The Cast
Since you can't talk to them yourself, you can check out these pages to learn a little bit about the characters. As new characters make their debuts, this page will be updated to reflect that.
Former rising star in the R&D department of Arata Hypernautics[1], the bleeding edge of FTL research and its application across imperial space. Now onboard the Irasmus to lend her considerable skill in the development of more esoteric weapon and computational systems in service to Her Majesty. Desi's meteoric rise in the ranks is the victim of frequent skepticism and scrutiny, but does nothing to deter her in the pursuit of maintaining Inii[3] technological dominance. She has nonetheless remained steadfast in her dedication to the cause, such that she functionally serves as Hawthorne's second-in-command.
Politically inactive and far more comfortable with pouring over projects, Desi's primary goal as of boarding the Irasmus is maintaining deadlines and ensuring presentable results, helped by her brilliance as an engineer- and willingness to keep everyone on the same page, even if it earns her few friends[2].
[1] SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ACCOLADES
[2] SEE ATTACHED DOCUMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHE PROFILE
[3] ̵̓̑ ̸̵̛̋̑̾ ̴̶̂̓́͝ ̴̷̔̚͠ _
Hawthorne’s hands have been on almost every major technological advancement to revolutionize the face of Imperial society in one way or another. From direct involvement in several classified military projects underneath Emperor Velan Trell; approving automated agricultural systems that remove nearly all of the manual labor from feeding the peoples of the Dominion; to aiding in the design of the data center fabric that serves as the backbone of the Governance system that orchestrates Imperial bureaucracy.
His work in Applied Probability, however, a high-concept dissertation furthered the research conducted by the late Roboticist and Mathematician Anithi Fervens who once headed the Volnic Institute of Applied Theoretics prior to its disappearance. This work formed the basis for advanced predictive algorithms used by the Governance to predict the needs of its citizens, even today, and served as the achievement that resulted in his accession to Knighthood.
Unfortunately, the work of a Knight is far less gallant than the title may suggest. The yoke of bureaucracy and the chains of politics weighed the bright-eyed and enthusiastic Hawthorne. Not to be fully deterred, however, he has leveraged his position to approve the types of projects that he wished he could be personally in charge of–furthering the causes of social enrichment and the common defense, and takes a genuine interest in the welfare of those who work underneath him.
“I want to build a better universe. Lift us out of the chaos of evolution and make a place where everyone is free to be their best selves.”
The youngest of three siblings born to two of the Empire’s foremost cyberneticists. Kitlia Steele was always fascinated by the work that her parents had set their lives to: improving the lives of Imperial veterans through cybernetic medicine. As the grants and subsidies began to wane and peacetime drew longer, however, they required a new source of income to feed their family and their studies both. In secret, Kitlia’s parents proposed to the Volnic Knight of Scientific Enlightenment, Ser Devys Hawthorne, a new program that could–if it worked–rejuvenate even the most significantly wounded veterans to the peak of physical performance through a near-total-body mechanical conversion.
Project Atis was initially a total failure. Inii physiology, redundant and robust to withstand the harshness of their homeworld, rejected the conversion. Dozens of volunteer subjects gave their lives in the pursuit of the research. The project, on the verge of collapse, had one final hope: Kitlia herself, a devoted volunteer eager to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
The integration of body and machine was a success, but upon presenting their findings to Ser Hawthorne, they were met with shock and horror. The project was immediately shuttered. Their credentials, disavowed. But Kitlia’s persistence, regard for the work of her parents, and love of science caught Ser Hawthorne’s eye. On his recommendation, she attended the most prestigious university in the whole of the Dominion, graduating with high honors (and a dissertation apparently so good the whole thing was classified) and moving on to become a researcher for the Volnic Research Directorate. One day she hopes that she’ll take up Ser Hawthorne’s mantle in the name of the people and the discipline she loves the most.
“No one knows the names of the most brilliant minds in my field. Don’t you think there’s something wrong with that?”
When Tacyn and her siblings first hatched, her parents made the decision to emigrate from Avis into the Empire years before the planet’s conquest. Looking for greater opportunity than the largely insular would could provide to their new family.
Growing up, her aptitude for science and insatiable curiosity combined to thwart even the most difficult courses offered within the Imperial education system despite an enduringly solitary social life. She scored incredibly well on even the most rigorous placement examinations, and earned a sponsorship to the Grand University of Inos, where she met her still-best-friend Kitlia Steele.
Despite numerous charges of slicing through the red tape of safety and ethics standards put forth by the University, she was cleared by reason of High Merit for acceptance into their doctoral program and declared her Calling to be work in genetics. She took to the Empire’s new Shaper system easily, and utilized the system to manually fabricate a retrovirus capable of recoding DNA as though it were simple as reprogramming a computer as part of her–now heavily classified dissertation.
She continues her work for the Volnic Research Directorate alongside Kitlia, both attempting to work their way to the height of their fields while under the direction of Ser Devys Hawthorne.