Name: Noelle Fletcher Age: 18 Status: Spare

Background (Posthumous-V): Originally 'Martian Space Colony IV - Olympus,' a massive habitat comprised of several attached Stanford Tori rings orbiting the planet Mars, now converted into a generation spaceship and flagship of the human fleet. The V in the name is purposely ambiguous, but based on the feelings of humans who named it, it would be easy to infer that it stands for Victory, Vengeance, or perhaps even Vindication. Although the Olympus was never built to go anywhere, self-sufficiency was always part of its original design. The habitat's capacity for producing food beyond what its inhabitants required was particularly useful in the immediate aftermath of the Earth Cataclysm. The spaceship was built by adding new parts and functionality onto the colony, effectively converting it into a cruiser. The Posthumous-V launched in an incomplete state, with just the bare minimum necessary to put the ship into motion: the anti-matter drive, manufacturing facilities, and a forward ice shield, meant to protect the ship from debris. Humanity does not know what they will encounter at their destination, but the plan is for the ship's final form to include forward-facing torpedo tubes and a mass accelerator main weapon. Ramming the enemy's homeworld as a last resort is not off the table, either. However, because the ship won't need to fire until the end of its several centuries-long voyage, the weaponry won't be built anytime soon. Technology and understanding of the enemy will likely improve greatly throughout the course of the trip, so there's no hurry in building them. The Posthumous-V's storerooms, and the storerooms of other ships in the fleet, were filled to the brim with raw building materials, because there won't be any stops for collecting more. However, most of the long section between the habitat rings and the forward ice shield is, at this stage, composed purely of structural metal trusses, because nothing has been built in there yet. The Posthumous-V's manufacturing facilities are still running, producing not only the everyday goods that its inhabitants need but also entirely new sections of the ship, which are being assembled piecemeal as expansion becomes necessary.

Background (Society): Although the Posthumous-V's governance is technically derived from the Mars semi-autonomous government, its civilian wing was almost entirely ousted in the brief conflict regarding humanity's direction. The Martian Admiralty was the ones in charge by the time the ship set sail. Each section of the habitat rings has its own elected representatives, but the ship's command structure's (captain and officers) decisions take precedence, which is something that seldom happens but has plenty of precedence. In short, self-governance only exists within the space that the military leadership allows. Although the daily lives of the Posthumous-V's inhabitants are governed by democratic bodies, civil liberties aren't equal for all, law enforcement is heavy-handed, and there is a clear stratification of society. The descendants of the space colony's original inhabitants, as well as those who descend from Mars surface colonies, enjoy full civil rights and live in the best areas within the habitat's rings. Despite being born well after the ship's departure, the people in this group call themselves 'Martians' and often boast stories of their ancestors who, at the time, accepted going on a one-way trip to a distant, inhospitable planet. On the other side, those derived from the refugees of the Earth Cataclysm lack several of the same freedoms and are referred to as 'Spares.' The people in this group cannot vote, run for office, purchase property in the 'surface' of habitat rings even if they have the money to do so, receive higher education, or even reproduce without permission. They live in areas that were never meant to house people, many decks under the cities inside the habitat rings, and often take the worst jobs that the Citizens don't want to perform. Spares can freely come and go between the surface and the lower decks; they just cannot settle on the nice areas. Children inherit the status of their mothers, and the only way a Spare can become a full citizen is by performing outstanding service towards the ship. Spare children attend the same schools as citizens but can only go as far as middle school. Spare women must apply for a permit to have kids, and if they become pregnant without one, they are forced to get an abortion.

Background (Final Assembly): Out of all the jobs available within the Posthumous-V, Final Assembly is the most dangerous of all. As the ship's smelters and foundries continue to produce entirely new areas, someone has to actually assemble them in place. That means wearing a spacesuit and working on unpressurized sectors of the vessel, or sometimes even out directly in space. The most arduous and dangerous jobs on the ship are the only paths available for a Spare to become a Citizen, and Final Assembly is the only one of them that doesn't require decades of service. Just 7 years wearing the suit, and anyone can become a Citizen. The pay is really good too. However, because the fatality rate is quite high, not many are willing to take this kind of job, even among the Spares. The chance of a final assembler dying before completing 7 years of service is around 37%. The ship never stops slowly accelerating towards its final velocity, and there's no way that they would stop to try and retrieve a worker that 'fell off.' If that were to happen, that person could do nothing but watch the ship rapidly disappear towards the stars, leaving them to float in interstellar space forever. Accidents of this sort are exceptionally rare, though, and the vast majority of injuries and fatalities are the results of 'more normal' kinds of workplace accidents you'd expect on a construction site. The parts are shipped to worker camps near their final positions. The majority of them are small, modular pieces intentionally designed for a single assembler to carry and bolt into place in a low-gravity environment. Final assemblers stay in these camps for long stretches of time when they are 'on shift,' and it's not unusual for these workers to spend more time in camps than in their actual homes.

Background (Personal): A grumpy and short-tempered young working woman. Noelle has been in Final Assembly since finishing school, with the goal of attaining Citizenship status. Noelle's personality first developed the way it is when she was still a kid. She wasn't particularly pretty, smart, or friendly, and so the other kids teased her often. Little Noelle developed a prickly personality, and the signs of that can still be seen today. Her face and body language always seem to suggest she's angry, and the words she picks when speaking further reinforce that idea. In reality, Noelle is a bit lonely, particularly because she finds it difficult to make friends with her coworkers, unlike Elise, who gets along well with everyone. Noelle doesn't find the job itself to be particularly terrible. In fact, Noelle thinks it's rewarding to do meaningful work towards the ship's survival and expansion, but unlike Lyra, she doesn't intend to stay longer than what is required in order to get her Citizenship, because she has personal goals of her own beyond that. Noelle wants, in the future, to have a large family with lots of children. It might be difficult to believe that such a grumpy and sour-faced girl harbors such thoughts and wishes, but it's what Noelle wants the most. "What, you don't think such girly dreams suit me?!" She would probably react this way if asked. That said, Noelle isn't embarrassed about being upfront regarding her personal ambition, believing it to be a fine ideal to hold in her heart. Currently, Noelle doesn't have anyone in mind to fill in the 'husband' role of her domestic fantasy, but there's plenty of time for her to search for one. Spares need permission to get pregnant, and they rarely are allowed more than one, so in order to achieve her dream in the future, Noelle needs to become a Citizen. Saving money also helps, of course.

Relationship with Lyra: The forewoman in charge of the work site and Noelle's direct superior. A plump woman with a motherly aura who's always reminding people to be careful of danger. She was originally a Spare but became a Citizen through the job and now has 14 years of experience. Noelle looks up to Lyra because she views the woman as being an example of dedication and motherliness, though her 'children' are her subordinates. Noelle's attitude is quite different with Lyra, giving the older woman her full attention and trust. Lyra is a bulky and stout white woman with an orange wolf cut, orange eyes, and large breasts.

Relationship with Elise: In the sea of tough-bodied guys who do Final Assembly, Elise is one of the few other women, and even fewer people who are friends with Noelle. Elise is a social butterfly that's friendly with most people. Usually, Noelle has a hard time dealing with such types, but Elise managed to break through Noelle's shell. Based on what Elise has told Noelle, it seems that the girl blames her Spare status on the fact that she is fatherless and loveless. Apparently, she got rejected by a crush from school or something. Elise is one year older but shorter compared to Noelle, with black hair, bangs pinned back, blue eyes, a slender body and small breasts.

Personality: Grumpy, sour, combative, and prickly. Underneath that initial layer of animosity, Noelle is loving, loyal, and dedicated. Her parents are both Spares and she was the only child they were allowed to have. Noelle always wanted siblings so that she wouldn't feel as lonely, and that wish is at the core of her desire to be a mother of many children. But before she can fill the ship with her cute little offspring, Noelle needs to prove her personal worth by toiling for a bit. At her job, Noelle is more careful than most workers. She understands that the job is very dangerous and that she's going to need her body in good health later in her life. What scares Noelle the most is radiation, which is something that could render her infertile. The ship and the spacesuit both have protection against it, but Noelle still worries about it.

Appearance: Light pink hair, just short of being shoulder-length, with arched bangs. Yellow eyes and thick eyebrows. Her face is very cute even when she's scowling. Noelle grew up on habitat ring #1 but in one of the inner sections, where gravity was 0.7g, and as a consequence, she's slightly taller than average for a woman. She is white, has medium breasts, and has a standoffish posture.

Outfit: The assembler's uniform is made up of brown overalls, a brown shirt, and brown pants. Kneepads and laced boots. Definitely not cute or good-looking but very practical and immediately recognizable. Most people in the Posthumous-V will know what a person using this uniform does for a living. The general feeling for most people is that Final Assemblers are cool, bad-ass people. The spacesuit is bright yellow, not significantly different visually from a 21st-century astronaut suit. The worker wears an exoskeleton under the suit, capable of significantly improving the strength of the operator. The soles of the suit are magnetic and stick to the floor, but this alone is not considered sufficient safety. Workers are always tethered with ropes, especially when working outside of the hull.