Sever was born Fei Yen Li on St Ives in 3037. Both of her parents worked for Hildco Interplanetary BattleMechs. Her father was a senior sales manager, which meant he traveled a lot. He made several contacts within the Federated Commonwealth and St Ives Compact, and that allowed his daughter to attend the Nagelring later on in life.

Sever's mother was a former Mechwarrior turned test pilot for Hildco Interplanetary. She was killed in an air car crash in which a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into the side of her car killing her instantly. Fei yen was five years at the time of her mother's death, and it had a profound effect on her, creating a driving force in her to achieve.

During the Clan War, Nagelring cadets, Fei Yen included, were assigned to transporting 'Mechs from the factory to the proving grounds. As the Clan War progressed, she became a test pilot, putting 'Mechs through their paces before being delivered to line units as much needed replacements.

Upon graduating from the Nagelring, Sever returned home to St. Ives where she was assigned to the First St. Ives Lancers as a lance commander. Her first year as a St. Ives Lancer was spent training, and that valuable training was put to the test over the next three years as a member of the Star League Defense Force. She traveled to Huntress as part of the relief force for Task force Serpent. On the world of Huntress she earned the nickname Sever after she decapitated after she decapitated a Smoke Jaguar Gladiator.

She was selected to travel with the St. Ives Contingent to go to Strana Mechty to take part in the Great Refusal, but fate intervened. She contracted appendicitis a day before the trial against the Wolves was due to take place. Sever was disappointed, she had helped to defeated the Smoke Jaguar but she wanted to test her metal against the Wolves.

After returning to the Inner Sphere she decided to muster out of the St. Ives Lancers and try being a mercenary, and so Sever headed off to Outreach. Wolfs Dragoons were recruiting so she applied and was accepted into one of their training cadres. She came to the attention of Major Tara Lucas, Zeta Battalion's second in command, after a good showing in her final test, where she equaled Kai Allard Liao's score just over ten years ago, and she was offered an slot with Zeta Battalion.

Sever was used to being in command, but in spite of her achievements with the new Star League, Nagelring and even during her testing with the Dragoons, she was slotted as a simple Mechwarrior. Tara explained to her that everyone has to pay their dues and start off as a Mechwarrior. There were many warriors in Zeta Battalion who deserved the role just as much as she did, however, seniority did play a major part in the Dragoons, Zeta Battalion included.

At first, Sever took the news well, but she was one those people who craved action and command, and that took its toll on her and those in charge of her. Sever tried her best to cope with her situation, and she managed to learn how to deal with it, to a degree. In the process, she learned much about herself.

During her time with the Dragoons, Sever heard about this usual story. It was about some guy who had been accepted into and trained as an aircraft pilot. This man begged for a shot at a BattleMech test, and proved with flying colours that he had a gift for handling 'Mechs. Sever had wanted to meet this individual, hoping to try and understand what compelled him to go the route he did, to try and understand how a trained Mechwarrior would even attempt to enter another military field. It was a true case of, 'Once a Mechwarrior, always a Mechwarrior,' but Sever was having difficulties understand the thought process behind it all for this guy.

Using everything she had at her disposal, Sever tried to put the issue to rest, but could not do it. The questions she wanted to ask this person, who's name she did not know, would not go away, and in a way, her universe was starting to crumble. She thought it was stupid that something like this would have such a profound effect on her, laughable even, and yet it refused to go away.

Her inability to figure this guy out was not the reason for leaving the Dragoons, nor was it the fact that it could take several more years for her to become even a mere lance commander in Zeta Battalion. It was just that time for her to go and experience something more challenging. Though she never found out the name of that pilot who managed to go from pilot to Mechwarrior, it was an odd twist of fate that brought her to the Pale Horsemen, who's commanding officer was the very man she wanted to understand, even though both had no idea who the other was.

This page was created by: Copyright December 24, 2004.