Born to a life on the run, Laliari never knew stability, safety, or a home of her own. Sarris had already came and gone by the time Laliari was old enough to recognize what he had done to her people. Thermia was destroyed, little more than dust on the cosmic winds. She despaired, yet she never lost hope. Hope that, one day, they would see themselves free of Sarris’ tyranny, that they would have a home once more. In her youthful innocence, she looked upon the historical documents of the NSEA Protector and her crew. Brave men and women, each one a hero in their own right. She was fascinated by them, particularly by their chief engineer, whom she sought to imitate. Watching these documents, she became an astute, brilliantly creative engineer. Laliari was instrumental in the development of the NSEA Protector and its eventual deployment against Sarris. Without her knowledge of the ship’s inner workings and her brilliant mind, the mission would surely have been doomed to failure.