Editing Viola Steiner

{{Update Needed|[[Handbook: House Steiner]]|[[Historical: Reunification War]]|[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]}}
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{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Viola Steiner-Dinesen.jpg
| caption             = Viola Steiner
| name                = Viola Steiner
| birthdate           = 21 September [[2539]]<ref name=H:RWp55>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 55</ref>
| died                = 28 April [[2596]]<ref name=H:RWp55/>
| othernames          = Viola Steiner-Dinesen
| affiliation         = [[House Steiner]]
| rank                = 
| title               = [[Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth|Archon]]
| position            = 
| profession          = Noble
| parents             = [[Tracial Steiner]] (mother)<ref name=HHSp24>''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 24</ref>
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = [[Robert Dinesen]]<ref name=HSTLCpLOS&FT>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', foldout: "The Lyran Commonwealth's Line of Succession and Partial Steiner Family Tree"</ref>
| children            = [[Kevin Steiner-Dinesen]]<ref name=HSTLCpLOS&FT/><br>[[Sarah Steiner-Dinesen]]<ref name=HSTLCpLOS&FT/><br>[[Mark Dinesen]]<ref name=HSTLCpLOS&FT/>
}}
'''Viola Steiner''' was the tenth [[Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth|Archon]] of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]].<ref name=HSTLCp29>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 29</ref>

==History==
In [[2570]], [[Tracial Steiner]] suffered a heart attack, leaving Viola as her only heir to inherit the Archonship.<ref name=HSTLCp29/>

===Barcelona===
Archon '''Viola Steiner-Dinesen''' commanded the [[Lyran Auxiliary Corps]], composed of the [[Tamar Tigers]], [[Twenty-fifth Skye Rangers]], and [[Fourth Royal Guards]], as they fought alongside the [[Star League Defense Force]]'s [[Thirty-first Armor Division]] in the campaign to liberate the [[Rim Worlds Republic]] world of [[Barcelona]] in [[2591]] from [[Rim Royal Army]] partisans under the command of [[Franchetta Wong]]. However, [[Lyran Intelligence Corps#Loki|Loki]] agent [[R. K. Jaishankar]] brought news that the Archon's son, [[Kevin Steiner-Dinesen|Kevin]], had been kidnapped by rogue members of the [[Estates General]]. Inaccurate intel placed the blame on [[Duke of Tamar|Duke]] [[Selvin Kelswa (26th c.)|Selvin Kelswa]] of [[Tamar]] and [[Duke of Skye|Duke]] [[Aldo Lestrade]] of [[Skye]].

In unthinking rage, Viola mobilized the Fourth Royal Guards despite the protests of her aide, [[Heinrich Schwartzmann]]. In her ''[[Warhammer]]'', she personally led them in an assault on the Skye-Tamar encampment, bringing her Guards into battle with the Skye and Tamar forces. Both Heinrich and the SLDF troops under [[Margaret Beck]] unsuccessfully tried to stop the Archon without hurting her. The battle ended when Tamar Tigers commander [[Sabine Petrov]] engaged Viola with her ''[[Commando]]'' and severely wounded the Archon with a direct hit to the cockpit, shattering her arm.

In late 2591, Viola regained consciousness aboard the vessel ''[[Robert Dinesen (Individual Vessel)|Robert Dinesen]]'' (named for her late husband). Her trusted aide, Heinrich, informed her of the loss of her arm and briefed her on the ongoing investigation into Kevin’s kidnapping. He also informed her that her rampage on Barcelona had become known as the "Day of Rage" and that he hated her because she made him fire on his brothers in arms in order to protect her. When she attempted to justify the attack as a necessary response to the revolt by her lords, he rebuked her with information that Kelswa and Lestrade have been exonerated, and that Jaishankar’s report was only a rumor. Horrified by the realization that she caused hundreds of innocent deaths, Viola sliped back into oblivion.

===The Steering Committee===
In January [[2592]], on [[Tharkad]], Estates General Speaker of the Assembly [[Henry Gram]] celebrated his pending success in manipulating the [[Lyran Commonwealth|Lyran]] parliament into voting to secede from the [[Star League]]. His triumphant reverie was interrupted by his associate, [[Ichabod Blau]], who informed him that the [[Lyran Intelligence Corps]] (LIC) was starting to arrest all the conspirators involved in the kidnapping of Archon-Designate Kevin Steiner-Dinesen. Gram tried to calm Blau, noting that his Steering Committee had the LIC tied in knots, while Archon Viola, at last report from his spies, was still in a coma on Barcelona. The two exited Government House through a secret corridor, only to find the Fourth Royal Guards executing a combat drop on the Triad. Up above, Archon Viola oversaw [[Operation RIGHTEOUS FURY]], coordinating efforts to seal off the roads around Government House and trapping the rogue members of the Estates General. LIC agents apprehended Gram and brought him out to where the Archon awaited in her one-armed ''Warhammer''. Rage consumed her, and when he attempted to give a speech about patriotism, she crushed him beneath her 'Mech's heel.

Afterwards, she sought solitude in the Triad’s 'Mech bays and then solace in a flask of vodka. Heinrich confronted her, noting that she’d been drinking a lot in recent days. He takes the blame for the entire tragedy – saying he had failed to protect her from whatever game Loki was playing, failed to protect her from the ''Commando''’s missiles, and failed to protect the Archon from herself. He asked her, for the sake of her children and her realm, to remain on Tharkad and not return to the war. Viola hardened herself and told him that she intended to finish what she had started.

===Apollo===
In [[2596]], as the [[Reunification War]] winded down, Viola led the Fourth Royal Guards in an assault on the [[Seventh Amaris Legionnaires]], which were defending the capital city, [[Apollo (system)#Planetary Locations|Terra Prime]]. Heinrich attempted to ensure her safety—a difficult task given her apparent deathwish. Massive monsoons impeded the Lyran progress, and in the confusion of the storm, the Archon ended up firing on her own troops, killing Fourth Guards battalion commander [[Aurelia Martinez]].

The emotionally devastated Archon suggested a new plan to draw the Rim Worlds forces out of their fortifications, using herself as bait. The operation initially went off as planned, but the rebels brought unexpectedly heavy firepower to ambush the Archon, using artillery to drop a canyon wall on the Lyran column. A communications failure at this crucial juncture prevented her from calling in the reserve forces to ambush them. In defiance of his orders, Heinrich took his ''[[Striker (BattleMech)|Striker]]'' to the ambush point and discovered Archon Viola had suffered mortal injuries. She absolved Heinrich of responsibility, telling him: "Even the finest bodyguard can't shield his protectee from justice."<ref>''Memories of Rain''</ref>

==BattleMech==
Viola Steiner famously piloted a ''Warhammer''. When it lost an arm during her Day of Rage, Viola never had it replaced.<ref name=HSTLCp33>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 33</ref>

==Quotes==
{{Quote|''Yes, I agree with my learned colleague. There have been many disappointments since we joined the Star League. Worst of all is the outworlds question, which is not likely to resolve itself peacefully. If what we fear comes to pass, every world in the Commonwealth will suffer the consequences. Once again, familiers will dread the knock at their door and the messenger from the LCAF. Honored Representatives, that is exactly my point. That is why I stand before you in favor of the resolution: If every world must share the worst the Star League has to offer, why shouldn't it share its best?''|Archon Viola Steiner-Dinesen, in ''[[The Great Tax Debate]]'', [[Brusch Gret]], ed., [[Price Publishers]] [[2589]]<ref name=HSTLCp30>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 30</ref>}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]''
* ''[[Historical: Reunification War]]''
* ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]''
* ''[[Memories of Rain]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''


[[Category:Archons|Steiner, Viola]]
[[Category:Lyran Commonwealth Characters|Steiner, Viola]]
[[Category: Notable Warhammer Pilots|Steiner, Viola]]