Some memories Shannon Foraker treasured, but hid under the mask of her Dolist cover story (for most people) for over twenty years (just because Admiral Tourville found out after 11 years doesn’t mean many others did).

 

Her graduation from the ESDF Academy. She’d been 21 at the time, and had been at the top of her class, especially in tactics. She still remembered the aerial demonstration team's flyover, and the rest of the highlights of the ceremony. She’d taken an oath to serve Elvana, and had hoped to either go the tactical track or intel track (they at least got good tech toys, and she’d always been good with tech).

 

Her first command. It had been a destroyer she had gotten as a Lieutenant senior grade, which required good tactical skill, good Academy class scores, and recommendations, and good connections both in the ESDF and of birth. Being a Grand Duchess (even if the Fleet was officially supposed to ignore that, under the puppet government), who’d graduated first in tactics, with recommendations from her prior COs. Little did she know, she wasn't gonna have another single-ship command, and the next time she’d have even a command of her own, as opposed to being a tac or staff officer would be 1915.

 

The day when she first met her cousin Orla. She hadn’t remembered Eimear as a baby, other than through the holopics, but she had been just old enough to remember Orla as a baby. That meant that sadly, she had been just old enough to remember what it was like to be a royal, before having it snatched away with the takeover. Sometimes, as a stolen officer or stolen cadet at the People’s Naval Academy, she wishes she didn’t remember those memories, because all they cause her is pain.

 

Her homeworld’s language and culture. She’d grown up trilingual, like most Elvanians, speaking French, English and Elvanian. When she was stolen, she had had to push the last one out, to properly pretend that she was a Dolist from Elvana (she hadn’t lived on any other worlds enough to know them well enough for her cover story, and she couldn’t afford to mess up). To protect her life, she’d gotten rid of her world’s culture and the happy memories, like she’d had to get rid of being royal.