Characters – Directorate

Emmanuel tried to be a Griot once. Made it through two years of Directorate training before admitting the truth: he’d rather take apart a plasma rifle than learn another war hymn. His instructors called it a waste. He called it knowing himself.

Now his dreadlocks carry scorch marks from welding sparks, and his hands tell stories in burn scars. The shotgun Sigrun named Skuld came from his forge. So did the modifications on Marcus’s shield. He met Xin back in 2292 during a satellite job that went sideways. They saved a lot of lives that day, though the algorithm only remembered that Xin missed a deadline. Emmanuel quit contracting the next week. Some things matter more than ratings.

In 2294, Emmanuel had a simple arrangement with Sigrun: maintenance work in exchange for one night together, any sex act except blowjobs and kissing on the lips. He tells himself it’s just business. She treats it like a line item expense. Neither of them talks about why that one rule exists, or why he keeps hoping she’ll break it.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 3

House Kamara wanted Celine in politics. The Oligarchs wanted her in a laboratory. She chose the battlefield instead, trading palace silks for Sumina robes to channel the sun’s fire. Her family called it rebellion. She called it purpose.

Before joining Kimaris Warband, her research made Medi-Vap affordable for millions who would have bled out waiting for treatment they couldn’t pay for. The formula still bears her name in Directorate medical journals. She doesn’t talk about it much. Healing the wounded matters more than citations.

Celine holds firm to one principle: Africa’s children should fight for Africa’s future, not serve as mercenaries for Alliance corporate interests. This puts her at odds with Wilhelm van der Merwe, whose womanizing and cozy Alliance connections grate against everything she believes. That they fight side by side anyway says something about the Warband’s bonds. Or maybe just about how much they both hate Radi-Mons.

First appearance: TBD

Some pilots are good. Wilhelm is the one other pilots tell stories about. His Scarab moves like it’s part of his nervous system, dancing through firefights that would turn lesser operators into scrap metal. At twenty-six, he’s already considered the best mech pilot in the Sol System. He knows it, too.

Off the battlefield, Wilhelm’s reputation runs in different directions. He’s slept his way through half the pleasure houses on Venus and secured “discounted services” for his Kimaris brothers at establishments across the planet. Celine Kamara calls him a disgrace to the Warband. Jabari just calls him a good friend. The two of them go back years, trading drinks and jokes while arguing about women and politics.

Speaking of politics: Wilhelm thinks the Directorate should stand with the Alliance against the Radi-Mon threat. This puts him at odds with hardliners like Kofi Mensah, who see the Alliance as rivals rather than potential allies. But Wilhelm’s never cared much for faction loyalty when lives are on the line.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 3

Most royals from Abidjan’s Sumina circles use their Mirage talents to charm dignitaries and climb political ladders. Laurent chose a different path. At thirty-three, he governs Lion District like a man testing how much the old world can bend before it breaks.

His Radi-Human integration zones have made him a hero to progressives and a target for traditionalists. In Lion District, 11th-generation Radi-Humans can rent apartments, own businesses, and walk the streets without fear of being classified as property. Critics call it dangerous idealism. Laurent calls it the future, arriving whether they’re ready or not.

Prefect Dilinur tolerates his experiments because they work. Crime is down. Revenue is up. And if his policies occasionally embarrass the Directorate’s more conservative Oligarchs back on Callisto, well, that’s a problem for people who still think the old rules apply. The question isn’t whether Laurent’s vision will spread beyond Lion District. It’s whether the rest of the Seven Realms will let it.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 3

One hundred and sixty-one years of life, and only ten as Chairman. Kofi spent most of those decades watching, learning, waiting for the Oligarchs to be ready for what he wanted to build. Ghana raised him. Europe educated him. The Directorate taught him patience.

He speaks with the calm of a man who has outlived most of his critics. When Emmanuel Boateng’s name crosses his desk, he remembers the young Griot dropout who chose hammers over hymns. When Jabari Adomako files mission reports, Kofi reads between the lines. The Chairman knows more about the people crossing paths with him than they might expect. Whether he’ll use that knowledge to protect them or position them remains his to decide.

First appearance: Nucleus Volume 1

A refined sharpshooter who bridges Zimbabwe’s past and future, Beverley commands respect atop her enhanced lion mount Kion. Her privileged background and tactical excellence make her a unique asset to the Directorate.

First appearance: TBD