Name: Nat Prapanpoj

In a galaxy obsessed with the new, the old was often forgotten. Nat Propanpoj was one of the few around who cared for the past. She wrote letters by hand, she listened to ancient records, and while everyone else was jacked straight into the metaverse, she used antique goggles. She believed in doing things the old way, even if it made everything a bit more challenging. This attitude did not make her popular in the military, which she joined only because she wanted to fly, and she was far too poor to afford her own ship.

In the military, they often berated her for not taking advantage of their fancy new autopilot systems. The ships would fly themselves, and all she had to do was sit and monitor the systems. This was not flying to her, and so she’d always switch to manual. It got her an early release without pay, leaving her broke and without a spaceship. It seemed like she’d never get a chance to fly when an anonymous recruiter contacted her to join a mysterious private militia. With nothing else happening and a bleak future ahead of her, she applied immediately.

In her recruitment interview, she passionately lamented her frustration with the modern obsession with the new and easy and how the military was trying to turn living beings into robots. She would not stand for it, and if this militia wanted the same for her, they would be very disappointed. After her emotional outburst, she had low expectations for the job, though she was accepted and promised a seat on the fleet’s oldest spaceship, to her surprise.