Notable Humans

This is a page dedicated to notable Humans across the Orion Spur. These are the most influential and important individuals whose actions sway the galaxy and its history at large.

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The Trasen Family

The top of the food chain, the Trasen family’s status is legendary on the galactic scale. Virtually everybody has heard of them, and their monopoly over Phoron and stranglehold over Tau Ceti has raised them to be the most influential and powerful individuals in Human history.

Information on the Trasens can be found here.

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The Megacorporate CEOs

Usually known as the “Big Five” prior to Chin-hae Hong's ascension as Orion Express's CEO, these are the chief executives of the megacorporations, and without a doubt the richest people in the galaxy aside from the Trasens.

Titanius Aeson

Birthdate: May 12th, 2430

Titanius Aeson was born in Greater Olympia, Mars to construction worker Loukas Aeson and maid-for-hire Penelope Kouris. Though Aeson's official first job was working at a packaging warehouse, in interviews his go-to story is how he used to hawk his father's cigarettes at the yearly Olympian Fair for two credits a stick. Despite having a reputation as a rough-and-tumble jock who excelled in sports and gridiron, Aeson's blue-collar appearance belied a keen mind and shrewd intellect. He attended Rama Institute of Technology and Trades, and to pay his way, gave up his sports hobby to begin working as a warehouse technician at Hephaestus Industries.

Aeson likes to emphasize in interviews that he worked his way up the corporate ladder entirely of his own merit, though it should be noted that he had the financial assistance of his father and uncle (though neither were wealthy), as well as being granted a scholarship with financial aid from RITT. Nevertheless, all of his professors remember him as an excellent, if boisterous student, and he obtained a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the school in 2458. In 2460, he was declared the new CEO by his predecessor, Morgan Fletcher.

Aeson has a surprisingly cultured reputation, being rather close to the Hegemon of Moghes, Not'zar Izweski, and a personal friend of Yukal T'zakal, the sector administrator for the Izweski Hegemony. According to company insiders, he possesses several artifacts of Moghresian origin, and flaunted the presence of a taxidermied plains tyrant from before the Contact War. He is a man who decries "laziness" above all else, believing firmly in meritocracy and the power of anyone to elevate themselves should they simply work hard enough. While Hephaestus' policy of union-busting and anti-organization was a holdover from Morgan Fletcher as CEO, Titanius Aeson has firmly espoused this view. Curiously, in an interview with 2463, Aeson expressed what many interpreted as discomfort with the "Burzsian method" used on IPCs in the Burzsian belt.

"[...] It's obviously something that we [...] we wouldn't do to a human, or someone else, that kind of brainwashing. And I asked [Brizio Di Moze], is that what we're doing? Is that brainwashing? Obviously it creates very effective productivity quotas, but, you know." - Titanius Aeson as interviewed by Strong's Robotics Magazine, 2463

Most recently, Aeson's entire family was presumed dead after Violet Dawn destroyed Greater Olympia. Aeson was overseeing the expansion of the Hephaestus headquarters in Mendell City at the time, and has largely refused to comment on the event. Hephaestus donated several of its vessels and significant funds to relief efforts, and Aeson was seen attending the funeral of his family in Rama. In his personal life, Titanius Aeson currently lives in Mendell City, Biesel, and married his husband Olufemi Opeyemi, a part-time novelist and travel blogger, in 2462. He is fond of expensive cigars, wrestling and MMA, and has posted several Chirps of his high scores and K/D ratio on Heroes of Tau Ceti. He seems to have developed an odd friendship with Chin-hae Hong, being one of the few executives known to actually like Orion's CEO. He and Noelle Lopez-Zhang have an intense rivalry, though Aeson seems to take Lopez-Zhang's competition in stride.

Liqin Hsiao-Li

Birthdate: August 16th, 2354

Roughly a decade past her hundredth birthday, Liqin Hsiao-Li still manages to be a giant in the Spur by way of Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals. She was born to Guangli Hsiao and Chuntao Li in Beijing, Earth; both of her parents were accountants determined to set their daughter up for as much success as possible, and early in her life encouraged her studies and pushed her into as many extracurricular activities as possible. What neither of them could have anticipated was that Hsiao-Li not only took to education with aplomb, but ease. Her skills in mathematics and science were so unprecedented that her teachers suggested she be moved up through levels. Tests revealed that Hsiao-Li was a certified genius, achieving an IQ of 132 at the age of ten. Hsiao-Li entered high school-level education at thirteen, and entered university at sixteen. By age thirty, she had two doctorates; her medical degree, and her degree in genetic biology.

Hsiao-Li’s achievements gained some recognition and fame around Earth, particularly in her home country of China. She was approached by the then-CEO of Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, Vanas Peng, and asked to join as a researcher; and implicitly, his successor. Peng was briefly succeeded by Yueling Wong, and in the meantime, Hsiao-Li worked in the Nralakk Federation, eventually managing to assist in the development of treatments for X'Lu'oa. In 2412, Liqin Hsiao-Li officially ascended to chief executive officer, and has remained there ever since.

Now gradually approaching her twelfth decade, Hsiao-Li shows little sign of slowing down. While she is heavily augmented, possessing robotic forearms, calves, eyes, and several of her organs, she still appears much like a woman in her sixties. It is suspected but not outright confirmed that Hsiao-Li has received several anti-aging treatments from the Nralakk Federation.

She currently resides in Hong Kong, on Earth. She and her spouse, Ming-le Kim, have adopted three children; Meishin, Liling, and Shun. In her spare time, Hsiao-Li enjoys calligraphy, practicing piano, and painting. Several of her paintings and Chinese calligraphy are hung in various Zeng-Hu facilities, and she is known to have composed an aria for piano, “Night at Heavenly Hill”. Hsiao-Li is notoriously strict in her standards, but also notoriously polite, level, and dignified to many that she meets. There is little record of her personal feelings towards the other members of the Chainlink, though she seems to maintain a friendly relationship with both Noelle Lopez-Zhang (a former employee of Zeng-Hu) and Miranda Trasen in kind.

Noelle Lopez-Zhang

Birthdate: December 12th, 2408

Noelle Lopez-Zhang was born in Phoenix, on Earth, to Evan Lopez (a moderately popular local fine artist) and Martina Zhang (a geneticist). As a young woman, Lopez-Zhang was fascinated by the advances in synthetic research that had made leaps and bounds since the discovery of Skrellian technology, and channeled this passion into an education in nanotechnology and AI development at Solis Cognito, one of the Alliance’s most prestigious universities.

She was an above-average student, but Lopez-Zhang's real talent lay in her networking capabilities; at Solis Cognito she met Sven Fleiss, who would later become the chief information officer of Terraneus Diagnostics, and the two bonded over their shared passions. Lopez-Zhang and Fleiss both attained internships with Einstein Engines over the course of their studies. After attaining her degree, Lopez-Zhang worked very briefly with Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, while Fleiss started at Einstein Engines. Fleiss recommended his friend for a position, and the rest is history.

Lopez-Zhang's intense dedication and ability to command the attention of a boardroom meant she achieved the coveted title of Chief Research Officer at a meteoric pace that left some pondering if intrigue was responsible. Regardless, Dr. Lopez-Zhang became a trusted ear to Bronte Lofgren, the then-CEO of Einstein and descendant of its original founder, Berend Lofgren. When NanoTrasen's presence in the Spur became impossible to ignore, it was Lopez-Zhang who proposed the radical restructuring of the company, with her as executive.

Why Lofgren agreed to willingly retiring is a mystery to this day. Official Einstein correspondence states that Lofgren was aging and in poor health; while he was 84 in 2442, he died at 100 in his sleep in 2458. Further complicating matters is that Lopez-Zhang was 34 at the time of her ascension to CEO, which was already an excessively precocious age to become Chief Research Officer (particularly when Lopez-Zhang's sole doctorate was in AI development).

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Noelle Lopez-Zhang is a shrewd businesswoman. When Einstein Engines was restructured, old, stagnant blood was rapidly replaced with new talent, and the brief dip in stock to focus on proper healthcare plans, benefits, and promoting a healthy workplace environment meant Einstein Engines became not just the dominant corporation in the Sol Alliance, but a place workers developed a genuine loyalty to.

Lopez-Zhang lives in Harmony City on Luna, and in her private life enjoys NASCAR racing, refurbishing old cars, and playing chess against Einstein IPCs. She is not married and has no children, though rumours here and there have surfaced regarding her relationship with her old friend Sven, and her Chief Engineering Officer Alejandra Dubois-Perez. There is very little love lost between Lopez-Zhang and the other megacorporate leaders, particularly Miranda Trasen and Titanius Aeson, though she apparently has a cordial relationship with her former boss Liqin Hsiao-Li.

Alex Mason

Birthdate: September 6th, 2425

While it is known that Alexander “Alex” Mason was born in Chicago, Earth, to Cassandra Mason, there is a stunning lack of information about his personal life and why he was deemed fit to suddenly head Idris Incorporated. Cassandra Mason was a single mother, working various minimum wage jobs to support her and her son, and a few scattered accounts of his time in school point to him being an ambivalent student.

When he graduated high school, however, Mason was quietly enrolled in Yale University, a feat thought impossible by both budgetary and reputational means. He eventually graduated Yale University of Management with a Master’s in business administration. Shortly after his graduation at twenty-four, Alex Mason abruptly became a junior executive of the service branch at Idris Incorporated, and was seen several times in public with members of the Idris family, such as Leina and once, Adram Idris himself. In the meantime, Mason seemed to be brushing shoulders with the Trasens, while assorted rumours abounded to the true nature of Alex Mason’s rise to the top.

These rumours reached a head in 2453, when Mason was officially declared the chief executive officer of Idris Incorporated and its subsidiaries. Idris family members merely stated that Mason had proven himself sufficiently skilled and dedicated to earn the position and become part of the family. Speculation as to Mason’s blood relations, particularly to known womanizer Adram Idris, were common, but could usually be shut down by the fact that the very light-skinned Mason was distinctly different from the Ivory Coast-born Adram and the rest of his progeny, largely of African descent.

Since his ascension, little has changed about the company, and Mason’s fortune stays secured. He is alleged to be a cutthroat businessman, who at the very least is capable of delegating the busywork to his chairpeople and executives. While Mason apparently writes his own statements, which are quite precise, corporate insiders claim he has an abrasive personality when angered.

While Mason has been seen with a series of women in public, he is not known to be married or have children. He lives in Harmony City, Luna, and rumours circulate that he is a heavy user of party drugs. Little else about his personal life is known.

Lyudmila Zavodskoi

Birthdate: September 1st, 2398

"[...] Better than having Mason too involved [in the development of Project Horizon], smug little prick. We will see how much fur dust he can afford when we outstrip his security stocks." - Leaked audio of Lyudmila Zavodskoi speaking about Alex Mason, 2464. "Fur dust" is assumed to be a reference to Raskara dust.

Lyudmila Zavodskoi was born in Sputnikiy-Baltisk, Pluto, to Evgeniy and Mariska Zavodskoi. Both were high-ranking diplomats in SPOK, the Communist Party (and only party) of Pluto, and from the beginning Zavodskoi was groomed for greatness. In university, she worked towards a bachelor's degree in weapons development and missile engineering, commissioning in the Solarian Armed Forces at 24. She completed her tour of duty and was discharged with honours as first lieutenant Lyudmila Zavodskoi.

Zavodskoi worked towards and eventually earned a doctorate in weapons technology, and through the recommendation of her cousin Tikhon, at the time a high-ranking corporate infosec executive at Necropolis Industries, worked her way up the ranks. When Kazimir Boystov slipped into a coma, it was Zavodskoi who dramatically restructured the company into arms manufacturing, ship engineering, and defense contracting. She also expanded Zavodskoi's research department, allowing accessibility for a wide variety of non-research and development scientific careers with Zavodskoi.

A side effect of Necropolis' proximity to the Empire of Dominia is that Lyudmila Zavodskoi enjoys a friendship with many nobles of the Empire, and is said to even be a personal friend of Emperor Boleslaw. Allegedly, she has become something of a mentor to Princess Priscilla despite Zavodskoi's famously acerbic demeanor, guiding the royal family into further corporate dealings.

Lyudmila Zavodskoi currently resides in Mira Sancta, Moroz. She is married to Gennadiy Voronin, a fellow officer from her Armed Forces days, and has two children, Mikhail and Lyudmila II. According to company insiders, Mikhail has long been estranged from his mother and father, but further information about him (including if he even bears the Zavodskoi name) is scant. Lyudmila the younger is a software development researcher in her mother's company, though in an interview she claims that she has had the ascend through the ranks on her own merit and is not seen as a viable successor.

Zavodskoi is an avid game hunter, and is known to have accompanied the Imperial family on several hunts. She possesses her own hunting shuttle, the Baba Yaga, which she uses to hunt stellar fauna such as carp, sharks, and even eels. She apparently also enjoys croquet. While one may assume she has a rivalry with Titanius Aeson due to their competing markets, it seems that Zavodskoi reserves most of her ire for Alex Mason, and her relationship with Liqin Hsiao-Li is rather frosty.

Kubra Mobolaji

Birthdate: June 17th, circa. 2390s

Kubra Mobolaji was born at the tail end of Eridani's century of expansion in Madiwa, to the suit couple Jean-Marie and Omolola Mobojali. Like most of his counterparts within the Board of Five, his early life is heavily censored and subject to much speculation. He is known to have been sickly as a child, which he supplemented with extensive yet subtle augmentation and personal training; how much of his powerful build is cybernetics or willpower and physical training is ambiguous. Whatever the case, he was deemed physically fit enough to be accepted into APEX Military Academy in his early twenties, sometime in the 2410s. Whatever his qualifications were (the records are censored and heavily encrypted), they were sufficient enough to permit him entry into Ringspire, Eridani's most notorious PMC.

Mobolaji began his time in Ringspire as a point man for the squad of Task Force 44, a position that required keen situational awareness and excellent reaction time. He cut his teeth in the Coalition frontier and the Badlands throughout the 2420s and 30s, gradually ascending through experience and the fact of his continued survival, eventually becoming the commander of Task Force 44.

The first defining moment of Mobolaji's career was the Adhomaian theatre during the Second Revolution, in which Ringspire was enlisted to become part of the S'randmarr Coalition. Along with other corporate forces, Ringspire and Task Force 44 were stationed at the Ras'nrr Front. While the S'randmarr Coalition managed to halt the advance of the Adhomai Liberation Army, it did so just barely. Many of Ringspire's brutal mercenary tactics had been employed against a disorganised, materially weaker populace; few of the PMC's squads were prepared for Adhomai's bitter conditions or the ALA's tactics and training.

But despite being in the thick of fighting, Task Force 44 managed to hold itself together. Mobolaji's presence and quick thinking allowed the contractors to make a slow, steady retreat back to the main defense of the S'randmarr Coalition. The victory was pyrrhic; two other Ringspire task forces had been completely routed, with four decimated. 44 had come out with the fewest casualties of the entire conflict, and many of the members credited Mobolaji's leadership as allowing them to survive.

In the aftermath of the S'rendmarr Coalition, many of Mobolaji's rivals in Ringspire had been killed or badly disabled; Mobolaji himself lost his organic arm, which is now a synthskin prosthetic. His reward was promotion to Ringspire's board of directors, and a brief stint as the president of APEX Military Academy, where he also helped oversee the education of one Nathan Trasen.

During his tenure as president of the academy, Mobolaji was expected to make a move for the seat of Speaker of the Board of Five, the top echelon of the Eridanian government. The Chief of System Security and then-CEO of Ringspire, Mbanzu Eboru, hardly expected his rival to buy out his own seat. Mobolaji persuaded (or forced) Eboru to step down as Ringspire chief executive officer a year later.

The other defining moment of his career came in 2463. Facing the instability of the phoron scarcity and rebellion in the Corporate Reconstruction Zone, the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate approached Mobolaji to pioneer a deal that would create the Private Military Contracting Group. Now, he serves as its chief executive officer, despite the vastly-differing goals and ranges of the PMCs under its umbrella. At the end of the day, all of its profit is his.

Little is known about Mobolaji's personal life, except for his deceptively jovial demeanor and a friendship with Nathan Trasen. He potentially has a wife and children, though if they even exist, their identities are well-hidden from Mobolaji's many enemies and rivals. His "calling card" (a suit's unique element of their fashion) is a pair of silver cufflinks and a matching pin in his brass-coloured tie, shaped like a stylised vulture. According to the profiles on the Board of Five, he enjoys tabletop wargaming and his favourite vacation spot is Binyaria, Venus.

Chin-Hae Hong

Birthdate: March 18th, 2431

[What’s it like working with Ms. Hong?] “Being completely honest, they’re… there’s an expression, ‘acquired taste’. That’s best how I can describe her. I thought she was a bit close to the tides, that one, but she has the makings of a supernova. I appreciate her especially in an environment like this, and I hope we’ll go to great places. Under my guidance, of course. [warbles]” - Tuiqi Xao’Luup, chief external affairs officer for Orion Express, as questioned by Verona Falk from the Mendell City Bugle.

Chin-hae Hong, born in Aoyama, Konyang, to train conductor Seon-min Hong and housewife Tae-yoon Moon, was never expected to achieve particularly much. Something of an outcast in her childhood, in interviews she described having an obsessive passion for logistics and her father’s line of work, as most of the conducting he did involved shipping goods all across Konyang. Hong worked towards a diploma in logistics and supply chain management at Aoyama Polytechnic, a trade school, though her odd personality and perceived grating attitude kept her from having many friends. Later, Hong became a first officer at Aoyama’s Transportation Council, and her timely attitude and being a stickler for rules meant she was one of the best for the job.

What her unusual mannerisms did not keep her from, however, was opportunity. In 2462, the SCC was still developing a logistics-focused corporation for their interests, and needed an appropriate chief executive officer. Of all people, it was Hephaestus’ director of robotics, Ischyros, who discovered Hong while talent-scouting on Konyang. Ischyros passed word to Titanius Aeson, who interviewed Hong and introduced her to Miranda Trasen herself. Hong claims, somewhat sardonically, that she and Trasen “[got] on like a house on fire” and she was quickly appointed future chief executive officer of Orion Express.

Insider rumours persist in the SCC that precious few among the upper echelons are personally fond of Hong. She is, however, popular among her Hephaestus counterparts, and her board of directors describe her as an excellent CEO to work under. Tuiqi Xao’Luup, Orion’s chief external affairs officer, bluntly described Hong as an “acquired taste”, but elaborated that they found her stewardship refreshing, and hoped to see Orion succeed under her leadership.

Hong is not married and has no children, though she has apparently been seen in public on Konyang with an unknown female Shell, and describes her two Shih Tzu, Momo and Soo, as her “fur children”. She enjoys model trains, video games, Konyanimation, and apparently has a good friendship with Titanius Aeson.

Kazimir Boytsov

January 23rd, 2312 - September 27th, 2465

Kazimir Boytsov was once chief among the most infamous arms manufacturers in the galaxy. After he was passed down the position of chief executive officer by his father, Yevgeniy Dementyev, he developed Necropolis Industries into one of the premier research and development corporations in the galaxy. Seeking to guide the hand of conflict and turn out profit by any means possible, Necropolis Industries began selling weapons to militaries, private security contractors, and conflict zones across the Orion Spur.

In 2462, Boytsov and Necropolis' board of directors were accused of insider trading, supplying the black market with weapons, and corruption and bribery. Shortly after these accusations broke, Boytsov fell into a coma. He and his former directors were quickly replaced by Lyudmila Zavodskoi and her hand-picked team, and Necropolis Industries was rebranded to Zavodskoi Interstellar.

After three years in a coma, Boytsov died in 2465. With his death, Zavodskoi's former identity as Necropolis has been almost entirely erased.

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Republic of Biesel

These are individuals relevant to the Republic of Biesel.

President Joseph Dorn

Birthdate: January 9th, 2406

Current President of the Republic of Biesel, Dorn has led the small nation through a series of threats to its continued existence ranging from Lii’dra to the Sol Alliance Navy. While one of the most respected political figures in the young Republic, some are concerned that Dorn will not be able to maintain a firm hold on it considering its repeated disasters and extremely diverse population, and the Republic’s close connection to business interests such as NanoTrasen. In the upcoming election, he will doubtlessly face firm opposition. Only time will tell if President Dorn will keep his position despite criticisms of his recent handing of District Six and the Nralakk Federation’s incursions into Biesel space.

Prime Minister Ladislao de Santos

Birthdate: May 18th, 2418

Prime Minister Ladislao de Santos is considered by many to be a rather charismatic individual, who won the election for Prime Minister of Mictlan in early 2462 by the will of the people, and the power of his moustache. His primary campaigning point being that of standing against the Solarian Alliance, and putting Mictlan first, was popular among those and the planet - and is the likely reason why he won the election in a landslide. However, with the collapse of the Solarian Alliance, and independence becoming a possibility, Prime Minister Ladislao de Santos has been accused of having shirked the promise to his people, and instead opted to allow the Republic of Biesel to claim Mictlan and allow the proliferation of megacorporations across Mictlan. Many have protested against the decision, with some even taking arms against it and fighting for their freedom.

To most, Prime Minister Ladislao de Santos was meant to be the people’s Prime Minister, a politician that had a bleeding heart for the people of Mictlan. His speeches, even today, are filled with compassionate remarks and often incur sympathy within the minds of those listening. With protests flaring up over his recent decisions regarding the governing of Mictlan across the major population centres, those who stand against him have begun referring to him as the true antagonist against the freedom of his planet, allowing Mictlan to be exploited to line his own pockets. Despite these claims, Ladislao de Santos has asserted that a strong Mictlan can only exist with the help of the Republic of Biesel and the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate - especially in the face of the phoron scarcity and the Solarian Warlords.

Presiding Speaker Åke Torvald

Birthdate: August 13th, 2387

Presiding Speaker Åke Torvald is largely an elusive individual - hardly seen or heard outside of the New Gibson Parliament. Born within an Understad in close proximity to Fallanland, Torvald eventually went on to study law at New Gibson University, graduating in 2412. He was employed as a Biesel Intelligence Service foreign intelligence officer for 25 years, rising high and fast among the ranks, before resigning in 2437 to begin a political career in the New Gibson Parliament. Having eventually secured enough votes to be a representative, Torvald eventually procured enough support from other representatives to be elected as Deputy Presiding Speaker of the New Gibson Parliamentary Republic in 2448 - serving under Presiding Speaker Xin Hengsha. He would eventually ascend to the rank of Presiding Speaker following the death of Xin Hengsha in 2453 as a result of an unforeseen accident regarding a glacier brick that they were aboard.

Åke Torvald has eluded the public eye for the better part of a decade, rarely seen outside the New Gibson Parliament. Despite his elusiveness, Torvald is regarded as being a fierce New Gibsonite nationalist, evident by his behaviour shown within the House of Parliament present within the Hengsha Ovanstad. His latest address of the House went viral following its release on social media - in the video, Presiding Speaker Torvald condemns allowing the Corporate Reconstruction Zone to become a bastion of insurgency, and announced running for the presidency during the next elections as an independent party and tackling the insurgency more aggressively.

Xiomara Salvo

Birthdate: March 14th, 2419

A photograph of Salvo, circa 2464.

“For more than twenty years I’ve kept myself going with the belief I served my planet. I’ve done things I regret, seen things nobody should remember, and I told myself it was all for a good cause. I should have come to the conclusion long ago; we do not fight for our planet, or our people, we fight for whoever is oppressing us, and our oppressors reward those who do so well.” - First Sergeant Xiomara Salvo addressing her company after their officer had gone to meet members of the TCFL after the establishment of the Peacekeeper Mandate.

Despite remaining in hiding, Xiomara Salvo has become a well-known face across Mictlan. Born in the city of Saladas, she grew up shuttled from foster home to foster home after the death of her mother (her father, on her birth records, is listed as an unknown). At the age of eighteen, she enlisted in the Mictlan Defense Force, reaching the rank of first sergeant after several years of distinguished service. Considered an exemplary NCO, commentary from squadmates and her commanding officers claimed her to be a strong-willed, yet charismatic and courteous individual who led her own squad of enlisted in a manner described as “familial”. MDF records prior to the Peacekeeper Mandate, which have since been redacted, show that Salvo received a “Golden Cross” medal for personal heroism, after she risked life and limb in a disaster relief operation carrying two paraplegic hospital patients to safety after a flood in Caxacoatl. One MDF lieutenant described her as a “human can-opener”, and she was often stationed on military bases that her superiors believed required stronger discipline. In contrast to her exemplary record, Salvo had begun to become disillusioned with Mictlan's government, and the Solarian Alliance. Shortly prior to the Collapse, she anonymously published via a variety magazine an edited collection of diaries and poetry, titled The Windmill Crusader. In the book, Salvo recounted witnessing corruption and bribery, the mire of bureaucracy, and the suffering that poverty and mismanagement inflicted on the Mictlani people. After she rose to prominence as the commander of the Samaritans, The Windmill Crusader was revealed to be her work and officially published, where it soared in popularity. The book itself was banned by the Peacekeeper Mandate, but this did not stop its circulation.

By 2462, Salvo had become something of a revered, and even slightly feared, figure among the enlisted in the Defense Force. Her forceful personality and willingness to stand up to high command decisions made her a celebrity among the enlisted not only under her command, but across the MDF. During the Solarian Collapse, the MDF found itself suddenly cut off from Alliance support, and pay and supplies rapidly dwindled. Lower-ranked enlisted began to struggle to feed themselves, and medical supplies that the MDF used to treat victims of disasters and their own troops ran so low that some army hospitals had to resort to using sugary drinks as an intravenous rehydration solution.

In her later writings, which were published in late 2464, Salvo claims she began to question the government’s motivations and her purpose as a soldier during the months between the Solarian retreat. Her company was usually assigned to protect corporate property or the neighborhoods of the wealthy, rather than offering aid to the less fortunate. But as Mictlan began to establish itself as a trade partner apart from Sol, and when it looked like the worst ripple effects of the Collapse might be over, the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion touched down on the surface. To the shock of many, Mictlan was absorbed into the Corporate Reconstruction Zone, and megacorporate influence began to assert itself over the Republic of Biesel’s newfound colony.

During negotiations between the MDF and the TCFL, Salvo made a statement; exposing her belief that the armed forces should not serve yet another oppressor, but work towards the liberation and protection of the planet and its people. While desertions had been rampant the past months,hearing the legendary Xiomara Salvo openly decry the chains of command sent shockwaves through the company. As she departed the MDF, first her squad, then hundreds, then thousands of enlisted and officers alike began to desert en masse. Entire bases were looted of weapons, supplies, and technology as word spread further, leaving the soldiers that aligned themselves with the planetary government still to join the TCFL.

In her writings Salvo had always reserved light scorn for commissioned officers, generally ascribing stereotypes of rich busybodies or clueless bureaucrats to them. But as she established her movement on the continent of Huitzilopochtli, the consensus to name her as general of the newly-christened Samaritans was clear. Now, she leads an insurgency group hundreds of thousands strong, fighting a protracted guerilla war against the Republic’s occupation.

Isabel Alvarez

“You extremists look at her and see someone spineless. I will tell you right now, she has more will and spine than any of you. To not strike back in the face of atrocity is the hardest thing of all.” - An unknown supporter of Isabel Alvarez’ within the Founding Movement.

Birthdate: April 19th, 2419

Isabel Alvarez was born to Joao Silva, a best-selling writer and poet, and Angela Alvarez, a physician previously commissioned in the Mictlan Defense Force. Both of them were activists who rallied others against Mictlan as a Solarian state. While their activities were non-violent, centered mainly around organization, peaceful protests, and promoting political candidates who also supported Mictlan’s independence, they nonetheless caught the attention of Solarian authorities on the planet. When Alvarez was nineteen, Silva was killed in an abrupt car crash which Alvarez would later loudly speculate was a reaction to a recent pro-independence rally he headed, with turnout reaching thousands of citizens.

The incident pushed Alvarez into furious action, and she worked towards a degree in political sciences while gathering a group of like-minded Solarian dissidents in university. She and her group of friends would become the Founding Movement (or Movimiento Fundación), named after the original government that had wrested control of Mictlan away from the tyrannical Captain Tlaloc. After Alvarez’s graduation, the Founding Movement was later officially established as a left-wing party promoting Mictlan’s cultural diversity and multi-species population, and most notably, its independence from Sol.

The party grew to have a notable presence in the planet’s parliament, but did not grow to outsize proportions owing to the population’s general contentment with the relatively loose grip that Sol had on the Middle Ring, and among some, a dislike for the pan-speciesism that the party held claim to. Alvarez herself would drift in and out of the party’s leadership, generally sharing the position with her compatriots from her school days; Leon de Rosas, Corazon Santanas, and Miguel Maia.

The party suddenly rocketed to prominence in 2462 after the collapse of the Alliance. Chaos had come to the Wildlands, and in the midst of it all the Founding Movement campaigned harder than ever, hoping to gain some semblance of control in the aftermath of Solarian retreat.

Then came the Peacekeeper Mandate, and Mictlan’s absorption into the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. Alvarez unsuccessfully railed against Laslo de Santos’ acceptance of Biesellite rule, with the Founding Movement attempting to rally against corporate projects on the planet’s surface. In the meantime, association or voting with the Founding Movement could quickly get a citizen blacklisted from megacorporate employment, particularly with NanoTrasen. With rising costs of living, more Mictlani than ever were choosing to go gently and be employed with the megacorporations, remaining on the planet to become citizens of the Republic of Biesel.

Despite Alvarez’s disavowment of violence, the movement she heads has been branded as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Biesel, due to riots and protests where the symbol of the Founding Movement is displayed. As a result, Alvarez has entered hiding, having become one of the top targets for Biesel and the Corporate Special Action Groups. She has evaded Biesel/Corporate Intelligence services many times, her location constantly changing. Alvarez has not forgotten her roots as an organizer, and now continues to rely on speeches posted on social media and desperate attempts at political pressure to limit mega corporate influence on her beloved planet. Her status as a wanted terrorist leader has meant these attempts have gone ignored by those still in Mictlan’s parliament and the wider media; despite her many condemnations of those who use violence under the Founding Movement’s banner, these sentiments have not been quoted or mentioned in the media outside of those organizations who lean heavily anti-corporate. Causing further friction, suspicions have arisen that Alvarez is closer with the dissidents than she lets on. Xiomara Salvo was publically supportive of Alvarez’s political campaign prior to her dishonorable discharge, which has not gone unnoticed by Tau Ceti media. It remains to be seen whether Alvarez’s efforts will prove beneficial, or even effective in the long-term.

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Coalition of Colonies

These are individuals relevant to the Coalition of Colonies.

Chief Representative of the Coalition Reilly Sianne

Birthdate: March 14th, 2421

Formerly a farmhand on Xanu, Reilly is the first Chief Representative of the newly reformed Coalition of Colonies. A staunch Xanu proponent of trade, she has pushed for more anti-piracy patrols in the Coalition’s south, near Zaurghis, and has advocated that the Coalition should expand its influence into the neutral zone formally. Sianne is, furthermore, a proponent of more megacorporation presence in the Coalition - a stance that has brought her into conflict with some planets within the Coalition. Sianne’s personality is difficult to decipher, with almost all of her own time dedicated to expanding on her political career. She is seen as a shut-in in this regard, with little in the way of social connections - in part due to her being elevated to the position by external forces and plucked out of a once-peaceful rural town life in her childhood.

First Speaker Marja-Leena Helminen

Birthdate: November 18th, 2417

Either the second or third most important person in the Coalition of Colonies, depending upon which person is asked, Doctor Helminen is the elected leader of the United Syndicates of Himeo and at times the greatest ally and worst enemy of Chief Representative Sianne. Unlike her counterpart on Xanu, Helminen has pushed against megacorporations having a further presence in the Coalition and believes that the Coalition should pursue closer relations with Elyra instead of formally expanding into the buffer zone near the Sol Alliance. She is also well-known as a major proponent of joint Coalition-Elyra anti-piracy efforts.

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Eridani Corporate Federation

These are individuals relevant to the Eridani Federation.

The Board of Five

Headshot photo of Emanuel Alimayu, Chief Executive Officer of the Eridani Corporate Federation Executive Board. (artwork created by Sleepywolf)

Birthdate: N/A

While not a singular person, the Eridani Corporate Federation’s Board of Five represent some of the most powerful and influential entities in the Sol Alliance. The Board’s interests remain mostly shadowy, aside from being profit-focused. The Eridani Private Military Company, the largest PMC in the Orion Spur, ultimately answers directly to them and the non-aggression principle. NanoTrasen, much to its dismay, does not have a stake in the Board of Five - Einstein Engines, which controls two of the Five, has gone to great lengths to keep its main rival out of the Board.

Emanuel Alimayu

Birthdate: ???, 2418

Emaunel is an exceptional businessman and the epitome of a Eridanian "Corporate". Sitting as the current CEO of the "Board of Five" within the Eridani Corporate Federation as well as the Chairman of the Board for Sol Governance and Senator of the Epsilon Eridani region. Born on Eridani I and educated on Earth, Emanuel has a prodigious corporate career, starting as a Regional Sales Manager for Hephaestus Industries Emanuel has worked his way up the ranks to become the current CEO of the Eridani Federation.

Commander Filije Thiaw

Birthday: Circa 2395

Born a Dreg in the slums of Eridani I's underworld, Thiaw had absolutely nothing at birth. Her father is unknown, and her mother died of an overdose shortly after her daughter's birth. She grew up on the streets and found a family amongst a gang, until the age of eighteen - when they were captured by private military contractors. Her fellow dregs were written off as too far into gang life to be of use, but Thiaw was chosen to be reinstated and brought into the nascent Eagle Corp as a rank-and-file mercenary. Over the following decades, she has risen to be the Operations Commander of Eagle Corp through tenacity and hard work - and more than one extrajudicial killing. Commander Thiaw is the premier example of a reinstated Dreg, and is the wealthiest - and most powerful - former Eridanian Dreg in the Orion Spur. She has also been a major driving factor behind Eagle Corp's continued employment of Dregs.

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Empire of Dominia

These are individuals relevant to the Empire of Dominia.

The Royal Family

The five members of the Dominian royal family, including the current Emperor, are the most important people in the Empire of Dominia despite their roots as commoners. Universally-loved throughout the young Empire, many of their subjects view them as the glue that works to hold the young Empire together following its violent origins. The Emperor and Empress are the most prominent members of Dominia's royalty, though the Crown Princess is extremely prominent in her own right with her charity work and interstellar diplomacy. The Crown Prince and the younger Princess are less well-known, but still well-regarded throughout the Empire.

Duchess Huiling Zhao, Grand Admiral of His Imperial Majesty’s Fleet

Birthdate: September 30th, 2416

Born in 2416, no individual represents House Zhao more than Huiling Zhao. The leader of House Zhao in all but name thanks to her position, Huiling has given her life in service to His Imperial Majesty’s Fleet and now serves as its Grand Admiral following her appointment in 2450. Huiling is a figure beloved in the Empire and often despised abroad, such as in the Republic of Elyra, who revels in the infamy her reputation brings. This revelry has made her into something of a symbol of Dominian imperialism abroad, and her likeness can often be seen at anti-Dominian protests abroad. In addition to her duties as Grand Admiral Huiling is the Grandmaster of the Order of the Golden Albatros and commands the dreadnought Moroz, the current flagship of the Imperial Fleet.

In her 14 years as Grand Admiral Huiling has seen several systems subjugated by the Fleet and added into the Empire, and has zealously guarded the Empire’s reserves of Helium-3 despite House Caladius’ demands to release parts of the reserve in order to make a larger profit. She has also cultivated a close relationship with the royal family — particularly Lei Keeser — in order to better push a naval agenda. Huiling is confident that, no matter what the Goddess may have in store for her, she will be able to hold onto her position and the power that comes with it.

The Grand Admiral is rarely seen without her twin sibling, Vice Grand Admiral Xiuling Zhao. While a spitting physical image of her elder sibling (by two minutes) Xiuling is markedly more reserved and calculated than her sister, and is known for organizing much of the Imperial Fleet’s logistic efforts. She rarely makes public appearances for the Empire’s media and on the rare occasions she does so she allows Huiling to do much of the speaking on her behalf. Xiuling spends much of her time liaising with Admiral-Governor Lanyang Zhao, master of the Imperial Mandate of Zhurong, and the Zhurong Imperial Naval Arsenal to ensure the demands of the Fleet’s engines of war are always met. It is a dull and often thankless task, but an important one regardless. In addition to this duty Xiuling commands the second of the Fleet’s two Moroz-class dreadnoughts, the Emperor Godwin.

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Serene Republic of Elyra

These are individuals relevant to the Republic of Elyra.

Prime Minister Rasheed Tatenda

Birthdate: July 13th, 2421

The victor in Elyra’s most recent elections, P.M. Tatenda is a sterling representative of what Elyra is to the greater frontier. He is a published phoron researcher with some combat experience under his belt as a result of service as a reserve officer, and maintains a good appearance despite his advancing age. While Tatenda does not have the best relationship with NanoTrasen, or megacorporations more generally, his government has seen a thawing of the NT-Elyra relationship due to NanoTrasen providing cardox to Elyra. However a full thaw remains unlikely, as Tatenda’s government retains bitterness over how long it took cardox shipments to begin. Tatenda’s government has seen a strengthening of the relationship between the Coalition of Colonies and Elyra under his leadership, with the goal of further suppressing Dominian and unathi piracy.

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Sol Alliance

These are individuals relevant to the Sol Alliance.

Senator Hendrik Strom

Birthdate: January 18th, 2396

There is perhaps no politician more divisive than Senator Henrik Strom. Born into a working-class Jintarian family in the late 24th century, the infamy that has come to be associated with his pale, gaunt figure and plain grey suit speaks volumes to what he has managed to accomplish - and prevent - during nearly thirty years of service in the Solarian government in positions ranging from municipal representative to, since 2453, senator. The Senator was one of the two driving forces behind the Third Tajara Ban (alongside Senator Le Hanh Trang, of New Hai Phong) and had no small part in shaping politics under ex-Prime Minister Frost. As both a longtime politician and a dogged supporter of the Solarian Navy, Strom was an obvious candidate for the emergency military government to pick as the Sol System's emergency governor. With his position as provisional governor secure (for now), his party backing him, and his popularity outside of Mars at an all-time peak, the Senator has set his sights upon a loftier position to pursue: Prime Minister.

Senator Le Hanh Trang

Birthdate: February 22nd, 2419

One of the most noteworthy Solarian nationalists in recent memory, Senator Hanh Trang has become one of the Alliance's most important politicians following its near-collapse in 2462. Since the success of the Third Tajara Ban, she has opted to assume a radical stance on corporations in Solarian space following the formation of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate. While NanoTrasen, in her eyes, is beyond redemption and all its Solarian assets must be nationalized or destroyed, other corporations can receive the velvet glove: either pay reparations for supporting NanoTrasen or suffer a partial nationalization of their assets in Solarian space. With dozens of fleets and Einstein Engines backing the Senator's rhetoric, it might just manage to succeed...

Governor-General Tereza Varzieva

Birthdate: October 19th, 2429

The youngest planetary administrator in the Alliance and a Solarian Army officer, Colonel Varzieva was initially dispatched to Mars in early November, 2462 to control unrest on the planet related to the ongoing phoron scarcity and recently-authorized Third Tajara Ban. Despite controversy regarding incidents in which soldiers under her command opening fire on crowds of tajara - and protests calling for her dishonorable discharge - Colonel Varzieva found herself the de facto leader of Kunlun and the northern ice cap following the Violet Dawn catastrophe. She was, thanks to commanding a mostly-intact unit, hastily promoted to General and given the position of Interim Military Governor of Mars by the Alliance's emergency government, for nobody else was available. Now she has set her sights on a lofty goal: restoring order to Mars, no matter how much force must be brought to bear. Only time will tell if she will bring salvation or ruination to the beleaguered red planet.