A faction of colonists and cargo hunters, disillusioned with a station that no longer seemed to have their best interests in mind, conspired to steal hundreds of tons of living soil and a selection of genetically modified zygotes, primarily flora, from the ark station. They hijacked the low-orbit commerce rail, reorienting it to hurl the stolen cargo in a sub-orbital arc towards an archipelago on the trailing edge of the outer hemisphere, where the bulk and trajectory of the moon would shield them from the worst of the Jovian radiation. These shipments were followed by passengers who circumnavigated the moon in short-range atmospheric shuttles, a harrowing journey from which there was no possibility of return.
Vovorsif
“You’ve been trying to go out in a blaze of glory your entire life, and one of these days nobody will be around to stop you.”
Vovorsif was the hunter to conceive of the soil heist and assemble the crew. One of the few surviving members of the original generation of cargo hunters, in his early years, he was Géfyrmag’s dear friend and second-in-command.
Following an incident where a member of their crew—his lover—died on a job gone wrong, he threw himself into the work more than ever. He shouldered increasing responsibility as Géfyrmag drew back from hunting to keep herself and her family safe and eventually took over her position when she quit hunting entirely. While he resents her for choosing her own family over the “family” of hunters they built together, her life is also a painful reminder of what he might have had if his partner had lived. In his heart he always blamed her for his lover’s death, believing that her burgeoning indecisiveness and concern for her own safety is what had caused that ill-fated job to go sideways.
During the soil heist, he lead the team that infiltrated the ark station to facilitate the theft of the soil and zygotes, losing his life in the process.
Géfyrmag
“Don’t tell me you’re doing this for us, because not one person in our family asked for this.”
“And what if I’m doing it for myself? Everything I’ve done has been for our family. Before I was your wife, before I was their mother, I was a person, my own person—I still am!”
Géfyrmag was a hunter who gained notoriety for her strategic and tactical brilliance, building an equally brilliant and unshakably loyal hunting team with her closest friend, Vovorsif. Together, they pulled off jobs that seemed impossible and brought prosperity to the surface colonies, and eventually she fell in love with one of those colonists and started a family. She cared deeply about her young family, but was also determined to continue her work; the woman who could have it all.
But hunting was an inherently dangerous business, especially with oversight from the station increasingly scrutinizing cargo theft, and she suddenly had so much more to lose. It wasn’t any one moment that eroded her ambitions, but rather the slow pressure of close calls, lost friends, late nights and missed dinners. The quiet resentment of Vovorsif and his increased shouldering of responsibilities that were once hers made it all too easy to take a step back, and then a few more, and eventually she found herself outpaced by her own crew.
Years later, Vovorsif lured her out of retirement for the soil heist. Despite their turbulent past, he knew she was the only person who would be able to devise a plan with any chance of succeeding. For her part, she’s never entirely forgiven her once-closest friend for pushing her out, even if some part of her understands why he did it. Simultaneously, his life is also a painful reminder of the person she could have been if she had made different choices; experienced, respected, feared. This feeling is exacerbated by her relationship with Citjatie, who she views as a younger version of herself, or in some ways the daughter she always wanted (a little unfair for the actual daughter she has!). Though she tries to both mentor and mother this fiery young woman, it’s clear that Citjatie looks down on the person Géfyrmag has become and dismisses her attempts.
She claimed her involvement in the soil heist was in order to create a better future for her family, but was certainly in no small part struggling to reclaim her identity and lost glory. Though she secured a place for her family on the shuttles, she was unable to convince her partner to leave, and ultimately she stayed behind with them. She almost single-handedly held the LOCR for days following the heist, facilitating several additional shipments of resources to the archipelago (without which, it is likely they would never have established a successful foothold) before losing control of it. After being routed from the LOCR, she bore the brunt of the consequences for the resistance.
degé Citjatie
“The only thing worse than having her on your side is not having her on your side.”
A young hunter who came from an upper-middle class family of politicians on the station. She voluntarily went to the surface colonies as an act of teenage rebellion, and quickly got involved in the thrilling criminal lifestyle of the hunters, growing rapidly in popularity and influence due to her magnetic personality and daring exploits. Through her work she developed a genuine passion for the cause and—in her attempt to subvert the expectations placed upon her by her family—far surpassed them, becoming a political tour de force. She was ferociously devoted to those under her protection, but demanded equal devotion in return, and could be cruel and unforgiving of perceived slights. As a result, her crew experienced a high rate of turnover; those who had worked closely with her had a much more negative perception than the adoring public.
A radical idealist, she advocated for a separatist stance between the surface colonies and the station, fanning the flames of discontent among her followers. Though it might appear otherwise, her behavior ultimately stemmed not from a desire for fame or power, but from an unwavering conviction in her beliefs and a willingness to take any measures to see them upheld. Her fearlessness, decisiveness, and ability to inspire the public to action were critical to the success of the soil heist.
Géfyrmag and Vovorsif tended to present a united front as the two veteran members of the crew, tempering her sometimes-extreme ideals. Although she idolized Géfyrmag’s past exploits, she resented the person she had become; a powerful, unstoppable woman who abandoned their cause for a domestic life.
Following the events of the heist, she was the only surviving leader of the resistance to actually make it on the shuttles to the archipelago. Suddenly, she had to lead her people without an institution to rage against and without the guidance of her older companions, who she found herself missing more and more.