Characters – Alliance

The Mare Vaporum Conflict took both of Thomas’s arms. The Alliance gave him state-of-the-art bionics and a medal. He gave himself a promise: find somewhere quiet, build a life with Emily, leave the fighting behind.

Mars had other plans. As head of security at Prairie Commons, Thomas has become an unlikely guardian to Sigrun Fjeld, knowing exactly what she does after dark and never once asking for a taste. His marriage and personal code draw a line most men on Mars wouldn’t recognize. When Prefect Dilinur came knocking for Sigrun’s records, Thomas sent her away empty-handed. He’s also noticed something the bounty hunter herself seems to miss: her memory is getting worse. Whether that makes him her protector or just another man who’ll fail her remains to be seen.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 1

One hundred and twenty-eight years old and still lighting cigars in closed sessions, Dante IV Pompeo has outlived dozens of senators, and buried twice as many rivals.

His politics are brutally simple: crush the Imperium, absorb Xing Hong, treat Radi-Mons as a regional nuisance rather than an existential threat. Yet for all his hawkish posturing, Dante harbors a weakness he can’t legislate away. He has been one of Sigrun Fjeld’s regular appointments for years. He once offered her marriage proposal, but she couldn’t remember his family’s faces. The rejection still burns, though he’d never admit it. Now he watches her spiral from a distance, funding Alliance resources toward Xing Hong’s protection against the Fenris Horde and telling himself it’s purely strategic.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 1

The Terra Alliance offered Nikki the position of Chief Medical Officer three times. She declined three times. Better to run her Eagle District clinic on her own terms than push papers in Boston while patients bled out on Mars.

Thirty years of practice have taught her things no medical scanner can measure. She’s watched Sigrun’s Intellect score drop from damaged to dangerous, tracked the Medi-Vap overdoses the bounty hunter thinks she’s hiding, and provided falsified medical records when Prefect Dilinur came asking about the “Bedchamber Valkyrie.” She charges corporate executives double and quietly waives fees for those who’d skip treatment otherwise. When Xin needed Catalyst-U supplements for Håkon at prices he could actually afford, Nikki made it happen.

Late at night, between shifts, she studies Nirboh artifacts, convinced that they hold the key to defeating Skarn, Primarch of Fenris Horde and bane of all Seven Realms.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 1

Diego’s grandfather ran cargo before Osram’s terraforming finished. His father flew military transports during the Mare Vaporum Conflict. Diego chose the middle path: civilian contractor, military clearances, no flag to die for except the one painted on his ship.

Fifteen years across the Inner Sol have given him stories he tells and stories he doesn’t. The time he dead-sticked a crippled shuttle onto Europa’s ice with nothing but manual controls and prayers to the Virgin Mary falls into the latter category. What matters is the record: no passenger has ever died on his ship. He intends to keep it that way.

The Polaris assignment was supposed to be routine: ferry some diplomats to Venus, wait for them to finish talking, fly home. Then the mission parameters changed, and Diego found himself hauling bounty hunters, a Diabolisk, and enough political complications to fill a cargo bay. He treats the old girl like an extension of himself, sensing problems before the diagnostics catch them. Håkon’s taken to calling her “Big Sky Fish.” Diego pretends to hate it.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 2

Rafael’s hands have held dying soldiers together long enough for evac to arrive. They’ve also been known to rest a little too comfortably on shoulders, lower backs, wherever trust permits. The Seraph Combat Medic program trained him to save lives under fire; nobody trained him to stop flirting while doing it.

He left Cebu City with nothing but a medical degree and charm thick enough to talk his way onto an Alliance transport. A decade later, that same charm creates complications. His easy warmth toward Sigrun reads as genuine care to her, professional camaraderie to him, and something more threatening to Xin. Whether Rafael actually wants what Xin fears he wants remains one of those questions he answers differently depending on who’s asking.

First appearance: TBD

Five terms. Thirty years in office. When historians write about the Alliance’s golden age, they’ll spell it P-O-L-K. His Corporate Debt Assumption Plan turned America’s crushing obligations into the corporations’ problem. In exchange, the Corporate Chamber gained a seat at every table that mattered. Critics call it legalized bribery. Polk calls it pragmatism.

An openly gay president from Alabama would have been unthinkable two centuries ago. Now it barely makes headlines. What does make headlines: his refusal to commit full Alliance fleets to combat the Fenris Horde, his cozy relationship with NexLink Communications, and persistent rumors about what really happened to his political rivals in the early days. Polk smiles through every accusation. He’s outlasted two Imperium Emperors and three Covenant Inquisitors. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working. Whether the Alliance’s prosperity survives his eventual departure is a question no one in Boston wants to ask out loud.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 4