View source for Elly Burton

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Elly_Burton.JPG
| caption             = 
| name                = Elly Burton
| birthdate           = [[3031]]
| died                = 9 October [[3067]]<ref name=EoWc30>''Embers of War'', ch. 30</ref>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Hansen's Roughriders]]<br>[[Burton's Brigade]]<br/>[[House McNally]]
| rank                = [[Captain]]
| title               = 
| position            = 
| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| parents             = [[Hector Burton]] (father)
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = [[Radcliffe McNally]] (lover)
| children            = [[Alexander Burton-McNally]]
}}

==History==
'''Elly Burton''' was born on the [[Federated Suns]] planet of [[Agliana]] and was the only child of [[Captain]] [[Hector Burton]] of [[Markson's Marauders]]. His father, not wanting to have his family living the [[mercenary]] life, left them on Agliana while he chased down pirated with the Marauders.

To everybody's surprise, Elly Burton applied to the [[Point Barrow Military Academy]] to pursue a career as a [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]. It was a harsh time for her, and she graduated a semester after her class. She did excel in her math, science and tactical classes, but her marginal performance at the academy precluded assignment to a frontline unit, and left her with choices mainly in the Quartermaster or Administrative branches of the [[AFFC]].

That was not satisfactory for Elly, and she decided to pursue her dream of being a MechWarrior. Not wanting to use her father's help, she made the rounds of the [[Hiring Hall]]s on [[Galatea]] and [[Outreach]]. She was not lucky there either: her family and academic history followed her, and as she lacked a BattleMech of her own, no one was willing to hire the ''little mercenary brat''.

She took work as a BattleMech [[Astech]] with [[Hansen's Roughriders]], and it was there where she got her first opportunity as a MechWarrior (unbeknownst to her, Hector Burton personally met with the Roughriders' assignment officer and called in an old favor to make that happen).

Elly's life changed when her father passed away, the result of a heat-induced stroke while participating in a training exercise. To her surprise, she discovered that he had left her a tidy inheritance that he had invested and saved over the years. That minor windfall allowed her to emancipate herself — and her 'Mech — from the Roughriders, and head to Outreach once more to strike out on her own.

Using her resources and nascent leadership skills, she was able to recruit a reinforced company. An interesting mix of veteran officers and raw recruits from the Outreach proving grounds answered her call, forming [[Burton's Brigade]]. [[Captain]] Elly Burton quickly took stock of the unit’s situation and sought the most lucrative contracts available.

Inexorably drawn to the opportunity in the [[Chaos March]], Captain Burton led her unit to [[Hall]] in [[3057]] where they came to work for Count [[Radcliffe McNally]]'s forces in their local civil war stalemate with self-styled "Emperor" [[William Baranov]]'s forces. Captain Burton fell in love with Count McNally, and they began a relationship that continued until the Count's death in battle in [[3067]]. 

Elly Burton, now the mother of McNally's child, kept the fight alive and retreated into a fortified position with what remained of her command and McNally's forces. The civil war on Hall came to a head shortly afterwards.

==Death==
Elly Burton died on October 9, 3067, while engaged in a 'Mech duel with Emperor William "Bud" Baranov in the suburbs of Hall's capital city Harney during which both combatants were slain.<ref name="K&P">''Kings & Pawns'', p. 15, "Elly Burton"</ref><ref>''Kings & Pawns'' scenario, p. 10</ref><ref>''Mercenaries Supplemental II'', pp. 4–5</ref><ref name=EoWc30/>

===Legacy===
Technically speaking her surviving son could be considered the planetary legal ruler, but in the chaos of the [[Jihad]], Hall became part of the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]], and after that part of the [[Republic of the Sphere]], making any claims by Alexander Burton-McNally very complex.{{cn}}

===Marriage and Children===
For political reasons Elly Burton and Count Radcliffe McNally never married, but he was a devoted partner and a loving father. They had a child, [[Alexander Burton-McNally]], which was considered his father's title inheritor by his followers.

==Character Notes==
===Skills===
As a  MechWarrior, Elly Burton was rated a veteran gunner and elite pilot during the latter days of the conflict on Hall.<ref name="K&P"/>

===BattleMechs===
Elly Burton piloted a [[Cyclops#Variants|CP-10-Q ''Cyclops'']].<ref name="K&P"/>

==References==
<references/>

== Bibliography ==
* ''[[Embers of War]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Kings & Pawns]]'' (scenario pack)
* ''[[Mercenaries Supplemental II]]'' (field manual)


[[Category:Hansen's Roughriders Characters|Burton, Elly]]
[[Category:Notable Cyclops Pilots|Burton, Elly]]