Layla Clay

Layla Clay, born on 6th June 796 A.S. on Planet Cambridge under the name of Layla Sofia Cooper, is a Lieutenant of the Bretonian Armed Forces. Since 15th September 819 A.S. she is married with Commodore John Clay. Upon their marriage, both John and Layla have been nominated as Count and Countess Wessex, owning an estate on Planet Harris in Tau-31 system.

Layla Clay
Profile
Origin	Bretonia
Occupation	Lieutenant of the Bretonia Armed Forces
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Bretonia Armed Forces
Rank	Lieutenant
Status	Active (819 A.S.)
Born	June 6th, 796 A.S., Planet Cambridge

Exodus

Born in the dark silence at midnight in a random hospital in Cambridge City, Layla was a calm, unproblematic child. She was continuously querying her parents with questions about various themes, which her parents, both being teachers, gladly tried to answer. Layla barely ever had good friends, only a few superficial relations with classmates, both boys and girls. She rather stayed out of conflicts and cared more about herself than about others, although she was never egoistical. Helpfulness, kindness and respect for others were values Layla passed her youth with. When the question of career choice came up, her parents pushed her to become a teacher like they were. Layla knew this wasn’t the direction she was destined for. Despite her introvert and reserved stance towards others there was a certain force and passion deep in her heart which had just not blazed yet. The day she had a visit in the flight simulator utterly changed her nature. She now knew she wanted to become a soldier in the Armed Forces, defending her home, her country, her nation. Studies and first relation Even though both her mother and her father disapproved of her plans of the future, Layla left her comfy and snugly home on Cambridge and as soon as she could afford it, she rented a little apartment in the centre of the capital of New London in order to be able to study at the Royal University. Her first year was pretty tough, much time investment and devotion for the miscellaneous subjects put pressure on Layla. She didn’t receive any help at all, she was alone, her prior friends had chosen another direction, and she pretty much restrained from making new friends at the university. Then, in the second year of her studies she made the acquaintance of a fellow student. It was pretty much love at the first sight, nothing more whatsoever… Layla didn’t manage to “open” herself enough to maintain a long-term relation. Soon their interests and opinions differed. The tip of the iceberg was the final decision of enlisting in the Queen Carina’s Academy. Her pacifistic, snobby and occasionally stubborn boyfriend left her in rage. “Good riddance” she thought. At this point, Layla became much more self-reliant and decisive. She finished her studies with respectable marks. The remaining funds she had received from her parents were pretty much spent, although she literally lived below the poverty level and thus dispensed with all fancy goodies. Nevertheless she managed to grab a place at the Queen Carina’s Academy.

Academy

At the time the Kusari war had already started and had taken place in the Taus, Layla was taught loyalty, restraint and self control in the Academy every day. Together with mostly men she had to assert herself in order to be respected by the others. Excellent flying abilities, combined with deadly aim finally rendered possible for her to graduate with great results at the practical part of the final examination. On the other hand, her knowledge of law articles, treaties, regulations, conventions and stipulations was hardly sufficient. Her success at the theoretical part was to a nightmarishly high degree low. Despite her bad attainments in theory examination Layla was finally, taking into account her potential value as a keen fighter pilot, accepted into the real ranks of the Armed Forces.

Military career and new relation

Fighting off any kind of villains and miscreants such as Corsairs, Mollys and of course the arch-enemy, namely the invading house of Kusari, was not only her job, but also her hobby and passion. “I rather go shoot stuff in space than racking my brain over tons of books.” was the answer she gave anyone who asked her why she didn’t go for a more unhurried occupation. Patrol reports were a pain, she always had a certain aversion and anxiety for paperwork, and it took her hours just to report about a random daily patrol. Nevertheless, she minded elaborateness when writing reports, so her supervisors never suspected anything. In the middle of 819 A.S. Layla was involved in a big defense fight at Planet Leeds, a sudden skirmish of the Kusarians caused heavy losses among the Leeds’ population as well as many pilots of the Armed Forces. With serious injuries Layla had to be admitted into the medical station on the Battleship Derby for over a month. After her release she was quite eager to enter the active duty again. During a special mission in Newcastle, supposedly a search operation after a lost sister of the Golden Chrysanthemums, Layla had her first private interaction with former Captain John Clay. It was obvious that John was flirting with her. Despite of the huge rank gap between them, they carried on with their private meetings, even on duty; there was always a suitable excuse. May it be a random chamber on a battleship in whatever system, John’s private room on the HMS-Sovereign, his residence on Planet Cambridge or the cockpit of a mere Templar in the gold fields of Dublin, nothing could prevent them from seeing and feeling each other wherever they were. They soon got engaged, what seemed to be only “another” catch of John, soon developed into a tight relation. On the balcony of John’s estate, around midnight, Layla was offered the marriage with John. Knowing that this was a big step in her life, she accepted. What had been private and away from anybody else’s knowledge, became official not later than at her marriage which was held on 15th of September 819 A.S.

Current life

After several months of excellent service in the Bretonia Armed Forces, Layla has been recently promoted to Lieutenant. As she now obtains the title of Countess, she has gained quite some respect and popularity among the people around her. John and Layla now own estates on both Cambridge and Harris. As one couple is far too less for two huge residences it is said that there’s a certain desire for children…