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Avril Bitra was the only fully qualified and experienced astrogator on the original colonization of Pern. She was a member of the crew of the Yokohama.
Biography[]
She had in her possession a ruby that her great grandmother, Shavva bint Faroud, a member of the original Exploration and Evaluation Corps (EEC) team, had found. She also had possession of her ancestor's notes on the expedition.
After the end of her brief shipboard relationship with Admiral Benden, Avril turned to other people who, unlike Benden, had character traits similar to hers. She took great care to always have the upper hand. She eventually talked Nabhi Nabol, Bart Lemos, Stev Kimmer and a few others into joining her plans for finding as many precious stones as possible. She offered both wealth and the opportunity to leave Pern - because it was her plan to steal the admiral's gig, the Mariposa, and pilot it to the nearest system with as much mineral wealth as possible.
Avril, Stev, Bart, and Nabhi set up their stake on Big Island, which eventually became modern day Ista. Avril and Stev discovered a huge horde of black diamonds, which Avril stole from Stev in the middle of the night. She then flew to Landing, where she hid in the surrounding hills.
When Avril saw Kenjo Fusaiyuki and Zi Ongola preparing to take the admiral's gig into space to discover the nature and origin of Thread, Avril approached the ship. When Sallah Telgar saw her, she decided to try to figure out what Avril was planning to do. Sallah soon discovered that Avril had knocked Fusaijuki and Ongola out with a pipe, killing Kenjo and severely injuring Ongola. As Avril was preparing to take off, Sallah managed to get on board the vessel, but the closing airlock caught her foot and took off half her heel, causing her to black out. Avril discovered her, and when Sallah returned to consciousness, she was bound hand and foot. Avril then forced Sallah to help her fix the guidance system, which Ongola had disabled to prevent interstellar travel. After Sallah informed Avril that the guidance chip had been removed, Avril left Sallah on the Yokohama, bleeding to death with only a minimal supply of oxygen. Avril then took off in the Mariposa. Her original plan was to build another guidance chip using similar chips on the Mariposa's bridge. Unbeknownst to Avril, since the Mariposa required more sophisticated crystals, the only guidance chip that would work was the one Ongola had replaced with a blank. As a result, even though the guidance system appeared to work, in reality it would just send the ship in whatever direction it happened to be pointing. Unluckily for Avril, the ship was on a heading directly towards the Red Star, which killed her as she entered the atmosphere. Her last words, «It's not the…», caused some confusion among the leaders of Pern.
After the end of the First Pass, dissidents from Benden Hold founded Bitra Hold, located to the northwest of Benden. The hold was named after Avril, as the founders held a different view of her actions and place in the history of Pern. In the Ninth Pass, the newly-rediscovered AIVAS was audibly surprised when informed of Bitra Hold.
Personality and traits[]
Unlike the other colonists, Avril never intended to come to Pern to stay.
She was a dark haired, dark eyed beauty with sallow skin. She had a very sharp temper and was quick to ridicule and mock. She had a strong sexuality, which she regularly used to get what she wanted. She was a very selfish, very clever, highly intelligent woman with an unfortunately warped mind.