Age: 29

Appearance: Petra is a little short for a woman, but seems much taller due to the confident way she stands and interacts with others. She has dark auburn hair that is naturally curly and sharp hazel eyes. She is athletic and toned, given her military background, but she dresses more like an upper class civilian than a military captain.

History: Petra is the great-granddaughter of the last known governor of earth, General Mika Koenig, whose daughter had settled outside Sol before travel was cut off. The family name passed through the female line, as had been the tradition in previous generations. Mika came from a long line of female political/military leaders, and had risen higher than any of them. The men in the family, in contrast, tended to gravitate towards the sciences.

The family was a wealthy one, holding several important patents and large stretches of land and various industries, both in Sol and Horus. Many of its members disappeared with the failure of the link-gates, and thus the wealth outside Sol was concentrated on one small branch of the family.

The Koenig's retained their influence in politics and military matters, with less of a gender divide than in previous decades. Twin siblings, Mika's grandchildren, followed her example and made a name for themselves during the Sheri wars. The woman, Katya, was instrumental in engineering the Janissaries, and largely credited with the final breakthrough. Her brother, Petyr, was a general who led the army to great victories, and who was later a key advocate for peace. He was soon elected to the government and was the first to suggest the secret expedition.

Katya died childless, but Petyr had three children: one who decided to live a normal, quiet life, and two who excelled in various fields. His son, Marc, followed in his aunt's footsteps and excelled in the fields of bio-engineering and mathematics. His daughter, Petra, joined the military and rose to the rank of captain quite quickly, but was far more interested in exploration than fighting. She established a scientific wing of the army, which recruited specialists from a number of fields for long-term or short-term contracts.