it was Zenith who revealed it to her. Gossamer had always suspected there was more to what her sister was doing than merely shipping minerals, but Threnody refused to break cover, even to her own gene-sister. This led to bitter fights between the two, so Zenith decided to defy Threnody and let Gossamer into their confidence. Gossamer was always very grateful for Zenith for trusting her, and eventually her relationship with her gene-sister recovered too. Afterwards, even Threnody grudgingly admitted Zenith had made the right call.
Zenith has had numerous sexual trysts with Gossamer, all very carefully behind Threnody's back (though it is entirely possible that Threnody, while she would not be pleased, would not object). For the pair, keeping their encounters secret from Threnody is part of the thrill that spices up the sex. But otherwise, while they both have deep affection for each other, their love is sisterly love, not really sexual love.
