Rosary

Rosary
General information
Japanese name	ロザリィ コーデリア・ストラトフォード
Other names	Cordelia Stratford Rosie (by RD)
Classification	Human
Gender	Female
Age	30
Affiliation and military information
Affiliation	Men of Honor The Resistance
Occupation	Migrant Leader of MoH
Rank	Stork pilot High Commander (MoH)
Craft	F21C Stork
Eras present	The City Rebellion The Men of Honor/Zodiac Conflict The Venide/Overseer Conflict
Real world information
Appearances	Armored Core V Armored Core: Verdict Day (mentioned)
Voice actor	English: Grey DeLisle Japanese: Marika Hayashi

Rosary, full name Cordelia Stratford, is a Migrant hired by The Resistance in Armored Core V. She serves as a helicopter pilot and is responsible for transporting the Nameless Mercenary to the battlefield, and also provides repair and resupply.

Personality

Rosary is known for her rude and obnoxious attitude, constantly making snide remarks throughout. She is very business focused and claims she never moves unless she's being paid. Despite her tough and jaded exterior, Rosary is surprisingly emotional and possesses a compassionate heart. While she initially mocks Fran and questions her ability to lead due to her inexperience, Rosary grows to genuinely like her as she grows into the leader the Resistance needs her to be. She is also shown to be emotionally attached to Leon, and his death leads to Rosary uncharacteristically becoming overwhelmed with grief.

She is close to RD, joking around with him and teasing him. At one point, she calls herself "big sister" when talking to him. However, she despises his cowardly nature, which often results in her verbally or physically abusing him. Despite this, she does care for RD in her own way, as she expresses great shock and distress when she realizes he has become their enemy and pleads with him to stand down.

Biography

Cordelia Stratford was born as the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Stratford, the founder of the Men of Honor. She displayed outstanding talent even as a young child, earning her the favor of her mother. However, as Elizabeth's health started failing with age, a fierce power struggle formed within the group, threatening to split it apart. At the center of the struggle were Cordelia and her two older sisters, Goneril and Regan.

One day, tired of the conflict between herself and her family, Cordelia suddenly absconded from the organization. The heartbroken Elizabeth elected to settle the dispute by establishing a council system within the MoH, putting an immediate end to the succession crisis.

Cordelia took on the name "Rosary" and quickly put her skills to work, establishing herself as a notorious migrant. She saved the life of Leon Dantess, who had suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Jack Batty, and took RD under her wing after the latter accidentally saved her life from a rival Migrant group's plot to assassinate her.

During the First Rebellion, she and RD were hired by the Resistance to provide assistance in a limited capacity.

The Second Rebellion

During the Resistance's second offensive on The City, Rosary and RD were hired by Leon to serve as a transporter for their AC pilot. Rosary was initially skeptical about the job, however, especially due to the weak and naïve nature of the Resistance leader, Frances Batty Curtis, and initially planned to jump ship to the winning side if the Resistance was faring badly. However, she was intrigued by the skills of the AC pilot, and as Fran gradually began growing into her role, Rosary herself became personally invested in the success of the Resistance, much to the chagrin of RD, who remained doubtful of their chances against the forces of Father and The Corporation.

Although the battle against The City appeared to be proceeding smoothly, it came at the seeming cost of RD's life, whose truck is ambushed and destroyed by the City Police while transporting their AC pilot through an underground tunnel. Though initially in denial of his death, Rosary reluctantly comes to a grim acceptance, lamenting that despite his uncanny sense of danger, he couldn't save himself.

Later, Rosary participated in the final attack on Father's headquarters. Before Leon departed with his strike team to capture Father, he expressed sincere gratitude toward her for her assistance much to her embarrassment. Although Leon succeeded in infiltrating Father's building and securing him as a captive, their celebration is cut short when The Corporation launched an indiscriminate air raid against the building, destroying it and killing both Father and Leon. Overwhelmed by grief, Rosary rebuked Fran's immediate orders to retreat from the city, crying that she won't leave Leon behind, before being told harshly by her that Leon is already dead.

Gathering herself, Rosary regained her composure and proceeded to guide their AC pilot on an evacuation route away from The City. However, along the way, they were confronted by RD, who is revealed to have faked his death and defected to The Corporation to become their AC pilot. Rosary desperately pleads with RD not to oppose them, but he refuses, and makes it clear that he won't hesitate to kill her. Their final confrontation with RD comes at the edge of The City as Rosary and Fran contemplate what they're going to do next now that the Resistance is disbanded. RD attempted to shoot down the AC with a sniper cannon, however Rosary intercepts the shot with her Stork, sending her spiraling down to an emergency landing as she releases the AC. RD is killed in the subsequent battle by the nameless mercenary, and Rosary escaped The City alongside Fran and the mercenary.

After the Rebellion

Two years later, Rosary, Fran, and the mercenary returned to The City as an independent migrant group seeking mercenary work. However, due to their infamy, they quickly attracted the attention of Regan Stratford, who believed Rosary's fame was a threat to her position within the MoH and sought to either bring her back to the organization or eliminate her in order to consolidate her power. Her ambition led to many battles between the MoH and Rosary's group, ultimately resulting in the death of many members of the MoH, much to Regan's growing frustration and insanity.

Their conflict finally came to a head when the nameless mercenary killed Oswald, Regan's personal bodyguard and the family butler. As Regan attempted to retreat from the battle, swearing vengeance, her Stork was ambushed and she was killed by a member of the Zodiac, putting an end to the sibling feud.

Following the conflict with the Zodiac, Rosary was contacted by Goneril, the eldest daughter of the Stratford family, who had taken over the MoH following Regan's demise. Goneril coerced the group into taking on a contract to find a mysterious tower deep within the Contaminated Areas, threatening to harass them with daily attacks until they agreed. Recruiting the help of Isaac, the only known eyewitness of the Tower, as well as Edgar Stork, who had unique knowledge of how to safely cross through the Contamination, Rosary and her group went on an expedition to find the Tower.

Along the way, they encountered Cesar Venide, and found out the true nature of The Corporation. Driven mad by the revelations, Isaac declared his intention to destroy humanity, and vanished, while Cesar vowed to rebuild humanity no matter the method. Seeking to counter the threat of Isaac and Venide, Fran and Rosary decided to go their separate ways, in order to establish different factions with varied strengths with which to oppose their enemies.

After the expedition to the Tower, Rosary took her old name Cordelia and returned to the Men of Honor, seizing its leadership from Goneril in a swift coup and becoming the sole leader of the organization. She worked tirelessly to expand the group's influence and territory and formed what would later become the Sirius Corporation. She had many heirs to carry on her leadership, but she never married.

Trivia

• All in all, Rosary suffers the most losses in the story. She loses Leon, RD, and her sister Regan, the latter two of which even tried to kill her before their deaths. She may still have also liked some of the Men of Honor, such as Oswald. She hides behind humor and portrays a tough outer shell, but at certain moments, these losses do affect her.
• Considering the way she cries out Regan's name when she's killed, it seems that while their relationship is antagonistic at best, Rosary still holds some affection for her sister.
• She's shown to have developed romantic feelings for Leon, shouting his name in despair after Father's tower was destroyed by an air strike with Leon inside.
• Goneril, Regan, Cordelia and Oswald are all references to the play King Lear by Shakespeare.
• In an interview featured in Armored Core: Verdict Day Official Setting Documents Collection -the AFTER-, Cordelia states that she chose the name "Rosary" during her stint as a Migrant because a man she once loved liked flowers.