Staarus Wiki

Human Characters in the Staarusverse

Aldred

Aldred was a human scientist who worked for the Science Institution on Earth. He was the one who Sophie first learnt about the teleport watch from, and who suggested to the Science Institution Sophie's idea of using it to search for the missing Eridanus expedition. He and Sophie travelled together conducting research into the expedition's planned trip with the intention of finding when they deviated from their flight plan and what prompted it. One year into their research they visited the planet Shalron, where Aldred was killed by mutated creatures. His only living appearance is in Some of the Travels of Sophie but he is referenced in Halapatov by name and his death weighs very heavily on Sophie's mind and is a source of trauma for her.

Trivia: Aldred's name comes from the Doctor Who actress 'Sophie Aldred', with Sophie being the other character named after her.

Jon

Jon is a human ally of Sophie and Abigail in Flauraan who catches them trying to infiltrate the human spaceship that had landed near Abigail's town, but ultimately is won over by their perspective and helps them blend in on the ship and gives them technical information that assists them in piecing together the source of human and Paladanian conflict. When a Weraynian is found to be hiding in the ship and takes many of the crew hostage, Jon ultimately stays away and does not help in stopping him. Sophie and Abigail were not very impressed with his cowardice.

Trivia: Jon's cowardice was a last minute addition by the author after they realised they had not included Jon in the second half of Flauraan due to forgetting about his existence in the novel.

Kris

Kris is Sophie's younger brother and Rachel's twin. He is most prominently featured in 'The Story of Rachel', a short story within Some of the Travels of Sophie which details his and Rachel's experience in foster care following their mother's death and subsequent separation from Sophie, who they both believed abandoned them. Rachel thinks of Kris and uncaring and believed he had moved on too quickly from their old family due to his ability to cope well with everyday life and his acceptance of their foster parents as parental figures. It is revealed in the climax of the story that Kris has also felt quite upset at Sophie's supposed abandonment of them, when he has an emotional reaction to her return. He asks Sophie if he can travel with her, and though it is not possible at that time, he later gets to meet his dream of space travel by working with a transport company that delivers items to and from the Earth. He rents and lives in his ship full time and enjoys that life immensely, as shown in Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? He is also shown to be in a well coordinated and healthy polycule with his crewmates, and this is one of the relationships Abigail admits jealousy of in her wedding thoughts in that same story.

Louise

Louise is a human scientist who worked for the Science Institution, and the one who took Sophie in after she ran away from home following her mother's death. She was an elderly lady who lived in a small apartment and used a wheelchair following an undisclosed accident involving a science experiment. Like many of the adult figures in Sophie's life, she had a complicated relationship with Louise, who advocated for and protected Sophie but also lived somewhat vicariously through her and sometimes encouraged her to do dangerous things against her better judgement, including using the teleport watch to search for the expedition. Though her only living appearances are in Some of the Travels of Sophie it is revealed in Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? that Louise had died sometime between SOTTOS and that novel, and that Sophie found it difficult to return to the Earth and the Science Institution following her death.

Peg

Peg is a human who has worked for both the Science Institution on Earth and the Alliance. She first appears in Flauraan as a technician on the Eridanus II expedition spacecraft, aiding Abigail and Sophie in their attempt to regain control of the ship from the Weraynian. She would later go on to work for the Alliance as an Intelligence Agent, joining before Sophie, and is one of the Alliance members who travels to the Weraynian war in the Staarus system to provide aid. She collects intelligence on the Staarus Headquarters which assists Sophie and Abigail's team in rescuing an ally from a Weraynian prison. She is the most reoccuring minor character in the Staarusverse, appearing in Flauraan and Werayne and is referenced in the Alliance stories including Different Types in which Beth shows interest in dating her until they learn that Peg is in a monogamous long distance relationship with someone on Earth.

Rachel

Rachel is Sophie's younger sister and the POV character of the short story 'The Story of Rachel' within Some of the Travels of Sophie. It is revealed that she suffered from depression following her mother's death and subsequent removal of her and her brother Kris from their family and being placed in foster care. Due to the complicated nature of their last meeting, Rachel was under the impression that Sophie had willingly abandoned her and Kris, and becomes fixated on the idea of her family being reunited when she sees a news broadcast about a conflict on the planet Matraxa that showed Sophie being involved. Not long after Sophie was able to track down her siblings and tell them her side of the story, and about her search for their father. Rachel ends her short story in a better place mentally, not only due to Sophie's return but also due to making a friend Adrian throughout the course of the story who she played Glyphscape with. She is also able to somewhat restore her fractured relationship with both of her siblings.