#characterbios

Laia definitely never wanted to go to space. She thinks it’s a silly solution and that people ought to be focusing on saving the Earth if it really is dying. But her sister had begged and pushed, and, well, Dianne always got her way. Besides, it seemed like it might be fun. If absolutely terrifying.

Her biological mother gave her up for adoption when she was a baby, and she was adopted by a lesbian couple in Essex, Ontario. One of her mothers - Emilie - worked as an optometrist, while the other - Anissa - stayed at home and sometimes did tattoos as a hobby. Laia was always very close to both of her mothers, but especially Anissa, the more outwardly affectionate and cheerful of the two. She was also very close with her sister, Dianne, and they were each other’s best friends.

Laia was very good in school - though not nearly the natural genius her sister was - but she struggled to make friends, and she was always very shy. The older she got, the more intense this got, and when she was fifteen, she developed severe anxiety, and she would have a panic attack every time she entered her school. She was pulled out of school and homeschooled for the last few years of school, and she went to therapy and learned to manage her symptoms.

Once she was old enough, she made the bold decision to go to Oberlin College, in the United States, because she wanted to “start fresh”. It was terrifying, and there were many times where she wanted to drop out (sometimes she still thinks she should have), but she made it through premed and went on to medical school at the University of Virginia, even farther from her home. It was difficult, but she loved everything she was learning, and she knew she wanted to become a surgeon more than anything, so she stuck to it.

Eventually, she got a job in Boston, Massachusetts working as a heart surgeon, after completing her residency when she was 31. Her anxiety comes and goes in waves, so there are times when she’s just fine, if a little high-strung, and there are other times when she can’t even leave her front door. But…her sister wanted her to go to a space station, and Laia would do almost anything for her sister.

Laia is very shy, caring, and trustworthy. Although she can come off as distant or nervous, she has a powerful inner passion that shines through when she’s around people she knows and trusts. She’s an optimist who always looks for the good in people and bad situations. She hates large groups, and she can run out of energy and become overwhelmed when she focuses on too much at once. She loves to consider hypotheticals and philosophy, but she can often get lost in her own mind and withdraw from the people around her. She’s cautious and indecisive, but she’s also very loyal to the causes she values, and she’ll fight fiercely for her friends and family. 

She’s very aware of her anxieties, which only feeds into her self-doubting nature. She works hard to build a network of trust and, once she befriends someone, she will do just about anything to maintain that relationship. Unfortunately, this means it’s easy for her to be taken advantage of. She tends to take things personally, and she prefers to focus on the big picture than details. She can be a bit impractical.

Susi’s done with Earth. Not entirely, but there’s definitely a load of emotional baggage she’s willing to leave behind. There’s also her baby, who, if you ask her, deserves the world, but Minerva might just be better than a dying planet.

Colombia gave her a good life. Her parents, not so much. But she doesn’t dwell on it for too long; rather, Susana played as any child would, rebelled as any teenage would, and grew into a smart woman whose biggest strength and weakness would be caring greatly about others.

She joined medical school at a rather young age, then took up nursing: a perfect opportunity to help those in need. Efficient, kind, and incredibly smart, she was almost an exemplary woman, but she was often ridiculed for pursuing herbalism – a practice she had been familiar with since childhood. Sometimes, she heard they called her a bruja, but she didn’t mind. She healed bodies, minds, and hearts.

When she was 25, a man showed up in the hospital. He and Susana fell in love, and they were happy for some years -until she couldn’t take the lies and disappointment, but by then it was too late. A positive pregnancy test result in one hand and her bags in the other, she decided to leave him and Earth behind. She took it rather well. After all, she’s certain life is worthwhile, and the future can only hold brighter things ahead. Right?

Susana is lovely. Her heart and her smile are bound to enamour anyone, but she is also somewhat stern and anxious. She is honest and helpful, and sometimes she can be weary of new people. Frankly, it depends on your aura and zodiac sign.

When he tells you why he enlisted, he will say one of many versions. It depends on what he thinks you want to hear. Most coincide though he may not realize it; that he feared for his life, and that Project Minerva was a miraculous window in a series of closed doors. Does it matter? In any case, he’s happy now -he’s good at what he does, he’s nice to people, and people think he’s nice too. For him, as for many, it’s a second opportunity, if they know how to seize it. Besides, he likes space.

There’s no one to blame for the decisions he took as a boy. Not his absent parents, nor his friends –though they did lure him in with promises of cheap drinks and easy money. The cars and devices they stole he learned to fix and take apart, just like toys, except bigger. His enthusiasm was rarely taken seriously, though tolerated only because it proved harmless and never intervened in the group’s plans. Whatever those were, anyway.

They grew in numbers and influence, and Isaac was no longer a teenager but a young man who dreamed of inventions and technology (even when they told him to leave that to the white kids, Isaac. You got a job here, and you must be grateful for that). So he had, until he met engineer Mara Gutierrez after stealing her equipment. He’d always found it funny how she promised she wasn’t angry. Rather, impressed, and she promised she would mentor and help him get the life he deserved. Isaac loved her.    

Those he once called friends refused to let him go. They chased after him; after Mara, who died in an ’accident’, that’s what they called it. So when someone says there’s room for people like you in a ship, up in space, and you are an engineer in all but name, the answer seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? To the world, he is Isaac Moreno, a simple man with enough muscles and brain to maintain some order, when needed. Someone who’s never regretted, and who made all the right decisions to end up where he is now.

Upon seeing him, you’d think the man was born with a bright smile on his face, and anything else would look weird and wrong. He’s chatty, open to criticism and willing to lend an ear, if you need any help. He has always been hard-working, though this often leads to isolation -it’s okay, give him good food and he’ll snap out of it. Though displaying sincere emotions may be a virtue at times, this also results in him being blunt and tactless, mostly towards figures of authority.