BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Dr. Anston Ricks, PhD
Xenological Archeologist
1.88 m, 81.6 kg (6'2", 180 lbs).
Born: 2302 Akron, Ohio, USA.
Graduated: University of Toronto, 2328 (2320-2328).
- Xenological endorsement, 2330.
Married: 2323, Chenari Ariales.
- 2335 (divorced).
Career: Archaeologist (2330-2348).
- Professor of Archaeology, Columbia University, New York City (2333-2335).
- Declared emeritus status, 2335.
Significant Details: Met Rista Tanzen, a student in the school of Archeology at Columbia University, in 2333. Founded Rare Finds Consultations in 2340, in Toronto, Canada, with Dr. Ricks as archeologist and Miss Tanzen as office coordinator.
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Gnosis Kamden" by Noiprox, "Earth 4K Stock" by Hameed.
PERSONAL FILE
"Now what's your story?..." Insatiably curios. Always analyzing connections, cause-effect relationships, the reasons behind why things are the way they are.
Prefers hunting for answers and artifacts to formal classroom rehearsals or family responsibilities.
Penchant for pretty, intelligent young women and buried secrets. Relishes puzzles - but not social intrigues.
Deeply cares for Rista Tanzen, but nervous to pull her too close again and lose her forever.
Fascinated by Princess Seleata, but as a distant admirer. Grateful for her opportunities and generosity, but anxious about her power and the dangers she represents. (In many ways, she reminds him too much of his ex - Chenari Ariales, a baroness in Manhattan if there ever was one.)
Aloof, sarcastic, vulnerable to cynicism. Disgusted by professional airs and any shade of hypocrisy.
Willing to work with a team - but more like a ship that visits ports on many islands. If a person proves sincerity to him, he'll go above and beyond to help them succeed.
"It all started with a puzzle. The pieces just didn't fit the frame. Sometimes you want to throw up your white flag and tell fate you've had enough. That's the irony of second chances. Other times you wish you could just rewrite the script and play it all over again. Like Rista and I, in a way. Huh; maybe it was just my destiny to work with shattered treasures."
Dr. Anston Ricks, xenoarcheologist, Akron, Ohio, Earth
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
And Should We Die - Preliminary analyst to connect archaeological artifacts and murals to the clear and present danger. A significant contributor to saving Earth. His good deeds in space, however, make the wrong enemies back home.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - Strained encounter between Dr. Ricks & Rista Tanzen. He first meets Sokaski Turska. Bitter separation.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Taken into custody; due process forfeited. Incarcerated and interrogated. Freed by unorthodox means. Taken to an orgalin laboratory in forbidden territory to decipher an ancient puzzle-lock.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - Not featured.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - A significant contributor to a preliminary puzzle as well as a major one.
Dr. Anston Ricks
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Rista Tanzen (age 32, as of 2349)
Secretarial Assistant to Dr. Ricks
1.7 m, 64 kg (5'8", 142 lbs).
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Tavern Barmaid" by Mathais Judias, "Earth 4K Stock" by Hameed.
PERSONAL FILE
"And just how would you like that?" Aims to please. Far more accommodating than assertive (pending due cause), she enjoys the success of the productions even without the limelight around the stage.
Prefers action to think-tanks or collaboration. Still, she's vividly aware that keys to success often only come by waiting, watching, and listening first.
Loves to see people happy, and recognizes her part in many of those achievements.
Deeply cares for Anston Ricks, who strikes her as one of the greatest "puzzles" she's ever met. Impressed by his intuition even more than his knowledge, and by his surprising kindness that often rises through his guarded skepticism, she finds him both irresistibly magnetizing but also unpredictably distracted.
Princess Seleata strikes her as a pampered royal with extraordinary powers, but also as a lost soul deeply neglected in her personal background. She feels a dual role to stay friends with her, but also mentor her in healing therapy for meaning and self-realization.
A strong advocate of teamwork, she wants every participant to feel important about their role and then prove their value to the successes that follow.
Rista Tanzen, secretarial assistant, Easton, Pennsylvania, Earth
Rista Tanzen
"Every time I want to yell at Ricks for all that's happened, he just stares back. Every memory floods back like it was yesterday, and I just wind up loving him all the more for making me a part of it. We'd never have gotten invited to the party in the first place without him. And now we're here - with stories nobody believes. I couldn't have done it without you, Grizzly Bear."
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
And Should We Die - Like clip and pistol, Miss Tanzen is the action that powers Dr. Ricks' effects. Logistics coordinator, communications hub, travel agent, student peer (with at least some idea about what he's talking about), & trusted confidant in good times and bad.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - Significant contributor to Sgt. Luesa's access to & infiltration of Nol Kai Tam. Undercover mission enables widespread success of many efforts to save Ensa Caison. Attempt to recruit Dr. Ricks' aid leads to heated disagreement and (temporary) separation.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - N/A. See Entry: Sokaski Turska.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - Not featured.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - N/A. See Entry: Sokaski Turska.
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Emilie Usara, Captain
Hynor Army, Armed Escort
Company
1.47 m, 52 kg (4'10", 115 lbs).
- Enlisted in the Hynor Amy following graduation.
- Enlisted in the officer training program in Year 40 (2333); lieutenant 42 (2335), captain 46 (2339).
- Distinguished combat record; multiple awards.
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Spartan II Female 2" by Lord Hayabusa357, (high-fives to all you Halo fans out there!) , and "Desert Planet 06" by Schinyman.
PERSONAL FILE
"The heart leads the mind. Conviction determines course, and safeguards success." As humanitarian as she is loyal, friends made are the best battles won.
Prefers goals and duties to indulgences and distractions. Annoyed by inconsistencies, laziness, and procrastination.
Penchant for successful endeavors. Admires people who face challenges and develop strategies and clever solutions.
Deeply cares for her soldiers - until Book 4, she never loses a soldier under her command.
Awestruck by Princess Seleata, but uncertain what to do with her new acquaintance. The more she learns, the more her curiosity grows, until she begins to question many of her former convictions.
Pleasant company, enjoys human camaraderie, so long as duties are met and honor preserved, she'll grant teambuilding free time.
Always a team-builder. Everybody comes equipped with a unique skill-set, and can offer something special to any mission. Also prone to stretch team members, she often grants people confidence at considerable personal risk.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
And Should We Die - Wrong place at the wrong time. During a recurring accounting meeting with Earth, she gets pulled in to the Korbai Inquiry (as "expendable military hardware"). She plays several significant roles in investigating the alien technology, risk-assessment, & threat-resolution. Gains trust and mild admiration of Princess Seleata. Becomes an iconic legend on Hynor.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Substantial game-changer on Havensite Heel. Resolves the immediate tafchas threat by both condemning known human outlaws (space pirates) and by turning their attention away from Earth, Hynor, or Havensite Heel. In a self-sacrificing effort to save her teammates and local citizens, she offers her life to satisfy the demands of the imminent planetary threat. See also Entry: Musari Unisa.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - N/A. See Entry: Musari Unisa.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - N/A. See Entry: Asitwa Siku.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - N/A. See Entry: Asitwa Siku.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - Not featured.
Capt. Emilie Usara
Capt. Emilie Usara, Hynor Army, Armed Escort Company
"They told us messing around with it was a death-wish. It didn't take a genius to know the whole mission was was a disaster waiting to happen. But someone had to go - even when our own instincts warned us there'd be hell to pay. Funny thing about human curiosity is, once it digs in, you can justify just about anything."
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Princess Seleata Efenester
Heiress apparent of Socstura
Geldine
1.9 m, 92 kg (6'4", 203 lbs).
- Fled her homeworld when her parents, King Oco-Turono Efenester and Queen Rasha-kala Efenester, first insisted that she enroll in the Obligatory Preparations Temple to marry a man of their choosing since had never chosen one herself.
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Witness the Awe-Inspiring Presence of" by DeviousToc and "Terran 09 Version 1" by Kevin Scheiman.
PERSONAL FILE
"Life forms webs of cycles. Energy drives each system - either to harmony and perpetuity, or to turmoil and destruction. I am here to create order from chaos."
Prefers her own dreams to social obligations - yet can't deny that she enjoys company (even from lessers).
Penchant for "bigger, better, badder" - as the humans say. Better is the workday of the promising, and yields its own rewards. Yesterday is nothing, so long as tomorrow bodes better.
Finds humans and similar groveling specimens bewildering, even a comedy to watch squabble over seeds and burrows. But for those few who find a way into her heart, she can't resist rewarding the faithful.
Among her people, she is a noteworthy eminence - but to whom much is given, much is required. Sometimes the cost ids simply too high.
Inevitably high-minded, but with obvious reasons. Among a race driven by competition for resources, (what a waste of time!), she's as disgusted as she is amused by humanity's (and their neighbors') fussing, sorrows, and even warring over scraps when they could unite and solve actual problems for unprecedented rewards.
So far out of her element, there's no such thing as a team. There are problems, and there are solutions. She is a problem solver - and sometimes as the garden grows, it needs to be weeded.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
And Should We Die - Princess Seleata is in trouble. A god-race by virtually every human definition, making friends - or enemies - with humans is as irrelevant to her as making friends with hamsters. When her plan to escape her parents' imperial obligations slides into a tailspin, it's all she can do to help the humans save their planet and flee from the gate that brought her here.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Against her warnings, a tenacious human visionary approaches her to ask a favor. Against her better judgment, Seleata grants the wish - and by so doing sparks the chain-reaction likely to scar the fate of human history forever.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - Beggars always have friends. When word gets out that Seleata's "made a friend" (as if), more humans start crawling out of the woodwork to win the tafchas "life-bringer's" favor. But will even her godlike powers save Ensa Caison from looming destruction?
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Worst. Case. Scenario. What happens when you pity the vermin crawling around the forest, so you start feeding them until they produce a plague? What more if you go rogue and your betters find out what you've been up to? No good deed goes unpunished...
Book 5:
Critical Mass - The princess' court is in peril as enemies gather on every side. When war erupts against her servants, though, (since it's futile against her), Seleata finally rolls up her sleeves to unleash Hell on Hynor.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - Not featured.
Princess Seleata Efenester
"Blame me? For your insolent maggots getting burned when they touch the fire? That's right, tuck your tails like the yapping dogs you are, and whimper back to your kennels on Earth before I level your cities to the ground."
Seleata, tafchas Princess of Socstura Geldine
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