“Key,” mostly, in work. Sometimes “K.” In the eyes of Apex Authority, he is known as “Transportation Technician #3B149,” which is the closest thing he has had to a legal name. He is mononymous.


25 (Estimated)


Physically athletic and fairly intimidating at six foot-two, Kieran is a little on the leaner side. Both his hair and his beard have a tendency to go on the fritz, as work overtakes time for him to take shears to them. He has several scars on both legs and arms from moving in and out of tight, sometimes sharp spots throughout Apex. He’s often dressed in a very simple, muted color palette, and almost always has a satchel with him—containing various documents and necessary paperwork.


Kieran works as a Runner. Technically a “transportation technician,” Runners work with the approval of Apex Authority to facilitate a wide variety of essential tasks. While Apex Authority often uses the service themselves, the service is primarily utilized by the middle and lower classes of Apex. Runners facilitate transit for letters, legal documents, cargo, and even people. Off-the-record, runners are also notoriously paid to pass verbal messages between factions, or from Apex Authority to others within Apex. Runners enjoy a few benefits of working for Apex Authority, such as their Runner’s Stamp for official messages (which operates as a sort of notary service), and general protection. That is, Apex Enforcement members (“AEs”) will investigate the disappearance/murder of a Runner. It is more than AEs offer to regular citizens, but more often than not, Runners that disappear are never recovered.


Runners often keep a distance from each other—working in agreed-upon sectors to keep competition light—so Kieran is more often than not, alone. He lives in District 3, subsection B, and associates most often with Port Apex. While officially, grains, produce, and other materials are brought in from nearby fields via these vessels, unofficially, a host of contraband makes its way to the shores of Apex. This contraband, ordered by the higher and lower classes alike, constitutes most of Kieran’s work.


Kieran was found aboard one of the many farming ships that travel to Port Apex as an infant. As an unclaimed child, it was suspected that his parents were farmers who either could not afford to keep him or did not want to. Otherwise, he was passed from port worker to port worker until he finally earned his stamp at around age 15, and has been living on his own and working as a runner ever since. His age is self-given, and an estimate.

None, other than being called by her last name, Holland, which her family called a “name of the old world.”


24


She stands at average height - around 5’5” - with straight, black hair that hangs down to her waist which she ties up in a knot or braid most days. She's thin like most in Subsection F, as having extra weight is a luxury that they can’t afford, but working has given her some muscle she’d never had previously. If not in her work suit, she normally dresses in black to not draw attention to herself, especially with what's happening in the District. Among random scars, she has a few tattoos in hidden places as well as her ears stretched, a trend that had resurfaced in the subsection when she was a teenager.




Aura, as of three months ago, was demoted to Sanitation and Maintenance as a form of punishment. Originally, like her mother, she was in Service and Housekeeping, often traveling to the wealthier districts to serve as a maid. A family down by the beach had chosen her mother as their permanent maid two years ago, and Aura hasn’t seen her since.


Although its officially named subsection F, many of its inhabitants refer to it as its previous name, Unity, chosen many years ago during the first rebellion, but the AA refuses to acknowledge it as such. It’s the heart of the district, its epicenter, with its downtown area called Atlantic. Most of the job opportunities in the subsection are to be of service to other subsections - some among them being Service and Housekeeping, Sanitation and Maintenance, and a new opportunity, Apex Enforcement. It was the first time in years that the AA ever thought to recruit anyone from subsection F, but with how desperate some of its citizens are getting, its sold as a fantastic chance of leaving poverty. Most of Unity’s inhabitants, though, frown upon anyone joining the AE. Rumors of rebellion rumble through the underground, but the AA hasn’t had any solid proof...yet.


Aura grew up with her mother, father, and little brother Ion in a small home on the outskirts of the district, and though it was humble, it was full of love. Her brother and father still occupied the home, now growing crops for the entire District. She still visits often, especially when she needs a home-cooked meal, and her dad always insists on giving her an extra serving even though there isn’t much to spare. Her father, though rebellious in his youth, was now a reformed man, insisting that things were the way they needed to be. This continually caused a riff between them, until Aura realized that he wasn’t going to change. Talks of the second rebellion were no longer had at the dinner table.

While Aura was never a well-behaved child, her actions were to help her family. Since caught stealing bread at the age of 13, she had been under the eye of the AE, and has had numerous run-ins with them since.