Herc Armstrong
Earth Corps leader · Hooker
A ruggedly handsome man in his late thirties, strong-jawed, with thick brown hair and a short, practical mustache. Tanned, weathered skin; intense dark eyes. Broad-chested. Out of the suit he looks like a field geologist who lifts. The Hooker exosuit is bulky, industrial yellow-and-dark, with a massive grappling apparatus on one arm. In the helmet his face is framed by a visor glow. He stands as if bracing against wind even indoors.
Decisive, loud when needed, privately afraid of how far down the job goes. Commands Auger and Liquidator; trusts Sandra’s money and nerve; sworn against Blackthorne and Metlar.
Ed Augutter
Earth Corps · Auger
A bald, powerfully built archaeologist in his forties, African-American, with a thoughtful, lined face and a neatly kept mustache. Deep brown skin, dark eyes behind the intensity of someone who has seen tombs. Thick neck and forearms. The Auger suit is heavy, drill-armed, steel-and-amber. Without the helmet he often wears a simple work shirt. His skull’s shape is distinctive—a smooth, serious dome the cartoon never jokes about cruelly.
The team’s mechanic-philosopher, proud, sometimes overlooked by cameras. Brother-in-arms to Herc; design partner to Liquidator; Sandra’s ally; Blackthorne stole his schematics.
Jonathan Slattery
Earth Corps · Liquidator
A lean chemist in his thirties with sandy-red hair, a narrow clever face, and pale, slightly sunburned skin. Light eyes, a mobile mouth, the look of a man who tastes the air for compounds. The Liquidator suit is sleeker, with tanks and a spray cannon, colored in cool blues and chemical greens. Out of armor: lab coat or field khakis, always a little stained. Long-fingered hands.
Spiritual for a chemist, curious to a fault, later drawn to Sandra. Herc’s scout; Auger’s complementary mind; falls into orbit with Sandra; hunted by Metlar’s heat.
Sandra Shore
Earth Corps · Ms. Navigator
A poised woman in her early thirties with dark chestnut hair worn in a practical wave, olive-fair skin, and striking brown eyes. High cheekbones, a firm mouth, the bearing of inherited money she has decided to spend on the right war. Field gear is tailored but serious; her Earth Corps suit is slimmer than the men’s, with navigation arrays and a visor. When D’Compose touches her, the design turns her skin corpselike—we portray her restored, with only a memory of that pallor in the eyes.
Financier who became a soldier; will not be her brother’s accessory. Sister and enemy of Blackthorne; funds and joins Earth Corps; complicated warmth with Liquidator.
Blackthorne Shore
Industrialist traitor
A handsome, corrupt man in his late thirties, Sandra’s brother: similar bone structure, colder eyes, black hair slicked with expensive care. Pale from offices. He wears immaculate suits, then a stolen magnetic battle-harness that makes him look like a dark parody of Earth Corps—chrome and obsidian. A thin mustache or clean-shaven depending on the scheme; we use a precise, villainous mustache. Smile like a contract.
Charming, cowardly when the magma rises, always bargaining. Sandra’s wound; sells Earth Corps secrets; courts Metlar as a client he cannot control.
