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Constellation
In General
Constellation is a legendary space exploration organization based in New Atlantis, founded in 2275 by explorer Sebastian Banks. By 2330, as the drive to explore the galaxy has waned, Constellation has become a shadow of its former glory and few among the public are aware that it is still active. It has become known as "the last group of space explorers". Constellation is dedicated to answering the question of "What's out there?"
- Alternate Self: In New Game Plus, you'll run into different variants of the Constellation crew members of whatever universe you migrate into... assuming they aren't missing or dead.
- Bold Explorer: The whole point of the organization.
- Due to the Dead: They'll hold a memorial service for whoever didn't survive the Starborn assault during "High Price To Pay".
- Everyone Is Bi: All four of the romanceable Constellation members are available regardless of the main character's gender.
- Killed Off for Real: One of the recruitable companions will die during the "High Price To Pay" quest. Specifically, the one with the highest affinity rating of you who's currently at the location you choose not to defend. That first part means you're guaranteed to lose your lover or spouse if you don't rush to their defense, but if you're also buddies with any of the others, prepare for a Sadistic Choice. This can be negated in New Game Plus, however; as the player knows the Hunter is coming, they can pre-emptively warn Vladimir about the attack and save their companions in the process.
- Last of Their Kind: By 2330, Constellation is the last group dedicated to the exploration and research of space, and not many even know they still exist at all.
- Locked Out of the Loop: In NG+. the Player Character can choose not to tell Constellation they are a Starborn and what the relics are for. Doing so will keep them in the dark for most of the game, though Walter discovers the truth when he hears yours and the Hunter's conversation. This is the only way to replay the main story again; telling them the truth or getting a rare NG+ start will just have you jump straight into the endgame.
- Oddly Small Organization: Justified. They're an Adventurer's Club that's privately funded.
- Organization with Unlimited Funding: Although Sarah points out that Constellation's funds aren't entirely unlimited, Walter's pockets appear to be deep enough that it doesn't really make a difference. Their headquarters is a lavishly furnished mansion with all the amenities one could ask for, Constellation quests usually have very good payouts, and they have no problems entrusting their starships to strangers they just met, implying losing the ship if that stranger ran off with it would be barely more than a nuisance.
- Same Character, But Different: In New Game Plus, you'll run into Constellation members who are considerably different compared to how they are in your first playthrough. Sam's daughter Cora is a Starborn out for revenge against an alternate version of the player who killed her father, Walter is a money-grubbing Jerkass, Andreja is a faithful Serpent cult member, etc.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Some New Game Plus playthroughs have Constellation rendered defunct or disbanded, with no explanation given as to what happened to them or where their members are now. One possible universe a Constellation made up of alternate versions of the player who wound up in that universe and represent the game's factions (Crimson Fleet, Constellation, the Free Colonies, etc.) and another where a bunch of kids take up residence at the Lodge and pretend be members of Constellation.
Player Character
Player Character
The Player Character is a new recruit to the space mining corporation Argos Extractors, who has an encounter with a strange alien artifact that touches their mind. Soon enough, they become embroiled in a search for the secrets of this artifact, joining a privately funded group of space explorers known as "Constellation" to seek out answers to the last mysteries of outer space.
- Ace Pilot: While this depends on the player, clearing Tier VI in the UC Vanguard exam explicitly puts you in the 99th percentile of all UC Navy pilots.
- Alliance of Alternates: In a possible NG+ start, you'll find that several different versions of yourself have occupied the Lounge, with each version representing the game's factions. Except for "Loner You" who insists they are a lone wolf and travelled by themselves. According to "Constellation You", even they don't quite understand why so many different versions of you are winding up in the same universe.
- Alternate Self: A possible New Game Plus start sees you meeting alternate versions of yourselves, each representing the game's factions...and "Loner You" who sided with no one and traveled by themselves. You're called "New You" since you just got there. Other possible starts include you meeting another Starborn version of yourself who killed everyone in Constellation just to try something different and meeting a non-Starborn version who just signed on with Constellation, much like you did at the start of the game.
- Asteroid Miner: You start out as one, but it really only matters for the half-hour or so that it takes to finish the tutorial. You can, and probably will, continue to engage in the mining mechanics in order to obtain inorganic resources for crafting and research, though.
- Deadpan Snarker: In grand Bethesda tradition, you can opt to play as a sarcastic smart-ass that will take each and every single possible opportunity to make a snarky quip.
- The Dreaded: By taking up the mantle of the Mantis, you can become this to random Spacer encounters, who panic on seeing exactly whose ship just appeared in their space and flee or beg to be spared and offer whatever they have in their holds to prevent you killing them.
- Do I Really Sound Like That?: You have the option to ask this when encountering your Alternate Self in the third ending and New Game Plus, as a means of lampshading the potential discrepancy between their voice how you imagined your character sounding.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The player character is generally referred to by their rank in whatever organization they are a part of. "Captain" for the UC Vanguard and Constellation, "Deputy" while with the Ranger (and "Ranger" when promoted), "Operative" with Ryujin, and "Rook" among the Crimson Fleet.
- Good Stepparent: If the player marries Sam Coe, they'll become Cora's stepparent. The player can even bring this up to Cora more than once and she expresses delight over having another parent that loves her.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Their name is whatever you would like it to be, whether it be your actual name, online alias, or just some sort of profanity. And, like with Codsworth in Fallout 4, Vasco has a list of roughly 1000 names that he can address you by if chosen.
- Heroic Mime: Subverted. For the vast majority of the game, your character is entirely silent, in keeping with the tradition of (most) prior Bethesda titles. However, the player can encounter various Alternate Selves of their character in the game who are voice acted. The first and easiest to encounter is a vision of yourself that appears in the Unity if you sided against both the Hunter and the Emissary; the others appear in various rare New Game Plus events.
- Magic Knight: The Player Character can gain access to amazing Psychic Powers thanks to the Artifacts, but none of them prevent the player character from simply "throwing down" with whatever melee, explosive and/or ranged weapons they have on hand. In fact, using both Powers and standard weaponry is practically essential for continuing the game in any realistic fashion.
- Multiple-Choice Past: The beginning of the game provides you with a ton of options for your character's history. Just as a few examples, you can choose whether or not your parents are still in your life, have had any kind of history of criminal activity, and even a choice of where in the galaxy your character was born and raised. Even your character's prior occupation can be chosen.
- Religious Bruiser: Should you choose the traits Raised Enlightened, Raised Universal or Serpent's Embrace, you could kick ass and take names in the name of a higher power (or in Enlightened's case, an organized pseudo-religious belief in a lack of a higher power).
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Of a sort. In New Game Plus, you migrate to a parallel universe and become a Starborn yourself, allowing you to replay the main story and other missions while forearmed with knowledge about said missions' events. Unless you get a rare event at the start of your new playthrough that renders going about the main story impossiblenote , you can save your companion from impending death by warning Vladimir about the Hunter's attack.
- Spanner in the Works: While the Spacefarer is a known player in the repeated conflicts between the Emissary and the Hunter, this particular iteration (i.e. you) ends up being the one who surprises and catches them off guard since you're the one spearheading the hunt for artifacts and not anyone else from Constellation, with both parties believing you might be the one to break their eternal deadlock over how to handle the artifacts.
- Worthy Opponent: To the Hunter. In previous universes, the protagonist is usually the first to die or simply another kill to the Hunter's name. This is not the case with this iteration of the Player Character, which surprises and delights the Hunter since there's now someone very interesting on the board.
Sarah Morgan
Sarah Morgan
Voiced By: Emily O'Brien (English)Foreign V As
"We'll be travelling together until we either find an artifact, or this lead runs dry."
Sarah Morgan is the acting Chair of Constellation since 2325, and an ex-soldier and adventurer. Before joining Constellation, Sarah served as a military ship navigator for the United Colonies during the Colony War. After the war, she rose through the ranks to become head of the UC Navigator Corps in 2319, only for that division to be shuttered in 2320. She left her military career behind and joined Constellation that same year, recognizing that the exploration group was an excellent fit for her skill set. She is one of the five main companions in the game, and can be romanced.
- Biological Weapons Solve Everything: In the questline where you address the problem of the Terrormorphs, if she's present she heavily pushes for the solution where you engineer a microbe and just as heavily disapproves of the other choice. If you go ahead with the other choice anyway, she'll critique your decision and brush off any concerns about engineering and unleashing a biological agent on human-populated planets in a manner that's almost flippant.
- Blood Knight: Zigzagged. Although she generally approves of seeking peaceful solutions to any given conflict, her combat quotes are remarkably aggressive and bloodthirsty.
- Broken Ace: The Colony War and the closure of the Navigator Corps broke her. Her two greatest failures were caused by pushing things much too far, and then by not pushing things. This has left her with a sense of helplessness as she has no idea how hard to push things.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: According to the official website,
Sarah Morgan joined Constellation because her UC military division was shuttered about a year after she took it over. - Dying Declaration of Hate: In a potential NG+ playthrough, all members of Constellation have been killed by an evil Starborn-version of the player. Sarah, the only surviving member and suffering from fatal wounds, sees you and curses your name for what your counterpart did before passing on. She'll even reject your attempts to patch her up solely out of spite and hate.
- A Father to His Men: Everyone who has served under her has good things to say about her. Even the survivors of her ship told stories about her to their daughter even after they had crashed on the planet for years.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric
- Frickin' Laser Beams: She's proficient with energy weapons, making it advisable to equip her with the most powerful laser gun in your arsenal that don't need for yourself.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a blonde and an unambiguously good character.
- My Greatest Failure: Has hit by it twice in her life with the destruction of her ship in the Colony War, and then the dissolution of her Department afterwards. Having her come to terms with these and that she's not going to fail a third time with Constellation is her companion quest.
- Old Soldier: Downplayed, as she still looks young for a retired soldier.
- Parental Substitute: Depending a bit on player input during her personal quest, Sarah can become a surrogate mother of sorts to a young girl named Sona, the daughter of two of Sarah's crewmates aboard the ship that was destroyed under her command in the Colony War. Should Sarah die afterwards, the role can pass to the Spacefarer if they so choose.
- Robinsonade: She survived for a year on a uncolonized planet until her distress beacon was found when her ship was destroyed. The survivors of the other escape shuttle weren't as lucky and weren't picked up.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Sarah, as a veteran of the Colony War (2308 to 2311), carries her trauma to the present time of 2330, according to Bethesda's lore posts on Instagram.
- Sleeping with the Boss: You'll be doing this if you romance or even marry her, since she's the leader of Constellation and thus technically your superior.
- Unreliable Narrator: Sarah's history has left her imputing emotions, memories and thoughts to people around her that simply do not exist, which she will vent to the PC about. Seen most sharply with her war record. She is convinced she screwed up horribly by continuning to fight with the Dauntless after her superiors were killed. Everyone else involved sees her actions as between doing her duty and heroic (including two crew that were marooned on a hostile planet as a result) and its clear the "damn medal" she snarls about was legitimate praise.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Engage in a fight with a friendly NPC or murder a civilian and she will immediately stop being a companion, refusing to fight them. Talking to her afterwards will have her call you out on it and, if you don't pick or fail the Persuasion check, refuse to join you for some time.
- Although she won't directly lose approval, she will call you out in no uncertain terms if you steal or pickpocket in her presence.
- If Sarah's on your crew and you blow up the medical supply ship Ragana when Naeva sends you to kill Austin Rake in one of the first Crimson Fleet quests, Sarah will immediately and emphatically lambast you for the act, and that she had no desire to be part in any mass-murder. Rake was your target and that's one thing. But to blow up the ship with everyone on board?
- She'll vocally rip you a new one if you complete the Crimson Fleet questline by turning against UC SysDef and handing over Kryx's Legacy to Delgado on a silver platter. She cools off and gives you advice on being a better person after that.
- You Are in Command Now: Was only the Chief Navigator on her ship in the Colony War. The Captain and First Mate were killed meaning she was the highest ranking officer.
- Zero-G Spot: Not shown, but mentioned. If you're in a relationship with her and go to sleep, one of her lines upon waking up is that whatever you did in bed the last night was nothing compared to doing it in zero-G.
Andreja
Andreja
Voiced By: Cissy Jones (English)Foreign V As
Andreja is an astronomer and navigator, as well as Constellation's most recent recruit prior to the arrival of the player, having joined the group in 2328. She has a shadowy past, but is known to have been raised outside the United Colonies and to possess an unusual aptitude for clandestine operations. Vlad, who similarly had to adjust to life in the UC, has been her greatest ally in Constellation. She is one of the five main companions in the game, and can be romanced.
- Baritone of Strength: She has an impressively deep voice, is fairly aggressive overall, and wields a hideously powerful gun that makes her one of, if not the strongest companion in terms of battle prowess.
- Berserk Button: Don't insult her faith if you value your health. Oh, and don't even think about betraying her after she's given you her trust.
- Broken Pedestal: Realizing that her Va'ruun handler, and by extension her whole faction, betrayed her despite her devotion to their cause drives her into a Crisis of Faith.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: If you propose to her, she makes it very clear that she will not share you with anyone under any circumstances.
- Crisis of Faith: Suffers one during her personal quest. It depends on the player's input whether she sticks with her god or abandons it in favor of a more secular faith in her friends at Constellation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Andreja didn't have it easy, to say the least. She was born into a shunned and isolated apocalypse cult with a rather harsh upbringing. She is later forced into what is essentially exile to smuggle supplies for the cult, hiding her background from those around her and staying away, only to see renegade members of the cult attack her and the only people she called friends, forcing her to leave them behind, hating herself for leaving them to either die or fend for herself.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Starts out rather cold and dismissive of the Spacefarer, but warms to them after spending some time adventuring together. Actually cracking through her shell still takes a fair bit of work, though.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: If you let Andreja speak for you in conversations with other NPCs, her idea of diplomacy and deescalation almost always involves threats of violence. It usually works.
- Emotionless Girl: Downplayed. Although she certainly feels emotions, she learned to suppress or at least hide them from the outside world, which has made socializing with others difficult for her. She also speaks in a halting, very deliberate monotone that usually betrays little about her current feelings.
- Face–Heel Turn: A possible New Game Plus start sees you meeting Andreja at Constellation's main base...except unlike her counterpart from your first playthrough, this version of her never went through a Crisis of Faith and even killed the members of Constellation herself.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Her outfit is notably asymmetrical, contrasting the other companions who all wear more normal designs.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic.
- The Fundamentalist: Played with. While nowhere near as bad as the rest of her congregation, she's still a fervent believer in a religion that treats outsiders with contemptuous pity at best. Many of Andreja's interactions are colored by her faith, and it gets particularly pronounced if you (try to) romance her with a character that doesn't share her religious background.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: She has basic pickpocketing proficiency and will occasionally gift you small sums of money she probably pilfered from someone while following you, but she still vocally disapproves of stealing and pickpocketing every time you do it in her presence.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't happen very often, but she can flip her lid remarkably quickly if someone mashes her Berserk Button, only to calm down just as quickly afterwards.
- Heel–Face Turn: Goes from being a spy for a violent Apocalypse Cult to becoming a genuine and loyal member of Constellation. The process started long before you meet her the first time, but the Spacefarer's influence during her personal quest is what solidifies her change of heart.
- Milking the Giant Cow: Andreja rarely gets agitated, but when she does, she gets really expressive.
- The Mole: She was sent by the Va'ruun High Council to infiltrate Constellation, but has developed serious doubts about her mission by the time you meet her.
- Religious Bruiser: Deeply religious and worryingly eager to shoot anyone who poses even a whiff of a threat.
- Token Evil Team Mate: Heavily downplayed as she's still a good person at heart, but she is an ardent believer in a dark and apocalyptic religion that solves most of its problems through violence. She's also the most morally grey of the four companions, and the one most prone to violent outbursts.
- You Can't Go Home Again: She hails from a hidden world that nobody who leaves is allowed to return to. When she left for her mission, she was dropped off in a remote location without the slightest idea of where her home world even is, to ensure she won't reveal its coordinates to outsiders one way or another.
Barrett
Barrett
Voiced By: Barry Wiggins (English)Foreign V As
"You know what I hate about these pirates? Completely resistant to my otherwise irresistible charm."
Barrett is an adventurer, scientist, and explorer. He was once a UC physicist but quit his job with the UC and went on to use his knowledge and experience to explore the universe, eventually joining Constellation in 2305. It was his discovery of the Artifact in Constellation's archives in 2326 that set the group on its quest to find more Artifacts and learn about their makers. He is one of the five main companions in the game, and can be romanced.
- Big Eater: His love of good food is brought up a few times, usually coupled with jabs at his above-average weight. The small gifts he occasionally gives the Spacefarer are also universally food items.
- Big Fun: Although not outright obese, he's definitely on the heavier side and generally acts as the team jester, making light of everyone and everything in almost any situation.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his hijinks and habit of going off the rails with any group plans, he is (prior to the Spacefarer's induction) the most able field operative in Constellation. He has an uncanny knack for proverbially landing on his feet in dicey situations, and shrugs it off in typical cavalier fashion.
- Clear Their Name: His personal quest is about finding out how exactly his late husband wound up taking the fall for the destruction of an entire mining colony, which quickly turns into a bona fide cold case detective story.
- Empowered Badass Normal: As Barrett found Constellation's first artifact and had a vision, he qualifies to obtain powers from the Temples. The player can assist him in that, giving them both the Parallel Self power, which Barrett will from then on use liberally in combat.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine
- The Lost Lenore: His husband, Ervin, died a few decades previously, and it's initially a sore spot to bring up with Barrett.
- Me's a Crowd: He can get access to the Parallel Self power, allowing him to summon alternate universe Barretts in combat.
- Sad Clown: While he's the team joker on the surface, getting to know him shows he's actually this, since he's still deeply in mourning for his husband even decades later.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: A possible NG+ playthrough plays out because of his actions, having sent a Starborn version of the player character to Constellation. The problem is that said counterpart decided to murder everyone For the Evulz.
Matteo Khatri
Matteo Khatri
Voiced By: Carlos Valdes (English)Foreign V As
Matteo Khatri is a theologian who views the Artifacts as evidence of intelligent life other than humanity. He gained fame as an explorer for recovering religious relics that went missing amid the diaspora from Earth. In 2325, he tracked one such relic to the corporation Stroud-Eklund and crossed paths with CEO Walter Stroud, who took a liking to him and invited him to join Constellation.
- Never Live It Down: Mentioned in-universe. Walt will repeatedly bring up Matteo's reputation for helping himself to religious artifacts that aren't his; pilfering something in Walt's private collection is technically how he ended up in the purview of Constellation's interest.
- The Teetotaler: He doesn't drink, although after some of the revelations discovered in the main questline Matteo notes that if he did he probably would be hitting the Lodge's bar.
- Token Religious Teammate: In a group made up entirely of scientifically-minded explorers and researchers, he's the only member to actively advocate a religious viewpoint. He gets downright ecstatic if the Spacefarer agrees with his views, and slightly exasperated if they don't.
Noel
Noel
Voiced By: Dana Gourrier (English)Foreign V As
Noel is a graduate student and gifted scientist. After reading about Constellation's activities in a scientific journal, Noel took an interest in the group. She was personally recruited by Sarah Morgan as her protégé in 2326, and is Constellation's lead Artifact researcher.
- Sweet Tooth: The Player's mom manages to obtain access to Constellation HQ because Noel really likes snickerdoodle cookies.
Sam Coe
Sam Coe
Voiced By: Elias Toufexis (English)Foreign V As
Sam Coe is a retired Freestar Ranger and a descendant of Solomon Coe, the founder of Akila City and the Freestar Collective. He has a daughter, Cora. Sam doesn't boast about his legendary lineage and prefers life on the fringes of society. He is one of the five main companions in the game, and can be romanced.
- Action Dad: His daughter Cora goes where he goes, and he can kick ass and take names in combat like any of the other companions.
- Ambiguously Christian: Sam will mention "God" in a casual way (e.g. "thank God" and the like), and some of the things he says about "the Pearly Gates" at the Constellation funeral suggest he's a follower of Christianity or a similar monotheistic faith. However, this doesn't rule out the Sanctum Universum, or just agnosticism with some leftover turns of phrase.
- Amicable Exes: Averted hard initially. When you meet Sam, he and his ex-wife communicate mostly through shouting matches over the radio, but you can help them turn into this trope during his personal quest if you make the right choices.
- Baritone of Strength: When you share a voice actor with Adam Jensen, it's to be expected. And since he's a literal space cowboy, would you expect anything less?
- Endearingly Dorky: He's a doting father, frequently calling Cora by various pet names, and, when he gets in a long distance argument with his ex-wife and you're given the option to tell him things are easily heard on a small ship, he gets very anxious because... he sings in the shower.
- Famous Ancestor: Sam Coe descends from Solomon Coe, an early-days explorer from before the death of Earth who has the distinction of being the first human to grav-jump beyond the Sol System, and later a principal founding member of the Freestar Collective after the cataclysm. The Coe family is a Freestar political dynasty because of it.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic
- Good Parents: He's very caring and supportive of his young daughter, and it's clear they adore each other. Being nice to Cora while Sam is in earshot is always a sure-fire way to gain his approval.
- Hates Their Parent: Sam is not on good terms, to say the absolute least, with his father Jacob. Simply put, Jacob is a very firm believer in family tradition, particularly when it comes to maintaining and holding onto one's heritage. Sam disagreed, and the two have never truly been on good terms as a result. Sam even goes so far as to ensure his own daughter, Cora, sees Jacob as little as possible for fear that his beliefs would rub off on her.
- Parents as People: Sam's personal quest revolves around his unplanned father role, his constant feelings of inadequacy as a dad, his very rocky relationship with his ex-wife, and his young daughter being caught in the middle of all of it. Seeing it through to the end can help them work through most of their issues.
- Retired Badass: Kinda. He used to serve with the Freestar Rangers, an elite paramilitary organization that basically has One Riot, One Ranger as their operational doctrine, but left them a while ago for a somewhat less dangerous occupation at Constellation.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Aside from calling the player out on illegal actions like all the other Constellation companions do, he gets a lot of flak himself from almost every single Freestar Ranger in the Settled Systems due to how he left the Rangers in favor of Constellation (who, as they are based in the Lodge in New Atlantis, the capital city of the United Colonies — the "Arch-Enemy" of the Freestar Collective — has led to accusations regarding him essentially working against his former government).
Cora Coe
Cora Coe
A possible Cora Coe in NG+.
Voiced by: Aly Ward Azevedo Foreign V As
Sam's daughter. While not an official member of Constellation, Cora travels with her father wherever he goes and is learning how to operate ships under his tutelage.
- Alliterative Name: Cora Coe.
- Bookworm: She loves reading and learning, and has a monthly book allowance from her father that she blows through quickly. The player can give her some extra credits to increase that fund.
- Child Prodigy: Despite being almost entirely remote- and home-schooled and not even having hit puberty yet, Cora is a capable enough (co)pilot to assist her dad in his missions, and is teaching herself astronomy and advanced astrophysics in her spare time.
- It's Personal: In one of the alternate starts, you can meet a grown-up Cora in the Lodge wearing a Starborn outfit and has a crew who wants revenge against the protagonist for not saving Sam. Either you can dissuade or have no choice but to kill her to obtain the artifacts.
- Tagalong Kid: She plays no active role in Constellation or the game itself, but can always be found close to Sam. If Sam is assigned to your home ship, she automatically relocates there with him and takes up a passenger slot.
- Took a Level in Badass: She has a Starborn version of herself running around who's just as good in a fight as Sam is. Starborn Cora even has her own crew. Unfortunately, it's a tragic example in that this version of Cora lost her father and blames an alternate version of the player for his death.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Or mom, in an atypical case. The big marriage-killer between Cora's parents Sam and Lillian Hart was her being Married to the Job as a Freestar Ranger and neglecting being there for Cora, unlike Sam. After having to clean up the fallout from one incident of emotional neglect too many, Sam divorced Lillian, quit the Rangers himself, and became a single dad.
Vasco
Vasco
Voiced By: Jake Green (English)
"Welcome back, Captain Howard."
Vasco (serial number VAS-119) is a vintage Lunar Robotics Model A robot who has been refurbished and heavily upgraded by Constellation. He was found in an abandoned Lunar Robotics factory on Earth's Moon by Constellation's previous chair, Sir Malcolm Livingstone, and he has been a reliable member of the team for 41 years. He is one of the five main companions in the game, and cannot be romanced.
- Beam Spam: He fights with a non-customizable, rapid-fire laser weapon built into his chassis.
- Captain Obvious: He frequently "advises" the player by pointing out the painfully obvious, such as warning that people tend to die during gunfights.
- Crutch Character: Heavily downplayed. He's likely one of the first reasonably good crew members you can put on your ship, and he's a bit more resilient than meatbags in ground combat due to being a robot, but his usefulness drops off a cliff the moment you can recruit human companions and more capable crew members.
- Deadpan Snarker: While it's unclear whether this is deliberate on his part, is a result of him mimicking Barrett after spending so long around him, or is just a result of his robot voice being unable to be anything but deadpan, Vasco's commentary often comes across as this - especially in combat, where he will make deadpan tactical assessments about how foolish and doomed your enemies are.
- Expy: He's essentially a Cassette Futurism version of Codsworth from Fallout 4 (albeit with a comparatively more — and intentionally so — artificial personality), being a Servile Snarker Robot Buddy Crutch Character who can recite the player character's name if it's included in his database.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: If the name the player gives themselves is in his database, he will frequently open conversations by referring to you by name.
- Just a Machine: Despite having a very articualte speech program and a deep knowledge base, and even capacity for theory of mind (especially towards Barrett), Vasco himself insists that he is just a a non-sentient automaton; he has no aspirations or motivations, he would just be idle without an assigned task.
- Named After Someone Famous: He was named after Portuguese explorer Vasco De Gama.
- Out of Focus: As a non-sentient robot, Vasco can neither be befriended nor romanced, can't be given customized equipment, has no personal quest attached, and offers next to no unique interactions. He's also incapable of entering sneak mode, making him useless to stealth-focused players. It usually results in Vasco perpetually guarding the Lodge's lobby, and maybe being assigned to a ship until the player finds a stronger specialist to replace him with.
- Robot Buddy: He was reprogrammed to assist Constellation and serves as the player's first companion character.
- Robo Speak: Vasco has a distinct speech pattern reminiscent of a text-to-speech system. His monotone, stilted speech and habit of Spock Speak contributes to his unique personality.
- Sole Survivor: In one New Game Plus playthrough, Vasco is the only remaining survivor of Constellation. Everyone else, including this universe's counterpart of the player, were killed by the Hunter.
Vladimir Sall
Vladimir Sall
Voiced By: Bumper Robinson (English)
Vladimir "Vlad" Sall is an ex-Crimson Fleet pirate who joined Constellation in 2322. Sarah Morgan welcomed Vlad into the group after he helped her recover the Centaurus Proclamation, an important historical document thought lost to time. When he was with the Crimson Fleet, Vlad did things he wasn't proud of, but he feels Constellation has given him a path to redemption.
- Big Fancy House: Although he now lives aboard the Eye in orbit over Jemison, he still owns a lavish mansion on a remote planet that he had built from the profits of his days as a pirate. You can visit it and recover some unique items from its armory.
- Heel–Face Turn: Went from being a pirate cutthroat to being the operator of the group's orbital observatory around Jemison, known as The Eye. His ticket into Constellation? Joining with Sarah and recovering the original paper document of the Centaurus Proclamation from another Fleet pirate's collection.
- Resignations Not Accepted: One of the few to (so far) successfully cash out from the Crimson Fleet, an organization that makes it very clear you're In It for Life when you sign up with them.
- Thieves' Cant: Peppers his speech with obscure phrases, presumably picked up from his time with the Fleet; he calls himself a former "jack-o-bones", and sometimes asks to "tip your ear" when he has something to share with you (or vice versa).
Walter Stroud
Walter Stroud
Voiced By: Armin Shimerman (English)
"Anything goes as long as you have the money."
Walter Stroud is the co-owner of ship manufacturer Stroud-Eklund. In 2321, he joined Constellation and became its primary financier. Constellation was initially hesitant to let Walter join since they were concerned he was buying his way in, but he proved to be sincerely passionate about space exploration and highly knowledgeable about Constellation's late founder, Sebastian Banks.
- Ascended Fanboy: Years before joining Constellation, Walter followed its activities with interest and became something of an authority on the life of Sebastian Banks, Constellation's founder and first chair. He even knows Banks' final speech by heart and is prone to reciting it when plied with enough drink.
- Badass Bystander: Walt isn't normally one to take the field, but he personally gets involved in the acquisition of an Artifact through dealings on Neon and also takes part in the running gunfight through Slayton Aerospace HQ. He's also guns-out (unlike Matteo and Noel) when it comes time to evacuate the Lodge when The Hunter pays a visit.
- Grumpy Old Man: Subverted. Despite him and the player getting off to a rather rocky start because of the rather chaotic nature of the player joining Constellation, Walter soon turns out to really be a nice guy. He has no qualms about using his vast wealth for the sake of advancing Constellation's goals, he's able to handle himself as your companion, and he's generally a rather laid-back man despite his wealth and social status.
- Happily Married: To Issa Eklund, the "Eklund" half of the corporation Stroud-Eklund. Despite the two being rather... Untrusting of one another when it comes to company politics, the two are personally as close as can be. Walter says that the two have learned to compartmentalize their family life separate from their corporate one, allowing them to stay happy together despite any corporate political tensions that may arise.
- Hidden Depths: He is a member of the House of Enlightenment, a fact which catches Noel off guard when he reveals it at the funeral for the deceased member of Constellation. Walter tells her that he prefers to keep his personal beliefs a private matter most of the time.
- Non-Idle Rich: He states that since his company is able to function without him, he's able to devote his time to Constellation.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: If the situation calls for it, Walter has no moral issue using his vast wealth to get what he wants. One of the loading screens also mentions that his company skipped the usual establishment phase and went straight to competing with its top-tier rivals due to the enormous amounts of capital available to it.
- Spotting the Thread: In New Game Plus, he's the only member of Constellation who realizes the protagonist is a Starborn like the Hunter.note
- The Team Benefactor: He openly describes himself as the "Wallet of Constellation".
- Took a Level in Jerkass: An alternate version of Walter in a possible NG+ start is a credit-sucking leech, to put it mildly. The second you walk through the door, he offers to part with the artifacts Constellation has acquired...for a million credits. He also disparagingly calls Constellation an "explorer's club", showing little enthusiasm or passion the Walter from the Player Character's first playthrough had.
- The Watson: Occasionally makes some sensible, common-sense criticisms about what Constellation is doing, like saying the mysterious metal artifacts might just be random alien junk.
Recruitable Crew
In General
The Settled Systems is a huge place, and there are numerous folks across the stars that the Player Character can have assist them on their journeys. Virtually all of them can be tasked with helping the Player Character both directly as a companion assisting them in combat (akin to the Constellation companions) or simply helping manage the outposts and/or ship(s) the Player Character currently owns and manages.
- Flat Character: Downplayed; They primarily exist to both serve as companions and (more importantly) fill vacancies in your crew that none of the main Constellation companions can cover. While some of them do have noticeable amounts of character depth and all feature a non-numerically measured/hidden version of the companion affinity system, they lack the personal quests seen with the main Constellation companions, resulting in them overall being less valuable/memorable to have around.
- The Generic Guy: The nameless specialists are little more than bipedal vehicles for a single skill point in a random perk related to ship or outpost management. Given the limited number of crew members you can have on your ship, recruiting specialists for anything other than outpost management is generally a waste of money and potential.
- Mauve Shirt: Named crew members have more and better skills, unique personalities, and a bit of backstory, but not nearly at the level of the Constellation companions, making them the middle ground between those and the nameless generic specialists you can recruit in bars across the Settled Systems.
Andromeda Kepler
Andromeda Kepler
Voiced by: Kalra Ratana
An academic who calls herself an experimental theologian, believing in a connection between physics and the divine. She seeks to join a crew and leave Mars to experience the galaxy for a book she is writing about the nature of fate and free will.
- One Degree of Separation: She knew Barret's husband Ervin and was invited by him to join Constellation two decades ago, but the Colony War broke out and the two lost contact, with Andromeda taking it as a sign she should pursue her studies without outside influence for the time being. Learning the Spacefarer is with Constellation helps convince her that it was fate they should meet.
Betty Howser
Betty Howser
Voiced by: Adrienne Barbeau
A bounty hunter left stranded on her ship the Lucky Lu by the Crimson Fleet after they learned she killed one of their own on a contract. After being rescued by the Starfarer, she offers to join them as a crew member in exchange.
- The Alleged Car: The Lucky Lu is an old ship, and the dealer she bought if from claimed it would be lucky to get off the ground. She did, so Betty changed the name from Luna to Lucky Lu and has flown her since.
- Bounty Hunter: She specializes in taking kill contracts on criminals.
- I Work Alone: She spent most of her career working by herself on the Lucky Yu, stating that she feels more attachment to it than any person.
Dani Garcia
Dani Garcia
Voiced by: Blu Del Barrio
An ex-researcher for Ryujin Industries who was fired after it was discovered they were using company resources to work on mech technology, which was banned after the Armistice. Dani seeks to join a crew to get off-world before Ryujin decided to encourage them to disappear from Neon or face consequences.
- Functional Addict: Uses aurora while working, claiming it provides many benefits to their thinking process.
Gideon Aker
Gideon Aker
Voiced by: Antony Del Rio
A weapons expert at the Viewport in New Atlantis looking to join a crew in order to make credits to pay off his debts.
- Happily Married: To his wife Kalinda, who he has three kids with. They live in a cramped apartment in the Well.
- Venturous Smuggler: He was a smuggler for the Trade Authority until a job went bad and he lost his ship and cargo to spacers. Now they want him to pay them back as quickly as possible.
Heller
Heller
Voiced by: Damien Haas
A miner with Argos, Heller worked with the Spacefarer on the job which they discovered the artifact. After a later run-in with the Crimson Fleet, Heller offers to join their crew.
- The Casanova: Implied. One of his logs mentions wanting to steal a space diamond to give to someone named Jennifer. Or someone named Carlos. Or someone named Nia. Presumably, these are all his partners.
- Hidden Depths: He has an extensive rock collection, which includes fossils. It got so big Lin started to make him leave parts of it behind whenever they shipped to their next dig site. Heller decided to have a little fun by leaving some of the fossils behind in caves on uninhabited planets, just in case a paleontologist ever happened to find them.
Jessamine Griffin
Jessamine Griffin
Voiced by: Fryda Wolff
A smuggler on the Key who is looking to join a crew to escape pursuit by Va'ruun Zealots.
- Affably Evil: Is this compared to the rest of the Crimson Fleet, to say the least. She enjoys small talk, and she has quite a lot to say when she's conversing with her 'Cap.
- Token Evil Teammate: While there are some crew members and companions who could be described as 'neutral' at worst, Jessamine is an unapologetic smuggler and a member of the Crimson Fleet.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Jessamine speaks with an accent that could (charitably) be described as a blend of Scottish and Irish with a hint of English thrown in there for good measure.
Lin
Lin
Voiced by: Sumalee Montano
The Spacefarer's supervisor, Lin has worked for Argos for many years. After the Crimson Fleet's attacks on her operation she decided she wanted a change and asked to join the Spacefarer's crew.
- A Mother to Her Men: Lin's number one concern is her crew, and is pissed at Barrett for leading the Crimson Fleet to the dig operation and putting them at risk.
- The Mourning After: Her husband Manuel's death in the war hit her hard, and she admits not being able to move on after and throwing herself into her work instead.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: One of her biggest regrets was not being able to say goodbye to her husband due to his death in the Colony War just a month before the armistice.
Lyle Brewer
Lyle Brewer
Voiced by: Ray Chase
A survivalist who moved with his parents to Akila when he was ten and spent much of his teen years learning to survivor with them in the wilds.
Marika Boros
Marika Boros
Voiced by: Julie Nathanson
A former Freestar Ranger, Marika grew up in HopeTown and witnessed how Ron Hope controlled and exploited the town. She wished to put an end to the corruption but found the Rangers too often did not interfere or ignored sensitive issues. Hoping to find a better way for government to function, Marika quit the Rangers and traveled to New Atlantis.
- Broken Pedestal: On two occasions:
- First, she joined the Freestar Rangers to get out of HopeTown, under the belief that the conditions there were unique to the Freestar Collective. Then she realised that the rest of the FC was just as bad (or, in Neon's case, actually worse), and for all the Rangers' talk of protecting the innocent, they actually haven't made a dent in the problems there. Also, for all the Freestar Collective's talk of freedom and individuality, she couldn't make peace with the fact that places like HopeTown exist, nor that men like Ron Hope and Benjamin Bayu are allowed to exploit the FC's citizens with impunity.
- Then she saw how the United Colonies government took care of its people and found it appealing enough to emigrate from the Freestar Collective. It was only when she saw The Well for herself that she started seeing cracks in the "perfect society" and realised that the UC was no better than the faction she left for it.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Her experiences in both the Freestar Collective and the United Colonies have left her a little bitter over the fact that neither was as advertised. This has led her to the conclusion that the best solution is to visit settlements across the Settled Systems to get a sense of how people live, then one day establish a colony without the influence of massive governments or corporations.Marika Boros: Maybe people will be kinder to each other in a place like that.
- Settling the Frontier: Her long-term goal is this, having lost faith in life with the major factions, but first she would like to travel and see how people lived across the Settled Systems.
Mickey Caviar
Mickey Caviar
Voiced by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
A chef and food critic who once had a column in the New Atlantian for nearly thirty years. He recently quit due to a disastrous location shoot and desired to travel around the galaxy.
- Faking the Dead: Admits that he didn't so much quit the New Atlantian as much as just not going back after escaping the planet he was stranded on. Mickey isn't sure he will ever let them know he was alive given that even his best friend and editor for thirty years never sent a rescue ship.
- Given Name Reveal: He will tell the Starfarer after being hired that his real name is Frank Pastoria, and that his grandma helped him come up with Mickey Caviar as a pen name for the article.
- Raised by Grandparents: His grandma raised him after his "deadbeat dad decided to be a solo act". He got his love of cooking from her and incorporated a number of her recipes into his work.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: "Quit" his job at the New Atlantian after his crew was killed and he had to spend months trying to get back to their ship while being pursued by the creatures that killed them. Mickey was angry that they sent them to such a dangerous environment and never even sent a rescue ship.
- Sole Survivor: His crew of eight were all killed in his last location shoot when dangerous creatures overwhelmed them.
Omari Hassan
Omari Hassan
Voiced by: Isaac Robinson-Smith
An experienced crewman and mechanic who is looking for work in Akila City.
- Commonality Connection: If the player has the Kid Stuff trait they connect over their close relationship with parents.
- Happily Married: To his wife Nadiya, who he has been with for almost fifteen years. Both are travelers whose jobs take them away from Akila City and are very understanding of those separations.
- Missing Mom: His mother Mariam went into labor with Omari early aboard the family's ship, but there were complications and by the time they got to a medical facility blood loss made it impossible to save her. Omari as named after his father's nickname for her, Mari, in honor of her memory.
- Space People: He was born in space and lived much of his early years on his father's ship or the Trident Shipyards.
Simeon Bankowski
Simeon Bankowski
Voiced by: Shane Salk
A former weapons tester for MAST's DRIP division, Simeon is seeking to be hired onto a crew at the Viewpoint in New Atlantis.
- Military Brat: Both his parents were in the UC military, with his dad being a General in the Colony War and mom a sniper in the UC Navy. Simeon and both his siblings followed them into serving the UC, but in civilian positions as members of MAST.
Sophia Grace
Sophia Grace
Voiced by: Tiana Camacho
A member of the Disciples seeking to leave Neon.
- Martial Pacifist: While she is an excellent street brawler, Sophia dislikes violence as first resort. She believes that fighting is a last resort and is glad if the Spacefarer tells them that they believe the same. This philosophy came from the Freestar military vet who taught her how to fight.
- Trapped in Villainy: She had to join the Disciples in order to take money off her parent's debt to them. Sophia is concerned that once the debt is fully paid, the gang still won't let her go and just directly threaten her family. She sees joining the Spacefarer as her chance to escape, so she can make her last payment remotely.
Moara Otero
Moara Otero
Voiced by: Marcelo Tubert
A member of the UC Vanguard who is in possession of one of the Artefacts. He is encountered during The Old Neighborhood main quest, where ship gets comandeered by Ecliptic mercenaries. After he is rescued by the Spacefarer he becomes a potential crewmate.
- Good Feels Good: Felt his calling with the Vanguard after his friend's ship was hijacked by Spacers. As it turned out, the Vanguard was the perfect job for him, and he is pleased that there are so many within its ranks who feel the same.Moara Otero: The Vanguard's chock full of good pilots who're committed to making things better for the average citizen. My kind of people.
- Old Soldier: Has been in the UC Vanguard long enough to make a ton of enemies while patrolling the Sol System, to the point where he theorises that they must have pooled their resources to afford hiring Ecliptic mercenaries to go after him. He takes it as a compliment.
Rosie Tannehill
Rosie Tannehill
Voiced by: Jaedyn Randell
A doctor (and botanist) from Akila City who is encountered at the Hitching Post, looking for work.
- Informed Attribute: She tells the Spacefarer that she is a botanist as well as a doctor, and yet she has no ranks in the Botany skill. This is probably an oversight on the developers' part.
- The Medic: Has one rank in Medicine and three ranks in Wellness. Rosie is a practitioner of botanical medicine, using techniques passed down from her Maori ancestors, and she hopes to one day obtain a position at the Clinic where she hopes to help create botanical treatments for newly-discovered diseases.
Mathis Castillo
Mathis Castillo
Voiced by: Christopher Lee Parson
A rookie member of the Crimson Fleet who joined up around the same time as the Spacefarer, who has either joined them in earnest or is a mole for UC SysDef.
- The Alcoholic: Implied. When asked what his plans were for his share of Kryx's Legacy, Mathis answers that aside from a bounty on his head that needs paying off, his share of the money is going straight to booze. Heck, the first words that come out of his mouth are to express impatience because he is eager to get to the bar ASAP.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Is available as a crewmate only if you tell Delgado that he is useful at the end of the Echoes of the Past quest, and even then after siding with the Crimson Fleet after completing Legacy's End. It still doesn't mean that he likes you very much, however.
- Dumb Muscle: In the short time he has been with the Fleet, Mathis has gained this reputation among the rest of the pirates. Notably, according to Naeva, he was stupid enough to demand recompense from Delgado for expenses made getting to the Key in the first place. He didn't get it, of course.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Smuggling Aurora, but not for any moral reason. Rather, he tried it once and was hit with a massive fine for his troubles, and he hasn't brought the stuff into his cargo hold since.
- The Rook Nobody Likes: In addition to having a reputation for being dumber than a bag of spanners, according to notes found on the Key, Mathis is disliked by other Crimson Fleet pirates and are reluctant to work with him, mostly because of jobs gone wrong with him on their crew. It's also telling that not only is Delgado not too broken up about kicking him out of the Fleet on the Starfarer's recommendation, but that the other pirates have already given him an unflattering nickname: "Hex."
- Human Pack Mule: Not to the extent of the Adoring Fan, of course, but Mathis' one rank in Weight-Lifting makes him useful for offloading your surplus items onto while exploring.
- Only in It for the Money: Of which he makes very plain at every given opportunity.
- The Starscream: Is introduced sucking up to Delgado, but as soon as he and the Spacefarer are separated from him during Echoes of the Past, Mathis conspires to betray him. Ultimately averted, however, as he calls the whole thing off regardless of whether the Spacefarer is on board or not.
- Token Evil Teammate: The man is a pirate for Pete's sake, and a fairly treacherous one if his feelings on Delgado are any indication.
The Adoring Fan
The Adoring Fan
"By Vectera, by Vectera, by Vectera! It's the Grand Troper!"
Voiced by: Craig Sechler (English)
"I can't believe I get to stand near you breathing the same air. I've got to have every molecule."
A resident of New Atlantis, the Adoring Fan is one of the various companions of the Player Character, and a very big fan of us, at that.
- Anime Hair: Unlike his Tamriel counterpart, his fauxhawk is a much more realistic depiction of his signature hairstyle.
- Hero-Worshipper: He is available as a companion if the player chooses the "Hero Worshipped" trait at character creation.
- Human Pack Mule: He has Level 2 Weight-Lifting, meaning that he's at least useful for offloading junk onto.
- Implausible Deniability: He invokes this every time you injure him while he's a part of your platoon, claiming that there's no way you could have hit him despite your skill, and that there must be outside factors such as malfunctioning weaponry or him being in the way of an enemy.
- Lethal Joke Character: Unlike his Oblivion counterpart, this Adoring Fan is very much not a coward when it comes to combat, and when sufficiently geared, is actually quite capable of holding his own in combat. This, along with his Human Pack Mule status, makes him actually very useful as a companion.
- Shout-Out: Where Oblivion's Adoring Fan was very elven in appearance, this iteration of the character looks a lot like a goatee-less Conrad Verner, the previous memorable Loony Fan of the Player Character in a sci-fi game.
- Stalker without a Crush: He is definitely far more obsessive than his Oblivion counterpart, to the point of creepily seeking to breathe the same air as the Player Character. However, if asked about the nature of his obsession for the player he insists that it's purely platonic.
SPOILER CHARACTER
United Colonies
In General
The United Colonies (UC) is a centralized republic encompassing the star systems Alpha Centauri, Sol, and Wolf. Its capital is New Atlantis in the Alpha Centauri system, the largest colony in the Settled Systems. The UC considers itself the successor of the nations of Earth and rightful inheritor of humanity's legacy, and isn't shy about imposing its vision of order and unity on the interstellar frontier. UC's government is named MAST (Military, Administrative and Science Triumvirate) operating out of the spire of the same name, led by the UC President and her cabinet.
- Badass Bureaucrat: The UC government when at its best is this. When you first enter New Atlantis after the tutorial levels, you can overhear a UC bureaucrat giving a Bad Boss a dress-down over a poorly handled evacuation from a space station after Va'ruun zealots attacked, giving her a bureaucratic exile. And when the UC Vanguard quest line progresses to a Terrormorph attack on New Atlantis, the President's cabinet gets its shit together real quick and signs off on what needs to be done (with frequent unanimous votes), its sole naysayer getting in-line real quick as well if you play it right before the attack. It's a testament to this that the mission in question sees more obstructiveness after the attack from the ambassador of the rival Freestar Collective, which was formed partly in protest of the UC's bureaucratic monolith. They also handle the situation with the Space Frog posters in Cydonia by granting a retroactive permit for posting them instead of being obstinate and taking them down.
- Broken Ace: They were the ones that saved humanity from the magnetosphere collapse, uniting the entirety of Earth under one Government. But arrogance and compliancy from it took root until it culminated in the Colony Wars.
- The City Narrows: The Well on New Atlantis. Fitting for this trope, it's actually where the original colony ship landed and was dissembled, the rest of the city was just built around and on top of it.
- Control Freak: They consider themselves the "Inheritors of Earth," as they were the ones that managed to save humanity. This lead to the government becoming more and more heavy handed with getting people back into line which culminated into into the Colony Wars. The devastation and humbling from the War knocked loose a lot of this thinking.
- Create Your Own Villain: When it comes down to it, the United Colonies were directly responsible for the existence of all of their most dangerous enemies.
- A long time ago, their decision to allow every UC citizen to colonize new planets and set up their own government without any oversight eventually resulted in the formation of the Freestar Collective and the Va'ruun cult, both of which they ended up waging brutal wars against later for some reason or another. To top it off, the UC actually won the first war with the Freestar Collective in a military sense, but the impopularity of the war by the end led them to concede the Collective's key demand and bind both sides to the restriction that would ultimately trigger the Colony War.
- Their embarrassing failure to keep their own supermax prisons under control led to a mass prison break and the birth of the Crimson Fleet, the largest Space Pirate organization in the Settled Systems and a constant thorn in the UC's side.
- Their overhunting of a species of megafauna native to the Toliman system caused its eventual extinction around the time the Colony War broke out, which in turn allowed a competing native predator to explode in numbers. The result? Toliman's capital city Londinion being overrun by armies of Terrormorphs at a time when the Colony War tied down so many of the UC's forces that they had no other choice but to abandon the whole planet and condemn its inhabitants to certain death.
- Dying Town:
- Gagarin used to be a thriving mining center in Alpha Centauri on a verdant planet. An ecological disaster caused by the corporations running the mine devastated the biosphere and lead most mines to close. Modern day Gagarin is a town that barely scrapes by.
- Cydonia still sees success as a major mining center for iron. But like Gagarin its best days are far behind it (centuries behind it in fact), being humanity's oldest surviving space colony. It once was the apex of human advancement before the age of the grav drive. The colony saw some resurgence during the colony war a few decades ago when it became a major military base for the "Red Devils" branch of the UC armed forces but that ended when the armistice was signed and the Red Devils were decommissioned - many of them vets now living in squalor in Cydonia's lower levels. It's seen nowadays as a deadend posting for UC navy and a place shady people go to do business in UC space without being bothered by law enforcement. Mars itself lives in the shadow of its own moon Deimos where the Deimos shipyards, where the UC fleet ships are built, resides.
- The Sol System in general is this. While New Homestead on Titan and Cydonia on Mars were the first offworld colonies and arguably saved as much of the human race as they could, both cities are in large decline due to being built hundreds of years ago, underground, on dead worlds. Without Earth, most of humanity moved on to Alpha Centauri with its two habitable planets. Since then, the Sol System is known for two things (besides being the birthplace of humanity): mining and staryards. By the time of the game, however, Sol is facing huge competition on both those fronts. Humanity can now mine anywhere in the settled systems with their grav drives including more habitable worlds or worlds with better material wealth. And as far as starship manufacturing, Nova Galactic has long since gone belly up and Deimos, while still a popular military ship manufacturer, is facing competition from the Freestar Collective companies of Hopetech and Taiyo who cater to a more civillian market. New Homestead is only doing "alright" in that it has pivotted and is using its dated colony as a museum of old Earth ingenuity, but it is also described by hometown native Heller as being so boring, getting into rock collecting and geology was the only to do.
- The Empire: The Freestar Collective has this opinion of the UC, commenting that it may be hard living in the Collective sometimes, but it's better than living under 'the boot.' Some NPCs make comments sometimes that the UC may have actually been closer to this in the past- that the UC is in "better hands" now than it was "back then."
- Expy: The Terran Federation, specifically the original from the books, at least as far as its citizenship is concerned: to earn the right to vote and own property, one has to perform civic duties first, even if they were born to parents with UC citizenship. The key difference from the Terran Federation is military service is not the sole path to citizenship in the UC, which also offers scientific and bureaucratic career opportunities to its people. However, a foreigner seeking UC citizenship has no alternative but to enlist in the UC Vanguard, a volunteer civilian navy that operates under the UC Navy.
- The Federation: The current day UC seems closer to this. Most of its branches and figures of authority are pretty forthright and Reasonable, and they show signs to be fairly willing to work with the Freestar Collective. UC fits the "large bureaucracy" and "occasional corrupt or bad actors but otherwise generally benevolent" part of the trope. This becomes even more the case if you join the Vanguard, push for cooperation between the factions, and choose the Aceles as the solution. With the Aceles being more complex to deploy, The UC takes a center stage at organizing the effort between the factions, and the subsequent diplomatic advances turn them into a diplomatic mediator between the factions.
- Fun with Acronyms: MAST, the Military-Administrative-Scientific Triumvirate, is the central governing agency of the United Colonies. "Mast" is also an apt general description of the capitol building they govern from in New Atlantis.
- Space Brasília: New Atlantis favors a very uniform architecture of large glass covered buildings and towers that resemble stacked cubes, with MAST as the sole distinctive glass spire.
- Space Clothes: UC Clothing veers towards this, with business suits and uniforms that are very form fitting, and the occasional jumpsuit.
- Used Future: Cydonia, New Homestead, and The Well are all showing their age, but are holding up well for being almost two centuries old.
- Vast Bureaucracy: Compared to Freestar, the UC has many branches of government (as one can see by the sections below). Even their military is made up of several subdivisions, while Freestar mostly relies on their Rangers for both military and law enforcement.
Civilian Government
Alexandra Abello
President Alexandra Abello
Voiced By: Keena Ferguson
Incumbent president of the United Colonies. She is a proponent of peaceful relations and cooperation with the Freestar Collective and House Va'ruun. It is implied that her administration is markedly less hawkish and authoritarian than many of her predecessors.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She's willing to hear the player and Hadrian Sanon about opening the Armistice Archive and generally listens to her advisors and reasonable arguments. When The Terromorph threat makes itself evident she basically throws all support behind the player's efforts.
Office of Interstellar Affairs
Soliman Yasin
Chief Diplomat Soliman Yasin
Voiced By: Noshir Dalal
Head of the Office of Interstellar Affairs and member of the UC cabinet.
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Out of the gate, he is antagonistic towards Hadrian in the first Cabinet meeting due to her infamous family name, and is curtly skeptical of the threat, though he can be concinved. To his credit, once Terrormorphs start tearing up the city spaceport, however, he shuts up and falls in line, knowing how wrong he was to complain. Completely averted in the case of his issue with keeping Vae Victus alive; he is entirely correct that the secretly-spared infamous butcher would become a problem if the disgraced admiral's masterminding is revealed.
- Everyone Has Standards: Mentions in idle dialogue that he disagrees with the decision to keep Vae Victis alive and considers it a grave mistake.
- I Warned You: If the cabinet is informed that Vae Victis was behind the terrormorph attacks, Yasin tells President Abello that he had spent years warning that they would face consequences for keeping him alive.
Elisabeth MacIntyre
Deputy Elisabeth MacIntyre
Voiced By: Dana Green
Deputy head of the Office of Interstellar Affairs.
UC Military
Aegis
Plato
Agent Plato
Voiced By: Christopher Murney
The acting head of Aegis, the intelligence division of MAST.
- Embarrassing Nickname: He treats his handle as this, since it was something he chose as a younger man full of himself.
- The Spymaster: He's the head of an intelligence division and his job deals with discovering and preventing threats to the UC.
Defense Research & Initiatives Program
Upsana Kulkarni
Chief Engineer Upsana Kulkarni
Voiced By: Zehra Fazal
The head of the program and member of the UC cabinet.
United Colonies Army
Huiying Xiao
United Colonies Navy
Pascual Logan
Fleet Admiral Pascual Logan
Voiced By: Javier Grajeda
Head of the UC Navy and member of the UC cabinet.
François Sanon
Fleet Admiral François "Vae Victis" Sanon
Voiced By: Darien Sills-Evans
Head of the navy during the Colony War, Sanon came to be known as "Vae Victis" for his lack of mercy on the battlefield. He was placed on trial and executed following the war for his crimes against civilians and his role in the xenowarfare projects.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: The UC government at the time of the Colony War was fearful of a world without Vae Victis to help lead them, and faked his execution and put him in a highly secure, secret, personal prison beneath MAST. The current government is much less fond of Sanon, but he continuously uses his knowledge of Colony War era operations, personnel, and his ability to psychologically profile, to help them track down and bring to justice war criminals who escaped. He plays this card hard when you uncover his current set of crimes, pointing out everything he did indirectly benefited you, and that he can still help track down war criminals. Whether or not he survives is up to the player.
- Hated by All: You're hard-pressed to find anyone who is fond of Vae Victis or doesn't feel like he absolutely got what he deserved being executed by the UC (about the only one is the bartender on the Den). Likewise, nearly everyone who finds out he's still alive reacts with unadulterated shock and disgust at the UC.
- Legacy Seeker: Despite being imprisoned and publicly believed to be dead, Vae Victis engineers two Terrormorph attacks on UC settlements- a food processing plant on Tau Ceti II, and New Atlantis itself- in order to push the UC to investigate the Terrormorphs. He engineers it so his daughter/clone Hadrian is tapped to help coordinate the UC's investigation and response- and become a national hero, restoring the Sanon family name to prominence.
- Manipulative Bastard: Solitary confinement hasn't stopped him from planning a complicated terrorist attack via intermediares who don't understand what they're doing. He makes sure to have the player kill the closest thing he has to a partner before helping them further, so he has someone to blame. This is all part of a grander plot to stop the terrormorphs and make him a trusted advisor of the UC again. He also takes credit to the player for the attacks rehabilitating Hadrian's name and career even though he didn't possibly have control over her simply surviving Tau Ceti, let alone being involved further. But it happened, so he'll cite it.
- Not Quite Dead: Despite being publicly stated to be executed, he's actually been secretly imprisoned and serving as a UC advisor.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Technically. Once the Terrormorph crisis that he engineered has ended, Hadrian is lauded as a hero and is made the head of a new division to combat the Terrormorph threat once and for all, effectively restoring the Sanon family name. Whether or not Vae Victis survives by the end of the questline, he got what he wanted out of it.
- The Sociopath: As his name indicates, he is not remembered even in the UC as someone who made difficult ugly choices during the war. One of the UC Cabinet explicitly calls him this if his involvement in the current attacks is revealed. It's hard to argue with re: someone who has repeatedly murdered people because it's convenient to his own ends.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His stated reasons for bombing the Londiniun spaceport are understandable; the city was the site of an unprecedented Terrormorph outbreak and the UC was terrified of the outbreak spreading to other worlds. He still ended any chance of evacuation and doomed any left on the surface to the Terrormorphs, a unilateral decision on his part that turned the UC's populace against both the war in general and himself personally. His real reasons- that he'd learned how Terrormorphs spread and feared that knowledge could be weaponized by the UC's enemies- aren't much better.
Captain Myeong
Captain Myeong, UC Navy Marine Corps
Voiced By: Kate Marley
A highly decorated veteran marine officer who answered a distress call from a Freestar-aligned science station in the Altair system beset by a Spacer onslaught.
- Enemy Mine: Ends up fighting alongside Freestar Rangers led by the green Lieutenant Torres defending a science station in the Altair system against an unusually concentrated onslaught of Spacers. The UC and Freestar aren't enemies anymore, but former animosities from the Colony War are acknowledged. Myeong finds commonality in that they're both ground-pounders (hence the name of the whole quest line) instead of differences in nationality.
- Old Soldier: She's seen her fair share of action and waxes a lot of philosophy about the nature of being a "groundpounder".
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In her after-action pep-talk, she shares some old veteran wisdom with Torres to always stand firm in the face of Command pressing him to compromise on principles, and warns him that it may stymie his rank advancement for doing so.
Saira Hatoum
Commander Saira Hatoum
Voiced by: Parminder Nagra
The commander of the UC Marines at Forward Base 441 near the ruins of Londinion, stationed there to monitor the terrormorphs and scout the city occasionally for information.
United Colonies Security
Jeremiah Sarkin
Chief Jeremiah Sarkin
Voiced By: Todd Cattell
Chief of United Colonies Security and a member of the cabinet.
- Bearer of Bad News: Personally makes calls to family members informing them when a security officer dies in the line of duty. He sadly notes he has a lot of calls to make after the terrormorph attack on New Atlantis.
United Colonies System Defense
Kibwe Ikande
Commander Kibwe Ikande
Voiced By: Ike Amadi
Head of SyDef and commander the UC Vigilance. He is dedicated to dismantling the Crimson Fleet and tasks the Spacefarer with infiltrating the pirate organization.
- A Father to His Men: Ikande is highly popular with his soldiers and is noted by several to take personal concern to their personal well-being. In the final standoff on the Vigilience he doesn't care about his own life. However, some player backgrounds can threaten to torture Ikande's surviving crew and that causes his immediate surrender.
- Bald Black Leader Guy: Checks all the boxes.
- The Cavalry: In the SysDef version of Legacy's End. His main force is delayed by a counter attack led by Naeva Mora which leaves the player and their squad to fight the Key's main defense fleet on their own for a time. But when Ikande does arrive on the field with the Vigilance and its escorts the remaining Crimson Fleet ships are destroyed very quickly.
- Create Your Own Villain: Ikande is adamant about the threat the Crimson Fleet poses and is pushing as hard as he can to take them down despite MAST skepticism. If the player ultimately sides with the Crimson Fleet the player learns at the conclusion of the quest line that the Fleet was falling apart on its own and it was the Legacy operation that revived it. Whether they refused Sysdef and joined the Fleet out of spite, were kicked out of Sysdef for excessive violence or sided with the Fleet at the end, it's Ikande's actions that are responsible. His hated pirates now have millions of credits and his battleship.
- It's Personal: Reading his terminal entries reveals that his father was killed by Crimson Fleet pirates when he was younger, making his determination to take them down extremely understandable. Ikande's entries show that he is worried his personal vendetta against them could cloud his judgment, but strives to ensure it isn't.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He understands you going undercover with the Crimson Fleet involves you doing some illegal activities, which he accepts as part of the mission- even when it directly targets the UC Military. However, he draws the line at you killing- complete your Fleet assignments without bloodshednote , gather evidence, bring it back, and let SysDef round up the perps, or you will draw his ire. You are allowed exactly one "messy" mission and will let you off with a warning, but if another one goes bad? He'll pull you from the task force. This is exacerbated by Ikande apparently being psychic or having FTL communications (unlike everyone else in the setting) to the point where you can jump straight to the Vigilance to talk to him and he'll open with knowing what you did with no allowance on your part to cover it up or bend the truth, and unfortunately veers hard into "catching the Idiot Ball" territory where you can be mere minutes from being ready to retrieve Kryx' Legacy, with the Crimson Fleet having everything they need to pull it off except for you... only for Ikande to pull you from the mission because you ended up getting into a firefight with Generdyne security.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Downplayed. Ikande's goal is simple and very well intentioned: the eradication of the pirate organization, the Crimson Fleet. In order to accomplish this, he will allow you- his undercover agent- great latitude in criminal activities, up to and including being smuggled onto a UC military starbase to steal a highly classified decoder. However, as stated elsewhere, he strongly encourages non-lethal approaches. His extreme methods (and possibly the confirmed presence of a Crimson Fleet mole within the UC command structure) have made him highly unpopular with MAST, though if he starts getting results- namely, you collect damning evidence on Crimson Fleet members and activities and return them to SysDef- they will begin to put more support behind his operations.
- As noted above, he's also a firm believer in the ends not justifying the means, at least when it comes to bloodshed. Usually. Why just "usually"? Because he has no complaints if you go on an absolute murder-spree after boarding the Key for the final assault.
Jillian Toft
Lieutenant Jillian Toft
Voiced by: Jan Johns
Ikande's second-in-command aboard the Vigilance.
- The Atoner: 'Jilly' Toft was a criminal from The Well in New Atlantis who drew the attention of, and joined, the Crimson Fleet. She was captured in a trap set by Sys Def and after a year in prison, Ikande took a chance on her and recruited her. Jillian Toft is now determined to right the wrongs of her past, and justify Ikande's faith in her.
- Call Sign: When in her own ship, her callsign is "Joan of Arc".
- Number Two: She is Ikande's second-in-command and handles a lot of the details for the Commander, including overseeing the evidence gathered by the Starfarer and providing additional details to them about the mission.
Alex Vong
Alex Vong
Voiced by: Eugene Kim
A pilot assigned to the Vigilance as part of its fighter compliment.
- Call Sign: Flies under the name "Archangel".
Jivanta Bedi
Jivanta Bedi
Voiced by: Lipica Shah
A technician aboard the Vigilance.
Armin Petrosyan
Armin Petrosyan
Voiced by: Michael Benyaer
The officer in charge of the Vigilance's brig.
United Colonies Vanguard
In General
- Home Guard: The Vanguard isn't part of the UC military's standing forces, being made up of volunteers piloting their own ships to take on paid missions for the UC in their spare time. Even full UC citizens who remain in the Vanguard aren't obligated to report to duty at fixed times, and can accept jobs if and when they feel like it.
- Privateer: The United Colonies themselves admit that Vanguards are privateers in all but name, being private persons with their own ships acting in the UC military's interests. They're free to keep the spoils of their actions for themselves, and loyal service over a number of years is the fastest way to gain full UC citizenship.
John Tuala
Commander John Tuala
Voiced By: Imari Williams
An old friend of Sarah Morgan and head recruiter of the Vanguard at MAST.
- New Jobs As The Plot Demands: Despite allegedly only being the Vanguard's recruiter, he also hands out missions, handles multiple HR responsibilities, and acts as liaison between Vanguard outposts and the UC military brass. And all that despite not even having a proper office.
- Nice Guy: Friendly, helpful and supportive to a fault.
Jaeda Huang
Jaeda Huang
Voiced By: Suzie Yeung
A former smuggler turned Vanguard pilot with a hatred of House Va'ruun zealots. She was once an associate of Andreja before joining the Vanguard.
- Revenge: Most of her friends in the smuggling business were killed by House Va'ruun zealots. Jaeda has spent the past ten years hunting them down wherever she can track them.
United Colonies Xenowarfare Division
Hadrian Sanon
Major Hadrian Sanon
Voiced By: Cynthia Kaye McWilliams
The former head of the UC Xenowarfare Division, Hadrian was placed on trial and drummed out of the military when the division was disbanded following the end of the Colony War. After seeing evidence of terrormorphs emerging faster on human occupied worlds, Hadrian seeks to determine their origin and stop them.
- The Atoner: She views the entire Xenowarfare unit as a mistake and tells the Starfarer that it killed far more people than it saved. Hadrian has worked to make up for actions in the decades since by cataloging xeno threats to humanity.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Spent most of the two decades post-Colony War just wandering the galaxy trying to figure out what to do with her life and how to move on. The Red Devils and serving the UC had been her purpose before the war, and she couldn't find a new one until the terrormorph encounter on Tau Ceti.
- Majorly Awesome: While she may be a trained as a xenobiologist, Hadrian also served directly on the frontlines in the Colony War both collecting samples for the division and against the Freestar Collective alongside the Red Devils. Their effectivness as a unit is often attributed to her leadership and battlefield skills. While she isn't in the military when encountered, the events of the Vanguard storyline lead to her rank being re-activated.
- Opposite-Sex Clone: Justified. The cloning process isn't anywhere near perfect and the sheer amount of 'donor' material needed to make her viable resulted in this.
- Sins of the Father: She is the daughter of the infamous war criminal Francois "Vae Victis" Sanon, whose infamy disgraced her as well.
Percival Walker
Dr. Percival Walker
Voiced By: Beau Billingslea
A leading scientist who worked with the Red Devils during the war, he has since been working with the Trade Authority on Mars before being called to investigate the terrormorph threat.
Kaiser
Kaiser
Voiced By: Chris Andrew Ciulla
A robot assigned to help control and wrangle xenoweapons, it has since been wandering the battlefields of Niira seeking to destroy its former charges after they were left behind and began killing civilians on the world following the armistice.
- Animal Nemesis: You encounter him while he's hunting A-99, the Sole Survivor of a batch of Sirens, a species of genetically engineered, horse-sized feline nightmares that're covered in near-impenetrable bone armor. A-99 is the only one left of the original Xenoweapon brood (all others are descendants) and thus the only one left with a Xenoweapon control implant that runs the danger of being co-opted by nefarious actors in violation of the Armistice.
- The Atoner: In his own weird way, Kaiser seems to take personal responsibility for the fact that some of the xenoweapons deployed by the UC went rogue after the war, began reproducing and are still killing people, and so he refuses to stand down until the last of the monsters has been neutralized.
- Badass in Distress: For all his prowess against engineered monsters, you find him brought low by a gaggle of humble Heatleeches he can no longer get rid off thanks to his drained batteries.
- Deadly Euphemism: He refers to putting down escaped xenoweapons as "disarming" them. He admits there are nonlethal ways to accomplish this, too, but he certainly seems to prefer the most permanent one.
- Determinator: His mission officially ended when the Armistice was signed and the UC Xenowarfare Division was dissolved decades ago, but Kaiser basically refused to stand down while there were still rogue xenoweapons at large. When the player goes looking for Kaiser, he's still faithfully doing what he was created to do, all on his own without any support or maintenance from the UC military.
- Genius Bruiser: He was tailor-made for the old Xenowarfare division because soldiers aren't exactly the best with field scientific work, and lab scientists aren't exactly suited to the battlefield. He carries a suite of field lab equipment in his frame... as well as an arsenal of heavy weaponry. As with much of the old Xenowarfare Division personnel/equipment assets, he is easily adapted to the new Terrormorph Management Division's mission.
- Oh, Crap!: When he learns that he was recruited to spearhead a mission into Londinion, ground zero of the worst Terrormorph outbreak in human history, he noticeably hesitates for a moment and then immediately asks for his firepower to be upgraded.
- Old Soldier: Whereas most soldiers from the Colony War are in retirement by the time the game starts, Kaiser is still fighting the good fight across the Settled Systems.
- One-Robot Army: As mentioned above, Kaiser has taken it upon himself to rid the Settled Systems of an army of monsters that was purpose-built to wipe out other armies of monsters, humans and Humongous Mecha, and he was so good at it that there's only a single one of the original xenoweapons left by the time you track him down.
- Robot Buddy: He's a highly specialized combat robot designed to support Hadrian Sanon and her team in acquiring samples of alien fauna for the UC's xenowarfare program. Hadrian herself sings his praises to the point of admitting that her division wouldn't have been as successful as it was if it weren't for Kaiser.
United Colonies settlements
Cydonia
Glen Hurst
Governor Glen Hurst
The governor of Cydonia. He was first appointed to the office around twenty years ago.
- Corrupt Politician: You need his help at one point in the Cydonia questline, which he tries to exploit by having you do his dirty work for him. Specifically, he wants you to destroy a ship that was stolen from him before the theft can make him look incompetent. The truth is that the ship was stolen by a former employee of his whom he murdered after she threatened to make their affair public, and you're supposed to dispose of the evidence.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: If you choose to deliver the evidence of his crimes to Cydonia's security forces over accepting his bribe to keep quiet, the person he blackmailed into saving his hide lands him in prison instead.
- Mayor Pain: He's the corrupt administrator of the UC's biggest mining colony.
Vincent Woodard
Commander Vincent Woodard
Cydonia's Chief of Security. A former United Colonies Marine with the Red Devils and veteran of the Colony War.
- Badass Bureaucrat: If he's presented with the evidence of Hurst's corruption, he handles it with earnest seriousness and even waits a bit to make the arrest so you can get the red tape favor you need out of the corrupt governor first.
- Rank Up: If Hurst's corruption is revealed, Woodard takes over as the acting governer of Cydonia and looks to be the prime candidate for the permanent posting.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Though only Freestars may think he's "evil" on account of his membership in the Red Devils along with their associated Xenowarfare activities. He's got the trademark rust-stained irises of the Red Devils military outfit.
Trevor Petyarre
Trevor Petyarre
Employee of Deimos Staryards Inc and supervisor of the company's mining operation in Cydonia.
- Badass Bureaucrat: Despite being a dusty, he has the bureaucratic savvy to concoct an effective plan to bypass a Pointy-Haired Boss to get much-needed supplies.
- Father to His Men: Although he initially comes across as just another shifty corpo, he really cares for Cydonia's miners and uses his intimate knowledge of Deimos' bureaucracy to get the company to approve the acquisition of new machines, as well as take steps to improve the miners' lot in life.
Gagarin Landing
New Atlantis
Aquilus
Keeper Aquilus
Voiced by: Keir Dullea
The founder of the Sanctum Universum, a religious organization that believes there is deeper meaning to be found in the stars.
- Evil Doppelgänger: Inverted, He's an Alternate Self of the Hunter, and is a peaceful man.
- Heel–Face Turn: Underwent a version of this before the game. As the Hunter, he carved his way through multiple universes, until he grew tired and mellowed out, settling in the prime timeline.
- Minor Major Character: He's a minor NPC who helps the player during a main quest. Yet is massively important to the plot due to being Starborn, and a good counterpart to the Hunter. And may in fact be the Pilgrim.
- The Reveal: In New Game Plus, you can realize that he's not the non-Starborn version of the Hunter, but rather that he's also Starborn himself, a version of the Hunter who gave up his hunt, and thus is the Pilgrim. He'll tacitly acknowledge he's Starborn before suggesting it's best for both of you to act like this is your first meeting.
Nyssa Marcand
Nyssa Marcand
Voiced by: Gabrielle Ruiz
A bartender at the Viewport who is looking for help getting her own business off the ground.
New Homestead
Luthor Atlanta
Luthor Atlanta
The enthusiastic manager of New Homestead's Chunks franchise.
Freestar Collective
In General
The Freestar Collective is a libertarian confederation of the star systems Cheyenne, Narion, and Volii. Its capital is Akila City, a colony in the Cheyenne system. Freestar was built on the principle of individual liberty for all, but while its three member systems enjoy a wide degree of autonomy, they will readily join forces to fend off major threats. Its governing body is the Council of Governors, made up of some of the most influential political, business, and medical leaders in Freestar space.
- Arcology: Neon, the Collective's economic center, is essentially this. A large platform in the sea of its homeworld, dotted with towers and smaller building built inside of it, all to a strong Cyberpunk vibe.
- The City Narrows: The Stretch in Akila city is a shanty town near the newest city wall. Neon meanwhile has Ebbside.
- Company Town: The Freestar Collective has two. Hope Town, owned by Hope Tech, and Neon, owned by Ryujin Industries and Xenofresh Fisheries. In the later case, Neon is also the home of several Companies, who use it as a hub away from government oversight.
- Corrupt Politician: The governors of the collective we get to see tend to be on the shady end of the moral spectrum. Many of them are Corrupt Corporate Executive due to the Council of Governors having several CEOs of the big Freestar corporations holding seats.
- Ron Hope worked to dispossess farmers of their land after giving them fertilizer he knew would kill their crop but enrich their soil in minerals he could easily harvest, hiring a dangerous mercenary outfit who sought to bring down Freestar to do the job. While he didn't intend for any violence to occur he wasn't exactly bothered by it.
- Benjamin Bayu meanwhile is only not a criminal because as effective ruler of Neon he's basically written the laws to legitimize his behavior. Actions of his include putting his brother in charge of a subsidiary knowing his brother neither has the talent for the job nor the desire for said job so the company would tank under his brother to humiliate him. Oh and then having the company hike the fees for power to all residents of Neon. He's also the patron of the Seokguh Syndicate, Neon's dominant organized crime group.
- Expy:
- The Freestar Collective (or more specifically Akila City with the Freestar Collective inheriting much of it from Akila City's status as de-facto capital of the Collective) shares many similarities to the New California Republic. A strong western American aesthetic including cowboy hats, trench coats, and favoring ballistic shotguns and pistols. They use "Rangers" as their elite law enforcers. Their capital's aesthetic evokes a Used Future frontier vibe with zig zagging streets lined with uneven fencing and unique buildings that contrasts with UC's more modern urbanized clean glass towers but would look seamless next to Vault City with its cobblestone and wooden structures with advanced sci-fi metal bits attached. Like the NCR, the collective is politically dominated by a handful of rich families that co-founded it. In particular the Coe family, whose ancestor is credited as the Freestar Collective's founder, echoing the NCR's Aradesh and Tandi. Like the NCR, it struggles to keep the peace outside of its capital, with many gangs prowling the wilderness (bringing to mind the NCR's oft-cited banditry problem in New Vegas).
- Their general status as a heavily Space Western-influenced Libertarians IN SPACE! society located on the outskirts of interstellar human civilization, and which have warred with the primary government of humanity in the setting which has often been criticized In-Universe for its Repressive, but Efficient lifestyle also calls to mind the Union of Independent Systems/"Browncoats" of Firefly fame. Admittedly, it's not a one-for-one parallel since here, the Freestar Collective unquestionably won their independence (multiple timesnote ) in the face of their parent government, whereas the Independents were unquestionably crushed and annexed into the Alliance.
- Had to Be Sharp: Freestar society, in general, is this due to the lack of social safety nets present in the United Colonies. As a result, citizens who can't adapt tend not to have a great time living in the Freestar Collective.
- Doubly so for citizens of Akila and Neon in particular; as the former is a high-gravity Death World they have to share with a dangerous apex predator, and the latter is a corrupt, corporate-run and gang-infested hellhole.
- Hand Cannon: Freestar weaponry tends to fire larger-calibre rounds compared to their UC counterparts, and their handguns in particular are all large revolver-type guns like the Regulator and the Razorback. Justified as most of their weapons are made on Akila, where the locals have to contend with apex predators. Also, they better fit with the Space Western vibe of the Freestars.
- Libertarians IN SPACE!: In many ways, they're an invocation of this trope, having a society heavily based around personal and civil liberties along with laissez-faire capitalism. This gets portrayed in-game as both a good and bad thing, with the downside being a proliferation of Corrupt Corporate Executives and generally lower quality of life than what is seen in the United Colonies, but on the upside many Freestar residents are shown to generally be more self-reliant along with being perfectly fine (more or less) with their society having a Liberty Over Prosperity focus.
- Liberty Over Prosperity: The Collective was founded as an alternative system of government to the perceived oppressiveness of the United Colonies. Settlements in Freestar space are noticeably grungier than the shiny Space Brasília-style UC metropolis like New Atlantis, their tech is more on the utilitarian side, and the standard of living seems to be somewhat lower overall, all of which Freestar citizens consider a point of pride and a small price to pay for their freedom from UC rule. That said, despite generally being more strapped for resources than the UC, the Collective was actually on the cusp of winning the Colony War before the Armistice was signed, making you wonder just how much substance there really is under the United Colonies' shiny appearance.
- Oddly Small Organization: Befitting the Collective's Libertarian, minimalist government approach, the Freestar Rangers number less than 12 active Rangers at any one time, according to the #2 of the organization, to police 3 star system. And lest one thinks the Freestar Rangers must only handle major threats, they deal with everything from bank robberies, ship theft to "someone's trying to take my farm". The Ranger's headquarters is on the uppermost floors of a building in Akila City that also doubles as a tavern and public meeting hall.
- One Riot, One Ranger: As befitting the trope, this is how the Rangers generally operate. Justified as there's literally too few of them have them operate in larger groups. The player does get to team up with the local Rangers during the quest line but that's mostly due to them being a deputy undergoing evaluation and learning the ropes and leaning on the local Ranger's knowledge of the locals. The trope is even used as the name of a side mission for the faction.
- Ranger: The Freestar Rangers act as the collective's sole non-local law enforcement, and are seen as a pretty prestigious posting. On Akila, at least; the Rangers are seen as a joke by the populace of Neon, as the gangs and the corrupt local law enforcement still operate with impunity, despite their presence.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Freestar is more of a coalition or confederation of various worlds - Akila and Neon as their main cities. They are far less united and centralized than UC mostly just coming together to oppose UC and House Va'ruun who would otherwise be able to overtake them if they remained entirely individual.
- Wretched Hive:
- Neon has this reputation, with its numerous gangs, and the corporations that own it running the place as their own fiefdom. It's also where the drug Aurora is made. Officially Aurora is only allowed within specific locations and authorized vendors, and taking it outside the city is illegal and brutally enforced by the Rangers. In practice Aurora trade is lucrative and widespread through both Freestar and UC.
- UC residents who don't travel much tend to believe all of Freestar is this way, which the player can confirm or deny.
Collective government
Evangeline Radcliff
Ambassador Evangeline Radcliff
Voiced By: Rachel Robinson
The Collective's representative to the United Colonies.
- "Ass" in Ambassador: She's noted at this by both UC and her own assistant. She tends to ignore the advice of the diplomats working for her, and mostly seeks to make difficulties for UC hoping that'll score her brownie points back home and land her a seat among the Council of Governors.
- Klingon Promotion: She's entertaining the idea of killing one of the Governors to free their chair for herself.
Freestar Rangers
Daniel Blake
Marshal Daniel Blake
Voiced By: Victor Brandt
The current head of the Freestar Rangers. Daniel's superiors in the Freestar government have been pushing him to choose a successor and retire, but he does not feel comfortable doing so with the Rangers' numbers currently stretched thin.
Emma Wilcox
Ranger Emma Wilcox
Voiced By: Daisy Hobbs
Second-in-command of the Rangers, Emma balances her duties with being a mother to her daughter Annie.
Lillian Hart
Ranger Lillian Hart
Voiced By: Alisa Reyes
Sam Coe's ex-partner and mother of Cora.
- Amicable Exes: Can move into this if you help Sam talk to her and get over his own hangups.
- Married to the Job: One of the reasons she and Sam split was because almost all of her focus was on being a Ranger, not a romantic partner or mom. The last several times Lillian was supposed to see Cora in person she didn't show up because of a case or lead she was pursuing.
- The Missus and the Ex: Subverted if the player wants to. If you marry Sam she attends the wedding and is supportive of the relationship. Doubly so if you also are a Freestar Ranger as she sees you as a trustworthy reliable colleague. You can also encounter her in random encounters and fight spacers alongside her where she'll be thrilled you're here.
Helga Dubray
Ranger Helga Dubray
Voiced by: Stella Valente
A Ranger currently on desk duty following a bad starship crash.
Alex Shadid
Ranger Alex Shadid
Voiced by: Sean Rohani
An expert in cryptography, Alex is bound to Akila City only due to a medical condition that prevents him from entering pressurized spaces like starships.
- The Smart Guy: He is the Rangers technical expert, being the one they go to for cracking encrypted slates
Diego Monroe
Ranger Diego Monroe]]
Voiced by: Antonio Alvarez
A former criminal who aided the Rangers and joined them after serving his time in prison.
- Good Feels Good: While in prison he realized that the only time he felt good in his life was when helping the Rangers take down his former associates. After being released for good behavior Diego went to the Rangers and begged to let him join so he could continue to do good.
Ben Armistead
Ranger Ben Armistead
Voiced By: Christopher Swindle
One of the oldest and longest serving Rangers, Ben is stationed on the Clinc.
- Cool Old Guy: He is a friendly and talent Ranger whose skills let him live long enough to consider retirement in a profession many don't survive. Notably he is one of the few Rangers who doesn't have a negative or neutral reaction to Sam Coe if he is with you, and instead happily greets him and asks how Cora is doing.
- Happily Married: His wife Rebecca also works at the Clinc as the head nurse, and the two are quite pleased that their postings allow them to live on the same station and work close by.
Jaylen Pryce
Ranger Jaylen Pryce
Voiced By: Adam Gifford
The Ranger stationed on Neon, he struggles with doing his job under the "laws" of Benjamin Bayu.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: You may be forgiven for thinking he bears a passing resemblance to Kurt Russell.
- Police Are Useless: The majority of Neon's citizens see the Freestar Rangers as this, and it's pretty hard not to given the sorry state of what passes for law and order in the city. As Jaylen explains it, Neon forces him to choose his battles carefully because not everyone in the city is innocent.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: If the rule in Neon is "Don't rock the boat," that is. Jaylen explains that he has connections in Neon, including but not limited to his mother, who just so happens to be a high-ranking executive for Ryujin Industries, which allows him to do his job without ending up floating face down in the ocean.
- As a matter of fact, his connections are why he chose to be stationed on Neon in the first place, as he knows that any other Ranger would just wind up dead. That being said, Jaylen still knows well enough not to rock the boat too much despite his connections.
Autumn MacMillan
Ranger Autumn MacMillan
Voiced By: Jacqueline Emerson
A Ranger investigating smuggling at the Red Mile. After her investigation wraps up, Autumn asks to join the Spacefarer on their ship.
- Family Theme Naming: Her parents are nature lovers and named their kids Autumn, Jade, Blossom, and Shale. Autumn states that when she has a family of her own she will probably continue the tradition.
- Freudian Excuse: Her initial rudeness is due to have lost a prior rookie she was training and fearing losing another one.
- The Gunslinger: Has two ranks in Pistol Certification and one rank in Sharpshooting, if you recruit her as a crewmate.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She is fairly rude and is immediately annoyed by the Spacefarer's presence, as she thinks it will disrupt her own investigation to have a rookie deputy joining on. Autumn apologizes after you run the Red Mile to get information from Mei, and admits it was wrong of her to treat them that way and assume they would get themselves killed.
- Nature Lover: She inherited her parent's love of nature and is an amateur biologist. Part of why she loves travelling is so she can see new plants and animals.
- She also has one rank in Botany.
- Space People: Her parents were travelling merchants, so Autumn and her siblings spent most of their childhood growing up on their spaceship.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Her older sister Jade is a smuggler, but since she operates outside Freestar Space Autumn doesn't interfere with her and Jade occasionally provides information to her.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: If Sam is with you when meeting with her, Autumn is not pleased about his presence and working with him, due to him having left the Rangers. She warns the deputy that Sam isn't to be relied upon and is likely to abandon them too.
- Thicker Than Water: While she feels some guilt over not reporting her sister, Autumn feels it would be wrong to turn her in. The two love each other dearly despite their professions, with Jade even attending Autumn's induction into the Rangers.
Freestar colonies
Akila City
Elias Cartwright
Elias Cartwright
Voiced by: Kaiser Johnson
The mayor of Akila City and a member of the Freestar Collective's Council of Governors.
- Blue Blood: He is a descendant of some of the original settlers of Akila City, which makes him essentially an aristocrat within the town.
Jacob Coe
Jacob Coe
Voiced by: Kyle McCarley
Sam's father and a retired high-ranking member of the Collective's government. He and Sam are estranged, but Jacob gets along well with his granddaughter Cora.
Davis Wilson
Keoni Alpin
Keoni Alpin
Voiced by: Jenn Wong
A scientist seeking to make improvements to Akila City's defenses.
Amira Wolf
Amira Wolf
Voiced by: Enisha Brewster
The current operator of the Low House, a charity organization that helps the poorer citizens in the Stretch.
Reisha Lance
Reisha Lance
Voiced by: Karen Huie
CEO of Laredo Firearms.
- Anonymous Benefactor: She is the secret funder of the Eleos Retreat, believing that the Freestar and United Colonies approach to incarceration is broken and that helping criminals learn new skills instead of imprisoning them is the solution.
- The Atoner: If asked why she donates to the Low House, Reisha admits that to be as successful as she is there is a trail of broken promises, neglected family and friends, and "tough calls". The guilt over those causes Reisha to seek to address social ills with her wealth.
- Honest Corporate Executive: One of the few CEOs in the Freestar Collective who doesn't appear to be corrupt and actually helps people, although Reisha implies this was not always the case.
The Clinic
Dr. Lara Darvish
Doctor Lara Darvish
Voiced by: Shaheen Vaaz
The head doctor and administrator of the Clinic, Dr. Darvish's position also grants her a seat on the Council of Governors.
- Captain Oblivious: Despite being the de facto leader of the Clinic, she seems to be totally oblivious to all the shady, if not downright illegal stuff going on aboard her station, and there's a lot of it, to the point that the legit areas of the Clinic make up a smaller fraction of its total size than the wings occupied by criminals.
Hopetown
Ron Hope
Ron Hope
Voiced by: Wes Johnson
The founder of starship manufacturer HopeTech and a member of the Council of Governors.
- Arc Villain: Of the Freestar Rangers questline.
- Benevolent Boss: He has a reputation as being a great boss who provides jobs for all of Hopetown. In reality, this is a thin veneer - when Brigit overhears about his crimes and questions how he could do such horrific things, he snaps at her to shut up and that he will have her job and more if she keeps speaking.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: While he maintains a Nice Guy persona in public, he's really a ruthless businessman who is willing to hire mercenaries to run farmers off their land so that he can exploit the mineral producing powers of his fertilizer for his own gain.
- Egopolis: The settlement of Hopetown, headquarters of HopeTech, founded and owned by Ron Hope.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: An attempt on his part to diversify HopeTechs business resulted in a fertilizer that killed entire crops. In actuality, the fertilizer multiplied the mineral content of the soil tenfold, giving him a much cheaper means of collecting the materials he needed to maintain his ship building.
- The Man Behind the Man: He's the one who hired the First to run farmers off their land so that he could extract the minerals from their soil to keep his business afloat.
- I Own This Town: His factories and reputation keep Hopetown running, giving him complete control over it as practically everyone who lives there works for him. This is the argument he uses to try and convince the Deputy not to expose his crimes, as the people will suffer for it.
- Suddenly Shouting: When confronted regarding his crimes, if the Deputy presses on with exposing him Hope will begin shouting about how he is important and they are nothing compared to him.
- Walking Spoiler: His role in the Freestar Rangers questline makes it incredibly difficult to discuss his role without spoilers.
Neon
Benjamin Bayu
Benjamin Bayu
Voiced by: Kirk Thornton
CEO of Xenofresh Fisheries and de facto ruler of Neon, giving him a seat on the Collective's Council of Governors. As administrator of the city, he controls all commerce and security on the planet (and is also a board member or major stockholder for most of the companies on Neon), allowing only a minimal presence from the Freestar Collective's other security and administrative organizations.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Technically by the laws of Neon he is not corrupt, but Bayu wrote all of those laws himself that grants him the authority to do as he pleases, like charge fees to all the businesses for shipments they need to survive and holding them if they don't pay.
- Evil Tower of Ominousness: The trade tower, Neon's tallest building, is where his offices, favored businesses, and personal private penthouse are located.
- Hate Sink: He's a hyper-corrupt, morally bankrupt narcissist without a single decent bone in his body, making him by far one of the most reprehensible characters in the Settled Systems.
- Hypocrite: Threatens those who insult or belittle his brother Breyson, but does the same himself behind his back.
- Jerkass: Boy, is he ever...
- Karma Houdini: Unfortunately, Bayu knows all the tricks to always stay one step ahead of the Freestar Collective's law enforcement agencies. No matter what you do over the course of the game, there's no meaningful way to even make a dent in his operations, and he's flagged as an essential NPC so you can't take justice into your own hands.
- Majority-Share Dictator: He holds a complete controlling interest in Xenofresh, and since Xenofresh owns the entire planet Bayu essentially is the dictator of the world. He's also the secret owner of Generdyne, Neon's sole power provider, which gives him a power monopoly (pun not intended) on a level that could actually get him in hot water with the Freestar Collective if word of it got out.
- Plot Armor: Bayu does some incredibly reckless things for a guy who is, in fact, just a guy in a nice suit. The Crimson Fleet mission is especially notable. Bayu meets the player alone in a room at the Astral Lounge, with no guards and without screening for weapons. He then threatens them and laughs off the Crimson Fleet's habit of making threats with no consideration that they do kill people and the person he's talking to may be one of the really violent, psycho ones. It's like he knows he's an essential NPC.
- Only in It for the Money: All he cares about is money, money and more money. If anyone in Neon actually manages to establish a mildly profitable business, they can bet on Bayu showing up within days to demand a tidy cut for himself.
- Our Founder: He has a large statue of himself built outside of the trade tower, which companions often comment on as a sign of Bayu's ego.
Breyson Bayu
Breyson Bay
Voiced by: JB Blanc
The younger brother of Benjamin Bayu, Breyson was appointed as CTO of Generdyne despite knowing nothing about technology.
- The Dog Bites Back: After a lifetime of being abused by his brother, Breyson hands over the codes to Generdyne's information willingly to screw Benjamin over by jeopardizing valuable propitary information.
- Missing Mom: His mother was his father's mistress, and he never met her before she disappeared when he was two. Breyson is fairly sure that his father had her disposed of.
- Nepotism: Due to being Benjamin's younger brother, everyone in town knows that all of his positions are because of his brother's influence. He was first appointed deputy head of security, then worked at Xenofresh, before being placed at Generdyne as chief technical officer.
- Nice Guy: As it turns out, he is the exact opposite of his brother, being a friendly man who is well-aware of how over his head he is and dislikes the idea of anyone being hurt.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: He keeps being reassigned to various jobs by his brother because of various screwups, with the latest being in charge of technology at Generdyne despite knowing nothing about how the company's tech functions. Breyson's subordinates all agree he is an idiot and running the company into the ground. Then you meet him and it turns out he is far smarter than others think, and the reason he was removed from his previous two positions wasn't even because of corruption or screwups - he refused to go along with Dexler's extortion racket and was framed at Xenofresh for a cred-skimming operation.
Owen Dexler
Owen Dexler
Voiced by: Steve Blum
The head of Neon Security, which function as Bayu's private army rather than an actual police force.
- Dirty Cop: Openly and happily takes bribes for his time, hires gang members who commit crimes as part of the force if they impress him, and readily admits that he isn't law enforcement, but Bayu's hired gun.
Issa Eklund
Issa Eklund
Voiced by: Jenelle Lynn Randall
Walter's wife and a member of Stroud-Eklund's executive board. She oversees the company's day-to-day operations from its office on Neon while Walter works with Constellation.
Ayumi Komiko
Ayumi Komiko
Voiced by: Alpha Takahashi
COO of Generdyne, said to be the lover of Benjamin Bayu.
- Age-Gap Romance: With Benjamin Bayu, who is a few decades older than her. The relationship is a sham, with Komiko having only seduced him to gain some measure of power in Generdyne, and her actual love Myko is much closer to her age.
- Authority in Name Only: She actually holds no power at Generdyne, being a puppet for Benjamin Bayu's scheme to control the company as the fictional Mr. Harada.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Has ties to the Syndicate and Crimson Fleet which she uses to make extra money.
- Number Two: Publicly, she is the top executive for Generdyne in Neon, with the CEO Mr. Harada living in New Atlantis. Except there is no Harada, with Bayu coming up with a fake identity to muscle in on control of the company after murdering the previous CEO.
Ji Nashida
Ji Nashida
Voiced by: Greg Chun
An executive at Generdyne concerned about Breyson Bayu's incompetence as the head of research and development.
- Honest Corporate Executive: His primary concern is the hundred plus employees of Generdyne, who he fears will all be fired if the company goes under or gets restructured.
BorealUS
BorealUS
Voiced by: Dawn Anderson
A young musician who has become booked as the in-house DJ of the Astral Lounge while being supplied a steady stream of Aurora by Bayu.
- Functional Addict: Claims to be one, stating that the Aurora helps her write her music and compose her sets, and that she has come close to being truly addicted a few times but has pulled back from it.
Yannick Legrande
Yannick Legrande
Voiced by: Jake Green
The owner of Legrande's Liquors, Yannick is the creator of Blend, a drink he advertises to the lower classes of Neon.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Has dreams of challenging Bayu himself for control of Neon by cornering the lower-class market. Bayu knows all about what Yannick is up to, and it's the Starfarer who has to convince Bayu that letting Legrande keep operating, with a 20% cut to Bayu, is worth doing.
Briggs
Briggs
Voiced by: Piotr Michael
The leader of the Strikers, a street gang in Ebbside at war with their rivals, the Disciples.
- Everyone Has Standards: He dislikes violence for violence's sake, and orders his people to do their best not to kill if they can avoid it.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Their conflict with the Disciples has them as the lighter shade, as Briggs has long tried to keep the Disciples, who he regards as maniacs who kill for fun, in check, but is losing the war to them.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Amongst his reasons for not wanting his people to kill is that if you kill a mark, you can't get more from them in the future.
Madame Sauvage
Madame Dominique Sauvage
Voiced by: Mela Lee
The owner of Madame Sauvage's Place, a bar in Neon's Ebbside district.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: She sprinkles in some French here and there. She mentions that her family's heritage traces back to the "ancient region of France" on Old Earth.
House Va'ruun
In General
The third great faction, House Va'ruun emerged from the depths of space, the descendants of settlers who had set out from the Settled Systems decades ago. They worshiped the Great Serpent and sought to spread word of their religion, which ultimately culminated in the Serpent's Crusade, dedicated to killing all non-believers. After a peace treaty was signed with the UC and Collective, House Va'ruun retreated into isolation, with mostly zealots remaining in the Settled Systems.
- The Fundamentalist: They wouldn't have launched a genocidal religious crusade against every other faction in the Settled Systems simultaneously if they didn't fall under this trope. Dialogue with their sole remaining ambassador implies they mellowed out a bit after the peace treaty was signed, but pivoted back to their hardline roots only a few years later.
- The Ghost: They're talked about quite often but have no physical presence in the game. Whatever star systems they retreated to after their abortive crusade appear to be far outside the Settled Systems.
- Hated by All: They're universally distrusted and feared, if not outright hated in the Settled Systems. Trying to murder everyone for not following your religion tends to do that; even more so since nobody in the Settled Systems even knew of the Va'ruun faith before they invaded.
- The Missing Faction: No official member of House Va'ruun proper has been seen in decades, leaving many in the Settled Systems to wonder if they even still exist. They most definitely do, as proven by undercover operatives like Andreja. The only Va'ruun followers you can encounter are their fanatic, Always Chaotic Evil Zealots.
- Scary Amoral Religion: The actions of their zealots, the lines available to a Serpent's Embrace character, and the late-game interview with a captured zealot all suggest that the nicest interpretation of the Great Serpent faith is a faith that prioritizes action and determination, and has little room for doubt and uncertainty... though as may be noted much of that is from the perspective of what is explicitly the militant extremists of the faith, and Qasrik Bal'mor provides a counter-example of a more benevolent interpretation (along with, to a slightly lesser extent, Andreja).
- Wave-Motion Gun: Downplayed due to their size, but the extremely rare Va'ruun particle beam guns are hideously powerful, able to kill even top-tier Elite Mooks in just a handful of hits. Weirdly, their Zealots almost never wield them, making you wonder where the ones in the Settled Systems came from.
Qasrik Bal'mor
Ambassador Qasrik Bal'mor
Voiced By: Christian Lanz
House Va'ruun's representative to the United Colonies and one of the few members of the House who did not retreat into isolation.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Manages to properly deduct why the Player Character is at the embassy, and what they need access to the Armistice Archives for with only a few bullet points.
- Cool Old Guy: Certainly up there in age, but a pleasant man all-around and one of only two Va'ruun characters in the game that aren't Holier Than Thou homicidal lunatics. A document in the embassy also reveals that despite being in his twilight years, Bal'mor not only noticed a UC spy infiltrating his embassy in New Atlantis, but turned the whole thing around to spy on the much younger man by hiding in the large tree in the center of the building for several hours until the UC spy just gave up and left.
- I Choose to Stay: Due to his belief that members of the government were behind the withdrawal due to their hatred of the other factions, Bal'mor decided to remain behind and continue his work as ambassador. He did this knowing that the chances of making contact again were slim and he might not be able to return home ever.
- Mission Control Is Off Its Meds: When you initially enter the embassy the intercom system is heavily damaged. This makes him trying to tell you how to release the lockdown and get him out of the security room sound like religious ranting. When he says to release him from this imprisonment he's being very literal.
- Nice Guy: In contrast to many members of House Va'ruun, Bal'mor is a polite and helpful man who believes the Great Serpent wants them to make peace with the rest of the factions.
- Only Sane Man: Alone amongst his government, he remains convinced that interacting with the rest of the Settled Systems through diplomacy is a better course of action than infiltration or outright murder.
Tomisar Ka'dic
Tomisar Ka'dic
Voiced by: Rafael Petardi
A handler of House Va'ruun who serves as a go-between for their operatives in the Settled Systems and the High Council.
- Ambiguous Situation: The conclusion of your encounter with him leaves it somewhat ambiguous how much of his involvement was of his own initiative and how much came down from the High Council.
- Arc Villain: Of Andreja's personal quest.
- Hate Sink: He exists to be hated and does a very good job at it.
- Karmic Death: If you allow Andreja to kill him, he dies by the hand of a person he left to die after he no longer considered her useful, and who now considers him no longer useful.
- Never My Fault: When Andreja finally confronts him with the intel you gathered about his betrayal, he immediately accuses the Spacefarer of having turned her against him and orders them to make her come to her senses.
- Obviously Evil: Everything about his character design screams "evil bastard".
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Whether or not he lives has absolutely no consequences for Andreja, so feel free to pay him back the same way he valued her devotion to him.
- Smug Snake: He's incredibly full of himself and makes no effort to hide it.
- Villains Want Mercy: The slightest threat of violence against him makes him fold like tissue paper, prompting him to desperately remind you that he's Andreja's only link to her homeworld in an effort to convince you to spare his sorry hide.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When he got Andreja caught in an ambush by Va'ruun Zealots that he set up, killing or scattering some of her closest associates in the process, it was either because he had come to consider her a loose end like the smugglers, or because he saw her as expendable Collateral Damage. Either way, she's pissed.
Crimson Fleet
In General
The Crimson Fleet is a loose confederation of individual pirate captains, all flying the same banner. Despite lacking a centralized organizational structure, a star station named The Key in the Kryx system is known to serve as the main hub for Crimson Fleet pirates.
- Great Escape: The fleet was founded when a bunch of criminals lead by Jeremiah Kryx broke out of a Hellhole Prison on Suvorov, seizing the orbital station in charge of monitoring it, as well as the UC's ships. The organization has since expanded, but the original escape holds a near mythical status among Fleet member.
- In It for Life: When you sign up for the Fleet, you don't get to quit - you're with the Fleet until you die. Your very first mission with the Fleet, in fact (particularly if you take the Sys Def mole route), is trying to track down one guy who thought he could get away.
- Killed Off for Real: If you side against them during their questline, all named members mentioned below either die (most of them by your hand) or get arrested by SysDef, permanently removing them from the game. Generic Crimson Fleet pirates can still be encountered and fought as a now Always Chaotic Evil faction, but there'll be no more meaningful interactions with them.
- Meaningful Name: A pirate fleet with a predominantly red color scheme that calls itself the Crimson Fleet. Imagination obviously wasn't Kryx's strongest suit.
- Also, the Fleet's home of the Kryx system bears a passing resemblance to Cryx, the Iron Kingdoms nation of pirates and undead monsters. Rather fitting for a bunch of pirates who fly around in ships named after undead monsters.
- N.G.O. Superpower: If you hand over Kryx's Legacy to them, they cease their infighting, deal SysDef a crippling blow, and massively expand their fleet, turning them into a force to rival the United Colonies' and Freestar Collective's professional navies in size and firepower.
- Only in It for the Money: Although they have their fair share of sociopaths who chose the pirate life to kill people, most members of the Fleet just want to get rich. Their entire questline revolves around recovering a mythical lost treasure called Kryx's Legacy, and the promise of collecting their cut of the bounty is the only thing keeping the various captains in line while the search continues.
- Paper Tiger: A note found on the Key implies that the Crimson Fleet is this, with Delgado expressing frustration that the Fleet had lost too many good Captains who were then "replaced with chaff." Of course, this is before Kryx's Legacy falls into their hands — if it falls into their hands, of course.
- Putting the Band Back Together: The player can rally every pirate captain they work with away from their different rackets and to a joint final battle against UC Sysdef - if they play their pirate cards right. Backstabbing options and arranging arrests for personal gain (Sysdef pays cash for evidence) reduces this.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: If their name didn't already tip you off, this gang of unscrupulous raiders and murderers just so happens to wear blood-red armor, highlighted with black and a few golden ornaments.
- Space Pirates: They're the largest pirate organization in the Settled Systems.
- We ARE Struggling Together: One of the reasons they're mostly a nuisance to the Settled Systems instead of a real threat is their constant infighting, with influential pirate captains jockeying for control of the organization through various, usually bloody means.
Jasper Kryx
Jasper Kryx
Voiced by: William Holmes
The long-dead, near-mythical founder of the Crimson Fleet and the origin of the term "Kryx's Legacy."
- Determinator: He tracked the Legacy across the galaxy from a prison rumor, not only eventually finding it in a radiation envelope that made the search impossible for Galbank, but fighting his way through dozens of robots to get to the treasure. Solo. Without anything like the technological help the player has a century later. And his plan would have worked had his ship still been in repairable condition.
- The Dreaded: Warrented special attention and handling even in the supermax prison of The Lock. The dozens of murder and attempted murder charges that are only part of his rapsheet are likely responsible. Later when he's free, he does an interview with SSNN which he caps off with an on-air threat across the Settled Systems that he'll slaughter the reporter if she manipulates the tape.
- Fling a Light into the Future: Surprisingly, not Kryx's Legacy, which he left no intentional map for. Because it was a stranded ship and he died on it. He was however recording himself with an eye to what he hopes is a future pirate finding him. And although it's in an understandable rant, he does indeed provide a way for the person who finds his body to loot the credits he could not.
- Posthumous Character: Vanished and presumed dead for many decades (he was middle-aged a century before the present day of the game), he was quite fond of recordings.
- Visionary Villain: Kryx rejects the idea that criminals need to run and hide. His escape attempt focused on getting the armory to seize The Lock and The Key rather than making a run for it, and his vision of the Crimson Fleet was a state-level criminal power.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: He ultimately made it as far as the vault of the Legacy. But unable to repair his ship he could neither extract the millions of credits nor find anything to eat. He eventually starved to death looking at the credit tanks.
Delgado
Delgado
Voiced By: Steve Wilcox
The current leader of the Crimson Fleet, Delgado is a shrewd leader who balances between keeping a tight leash on his followers and giving them room to plague the Settled Systems.
- Badass Cape: His outfit features a stylish red half-cape over his left shoulder.
- Jerkass: As the leader of the Settled Systems' largest pirate organization, it kinda comes with the territory.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Delgado's urgency and demands/threats make more sense toward the conclusion of the Fleet questline. He has inside information that UC Sysdef is planning an attack with a battleship that is immune to every operational weapon the Fleet has, and that the Fleet is in terrible shape to begin with. Their only chance of survival is if him being correct on Kryx's Legacy (and having enough money for six-figure bonuses) can rally all the disparate pirate captains. Failure is not an option.
- Taking You with Me: If you side against the Fleet and confront him aboard the Key, he's activated the station's self-destruct mechanism to make sure he won't be taken alive and takes as many of his enemies down with him as he can. How you prevent this from happening depends on your persuasion skills.
- Underestimating Badassery: He's a frequent target of this, as SysDef consistently fails to appreciate just how clever Delgado really is. It takes them a long time and a lot of prodding from the player to finally take him seriously.
- Visionary Villain: He believes in Kryx' Legacy when most of the raiders believe it is a fairy tale. Aside from getting the credits, Delgado hopes finding it will help reunify the Crimson Fleet behind Kryx's ideals and stop the infighting that has plagued the pirates in recent years. He's absolutely correct, and if you give it to him, he uses it to fund the destruction of UCSysdef and turn the Crimson Fleet into a super power.
Naeva Mora
Naeva Mora
Voiced By: Janora McDuff
Delgado's second in the Crimson Fleet, Naeva is more temperamental than her boss but handles recruitment of new crews into the Fleet.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She is in a relationship with Jazz, who knows all of Naeva's secrets and seems to be the only one she actually trusts.
- Hate Sink: She is rude, condescending and has little to no respect for the Player Character. Even Delgado praises you for a job well done. Other than vouching for you into the fleet, she does the bare minimum to help you throughout the Kryx's Legacy mission. Many player expresses their hatred and disdain towards her especially since she is the only one who manages to run away from arrest and death.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Vouched for Jillian Toft, Austin Rake and the Spacefarer for membership into the Crimson Fleet. Rake left the Fleet and is now on the run, Toft left the Fleet for SysDef and is now Commander Ikande's second in command, and it's up to you whether or not she makes it three for three.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: If you side with UCSysdef during the final mission, she leads an assault on the Vigilance, but breaks off her attack prematurely and flees, leaving the Vigilance free to join the battle the Player is leading against The Key and tip the scale. She's ultimately the only one of the main Crimson Fleet character who ends up neither arrested nor killed.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: She's never heard from again after she abandons the Fleet during SysDef's final assault.
Jazz
Jasmine "Jazz" Durand
Voiced By: Anna Graves
The head mechanic of the Key and the Crimson Fleet's shipmaster.
- Wrench Wench: She's the perpetually greasy chief technician aboard the Key, responsible for maintaining both the station itself and any docked ships.
Shinya Voss
Shinya Voss
Voiced By: Chris Naoki Lee
Voss is the Crimson Fleet's moneyman, and as such lives with a bomb strapped to his chest to ensure both loyalty and that should he ever be captured he can be eliminated remotely.
- The Cracker: He's a supremely skilled cyber runner responsible for laundering the Crimson Fleet's illicit income streams through GalBank's networks undetected. He also scans the Settled Systems' data streams for juicy prizes and hands them over to enterprising pirate captains for collection.
- Why Am I Ticking?: He knows why he's ticking, but that doesn't change the fact he has a very visible bomb strapped to his chest. If you side against the Fleet, one optional objective during the final assault on the Key is defusing the bomb so Voss can be taken into custody.
Bog
Bog
Voiced By:
The bartender of The Last Nova, the Key's only bar.
- The Lost Lenore: Maddie, a childhood friend he always loved but lost out to his friend Clay, who made a move on Maddie first.
- We Used to Be Friends: His best friend Clay, who he joined the Crimson Fleet with alongside Maddie. However, Clay proposing to Maddie, leaving the Fleet for Ecliptic, and getting Maddie killed on a bad job caused Bog to come to hate him.
Evgeny Rokov
Evgeny Rokov
Voiced By: Vladimir Kulich
A former captain in the Crimson Fleet, Rokov was kicked out by Delgado and is desperate to get back in his good graces. He is currently working for Trident as the captain of the Siren of the Stars luxury cruse liner.
Huan Daiyu
Huan Daiyu
Voiced by: Artemis Snow
A smuggler associated with the Crimson Fleet. She is the captain of the Jade Swan.
- Affably Evil: She's one of the nicest members of the Fleet and values trust and discretion in a way many members of the pirate group doesn't.
- What the Hell, Hero?: If you rat her out during "Breaking The Bank", she'll tear you a new one when you return to the Key because you just cost her her ship and her most profitable smuggling route in one fell swoop.
Estelle Vincent
Estelle Vincent
Voiced by: Linsay Rousseau
A captain in the Fleet who operates out of Neon.
- The Alcoholic: Even the pirates think she likes her liquor, she starts herquest in one bar with a plan to celebrate in another and she is absolutely lit after the climactic battle with Sysdef - and possibly during it.
- What the Hell, Hero?: If the Starfarer is nice to her, doesn't sell her out to Bayu, and covers her expenses but turns over the evidence that gets her arrested by SysDef, Estelle will be amongst the angriest of the prisoners when talked to in the brig. She will call them out for seeming like they cared about her only to turn her over and claim that people don't do that to each other.
Ryujin Industries
In General
Ryujin Industries is a major corporation with a presence throughout the Settled Systems. Its headquarters is located in the pleasure city of Neon in the Volii system, which is part of the Freestar Collective.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Compared to all the big players on Neon, and most of the Settled Systems they certainly are. Their neuro-amp scheme is an awful Poison and Cure Gambit but at least they did proper human research protocols with it, not even attempting human testing until they got the proper materials needed to make it work safely.
- Corporate Samurai: More or less your job description if you choose to work for them.
- Corporate Warfare: You'll be engaging in a lot of the more covert aspects of this trope if you accept quests from them.
- Expy:
- They're a somewhat Lighter and Softer version of Arasaka IN SPACE!, complete with the pseudo-Japanese, black-and-red aesthetics, sociopathic mindset fueled by terminal-stage capitalism, and I Own This Town-level influence over the city that hosts their HQ.
- From more of a gameplay perspective, they're also heavily inspired by the Thieves Guild as seen in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Most of their missions involve planting evidence, stealing something, or some sort of breaking and entering. They reduce your reward for any bodies you leave behind (much like how the thieves guild would make you pay a fine for killing during one of your missions), and like the Thieves' Guild one of their top members is a traitor.
- Feminist Fantasy: Two out of three of the Ryujin executives you report to during their questline are exclusively female, and the board of directors is composed of five women and only two men.
- Megacorp: What started out as a specialized manufacturer of neuroamp hardware has since expanded its portfolio to a point where its influence can be felt in just about every part of human life in the Settled Systems.
- Mind Control: Their newest neuro-amp model allows the user to take temporary control of other humans. When the Spacefarer gets fitted with the prototype, it gives them one free level of the Manipulation perk to represent this ability. The morality of such an implant hitting the market is a major concern during the Ryujuin questline, and the player can eventually decide whether or not it ends up released to the public.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Heavily encourages the Player to not make a mess of things. The more of a mess, the more they have to spend cleaning up a mess. They give a bonus to the Player if they don't make a mess. They also provide the player with a non-lethal weapon and ammo when they have to 'infiltrate' their own building for security testing reasons.
Masako Imada
Masako Imada
Voiced By:' Andromeda Dunker
Chief Executive Officer for Ryujiin Industries.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Ryujiin is ruthless when it comes to their business interests. But Masako has lines she will not cross- she does not sanction nor condone killing. When she finds out how many lines Infinity LTD has crossed in their attempts to complete their incomplete, and stolen, Project Dominion Internal Neuro Amp- sending Ecliptic mercenaries to massacre the entire staff of a mine, and testing their incomplete and unapproved project on human subjects (resulting in nearly all of them dying with the last one comatose and dying when you find them), she is livid.
Dalton Fiennes
Dalton Fiennes
Head of internal security at Ruyjin
- A Lighter Shade of Black: While no stranger to corporate shady dealings, he's also the person on the board most strongly opposed to the Internal Amp, find it morally repulsive.
- Batman Gambit: His plan to expose Ularu is to let her try to frame Masako, so he can use this as evidence.
- Crazy-Prepared: He has plans set in place to investigate everyone on the board, including Masako herself, and Ularu, who is in charge of all of Ryujin's corporate backstabbing.
Ularu Chen
Ularu Chen
Voiced by: Judy Alice Lee
Head of Operations for Ryujin Industries.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: She's ultimately done in by her attempts to frame Imogen, and Masako. The later used as evidence to get the board to fire her. She's also the one who sent the player on the mission that showed there was a leak - probably because as Simon was a known source for Ryujin, her underlings would've found it suspicious if she didn't act on his tip..
- The Mole: She's the one who has been leaking info to Infinity THD to discredit Masako
- The Usurper: Ularu has been bent on taking Masako's place as CEO, and whether or not she suceeds is dependent on the player's decision to ally with her or not.
Linden Calderi
Linden Calderi
Voiced by: Charlie Wes
Chief Financial Officer of Ryujin Industries.
Genevieve Monohan
Genevieve Monohan
Voiced by: Erikka J.
Head of Marketing and Public Relations.
Alexis Pryce
Alexis Pryce
Voiced by: Debra Cardona
Head of the Legal Department.
Veena Kalra
Head of Ryujin's R&D Department.
- For Science!: She is very enthusiastic about Ryujin's research into the Amp that while she studied how the implant can be misused she ignores that data. One way to convince her to shelve her own project is to remind her that as a scientist it's her duty to regard all the data, at which point she realizes she let her eagerness blind her.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: She has 4 PhDs.
Demarcus Sterling
Member of Ryujin R&D and Veena's second.
- Professor Guinea Pig: He insists that the player test the internal Amp on him, so that he might catalogue how to feels and check for any side effects it might have upon the target. Veena mentions he's prone to testing Ryujin inventions on himself.
Camden Cho
Camden Cho
Voiced by: Caleb Yen
Supply chain manager for Ryujin Industries' operations department.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Of the senior leadership, he is the only one who qualifies, expressing distaste for the corporate games played on Neon and Bayu's influence in the company.
- Nice Guy: He is the most welcoming of the executives to the Starfarer and encourages them to look at the good things the products of Ryujin do, like help people with disabilities, in order to avoid getting lost in just the corporate espionage aspects of the company.
Yuko Serrano
Yuko Serrano
Voiced by: Linsay Rousseau
A senior operations specialist.
Imogene Salzo
Imogene Salzo
Voiced by: Dalal Badr
Another senior operations specialist of Ryujin Industries and a rival of Yuko.
Collins
Operative Collins
Voiced by: ???
A Ryujin operative partner with Khambatta assigned to investigate a mysterious ship that holds an artificial intelligence.
Khambatta
Operative Khambatta
Voiced by: ???
Collins' partner in investigating the artificial intelligence Ryujin found on a mysterious ship.
First Cavalry
In General
An elite unit that served the Freestar Collection with distinction during the war, they suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Niira and refused to honor the armistice when word of it arrived. Its remaining officers were arrested and court-martialed, serving time in prison afterwards. They reemerged in Freestar space as a mercenary company strong-arming Farmers, leading the Rangers to investigate their resurgence.
- Arc Villain: They are the primary antagonists of the Freestar Rangers storyline.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: The survivors went from an elite unit to spending nearly two decades behind bars for disobeying orders. When they were released they quickly formed a ruthless mercenary outfit.
Paxton Hull
Major Paxton Hull
Voiced by: Andrew Bowen
The leader of the First Cavalry.
- Despair Event Horizon: The Battle of Niira caused him to cross it, with it being mentioned that everyone could see that Hull had clearly been broken by the horrors of the battle and watching so many of his soldiers die pointlessly.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He does not react well when Sam pities what he went through at Niira, telling him he has not earned the right to pity him.
- The Dragon: To Ron Hope.
- Honorable Warrior's Death: If the Starfarer tries to arrest him after defeating him, he will refuse to go quietly and decide to go down fighting despite being badly wounded, declaring he will report for duty to his soldiers one last time.
- Majorly Awesome: He was regarded as one of the best officers in the Freestar military and inspired extreme loyalty amongst his soldiers. When he refused to honor the armistice all the survivors followed him in this action.
- Revenge: The credits for forcing the farmers off their land was nice, but Hull admits that hurting Freestar believers was more important to him. It is also why he turns over the evidence on Ron Hope when defeated, as he sees him as part of the rot corrupting the Freestar Collective that needs to be cut out. He also mentions that he's relishing the idea that the Starfarer's faith in Freestar will be shattered when they see the corruption that lies at the heart of it.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: The horrors of what he saw at Niira shattered his mind, and he clearly never moved beyond seeing Xenoweapons tearing through his men.
- Villain Has a Point: Derides the Rangers in particular as a tool for the unworthy, and considering that your bosses are the likes of Ron Hope and Benjamin Bayu, it's hard to argue.
- Worthy Opponent: He is impressed by the Starfarer fighting their way through the First and tells them not to regret winning, as they did a soldier's job fighting them.Paxton Hull: You fought because you had to, and you fought well. Don't apologize for that.
Maya Cruz
Maya Cruz
Voiced by: Sasha Sloan
A high-ranking officer and technical genius.
- Gadgeteer Genius: She's a highly skilled engineer and programmer. Tracking her down involves dealing with a small army of robots, turrets and other mechanical hazards she set up to stop you.
- I Die Free: She won't allow herself to be captured alive.
- Undying Loyalty: To her unit, and especially her CO.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Cruz suffers from an unspecified illness that will kill her in the not-so-distant future, leaving her with a nothing-to-lose mindset.
Marco Graziani
Marco Graziani
Voiced by: Matthew Porretta
The head of a smuggling ring and member of the First Cavalry.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: He has an appreciation for the finer things, and his ship, the Fortuna, is one of the fanciest vessels seen in game, with a decadent and art covered lounge, bedroom, and private office onboard. Marco himself wears a nice suit in contrast to the other First members aboard, who are in military gear.
- Only in It for the Money: He finds Hull's desire for conflict with the Rangers to be an issue that affects Marco's own operations. He offers to sell out the First in exchange for his own smuggling ring being left free to operate in peace.
Independent Settlements & Outposts
The Red Mile
Mei Devine
Mei Devine
Voiced By: Grace Lynn Kung
The current owner of the Red Mile, a small casino where patrons bet on runners in a course fighting through monster and obstacles to the other side.
- Affably Evil: For someone who thrives on getting people killed in a brutal Blood Sport tournament, Mei's quite pleasant to deal with, especially when contrasted with the psychotically rude Ecliptic mercs she employs as guards.
- Everyone Has Standards: She questions people who want to run the Red Mile if they are being coerced or under the influence, as she does not want people who are unwilling or unable to understand what they are signing up for. It's one of her few standards, and she states she does want to be able to sleep at night.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: It's pretty clear that she and her head of security hate each others' guts, and Mei certainly has no qualms about having her replaced after Stocker threatens to take over the Red Mile.
- Visionary Villain: She's determined to turn the Red Mile from a sleazy smuggling port at the ass-end of nowhere into a high-end casino and entertainment center. Results seem to be mixed, with even most of her underlings openly questioning this course of action.
Stocker
Stocker
Voiced By:
Head of security for the Red Mile and leader of the (exceptionally rude) Ecliptic Mercenaries that serve as the casino's security staff.
- The Bully: Is just as rude and threatening to the player and the casino's patrons as the rest of her staff, if not more so since she acts the same way even to her boss. And like many bullies, she backs down when someone stands up to her, as is the case when she threatens Donovan Rhys and Mei Devine.
- Bullying a Dragon: Because threatening not only a man who ran the Red Mile enough times to be considered a legendary badass but also her boss who pays her and her mercenaries considerably well and also has "friends in high places," not to mention, well, you, is such an intelligent thing to do.
- Hot-Blooded: That her first thought is to hold a patron at gunpoint when the guy tries to go outside without paying his tab (even though the casino is a sealed environment on a frozen planet, so where would he go?) says a lot about her.
- The Starscream: Alludes to Mei — right to her face — that there may come a time when she and the rest of her mercenaries take over the Red Mile, to which Mei responds by pointing out that Stocker could easily be replaced with somebody else.
Paradiso
In General
A luxury hotel on the privately owned planet of Porrima II, Paradiso offers tourists from all across the Settled Systems the perfect beach vacation free from government oversight. They've recently hit a bit of snag after a massive unidentified spaceship appeared in orbit.
- Capitalism Is Bad: Paradiso's administration only cares about their bottom line. While the hotel's guests and executives live in luxury, the staff are housed in what's essentially a third-world slum off the beach. When faced with the whole ESC Constant situation, the board's first reaction is to complain about how it's impacting their profits, followed by proposing to 1) turn the ship's innocent crew into slaves to "earn" the right to live on the planet, or 2) blow up the ship.
- Company Town: The settlement of Paradiso consists of nothing but the hotel tower and its surrounding infrastructure, all owned by one company.
- Karma Houdini: Sadly, there's no meaningful way to side against this sociopathic company during the "First Contact" quest. The most you can do is deny them a source of free labor through either killing the Generation Ship's inhabitants, or providing them with the necessary credits to get a Grav drive & journey to a new home elsewhere, but regardless of your decision, the ESC Constant ultimately gets the short end of the stick.
The Crucible
In General
- Clone Angst: The Crucible's inhabitants are fully aware they're clones of famous historical figures from Earth, and almost all of them struggle with this knowledge one way or another.
- Hidden Elf Village: As the loading screens point out, Crucible isn't listed on any star chart. This is reflected in gameplay - because nobody in the Settled Systems knows they exist, the only way to trigger the associated questline is to stumble across the star system on your own.
- History Repeats: The colony has gone through countless cycles of internal conflict and rebellion against their machine overlords, but they always ended up back where they started. The Spacefarer's intervention is their first and best shot at finally breaking the cycle.
- Resurrective Immortality: When a clone dies one way or another, they just get recreated with most of their memories intact. Some have died dozens of times over the course of the colony's tumultuous history.
- Riddle for the Ages: It's never revealed just what the point of the cloning experiment was. What can be gleaned from the heavily corrupted data fragments found in the Facility hints at an attempt to breed the perfect leader, using DNA from famous Earth leaders as a foundation. Why someone went to such lengths to accomplish this, who they were, where they got the DNA samples, and what they intended to do with their creations in case they were successful are all questions that remain unanswered after the quest concludes.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Voiced by: Daniel Hagen
The leader of the Pragmatists, clone of the famous US President.
- Arch-Enemy: He sees Genghis as his, as he will not risk Genghis leaving the colony because he believes him to be as much of a threat as his historical counterpart.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Alone among the three faction leaders, Roosevelt isn't hedging plans for building an empire under his leadership. He's convinced the clones aren't yet ready to join the rest of humanity among the stars, and so he wants them to work together and better themselves until they are.
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Voiced by: Kaiji Tang
The leader of the Renegades, a genetic reconstruction of the famous Mongolian Khan.
- Blood Knight: Relishes fighting and conquest.
- Hypocrite: He complains that he shouldn't be judged by his original self, and that genes don't dictate a person's personality. To which the player can point out science does agree. But at the same time, Genghis goes out of his way to be eager to kill and conquer and basically act as one would expect Genghis Khan to stereotypically act. It's to the point where he refuses to swear he'll do no such thing if that would let him leave the colony.
Amanirenas
Amanirenas
Voiced by: Erica Luttrell
The leader of the Believers, a clone of the Queen of the Kingdom of Kush.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Unlike the other clones, she has memories from her past life. Nothing ever explains why she has those, so it's left to the player to decide if she's an actual reincarnation or just crazy.
Wyatt Earp (Spoilers)
"Wyatt Earp" / H. H. Holmes
Voiced by: August Sargent
The clone of the famous US lawman... at least supposedly. In reality he's a clone of H. H. Holmes, the famous American serial killer.
- The Atoner: Albeit by proxy. It's implied that he's somewhat ashamed and afraid of his genes and feels he would be instantly killed if everyone knew his secret. In fact, at one point he makes a half-hearted threat to kill the Spacefarer, but is easily talked down from his position, encouraged to "be Wyatt Earp." Notably, it's also implied that it only applies to this clone, as a previous iteration may have pretended to be "Wild Bill" Hickock, yet was as diabolical as the historical Holmes.
- Historical Badass Upgrade: A variant; as per numerous other works of fiction, Starfield describes Holmes as having been a notorious mass-murderer who killed countless innocent people. While the real Holmes certainly was a despicable monster, in reality as more research has been performed the actual number of murders than can be reliably ascribed to him is "fairly" low (read: closer to 27 victims rather than the initially claimed 200); in truth, Holmes was most likely less an actual Serial Killer and more one of the first mass-murderers in modern history to be profiled as a serial killer.
- Serial Killer: He is a clone of the infamous American Serial Killer, though thankfully "Earp" himself isn't actually a monstrous wretch and Sadist like the original Holmes.
- Walking Spoiler: The Reveal of him really being a clone of H. H. Holmes and not Wyatt Earp is played as a major plot twist.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Voiced by: Julie Nathanson
The clone of the famous pilot, and a potential crew member.
- Bold Explorer: Just like her ancestor, Amelia wants nothing more than to explore and push the boundaries of the unknown ever outwards. If you invite her to join your crew, she's positively beaming with joy at finally being able to spread her wings.
- Shout-Out: Her appearance in this game as one among many other temporally-displaced famous Historical Domain Characters on an isolated interstellar backwater in the future is likely an allusion to her appearance in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The 37s" (though here, she and the other historical figures are actually clones and not the original people sent there by Sufficiently Advanced Aliens).
Nishina Research Station
Kaia Patel
Director Kaia Patel
Voiced by: Mouzam Makkar
Administrator and research director of Nishina, and an expert in quantum particle physics.
Ethan Hughes
Ethan Hughes
Voiced by: Emerson Brooks
Chief of Security for Nishina.
Maria Hughes
Maria Hughes
Voiced by: Cesili Williams
Chief researcher of Nishina.
Rafael Aguerro
Rafael Aguerro
Voiced by: Kari Loya
Chief engineer of Nishina.
Dr. Tatiana Barakova
Doctor Tatiana Barakova
Voiced by: Sara Amini
The chief medical doctor of Nishina.
The Starborn (Spoilers)
In General
The Starborn
An enigmatic group of... somethings that come after the player, claiming that they aren't worthy of handling the Artifacts. It is not clear what their goals are, who they are, or even if they're human beings. Their appearance thoroughly stumps Constellation.
- The Ageless: It's all but directly stated that becoming a Starborn prevents someone from aging past the point where they joined with the Unity, to the point where it's all but directly stated that the "war" between the Hunter and Emissary regarding how the Artifacts should be treated by different universe has been going on for several eons from "their" perspective.
- Alliance of Alternates: The Hunter and the Emissary have both teamed up with nearly identical alternates of themselves. This also applies to the player at one point, wherein a New Game Plus playthrough, Constellation is made up of several different versions of you representing the game's factions plus the "Loner You".
- Alternate Self: The Starborn are essentially people from alternate dimensions and timelines. The best example is encountered in a possible New Game Plus start where an older version of Cora Coe, Sam's daughter, is out for blood against a version of the player who either killed or failed to save Sam, even gathering their own crew to try and kill you. Even the player has multiple Starborn versions of themselves running around, ranging from a Starborn who killed Constellation for shits and giggles, a group of alternate selves who represent the game's respective factions (and a loner), and even a non-Starborn version who, like you, has just signed on with Constellation.
- Advanced Ancient Humans: Well, not necessarily ancient, but the Starborn are humans who have passed through the Unity, gaining the ability to jump between universes and immortality.
- Ancient Astronauts: They're humans (as far as we know) that have been exploring The Multiverse for eons, with some of them using their advanced knowledge to jumpstart certain technological advancements in younger human civilizations.
- Big Bad Ensemble: They — the Hunter and Emissary in particular — serve as the primary antagonists of the game's main questline, serving as the main force impeding Constellation's research into the Artifacts.
- Elite Mooks: The weakest of them have tricks up their sleeve that make regular bosses look like chumps in comparison. Their strongest provide the toughest boss battles in the main questline, if not the game as a whole.
- Enemy Civil War: There are some... disagreements among them about how to handle the artifacts and their powers. Some like the Emissary want to put them under strict regulation in an attempt to prevent abuse of their potential. Others like the Hunter are power-hungry sociopaths who care about nothing but themselves.
- Eternal Recurrence: The Hunter and the Emissary face off in each timeline, with the winner varying. They also hold a meeting in each timeline where one futilely tries to convince the other to relent. Their interest in the player late in the main questline in non-NG+ runs comes in large part simply because the Starfarer being the one to lead the hunt for the Artifacts and survive this long is something they've never seen before, and if they get talked down at a final battle where they've teamed up against you, one of the main arguments is that it will be a break in the cycle as something else that has never happened before.
- Evil Doppelgänger: The Hunter is a duplicate of Father Aquilus, who unlike the good father is aggressive, with a might-makes-right, survival of the fittest viewpoint. The Emissary meanwhile is an alternate timeline duplicate of whichever Constellation member died in the Hunter's attack. They believe that You Are Not Ready and they should be The Chooser of the One. Depending on the player's own morality and views either can become an enemy. Or both.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Thanks to their suits, all of the Starborn have electronically-deepened voices that sound suitably menacing. This is especially notable when the Emissary and the Hunter depolarize their helmet visors to reveal their faces and their voices sound normal, if a bit muffled. As soon as they repolarize their visors, their voices become deep and menacing again.
- Flash Step: In combat they make frequent use of the Phase Time power that, to the player, appears like they teleport from one place to another almost instantly.
- My Rules Are Not Your Rules: Although they use the same abilities the Spacefarer can acquire, theirs are often on a level the player will never be able to attain. For instance, where the Spacefarer can learn to resurrect a dead animal to fight for them, hostile Starborn can resurrect dead humans a dozen at a time. Others can create an entire squad of hostile copies of you instead of the singular copy you can spawn.
- No Body Left Behind: Starborn disappear in a flash of light upon death, making it impossible to loot their corpses. The same thing happens to their spaceships, so don't bother trying to capture one for yourself. This trait carries over to the player once they pass through the Unity themselves.
- Not So Stoic: Prior to the final battle, you may attempt a persuasion check against the Hunter and/or Emissary to ask them to stand down, and as usual, there are a couple of options that are rather silly and light-hearted. Both can actually end up cracking up in response if it is successful, and the Emissary even notes the fact that it's been far too long since they'd last laughed.
- Talking the Monster to Death: The final battle against their representative(s) can be avoided through a surprisingly easy persuasion check.
- Unusable Enemy Equipment: While generally averted - as the player can obtain almost all suits through repeated NG+ playthroughs - two Starborn encountered at the final temple, Guardian Athaliah and Guardian Fionn, wear special versions of the Tempus suit with brown cloaks, completely unobtainable by the player.
- Villain Team-Up: If you refuse to side with either the Emissary or the Hunter at the end of the main quest, they put their differences aside for a moment to take you down together.
- Visible Invisibility: Starborn will often use their powers to turn nearly invisible for a limited but considerable time.
- Walking Spoiler: Their mere existence is a gargantuan twist in Starfield's narrative. As such, they were never shown in trailers, never discussed prior to release, and their existence is impossible to discuss without revealing that, yes, there is something else out there among the stars besides us, even if it happens to be a more advanced version of us.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: It’s heavily implied by the Pilgrim’s writings that this is the danger of endlessly pursuing the power of the artifacts & ascending through the Unity, and that the reason why the Emissary and the Hunter have become self-righteous, sociopathic husks of their former selves is because they’ve been doing this for so long.
The Hunter
The Hunter
Voiced by: Phil Crowley
A mysterious black-suited individual who attacks Constellation for the artifacts they are gathering.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: If the player sides against him and vows revenge for their dead companion prior to the final fight, he takes a moment to figure out what the PC is mad about. Then he laughs.
- Killing the player is literally routine to him. He means it when he taunts "say goodbye to your friends." The implication is that in most universes where the player exists, they are cut down haplessly at the Lodge, and sometimes at the Eye. He is baffled when this universe's version turns it into a serious fight.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He can first be encountered at the Viewport in New Atlantis after first arriving, where you can have a friendly conversation with him. He appears again in Akila City where he can engage in another philosophical conversation.
- Didn't See That Coming: The Hunter has gotten so used to killing you during the attack on the Lodge in prior timelines that when you survive he doesn't know what to do. This doesn't anger him, far from it.
- Evil Counterpart: To Keeper Aquilus.
- Evil Wears Black: He wears an all-black Starborn space suit.
- Frickin' Laser Beams: He wields a maxed-out legendary Orion laser rifle called Unmitigated Violence.
- Hero Killer: In your first playthrough, the Hunter will kill the companion with the highest or second highest amount of approvalnote . The Hunter has done this repeatedly, mentioning how he destroyed Constellation in several other universes in the past. In two possible NG+ starts, you'll find yourself in a universe where the Hunter killed the members of Constellation, either running into the player at the Lodge after the fact or leaving Vasco the Sole Survivor of the group.
- Prior to your first playthrough, the Hunter killed you each and every time during the attack on either the Lodge or the Eye.
- Immortality Immorality: The Hunter's interpretation of being Starborn is speedrunning Temples and with the multiverse making everyone infinite, it also makes everyone a valueless obstacle in his speedrun. He recounts killing off Constellation in general and the player in particular like a gamer discussing alternate strategies. Indications vary on how much he enjoys what he does vs. being dead inside. Either way, he really doesn't care in a positive way about ideas like "collateral damage" and I Have a Family.
- Meaningful Name: The model of his preferred projectile weapon is a unique Orion binary laser rifle. Orion was a hunter in Greek mythology and is also the name of a constellation in the winter northern hemisphere sky on Earth.
- Villain Respect: The Hunter is actually impressed with the player fighting them off, enough to pause his assault and let them gather more artifacts, as it's been so long a non-Starborn effectively defeated him - and even then it's never the player, who in each timeline dies at his hand. He's also otherwise fairly courteous and respectful to the player even if they remain enemies. He even hands them the artifacts gathered by Constellation in one potential New Game Plus playthrough. It can happen in a different way in NG+; if you preempt his attack on the Lodge by warning Vladimir and installing the Artifacts on your ship, the Hunter unexpectedly shows up… to congratulate you on pulling a move the Emissary never would have and tell you he won't attack your friends in this universe.
The Emissary
The Emissary
Voiced by: Nicky Endres
A Starborn who seeks to convince the Starfarer not to pursue the artifacts.
- Alternate Self: They are the Starborn version of the Constellation member who died in the attack on the Lodge or the Eye. They had similar adventures with their own version of the Player Character. The point of divergence is the Player Character dying in the attack instead.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: No matter who they were, they've left behind all of their past goals and desires to focus on controlling access to the Armillary for those they (and they alone) deem "worthy".
- Heel–Face Turn: Implied, if you side with them in the final battle. The version of yourself who talks to you in the Unity says that your trust in them caused them to become somewhat less judging of humanity, and seek out individuals who they believe may be worthy of becoming Starborn (and those they do approve of are implied to generally be good people).
- The Chooser of the One: In a truly staggering display of arrogance, the Emissary fancies themselves the only one in the entire multiverse who's qualified to decide who may or may not be worthy of becoming Starborn. It's up to the player whether or not their universe will be subject to the Emissary's whims.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Unlike the Hunter who most players will despise for killing one of their two favorite companions, very likely the top / spouse in a first playthrough because of timing and who rejects any higher point, the Emissary has an argument. In the main quest the player will encounter two very serious consequences of Artifact mishandling prior to the finale. The artifacts are responsible for both the destruction of Earth's magnetic field and extinction of most Earth species and a chaotic entanglement of two universes in a research facility, which is implied to have had the potential for larger annihilation had you not arrived when you did. Add in the corruption of both the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective (especially Neon), and it’s not hard to see why the Emissary is opposed to letting humans have free control over the artifacts.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Although their ultimate goal is marginally less selfish than the Hunter's, they're still very much a ruthless villain who's willing to do anything to get what they want.
- Light Is Not Good: Their white suit can't hide the fact they're not much better than the black-clad Hunter.
- Static Role, Exchangeable Character: They are an alternate of whichever companion does in the Hunter's attack (defaulting to Barrett if you are in a New Game Plus and foiled the attack so none died). That said whoever they are doesn't change their personality or goals. It only changes their face and voice.
- What the Hell, Hero?: If you choose to replay the main story in an New Game Plus run, the Emissary calls you out on re-living the life you once lived by outright lying to Constellation that you're a normal human, and not an interdimensional Starborn and lying by omission in that you already know all the answers they seek. And that you might be trying to use that universe's version of Constellation as Replacement Goldfish for the Constellation members you befriended in your first universe. The Hunter accuses them of hypocrisy, stating that they all re-live their former lives once in a while.
The Pilgrim
The Pilgrim
A Starborn who ended their quest for the artifacts in exchange for a life of contemplation and helping people.
- The Ghost: The Pilgrim is a Starborn who grew tired of jumping between realities (and possibly an alternate version of the Hunter) and decided to settle in the game's timeline and pass on his knowledge. They are never encountered in game, though their diaries point the player to the meeting between the Hunter and the Emissary. Only in New Game Plus does it become apparent that you did meet him - he's Keeper Aquilus. A version of the Hunter who gave up his pursuit of the Artifacts and started the Sanctum Universum to share the knowledge and wisdom he'd gained over his travel with people of the timeline, finding it more satisfying. It is why he "knows" of the meeting with the Pilgrim and the various factions, especially the Enlightened who themselves don't really remember that meeting.
The Trader
The Trader
A Starborn who has stopped competing for the Artifacts to instead indulge in their own hedonism by selling gear to other Starborn at a huge markup.- The Hedonist: By their own description they are this. They are willing to wait for the player if they lack money as "their ship lacks no entertainment."
- Intrepid Merchant: Basically this, they explore the systems looking for Starborn to sell stuff to.
NASA
Dr. Victor Aiza (Spoilers)
Doctor Victor Aiza
Voiced by: Stephen Russell
A NASA scientist credited as the inventor of the Grav drive.
- For Science!: Aiza is pretty dismissive of the risks of the Grav drive technology. At first it seems to be this trope at work - it's later revealed he knew what would happen, having been given the info from a Starborn version of himself.
- I Did What I Had to Do: It's how he justifies what he did, knowingly engineering the destruction of Earth's atmosphere, knowing it'd push humanity into the stars, and save humanity from being wiped out by a single disaster. That said, he clearly carried a lot of guilt even with his excuse, returning to his lab 11 years later, and committing suicide there.
- Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the time the story takes place, having taken his own life during humanity's exodus.
Dr. Judith Tatienne
Doctor Judith Tatienne
Voiced by: Erica Luttrell
A physicist who joined Aiza's team to create the first Grav drive.
- The Cassandra: She warns everyone's being a bit gungho about the Grav drive, not worrying about the consequences. Turns out it's even worse than she thought, Aiza knew what the Grav drive would cause.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's not clear what became of her after she learned the truth. She might have evacuated the planet with most of the civilians.
Other Characters
Petrov
Captain Petrov
Voiced by: Stephan Russell
The captain of the Scow, a large scavenging vessel where Petrov keeps an extensive collection of artifacts guarded by his large and well-armed crew.
- Asshole Victim: Due to wide rumors of morally questionable methods of acquiring pieces for his collection, it's somewhat challenging to feel remorse for causing the Hunter to kill him and take his Artifact instead if you pre-empt the Hunter's attack on the Lodge in a New Game Plus run.
- Trash of the Titans: While Petrov insists on keeping both his collection and his personal quarters neat and tidy, the rest of his ship can charitably be referred to as a garbage scow, if not worse.
- Killed Offscreen: If the player does the Foreknowledge quest in an NG+ run, the Hunter takes a little early detour while you're packing up the Artifacts for installation elsewhere to kill Petrov and take his Artifact.
Mom & Dad
Mom & Dad
Voiced by: Nana Visitor & Tim Russ
The player character's parents, should they choose the Kid Stuff trait. They live together in New Atlantis in the Residential District, living with the help of credits sent over by you every so often.
- Absurdly Youthful Parents/Absurdly Elderly Parents: They look around the proper age to have an independent adult child that's already established themselves outside of the home. But due to the nature of Character Customization, the exact age of the Player Character can put these tropes in play.
- Comically Small Bribe: Mom manages to get access to Constellation HQ through offerings of snickerdoodle cookies.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: The "Kid Stuff" trait does not syncretize with all backstory traits. They show no indication of sharing your potential religious beliefs, even though the traits in question describe you as having been raised under said beliefs. They have also been living in the United Colonies' capital city since you were a child even if you chose the "Neon Street Rat" or "Freestar Settler" traits, though they will mention having lived in several different places with you before they settled down. They also don't mesh well with the Alternate Universe starts of New Game Plus, as Dad will still go to the Lodge and talk to a Noel that doesn't exist for the various starts where Constellation is defunct, while neither of the parents will bat an eye if you walk in with your own alter ego, treating you as their child right in front of their actual biological descendent.
- Good Parents: They are both incredibly supportive of you and put the credits that you send to good use to ensure they live a comfortable life. Talking with them also reveals that they have plenty of fond memories of you when you were younger. To top it all off, they can be practically helpful to you, as detailed under Video Game Caring Potential below. Even if you decide that you are unable to financially support them anymore (Which results in them having to move away), they are extremely understanding of the situation, harboring no ill will towards you and reassuring you that they'll be fine.
- Invulnerable Civilians: Similar to children in any Bethesda game, they are utterly indestructible - Bullets phase right through them, and they have no reaction to any hostility.
- No Name Given: They simply go by "Mom" and "Dad", likely so the player can fill in the blanks themselves.
- Parental Obliviousness: Averted. They will sometimes comment on things you do in the world that they hear about on the news. For example, the bank robbery on Akila will be reported on, and the next time you see them, they will be understandably a bit frazzled that you were involved, especially if things turned dangerous.
- So Proud of You: When they hear you've become a member of Constellation, they are absolutely ecstatic. Talking to them further shows that, really, they're just proud of you in general.
- Video Game Caring Potential: Pretty much their entire point. You may have to send them some credits every so oftennote , but in return, you not only get a pair of incredibly sweet and supportive parents, but also a comfy place to sleep as well as the occasional gift they give you in return for your financial help. These rewards range from an Old Earth Pistol that once belonged to Sir Livingstone, a spacesuit that once belonged to your grandmother in a war, and even an entire spaceship.
