Vernis (died 433 IE.) was a terrorist who led the drone-and-mech attack on the Queen Maria Sophia in 433 While foiled in taking complete control of the ship by Chief Engineer Peddig, she did manage to gain some control over weapons, the hangar bay, and thrusters. This allowed her to trap parties led by JT Austin and Patty Friese aboard their respective Falcons. She used this control to rotate the ship so King Edward could witness the destruction of the Marcus Aurelius. She then demanded the new king’s surrender, which Edward refused.
Vernis struggled to control the Sophie. However, Chief Engineer Edith Peddig constantly thwarted her attempts. When JT Austin and Patty Friese disrupted the mechs with drone delivered stun grenades, Peddig jettisoned the EM drive reactor, which forced the ship to essentially reboot all systems. Austin and Friese were able to escape. Only Vernis’s ship remained active. She destroyed Friese’s Falcon, killing the first officer, Flight Command Kamal, and pilot Stephanie Mercado. She believed she destroyed Austin’s Falcon, though he was able to fake its destruction and hide in the remains of the Marcus Aurelius.
A joint boarding operation between the Compact and Republic navies retook the Queen Maria Sophia. A team led by Windsor breached CNC and fought for control. However, the Republic team, led by Suicide, arrived and disabled the entire CNC, disabling the mechs. Windsor had lost a hand but otherwise emerged with little more than a stun blast. Vernis revived quickly and attempted to self detonate. However, JT Austin killed her, stopping the process.
Appearances: Checkmate