Author's Character Profiles for Ordinary Velorians

What with all the concentration on Protectors, Scribes and Messengers, the P-class Velorians in our stories, it's easy to forget that more than 97% of the population of Velor are not P-class. Only 1% of them are born P1, in fact, and most of those become Protectors or Messengers. Few Protector remain on Velor or return.

Despite that, life goes on on the Golden Planet for the other 97-99%. Ordinary Velorians is about some of those more ordinary Velorians, both living on Velor and on some of the worlds that are very close to Velor and open members of the Enlightenment.

Of course, in the case of the daughters and sons from the Golden Planet, ordinary is still a pretty special word.

Planetary background:

The sun is not a real red giant, but rather is a yellow sun with a red transition. A rare yellow-red... a bit cooler than our sun and perhaps a bit larger, but stable. The rotation does indeed create some pretty wild fluctuations in climate, with the equator the only place on Reigel where crops can be grown. Yet it's an advance, industrialized planet, a producer of space craft that are their primary export item. The Vels buy them (they need them for near-planet travel), which is one of the reasons they have an embassy there.

Character backgrounds, as of 2003:

Naomi Kim'Vallara - Ambassador to Reigel Five

Physical: 5'10" tall, intensely blue eyes, blonde hair (reddish tint under Reigel Five red-yellow sun). Her natural powers are fully released on Reigel Five as it doesn't have a concentration of gold

Personality: Nurturing, friendly, stunningly attractive yet demure, able to blend in and make friends with Terrans, even when they know that she's a fabulous Velorian -- a superhuman. She doesn't intimidate them. Divorced for five years, she's been dating the President of Reigel Five, also a divorcee, something the local Press constantly hounds the two of them about, wanting to know the couple's intentions. The people of Reigel would love to have a First Lady who is Velorian. Many clearly are wondering what it would be like to have a Velorian girlfriend.

She's worried that she might get recalled to Velor because of her children's misbehavior on Reigel Five. The President is worried that people might think he's falling under the power of Velor, being that she's the Ambassador. If they were to marry, she'd have to resign her position, something he is reluctant to discuss with her.

He's still hurting emotionally from his ex-wife's rejection of him, his confidence shaken when she ran off with a famous athlete half his age. As a result, he hadn't asked Naomi to sleep with him at the outset, even though she'd made it clear enough that she was interested. She knew she had to give him time to heal, but was also worried that he might be intimidated by her otherworldly strength. Her pheromones, if released, would make the discussion moot, but she's avoided such a crude seduction. But once their affair started, it turned out to be a bad move, for Bergstrom was ambitious to consolidate his power – and when he resorted to violence, she couldn't take it any more.

Role/Attributes: She's a teacher by education (former Secondary school History teacher) who joined the Diplomatic Corps and is now the Ambassador Pro Tem to Reigel Five (after the previous Ambassador developed gold addiction and had to be recalled to Velor for treatment.) Her job is to maintain friendly relations between Reigel Five and Velor, and she accomplishes that by education. She visits all the schools, telling the students about the nuances of Velorian culture. That and she puts on Enlightenment Day, a huge annual celebration of the strong relationships between the two planets. She invites a few Protectors to visit at such times, putting on a dazzling show. Reigel Five, located very close in space to Velor, has no Protector. But many Vels live there.

Age: 49 years old

Species/Genetic Background: Velorian, M-class genetics (usually reserved for professionals and artists, as it denotes high intelligence and creativity.

Other: Mother of four children: Sara, age 25 (M-class), James, age 19 (B-class), Nikki, age 17 (M-class), Alisa'zar, age 15 (P1-class). All four children were conceived from her ova and her husband's sperm, with the genes of each optimized via in vitro fertilization in the Maternity Engine. Her first three children were raised from conception to birth in the Matrix, as is normal on Velor. Her youngest, Alisa'zar, was re-implanted in her body and she carried Alisa'zar to full term, something that has become fashionable for women bearing P1 daughters. Alisa'za was delivered naturally after an 11 month gestation. This natural pregnancy and birth binds mother and daughter even more tightly together than her other children, something the others struggle with.

 

Nikki Kim'Vallara- Middle daughter of Naomi, the Ambassador to Reigel Five

Physical: 6'2" tall, intensely blue eyes, red hair (aggressively tinted with red die, and then emphasized further by yellow-red sun of Reigel Five), with only a streak of her natural blonde glowing.

Personality: Rebellious, brilliantly intelligent, unconventional, contradicting. While continuing to excel in school, the top of her class, she rebels against her mother's instructions and upbringing in most other ways. Demonstrative of her native abilities, which are fully unleashed on Reigel Five, she hangs out with guys who are into body piercing, tattoos and who get high all the time. The fact that she can't do any of those things, other than maybe get high on gold, doesn't dissuade her, and is the magnet about which her band of friends revolves. She doesn't like the way her mother dotes on Alisa'zar and her P1 genetics. She knows that she, not her sister, has the personality and desire to be a warrior. Much of her misbehavior is her way of making sure she gets her share of attention, even if it's negative.

Role/Attributes: Seemingly, to drive her mother and teachers crazy. She won't say two words to the Velorian boys in class, preferring instead to hang out with the most rebellious of the Terran boys, although sometimes the most artistic... rock muscians, artists, and even some druggies. She does that to spite her mother. Those guys are the only ones who can keep her from going crazy from boredom.

She lives to dance in the clubs and discos, places with a very Punk flavor. 

She goes out of her way to be physically demonstrative in the way of a Velorian girl outside a gold field, something that also irritates her mother. Often as not she sheds her clothes when dancing late at night, and then floats around the dance floor naked. Sexually very active, especially when she can get caught at it by her mother, or in the clubs, where everyone talks about her.

She almost got kicked out of school after she announced to everyone that she was going to seduce the Scrumbles coach, a married Velorian teacher, and then did it using her pheromones, in the locker room shower, as some of the team members stared. Needless to say, the intensity of impassioned coupling of two empowered Velorians made a big impression on the Terran team members. More than the team. The faint impression of Nikki's backside is still there in the concrete floor of the shower, the result of the coach's chemically-induced frenzy. It has become a shrine, revered by the boys each day as they shower up. The coach was sent back to Velor and subsequently fired

Age: 17 years old

Species/Genetic Background: Velorian, M-class genetics (usually reserved for professionals and artists, as it denotes high intelligence and creativity)

Other: She only likes guys who don't act hung up on her beauty or the fact that she's hundreds of times stronger than they are. Or can fly naked through space under own power, little things that she teases them about, mostly to test them. She likes to show off her special abilities, but if a guy starts to fawn on her, to worship her, then he's history.

Alisa'zar Kim'Vallar - Youngest daughter of Naomi, the Ambassador to Reigel Five

Physical: 5'11" tall, deep blue eyes, platinum blonde hair, a P1-class Velorian only a few months before her Rites

Personality: Shy, bookish and demure, IQ greater than 200, a genius, she hides behind glasses she doesn't need (but many Terrans on Reigel Five wear) as she attends Velorian School at the Embassy. She doesn't want to be a Protector, instead, wants to study science and engineering. But she's also conscious of not disappointing her mother, and knows Velor needs more warriors. She just doesn't feel like a warrior, least of all wants to be one.

She has a body to die for, her figure and fitness putting both her older sisters to shame, but she's determined to make sure nobody else knows that

Role/Attributes: Now only a month before her Rites, she's in danger of not being selected because of her shyness. Her mother, who worked so hard to get permission to birth a P1 daughter, is determined that she will become a Protector. Alisa'zar has the genetics to become a Virago if she works at it, and Naomi can't understand why her daughter would waste such a marvelous birthright

Age: A month shy of her 16th birthday

Species/Genetic Background: Velorian, P1-class genetics, destined to be a Protector

Other: Naomi is struggling to help her shy daughter break out of her shell and let her blossom, otherwise she fears her Rites will be too much of a shock to her. All those men and the sex and so forth. Alisa'zar hasn't even had a boyfriend (Protectors aren't supposed to be virgins by the time they get to their Rites) as Alisa'zar instead prefers to interact on the Holo-Net and read books rather than real life. A caterpillar about to become a butterfly, or so her mother hopes.

She's just sent Alisa'zar back to Velor to spend time with her older sister, Sara, who Naomi hopes will break her out of her shell. What with the parties Sara attends, the young actors, all of whom would be thrilled to meet one of the rare and elusive Protectors, she hopes Alisa'zar will begin to behave like a young Protector should. So far it's not working as she escapes her sister's clutches as soon as she can to return to her computer. When she goes to the wild clubs, she just sits in a corner and ignores people.

The only hope, one she hasn't admitted to anyone and which would thrill Naomi if she knew, is that she secretly hates being back in a gold field. Nobody knows that she'd been climbing out her window at night to soar upward from Reigel Five, and traversing worm holes, searching out new planets to study. She now realizes that she doesn't want to live weak and powerless on Velor. But she still doesn't want to be a Protector, saddled with protecting but a single world.

 

Sara Kim'Vallara- Oldest daughter of Naomi, the Ambassador to Reigel Five

Physical: 6"1" tall, pale blue eyes, golden blonde hair, very slender, intensely attractive, funny and extraverted

Personality: Artistic and gracefully athletic. A dancer and actress in the Holo's back on Velor

Role/Attributes: She's never left Velor, has always lived in a gold field. She doesn't want to be seduced by being able to fly, even if only briefly. It's a drug to her, one that she knows would addict her. Instead, she's trying to help her mother encourage Alisa'zar to break out of her shell, taking Alisa'zar out dancing and partying with her. Trying to 'get her laid' as she jokes with her mother. Sara has a quirky sense of humor and a ready laugh

Age: 25

Species/Genetic Background: Velorian, M-class genetic

Other: She's married to a Messenger who spends very little time on Velor. She finds his job interesting, especially the new love-making techniques he brings home to their bed on his twice a year visits to Velor, not to mention his many tales of his travels. She plays a Protector in a local Holo series that is very popular on Velor.

 

James Kim'Vallara- Son of Naomi, the Ambassador to Reigel Five

Physical: 6'3" tall, pale blue eyes, reddish dyed hair (amplified due to red-yellow sun of Reigel), and the hearthrob of every girl in his school (the Velorian School on Reigel Five -- at the Embassy -- enrolls local Terran children as well as the sons and daughters of the Embassay staff. As such, it's made up half of Velorians, their powers all manifested, and half Terrans. An interesting dynamic.

Personality: Bad boy, too involved with girls, neglects his studies, loves to get gold intoxicated at parties. Often goes off on his own to explore the other planets of the Reigel system. Is frightened of wormholes, however, and would never enter one on his own as a minor mistake in navigation could end your life. Something that is true of most ordinary Vels. That keeps him in the Reigel system

Role/Attributes: Difficult to raise son, and far too aware of his special abilities as he lives openly among Terrans. Conscious that he looks somewhat effeminate, a 'pretty boy', and is not liked by most of the other guys at school, especially the jocks. The fact that he can do absolutely amazing things to women, sexually at least, makes him the subject of intense jealousy. Not that anyone can do much about it. For despite his delicate, effeminate looks, he's incredibly strong, nearly a thousand times that of any Terran man. He's very close to his younger sister, Alisa'zar, mostly because she too is destined for a role she doesn't want in life. He'd love to be a Messenger, but doesn't have the genetics for it.

Age: 19 years old

Species/Genetic Background: Velorian, B-class genetics.

Other: he is very conscious that he lacks either Nikki or Sara's artistic skills, or Alisa'zar's physical skills. B-class Velorians are destined for government jobs, of which there are many on Velor. Instead, he wants to stay on Reigel and live among the Terrans. He'd be very ordinary if he went home to Velor. But here, he's a virtual god. Especially with the girls.

Terri Raul'lan- Military Attache to Reigel Five

Physical: 5'8" tall, intensely blue eyes, long blonde hair. Slender, yet more muscular than the typical Velorian.

Personality: Aggressive, focused, goal-oriented, structured and disciplined. A military officer for more than 90 years.

Role/Attributes: She has been teaching combat arts to Protectors for decades, and has also had Embassy assignments on a number of other Enlightenment worlds. She's not lived inside a gold field for the last ninety years, and hates the weakening effects of gold. She has sworn to never return to Velor, even as she serves Velor in a continuous stream of ex-pat assignments. She's fought and defeated Aurean Primes in battle, despite the fact that Primes have three to four times her strength level. She's an absolute master at all forms of physical combat, and spends hours of each day exercising in the unusual ways of a fully-empowered Velorian. She enjoys the freedom of moving from one assignment to another, traveling planet to planet, and takes great pride in tracking the histories of the Protector's she's trained.

Her greatest desire is to help police the Protector's ranks, working beside the Kryp'terrans who are always hired for the task. She knows Protector defense and escape tactics, she's taught a hundred girls those techniques, and has been negotiating with a Kryp'terran firm who sponsors the 'retrieval teams' that Velor uses to pull bad Protectors out of their assignments and return them to Velor. If she gets hired, she's planning on resigning her commission and joining the Kryp'terrans

Age: 123 years old, yet she looks like a very fit late-thirties.

Species/Genetic Background: Velorian, P3-class genetics (reserved for selected military professionals, as it balances slight greater than M-class strength with an extremely disciplined and focused military bearing.

Other: No children, but she has recently decided that she'd like to naturally bear a child -- which would make her a social pariah. But denied access to the Maternity Engine as she won't return to Velor, and having no intention of getting married and leading a normal life, she knows that her child will also be denied Velorian citizenship. But she'd determined to have a baby anyway.