Edith Sinclair

Commander Lady Dame Edith Hawke-St. Clair, OBE, KT, SAVR, is the third child of the venerable Hawke-Sinclair family, hereditary Earls and Countesses of Rosslyn. She was, as the third child, and with her oldest sister married and having had three children by the time Edith reached her majority, unlikely to inherit the title.

Edith herself has observed "Not standing to inherit, and as I'd not the temperament for the priesthood, there was but one thing to do, historically: join the military." She enlisted for her first tour and served as a sniper/scout in a ground force platoon.

Edith applied and was accepted to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, following her graduation from King's College, Cambridge, in 2270. Upon receiving her Commission in 2271, she was assigned to the Systems Alliance ground forces as a platoon leader. 6 years later, as a newly frocked Senior Lieutenant, her company was assigned to investigate an emergency call from the Akuze colony. As history notes, the operation was a disaster- the platoon that Edith was leading was wiped out by Thresher Maws. Edith survived, barely, but the rest of her command did not.

Though the mandatory Board of Inquiry found that the loss of her entire command was not her fault, it was unlikely that Edith would receive another field command- soldiers being a superstitious lot. Given a choice between a desk and mustering out, Edith mustereted out, applying to the Systems Alliance Intelligence Service and being accepted as a Field Intelligence Officer.

Edith discovered that the skills that made her a great sniper translated well into her role as a spy- she was methodical, focused, and flexible. While she preferred to avoid violence, her preference was not from any pacifistic tendency but rather from her observation that when violence occurred, more variables were introduced which were beyond her control. In an already unpredictable profession, it seemed to make sense to wait until violence was truly necessary, and then to commit with overwhelming force.

In 2183, Edith received an assignment to... While on the operation, her identity was betrayed to the .... by a salarian Citadel intelligence agent who needed to gain their trust. Edith barely escaped with her life... again.

With her cover blown, and her usefulness as an undercover operative in question. she returned to her home on Illium. She has maintained a "flat" in Illium's capital city of Nos Astra since she joined the SAIS in 2177- it's far enough from Earth that she "doesn't have to play Lady Edith all the time."

Quotes:

"I've not the time for playing silly buggers."

"If you wish to put your weapon down, we can discuss this over a drink. Failure to do so would be... unfortunate."

"Just Edith, please. All that other rubbish gives me hives for a week."