Lianda Burreau

Lianda Burreau (born YC72, assumed dead YC111) was a Jin-Mei astrophysicist and researcher for CreoDron. She was notable for being the first person to defy the CONCORD travel ban into wormholes and being the first human to travel to Anoikis. Her subsequent disappearance and final words led to her becoming a cult hero to explorers and scientists across New Eden.

Name	Lianda Burreau
Race	Gallente
Bloodline	Jin-Mei
Role	Lead Astrophysicist, CreoDron
Born	YC72
Died	Presumed YC111

Early Life

According to her official CreoDron biography, Lianda was born on Chakaux in YC72 to parents of the Saan Go caste. From a young age, she was noted as having an adventurous spirit. Her parents, both busy with their careers, had trouble keeping track of her. Once, as a toddler, she is reported to have wandered away from her house after apparently knocking over a trash can, rolling it near the door, and climbing on it to reach the knob. She was missing for three hours, before her parents discovered her in a park near their apartment picking flowers.

As a child, it is said Lianda displayed an aptitude for the sciences and an interest in discovering how things worked. She regularly disassembled bits of machinery around her home, often to the consternation of her rather straight-laced parents. For a time, they attempted to reign in her curiosity through punishments, but that only served to give her rebellious fuel.

Eventually, a school teacher recognized her gifted mind and intervened on her behalf. The teacher convinced her parents to encourage her inquisitiveness. With the full blessings of her parents, Lianda began to excel and was eventually skipped ahead in several science classes. Thanks to her gifted nature, Lianda had a choice of schools to attend.

Education

Records indicate that Lianda attended the Center for Advanced Studies, where she studied a broad range of disciplines. The official files from her advisors reveal they often recommended she choose a field and focus on it, but Lianda was far too interested in simply absorbing knowledge to limit herself. Her grades show she excelled in her first year, so she did not receive as much pressure as she might have otherwise.

Her second year, however, did not apparently go as well. Faced with more advanced subjects, a self-inflicted heavy course load, and simple fatigue, Lianda suffered from massive burn out. Her grades plummeted and for a brief time, she was in danger of losing her scholarship entirely. Her official bio states this close brush convinced her that she should find an area to focus on; she eventually chose Astrophysics, reasoning that a study of the mechanics of the universe itself would be her best chance at unraveling the mysteries of existence.

She seems to have rebounded strongly in her third year, once again posting strong grades and receiving the notice of several scouts from the major Federation research corporations. Chemal Tech employment records reveal she interned there for a semester, which explains many of the contacts she later established in the field.

She graduated near the top of her class in YC94. She quickly found employment in the private sector.

CreoDron

In YC105, Lianda was hired by CreoDron. Much of Lianda's work with CreoDron remains top secret. Her keen intellect and passion for exploration and pushing the bounds of science quickly earned her a reputation as a firebrand, drawing both the ire of more cautious directors and the admiration of her fellow scientists.

By YC111, she had risen to the position of lead astrophysicist with CreoDron.

Entering Anoikis and Disappearance

When the Seyllin Disaster caused the spontaneous opening of hundreds of unstable wormholes across New Eden, CreoDron was one of the first groups to discover one. The corporation sent scout drones through the wormhole, discovering an unknown system on the other side. The CreoDron Board of Directors recalled Lianda from a top-secret project to lead the exploration team into the wormhole.

Lianda boarded a Helios-class Covert Ops frigate, along with a team of five other scientists, hovered near the wormhole, and conducted an impromptu news conference. They revealed the five images captured by the scout drones, including pictures of planets and an unknown nebula. From the data the drones had gathered, she concluded that the system was “not unlike those familiar to us in New Eden, although it is far, far away” possibly “resid[ing] in a galaxy other than our own.”

Despite “some abnormalities” indicating “volatility in [the] system's electromagnetic fields”, she concluded direct exploration was worth the risk. She concluded her conference with a now-famous line, “We must not fear the unknown, we must understand it.”

Soon after, she entered the wormhole and began her exploration of the system. One of her first transmissions was the startling announcement that she had discovered signs of civilization in the form of “non-natural deadspace signatures”. She hurriedly broadcast the message to local comms in Balrille, which witnesses described as “defiant”.

Shortly after, the Federation Navy locked down the system and seized control of the CreoDron installation. Their first act was to attempt to secure communications with Lianda and her team, but found them completely unresponsive. Her team never made it back through the wormhole and her clone failed to activate.

Fallout

Lianda was considered lost, though no wreckage could be found of either her ship or those of the other scientists involved in the exploration. Her disappearance did not dissuade others from following in her footsteps, however. Many explorers braved the wormholes and discovered the existence of the Sleepers, prompting many to suppose that Lianda encountered hostile drones that destroyed her ship.

Nearly two and a half years later, in July YC113, her abandoned Helios, along with those of her companions, was discovered in a system designated J105934. An enterprising capsuleer attempted to salvage them, but found a hostile corporation making use of the system, and destroyed them instead. Inside one was a single piece of Trinary Data, which was destroyed along with the ship. The capsuleer was contacted by Hilen Tukoss shortly after, who made several vague inquiries about the ships.

Her possession of the Trinary Data, with its known links to the Jove, and the fact her ship was discovered intact but unoccupied, has led many to many unresolved questions. Many have reconsidered her presumed death, contending that she must still be alive somewhere in Anoikis or beyond. The discovery also led to interest from Hilen Tukoss's Arek'Jaalan project in Trinary Data, though very few pieces of it appear to be available outside of locked Jove space. The exact reason for Tukoss's interest in Lianda are unknown, though many have speculated they had some past relationship. Certainly, it seems likely the two highly respected researchers would have been aware of each others' work.

For now, she is still considered deceased by the Federation government and CONCORD.

See Also

• Gallente People
• Chronicle: Anoikis
• Chronicle: The Vitrauze Project