BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Dieter Guyson
Colonist, miner, opportunist
1.78 m, 77 kg (5'10", 185 lbs)
Born: April 28, 2305 CE .
Graduated: 2027 CE Penn State, Pennsylvania.
- BA in BS in Business Marketing.
Married: Single (open to prospects, but noncommittal).
Career: HR communications specialist for Keiser Marketing Firm in Wilmington, Delaware (2327-2331), travel agent in Orlando, Florida (2331-2336), real estate agent in Los Angeles, California (2337-23340), carxi driver in Newark, New Jersey (2340-23342).
- Moved to Ensa Caison in 2342 to escape outstanding loans, law suits, and alley-style collections. Found himself at the bottom of the well at the end of a dead-end road with no way out. Only works in mining to keep food on his plate and a roof over his head.
Significant Details: An easy-going smooth-talker and jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none through and through, Dieter "likes to keep his interests afloat". Wherever opportunities knock, he hurries off to investigate. Always certain his pot of gold is waiting at the end of the rainbow, he finds himself constantly praying for more rain.
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Midjourney 6752" by Javier Lluesma, "Earth 4K Stock" by Hameed.
PERSONAL FILE
"You want a hand with that? Let's talk duties, then I'll name my price."
Prefers surveying a scene before digging in for the prize. Confident, even courageous in his shining moments, but he's been enough to watch out for the dogs he pets - let alone feeds. After all, the minute you show people what you can do, they want to hold your best as your standard.
Penchant for lucrative opportunities - often to a fault. He'll definitely listen in on rumors, and even chase them if he can keep a low profile or plenty of bushes and shadows. Get him talking over dinner and drinks, and you'll wind up with a deal before you even know you agreed to one.
Deeply cares for friends, but trust can be...a little on the slippery side. After all, who ever agreed to a risky venture without a soft-sell? Still, he'll watch your back so long as you watch his.
The pet-servants are the perfect contradiction of best-friends and worst enemies. So long as they're on his side, he'll hang around for scraps. But the minute they say No, he's off like a shot. He'd never meet up with their princess, so long as she can read his thoughts.
Fairly smooth in public, greatly enjoys evenings at the pub. Problem is, he's developed a reputation as a scandal. It's not that he's greedy or covetous - fair share is fair share for those who do the digging for the buried treasures. But he's also as lucky to strike out and get into debt as to succeed on a decent haul, so people typically enjoy his company - from a distance.
Teams depend on the labor and risks. He doesn't trust anybody out of his sight, and the minute you get too much help, you're paying out your wins. Still, a good bet is a good bet, and he'll try just about anything - once.
"Ensa Caison - welcome to the picnic overrun by ants, the day at the beach when all the seagulls catch the flu. I swear, if I see one more rensa turn his nose up at me, I'll make a throw rug out of him."
Dieter Guyson, miner (and occasional swindler), Deep Gorge, Ensa Caison
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
A Lifeform Detected - Not featured.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - Protagonist. When he bribes friend Chams Lancerup from Earth to Ensa Caison, he had no idea he'd bring his sister Chalice. From a wealthy family and background, he knew it would be a risky venture no matter what (looting national relics usually is). But he'd underestimate just how high up in the clouds they could be for a rogue depot like the human colony Drasima. Somersaulting head-over-heels into deeper and deeper trouble, they're first arrested at the spaceport, then sentenced to the royal arena in the capital city for a Trial by Blood. Surviving that fiasco, he takes them to the forbidden ruins of Nikeltim to grease their palms with loot. However, militant rebels have already set up camp at the site - and are currently getting slaughtered by a tafchas hunter in search of Princess Seleata. Fortunately, they team up there with Sgt. Luesa, who helps them survive the "cleansing ritual". When they then meet one of the temple's ancient covenant-guardians, Owa Sitri, it's game over for plunder. Still, she has no problems with his looting the bandits' weapons and gear. Upon learning the true history of the ruined city, however, Dieter and the Lancerups are so dumbfounded by the opportunities knocking there that they toss their feeble penny-pinching scheme out the window. Dieter had followed a rumor - but he'd never imagined the actual treasure.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Not featured.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - Not featured.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - City Planning procurement specialist aboard the Yew Kah Seyli.
Dieter Guyson
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Chalice Brigitta Lancerup
Financial adviser
1.7 m, 63.5 kg (5'7", 140 lbs).
Born: February 3, 2323 CE Baltimore, Maryland (mobile parenting; Chams was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 2317).
Graduated: 2340 CE Brookwood Academy; 2347 University of Pennsylvania (Master of Science in Finance - graduated a year early, both schools).
Married: Single (many offers - no takers).
Career: Del Sur Bonds & Trusts (2343-2347), Milford-Briggs Investments (2347-2357 CE)
- 2357 at Chams' insistence, she settled her affairs at work and at home for a leave of absence of up to one year.
Significant Details: Daughter and heiress of Eamon and Charlotte Lancerup. History of high-risk, high-wealth enterprises, buying and selling Fortune 500 businesses. Well-to-do, but precariously so. Chalice has always prided herself on her appearance, but living in so many large cities while not staying long enough to build strong friendships, she's learned to provide for and protect herself (most recently studying aikido martial arts).
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Royal Guardians of Kae Thulaz" by Mathias Judias, "Earth 4K Stock" by Hameed.
PERSONAL FILE
"What've you got, and what do you want for it? "Accustomed to finery (albeit fleeting finery, the way things go), Chalice always has an eye out for glitter, teasers, and opportunities.
Prefers a social lifestyle to study or analytics, but if a goal demands hours of focus or discipline - hey, it's a means to an end.
Penchant for entertainments - her own or others. Parties, venues, dining - good times with good company! She adores the limelight, and always wants to stand out - never to blend in. "Keep a low profile" has zero meaning to her (though she has been known to lay low when sedated).
Deeply cares for people's affections, and will share more with those who offer more. As with finances, it's all about balancing the bank, right? Loyalty can be rather fickle, she's learned - but only as wandering as human ethics in general.
She's awestruck by Princess Seleata's pet-servants, but while she covets so much about them, that style would simply never work for her. Allies more than friends, she admires them, even applauds their amazing accomplishments, but they're in a league of their own - she won't lose any sleep over it. (Or about never meeting their princess in person.)
When Chalice wants to juice up a party, she's all about charm! Whether winning fans, winning friends, winning applause, or even winning bloodthirsty alien queens to her side, Chalice just loves to work a crowd.
When it comes to teamwork, Chalice hopes for the best but expects the worst. The only person she can depend on is herself, but some tasks are menial, unworthy. Some are just annoying. Fine; let the rest of the team handle those - save the important tasks for her.
"Wait a minute - you're sending me to a bloodthirsty queen, just for standing up for myself? It's not my fault they're half-witted half-breeds who just inherited everything they brag about."
Chalice Lancerup, adventure-hungry opportunist (and occasional snob), Baltimore, Maryland, Earth
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
A Lifeform Detected - Not featured.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - Invited to Ensa Caison by her brother Chams, Chalice had no idea what they were getting into. She just trusted her brother, who trusted a friend. Charmed by the natives' cuteness, she sees them like little fox-teddy bears. When they bear their claws, though, she rolls up her sleeves and mops the floor with them. Sedated by a blow-dart, she wakes up near the royal capitol, where she flatters the ruthless queen - still condemned to the arena-style Trial by Blood, but gifted with a set of royal armor and two short swords. A blend of wit, charm, beauty, and lightning-fists and feet in combat, no matter the challenge, Chalice refuses to back down - even when the world is falling apart around her.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Not featured.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - Not featured. Friend of Takra like Chams, but they chose to stay on Earth and promote stronger humanitarian relations with humanity's foreign-relations with allied worlds and alien neighbors.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - Not featured. Friend of Takra with Chams, but they opted out of leaving home, family, and friends for a perilous mystery no one returned from (Aser Kun Fai).
Chalice Lancerup
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Owa Sitri
Guardian priestess of Nikeltim
1.3 m, 56.7 kg (4'3", 125 lbs).
Born: N/A (vastly different calendar concept; age: 24, so 2326 CE Nikeltim, Caitam Forest).
Graduated: N/A (16 monks of the Kindris Order trained her in all of her ethics, duties, competencies, and skills as a holy defender of the ancient city).
- Exceptional skill with a rensa-equivalent of a longsword.
Married: Single (would have married a fellow priest, except they were slaughtered).
Career: Guardian priestess of Nikeltim (lived and trained in the ruined city all her life).
- Lives in the Temple of Learning, Nikeltim (later learned that its original name means "the Laboratory of Life").
Significant Details: When the orgalins built the city of Nol Kai Tam on Ensa Caison (they called the planet Lep ur Dai, or "Rock-born Leaf"), the planet had an emerging biosphere, with seasonal temperate ecosystems. They established laboratories at the most desolate but viable points to begin rigorous terraforming experiments. Nol Kai Tam and Tur Kai Fin enjoyed swift success, but a native intelligent species, the rasa chen (rensa), migrated en mass to the markedly improving Caitam Forest around Nol Kai Tam. The orgalin scientists focused on local flora-fauna relations, were taken by them, and they began a series of experiments to genetically breed them into a more evolved, advanced sub-species, the tu-ress rasa chen (ancestors of the priest-guardians). Unfortunately, the Aser Kai Fun development led to emergency withdrawals from many orgalin worlds, leaving the tu-ress rasa chen rather abruptly to watch over their operations. Over the centuries of silence since, their descendants socially evolved into guardian-priest cults, who felt it their divine appountment to protect the laboratories.
These inspiring images were provided courtesy of: "Kitsune Fox Clan" by Mthias Judias, "Falucia Icon 4" by Schinyman.
PERSONAL FILE
"My life for the gods." Devout to the core, Owa Sitri takes her covenant obligations straight from her heart, and although vastly outnumbered and underpowered, is willing to die to defend their nobility from hordes of scavengers.
Prefers any cause to protect Nikeltim and secure her covenant order to self-interests or trivial wanderings or pastimes.
Penchant for swordplay, action, and valor. She welcomes challenges of her skills, but not always challenges - time has proven that the wisdom of the gods and of other races often escapes her, leaving her confused and nervous about puzzles or mysteries. At least with swords, the sharp blade is obvious - and powerful.
Deeply cares for her fellow priests and their young, for without them, the Kindris Order will surely perish. Highly disciplined in their rites and responsibilities, Owa Sitri is always ready to teach, and delights to see enthusiasm bud and blossom among their young. The tafchas so far exceed her greatest fears that she calls them destroying angels. The thought of entering into the presence of Princess Seleata would scare the skin off Owa Sitri.
Guarded against all outsiders, Owa Sitri most certainly disdains visitors. With the near annihilation of her small enclave, the fears and warnings she was raised to believe have now been confirmed - in grizzliest horror. His distrust of strangers has never burned stronger, and its bonfire flames threaten to consume her, Nikeltim, and them, without a flicker of mercy.
When it comes to teams and teamwork, Owa Sitri lives up to her name: Blood Throat. There is the Kindred Order, and there is chaos. She will give and do anything, devotedly, for her people, but she is fiercely reprehensive to working with outsiders. You are either with us, or against us - there is no middle ground.
"For ages we've guarded the sacred treasures and secrets of the gods. When the bald-faces arrived, and defiled or home and shrine, we filled their graves with our own bodies. Such walking contradictions, hyoo-mans. Who could've imagined that our very destroyers could become our guardian angels?"
Owa Sitri, priestess of the Kindris Order (and occasional saint), Nikeltim temple, Ensa Caison
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
A Lifeform Detected - Not featured.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - For over a thousand years, the Kindris Order was charged with defending the holy city of Nikeltim as guardian priests of the ancient gods who once lived there - and from whom her race was born. Centuries of crusades by their distant cousins has left the city in ruins, and their numbers precious few for so great a task. When human and tafchas battle erupts, with powers they'd never imagined, her 12 surviving guardians are slaughtered - she now remains alone to care for their orphaned children. When Sgt. Luesa arrives with Chams and Chalice, her vicious impulse for revenge is sparked - until the soldier speaks to her in the forbidden language of the gods. Persuaded that he indeed understands her long-absent deities, she's forced to set aside her prejudice and vengeance to learn the haunting truth - secrets even her holy order never understood until now.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Not featured.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - Not featured.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - Not featured.
Owa Sitri
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Sokaski Turska
RepairCrafter pet-servant to
Princess Seleata
1.8 m, 83.9 kg (5'11", 180 lbs).
Born: classified (age: 34).
Graduated: N/A (royal tutelage).
Married: Single (suitors have to meet her Mistress' approval).
Career: classified.
- Indentured service to Princess Seleata, including detailed, royal-grade crafting and repair projects.
Significant Details: At first, she thought humanity was a tangled web of confusion, corruption, and rare bouts of surprising compassion. But time and experience taught Turska that humans are not "evil" - they're juvenile. A juvenile species - and few up them ever grow up beyond their own self-importance. From her Mistress' training, she's learned how to fix...pretty much any craftable thing, from broken shuttlecrafts to shattered garden pavers, from ancient computers to upgrades on military equipment while under fire. But when it comes to people, she's learned that many of them are perfectly satisfied as an outdated model.
This inspiring image was provided courtesy of: ""Neo Tokyo Cyberpunk from Echoes of The Matrix" by LB42BL8, "The Anomaly" by MorganCMorgan.
PERSONAL FILE
"Any project worth doing is worth doing right." Turska's a highly project-oriented servant - and motivator, to anybody she feels isn't pulling their due weight of the load.
Prefers working on projects that inspire people. If she can find the right fit for a build or a repair to a person in need, she greatly enjoys watching the curiosity, hope, and belief spark and spread within them, until, often, they join her to finish together.
Penchant for innovation, improvement, success! "Standard-issue" is a knee-jerk cringe reaction in her books. While not OCD enough to qualify as a perfectionist, she always watches for opportunities to turn good into better, or better into best.
Deeply cares for so-called "humanitarian" people and causes. (Humans aren't the only race that "cares".) Even if she's in the middle of something, if an opportunity to briefly encourage or help somebody else who's struggling comes up, she'll gladly offer.
Princess Seleata is the best thing that ever happened in her life. Vividly aware of her Mistress' strains and stresses - even when she's not vocal about it (usually the princess is too proud to admit when she needs help, even just a caring friend) - Turska is always on the lookout to bring honor to her name and build an ever-growing legacy Seleata can be proud of.
As a royal servant, Turska must always save face in public - but if she has to get bold or even aggressive in defending her Mistress or her cause, she won't hesitate to defend her.
Any kingdom has more projects than workers. Turska won't hesitate to rally loyal troops, but she won't waste time with half-hearts or liabilities. Anybody on Turska's team is amazed by what they accomplish, and grateful even despite hard work or challenging conditions.
"Of course I knew it would hurt him. I knew he'd never understand. I knew it would add one more wall between us. But some regrets you need to learn from. Others you need to just live with. I had to do it, either way. And it's made all the difference in both our worlds."
Sokaski Turska, pet-servant RepairCrafter for Princess Seleata
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
A Lifeform Detected - N/A See Entry: Rista Tanzen.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - When Rista Tanzen learns that Nol Kai Tam and Tor Kai Fin hold the secrets of Ensa Caison's garden biosphere, as well as the catalyst of a power volatile enough to destroy the planet, she has to call on an old friend for help. Princess Seleata sends Sokaski Turska back to assess the damages, arrange repairs, and assemble work crews vital to save the planet and unlock the mysteries causing its destruction.
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Turska's been busy since her Mistress summoned her. By aiding Musari Unisa and the Hynor Army's Armed Escort Company in their fight against bandits and space pirates, they're steadily gaining a reputation that some admire n- but some envy. Pulled into a public investigation for a serial assassin guild, she's got to perform the impossible - a cage that can subdue creatures as ferocious as the tafchas - and she needs it yesterday. As if that wasn't bad enough, when she learns that Rista Tanzen's revered guy-friend ("it's not like he's my boyfriend, exactly...") has been taken into custody, and is being held without due cause or course, she takes matters into her own hands to break him out of one of the worst prisons on Earth.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - When all hell breaks loose toward inevitable civil war, Turska find herself entrenched in the middle of it. Doing all in her power to protect her friends without killing her enemies in the process will require a whole new level of versatility in her weapons upgrades. At least when her Mistress arrives, she pulls out all the stops to save her people - no matter who gets burned in the process.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - Serving as the planetary survey collaborator aboard the Yew Kah Seyli, Turska's again hurled into the thick of the fray, and has to improvise right and left against a whole new level of bizarre - and with no time to spare. ("Weren't these guys supposed to be our friends?")
Sokasku Turska
BIOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Similwri Kawlin
Elite FriendGuard
(i.e., bodyguard) pet-servant
to Princess Seleata
1.9 m, 90.7 kg (6'3", 200 lbs).
Born: classified (Age: 29; 2321 CE).
Graduated: N/A (royal tutelage).
Married: Single ("What - marry a human?").
Career: classified.
- Indentured service to Princess Seleata, with duties involving personal and property security. Currently employed coordinating protective support to the Hynor Army's Armed Escort Company.
Significant Details: Tafchas society is deeply hierarchical. Sex, class, function - their boundaries are highly defined on established worlds, but not always strictly enforced (depending on the leaders involved). Kawlin has been thoroughly trained in her similwri role and duties, but she still can't escape a seed of resentment that keeps her on constant edge. "It keeps me sharp," she insists, "and everybody else around me as well. Since when was that a bad thing?"
This inspiring image was provided courtesy of: "Highly Detailed Beautiful Organic" by JohnnyRed777, "The Anomaly" by Art by MorganCMorgan.
PERSONAL FILE
"Nobody gets away with anything on my shifts." Duty and honor are everything to Kawlin - some say, to a fault. Bad people prowl around the decent ones - always have, always will. It just takes a little spine and a lot of heart to sniff them out and dispatch them.
Prefers adrenaline-rush hunting to casual meandering any day. Since her Mistress enjoys luxury, socializing, and the high life, Kawlin is often sent to patrol or guard less secure properties (to keep them both happy).
Penchant for action, intensity, but more along the lines of defense and rescue than military assault. She adores a thorough search, even on a regular patrol, just to see what she missed on earlier passes.
Despite a few chips on her shoulder, she deeply cares for the Hynor military she "tends". While they're no match her skills, senses, or bio-fields, however, she still admires their courage and determination to protect their own.
Princess Seleata is her idol. Having saved her from a pit of death, she feels an insatiable need to satisfy a debt she can never repay.
As a royal bodyguard, she's obligated to present an admirable public face. But even with elite tafchas training, that's just not in the cards for Kawlin. Getting her to even smile without cause is a challenge. "What - you want me to crack my face open for you?"
Kawlin sees teams as packs - nobody can do a decent job without one. She feels a deep connection to everybody assigned to her team, even if they don't see eye to eye. So long as everybody backs up their words and assignments with action, she'll give every bit as much as she takes.
"Lock me up in a cage with broken plumbing for two weeks? Just for 'trespassing'? I've got a mission. I will complete it. We didn't have to be enemies. But, oh, sweet-cheeks, you've messed with the wrong girl this time. Now you've got some serious paybacks coming - and I aim to deliver..."
Similwri Kawlin, pet-servant bodyguard for Princess Seleata
CONTRIBUTIONS TO A LIFEFORM DETECTED
Book 1:
A Lifeform Detected - Not featured.
Book 2:
The Tomb of Dur Kaetin - Not featured.
Book 3:
Divided We Fall - Musari Unisa was never supposed to send soldiers to Ensa Caison. Two teams, two sites, a simple investigation for orgalin secrets - back by the weekend, right? While Sgt. Luesa teams up with Dieter, the Lancerups, and Owa Sitri to land a solid victory for Team 1, though, they get only radio silence from Team 2. With Sokaski Turska's help, they infiltrate the ruins, only to find their imprisoned comrades in arms near death. Calling on Princess Seleata for help, she sends Similwri Kawlin - her own bodyguard. While vengeance is swift and painful, however, they learn an even more terrifying truth in the cavern's depths. Can Kawlin's fierce strength, skill, and leadership win the moment - and get her friends out alive in time?
Book 4:
The Hunter's Shadow - Not featured.
Book 5:
Critical Mass - Not featured.
Book 6:
Systems Offline - Not featured. She accompanied Princess Seleata aboard the Evergate - the first Point Destination ship to leave for Aser Kun Fai.
Similwri Kawlin
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