Heroes

After earning her Ph.D. in astrophysics at 26, Andromeda McLear spent the next 5 years buried in laboratories, universities, and control rooms, probing the sky to learn its secrets. The universe was too distant for her liking; exploration too infeasible. She developed theories on stable space-time curvatures, looking for ways to bring the stars closer. And all the while, as she spent her nights staring into the abyss of space, she had the feeling it was staring back. It turned out she was right.

Alone in the bowels of the Arecibo Observatory one night, working late as usual, her solace was interrupted by the appearance of a swirling portal, and a voice invited her through. On the other side was an alien space station: the sanctum of the Nightlore Council, a group of intergalactic explorers and peacekeepers. They had been watching her, they said. They wanted to make her an offer: to become the first human representative of the Council, charged to protect the Earth as it came to wider intergalactic attention.

McLear accepted without a second thought. She was furnished with powerful technology, whose origin even the eldest Council agents did not know, and trained to use it. She returned to Earth, burning with newfound purpose.

Finally the stars were within reach.

Genesis promo: In recent years something had seemed to draw every alien warlord, spacefaring mercenary, or reality-altering superbeing toward the Earth, and Starlight had been instrumental in safeguarding the planet. Despite being one of the Nightlore Council's newest agents, Starlight's experience soon surpassed most of the senior councilors. As she proved herself ever more capable, she began relinquishing her sector duties in order to lend her experience on a broader scale, training fresh Nightlore agents and coordinating Council operations. Her power and wisdom earned her, and her planet, a reputation that reached the farthest corners of the galaxy; but not all of the attention she drew was favorable...

Nightlore promo: Working as a grad student with Dr. McLear's astronomy team, Erin Rothes finally felt like she had found a family. McLear could be a bit distant (and prone to strange disappearances), but she was steadfast in encouraging her protégé's scientific curiosity. When McLear went missing at the same time as "Starlight", one of Earth's mysterious guardians, Erin figured things out fast and knew there must be trouble. She delved into her boss's notes, piecing together her extraplanetary activities, deciphering the location of the Council's sanctum, and even finding McLear's backup Nightlore tech. The Council was understandably surprised when Erin warped into their midst, but they were quick to corroborate her fears that McLear had been captured. Erin was teamed up with Vydani'thiel, a coarse law enforcement officer from the binary Asheron system, and the patient Chik Grak Seen from frigid Cryos-4; together, the three newest Nightlore agents were given the urgent mission of locating and rescuing Dr. Andromeda McLear...

Area-51 promo (Halloween 2020): One of the more mundane ramifications of becoming Starlight of Earth was being approached by representatives from Area-51, an ill-funded and barely-secret agency of the U.S. government tasked with monitoring alien beings. While many more notable and better-equipped organizations existed doing this exact same thing, somehow Area-51 continued to exist, and they saw Starlight as a useful operative who might restore their legitimacy. She almost declined, but it turned out that, somehow, the agency had several useful reports concerning the mysterious invaders known as Eclipse. Starlight agreed to a largely ceremonial role, which afforded her a snappy suit and some memory-scanning tech Area-51 was developing to identify those mind-controlled by Eclipse.

Starlight of Terra

Aliases: Erin Rothes

Age: 24

Power Source: Nightlore Technology

Birthplace: Scotland

Occupation: Astrophysicist, Student

Starlight of Asheron

Aliases: Vydani'thiel

Age: 37

Power Source: Nightlore Technology

Birthplace: Asheron Cade

Occupation: Enforcer

Starlight of Cryos-4

Aliases: Chik Grak Seen

Age: 230

Power Source: Nightlore Technology

Birthplace: Cryos-4

Occupation: Professor of Archaeology