by Max Barry

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The Dominion of
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

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4

Nova: USA Station Chief of the Domain

Can you hear me, Ensign Nova?

Nova

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Nova during a smoke and coffee break, 1955
OOC: Illustration from Morita Rui's Warera Contactee

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Information

Occupation:

Unofficial Ambassador
US Observation Station Head (1956-1962)
Test Pilot (1952-1956)

Stationed:

Alamogordo, New Mexico (1947-1952)
Nevada (1952-1962)
New Mexico (1965)



Born:

1929

Species:

Human

Height:

1.48 m

Spouse:

N/A



Country:

Air Domain

Allegiance:

Domain Fleet and USAF

Branch:

Domain Fleet

Rank:

Major (promoted, 1965)



Status:

Missing in Action (27/Oct/1962)
Captive (Oct. 1962-1965)

- Formerly smug teenage anime protagonist in a mecha saucer who got humbled after Roswell. Because ofc, 17 year olds make good pilots.
- Near super-human mental fortitude; basically got cross-interrogated for 5 years without spilling too many beans.
- Are they really smug or do all the old white dudes from the 1950s think "she" doesn't know her place?
- Doesn't like nukes, thinks they'll ruin the petting zoo called Earth. Also, they're a xenophile that finds Earthlings interesting.
- Does their job because they're ordered to even if they have second thoughts over interacting with America as part of a transactional deal.
- May have been "promoted" because their CO considers them annoying.
- Of all things, LinkTristes Tropiques was a partial inspiration for this character's viewpoints.
- Me playing with the prospect of "Failing your way up" resulting in good things.
- That being said, Nova really likes to oversell their silliness and tarnished reputation in order for people to underestimate them.

Introduction
Nova was an Anhu pilot and is currently an unofficial cultural attaché to the United States of America on planet Earth whose job arose from an unexpected accident during what would normally be considered an espionage mission. A dedicated if not unremarkable worker of the Air Fleet, Nova unexpectedly became the center of attention of America's top scientists for a period of several years, or better said, the ship "she" was in, "her" people, "her" technical know-how and "herself", until her brief return to the Air Domain.

Currently, the lowly Ensign has been "promoted" as the station head of the US Observation Group. Nova serves as a cultural attaché and technical adviser, working as a test pilot on behalf of the US Air Force as well as a sort of intermediary between US personnel and the Anhu staff near an undisclosed subterranean base currently under construction; they're also in charge of organizing filed reports of pilots elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere of planet Earth. The fact that a lowly junior officer is assigned to deal with the world's most influential country speaks volumes about how lowly the Air Domain regards the nations of Earth. However as Nova is considered an "expert in all things American" by the Ruling Committee itself, the little pilot is responsible for shaping the Air Domain's policymakers' views of respecting the primitives' sovereignty (if only because it's entertaining to spy on them), indirectly making Nova one of human history's largest powerbrokers. In short, Nova's reports have probably indirectly led to the end of any discussions over intervening on Earth.

Background
Nova was born, biologically, to a pair of laborers, aboard a "hollowed-out asteroid with artificial gravity". Nova described them as the average mom and pop: equals to each-other that cohabited because they had a similar personality, who had probably met each-other at work, their chances of success were deemed high by an AI that runs simulations. That they were kind people who nurtured her curiosity with toys. Like most Anhu parents on a non-planetary colony, they were also often away after their child turned six, but that not being stationary is an Anhu tradition. Sometimes only one of the pair was around depending on their assigned maintenance tasks. Whenever they weren't around, Nova spent time in the Young Hall, being raised by nursery attendants and convincingly lifelike robots, eating and sleeping there too among a herd of children. Both parents and institutions drilled into them the belief that they had to be the best they could for the Air Domain and their peers.

Nova described the Young Hall as "part nursery and part training center", mentioning that it's not too different from schools or kindergartens and that the activities there are educational ones not unlike those on Earth: basic things like learning grammar, math and basic manners or learning cooperation with games. But the Anhu spacefarer testified that some games and tests actually serve as screens, where pools of potential candidates are funneled into more specialized schools for different trades in next educational levels. Nova once beamed with pride towards her captors when saying that they were chosen to be "Spacers", part of a spacecraft crew, because of the rapid reflexes they had shown in games and Hall competitions, which were essentially related to hand-eye coordination.

According to Nova, "her" teenage years were basically an exercise in more complex activities and functions, but was still paired up with new individuals to do assignments with, the likes of which became her friends. They were also designated to be "Spacers": the would-be captain was quick-minded when it came to mathematical solutions and the other, co-pilot, was also a very analytical person, but also quite daring. Nova said her relationship with them was very close, far more than coworkers or best friends as they had trained together for seven years or more. When asked if there was anything romantic in it, Nova said no. Once, after listening to a Cole Porter song when showed a radio ("Let's do It, Let's Fall in Love") , the extraterrestrial revealed, somewhat nonchalantly, that there was "no need for the 'birds and the bees' because 'people like me don't do it much'."

In retrospect, Nova explained that foodstuff laced with chemicals or ration pills do away with the libido of space-crews: jealous crews aren't happy crews and adolescent recruits are trained since the age of 14 or 15, so they really didn't remember much of whatever childish attachments they had before or let emotions cloud missions in that way. Nonetheless, the trainees were quite reckless sometimes as they felt invincible and helpless simultaneously, especially when it came to operating training craft and taking detours or doing fancy maneuvers. A twirling stunt around a no fly-zone earned the three discipline in "the stockades", once, and they straitened up after that. Nova commented that most people learned to follow orders after they're 17 or 18 even if crews feel the need to one-up each other. Both competitive and assertive daredevils, the would-be captain and Nova had a dynamic where they dared each-other to the limits of what was acceptable within flight protocols: things like sudden accelerations, trailing targets, or wandering away from the saucer when collecting soil samples.

The Roswell Crash
"Why? We did everything right?"

All three were assigned to the same flight wing and the same craft, dedicated to doing reconnaissance flybys over Earth, mentioned as a priority since three nuclear detections were detected in 1945, essentially spying missions as understood by "her" captors. Nova didn't mention that they were part of an experimental group, that previous generations usually had junior crews assigned to senior captains; in their case, everyone was inexperienced. They were given an outdated type of craft as well, something that Nova did admit to the US Army eventually, probably to make the Air Fleet seem even more formidable as the "pile of scraps" was something that the Earthlings couldn't even dream of.

At the end of 1946 (Gregorian Calendar), the crew began to fly above suspected nuclear tests, finishing several satisfactory missions. Like many junior saucer-crews, the cohort of Reconnaissance Saucer #762 (or RS-762) had a knack for playing around with the primitives of Earth, and whenever they found aircraft around they trailed them or made their presence known in brief approximations. The specifications of their type of craft indicated it could get away in time. Unfortunately, it was a very old craft and was shoddily maintained as old spare parts were no longer in circulation. Nova's generation was holding out for a new generation of saucers to be delivered within a year or so. Like many older craft, they were built with intentionally obsolete features to keep the crew manually occupied in long periods of time. However, the specific craft's worst flaw was that RS-762 had been using a cannibalized (recycled and refitted) engine of particularly inferior quality.

On a routine flight, in 6/July/1947 the craft reported traces of enriched uranium from atomic bombs, which were traced back to the ammo depots of several large aircraft in a military base on the Western Hemisphere's "Inner Desert" (Roswell Army Air Field). After their findings were reported, Nova played around with Nightfall, claiming he was chicken if they were spying on the target so far away. The Captain ordered a close hovering flyby to the safest distance set in manuals:, 150 meters above the target while using a cloaking device. They proceeded but RS-762's stealth device abruptly shut down because of a power-output failure caused by the old engine and the craft was revealed to the USAAF airmen below, who illuminated the skies with searchlights, and whom promptly fired their artillery shells.

The craft was bracketed by anti-air guns and it's crew heard heavy clanging and pinging outside their craft, unnerving the teenagers despite the relative harmlessness of the ordnance and the strength of their saucer. Nightfall ordered a hasty jump North-Northweast but they had to stand several more seconds of flak guns as the engine was unusually slow to react. The crew continued to use the old model's operating procedures: one of them was an evasive maneuver that involved a vertical rise instead of one that went up in a 90° angle. The Navigator set the course and Nova put the input to follow on. The flying saucer ascended vertically, slowly, far slower than expected by the navigator's computer and calculations. RS-762 barely had time to not crash straight into a mountain range, it's belly gashed it instead and the spacecraft went down like a skipping stone.

After Nova read on their display that the Inertia System had gone offline (no anti-gravity protection) and that the ship was plummeting down, the world had turned black around the pilot: Nova fainted in their post, but be it reflex or cowardice, it saved their life as their body didn't tense during the crash, unlike their co-workers. Nova doesn't like recalling that part of the ordeal: it was the worst thing they had to describe in captivity and it was their worst report to file when they arrived home. Nova saw their friends' gore splattered around the walls of the metal vehicle, and earnestly felt their mangled bodies was their personal handiwork, Nova didn't even recognize whose body belonged to who. Apart from searing pain all over their body while blacking in and out of consciousness, Nova felt guilty for not being able to pull up in time. For years, Nova has failed to assure themselves over and over about how they followed the Navigator's instructions with precision. The experimental group was 17-18 years old at the time, all roughly 8-10 years younger than a commissioned captain.

Captivity in Roswell Army Air Field
The unfortunate pilot continued to go in and out of consciousness repeatedly while inside an ambulance, they don't recall stepping out of the spacecraft. In the first days of captivity, Nova stayed in a white bed surrounded by nurses and doctors in rubber suits round the clock, who took biopsies whenever they were unconscious. To the surprise of the medical staff, the alien recovered from multiple severe internal wounds and fractures spectacularly quickly, as if their tissue was being regenerated and all that was needed was IV treatment (since the crash-site's retrieval, in-site testing revealed that "alien" blood was the same as human blood) . Only later would it be revealed that the microscopic metal bodies in blood samples —later revealed to be nano-robots that served to protect a naturally feeble immune system and rebuild tissue— were responsible for her seemingly miraculous recovery from the brink of death. After regaining the ability to walk and speak, the Ensign was moved to what appeared to be a bunker that was converted into an observation room, illuminated by lamps, which had a bed and basic furniture, as well as a W.C. and with a large mirror.

Nova learned English in about two months and a half, mostly off of lessons from McGuffey's Eclectic Reader textbooks that were taught by a group of selected linguists and Army Intelligence officers. In the 20th of September, on her first interview, the pilot continuously refused to give out technical specifications over the flying saucer or rebuffed inquiries by stating that even if they did reveal the secrets of the machine, that Earth's scientists would lack the means to observe and recreate the driving forces behind the saucer's flight or it's power. The greatest challenges Nova had to not revealing State-secrets was sheer boredom around the base, which was in essence, a gilded cage for the extroverted space-pilot from a race of people bred and raised to be always busy. Nova's hidden extroverted nature went against total silence, even when surrounded by potentially hostile people whom...whom were treating them well enough and whom Nova wanted to treat reciprocally instead of aloofly, as she pretended to be.

In the following month, Nova suffered from behavioral change after being deprived of the Spacer-Rations, namely, heightened anxiety and greater emotional excitement as the Ensign realized that the Domain would've broken them out if they had wanted to or that they would've destroyed the saucer and the base if the issue were seen as grave enough. So, for the first time in their life, Nova felt they were on their own in the universe. The pilot's mental strains were hidden by fake stoicism. Nova continued to reflect on their role in the accident, if a loss of calmness had lead to the deaths of the Captain and the Navigator, quietly pondering that they couldn't stomach going back home for the sheer shame and guilt of having failed friends and the Air Fleet. Also, for the first time since the days of infancy in a nursery room, Nova quietly wept to sleep and took extra care to not be seen. Nova thought they couldn't even find solace in notebooks or diaries left by the "labcoats" and the soldiers, polite jailers, were sure to be trying to decypher Anhu.



" How do you manipulate gravity in your craft?"
OOC: Illustration from Morita Rui's Warera Contactee

Figuring that stoicism led to nowhere but swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die, Nova made use of another mental barrier against the constant interviews and interrogations better suited for their disposition: Nova, the joker of the old trio, adopted dark humor and silly antics to protect their will to not talk about serious matters to a potential enemy. The Ensign even dedicated their acts to their fallen friends, noting that if they couldn't be a decent pilot for them, they'd be a clown for them if they observed from an after-life. Notably, Nova once approached the (one-way) mirror and made a point to their captors by blowing their breath and drawing a silly face in the condensation, an act probably also meant to lighten their mood in the worst possible situation. The space traveler also begun to experience something else that initially bought them a little shame and which they tried to hide: libidinous desire that had been suppressed by years of behavior-modyfiers; quite literally a repressed adolescence. Nova tried to hide it, but routine interviews made body-language reading analysts realize the cosmic maroon seemed more temperamental, coy and a tad more enthusiastic to interact with younger and fairly attractive men.

For the interrogators, subtle threats often backfired, as Nova showed either a somewhat mischievous side or a genuinely vengeful will when was questioned over the military capacities of the Air Domain: firmly establishing it as vastly superior to that of any power on Earth and concluded that the vessel's downing was due to error and freak accident. The pilot even listed several ways in which the Air Domain could destroy the military might of the United States or any world power effortlessly: namely, by using guided munitions from orbit to cripple industrial, administrative and military targets; or wantonly using high-mass projectiles or boosted atomic weapons to bombard military bases and population centers to wipe out organized resistance from industrial nations; or doing the same with clean pure-fusion nuclear warheads; or by hurdling an asteroid at a large target; or even by creating pathogens to weaken the population or kill off staple crops. Nova nonetheless stated that monitoring and observation was the main mission of the Saucer Fleet and denied that conquest or genocide was in their goals.

When asked to restate the claim, Nova admitted that there were no "other races" that the Air Domain had come across, without revealing its' Earthly origins. "She" stated that maybe it was because the distances between industrialized civilizations are too large to master with conventional means of travel across space, or that maybe intelligent life developing is a rarity that takes several billions of years to occur. The pilot talked too much in a certain interview and was indirectly pressed to explain how space could be traversed "un-conventionally". Initially unfazed by subtle orders, the pilot's interrogators got the best of them by leading Nova on and letting the pilot's condescending pride go on before they realized what was going on. In one particularly fruitful interview, Nova explained the basic principles around changing the shape of space-time to use pre-existing "tunnels", as well as the existence of a gravity particle, when describing how space was too vast for chemical propellents on rocket-ships, but that session was an exception and not the norm.

Acculturation of the Alien
The routine of frequent interviews continued for years, until 1949, until the powers that be approved of a softer approach. Nova's new contacts would be Dr. Marvin Murray (an astrophysicist), Doris Stewart (a social anthropologist) and Charles "Charlie" Kattenby (a technician), mostly civilians who'd bring up small-talk more often than not. Left with little to do, other than converse with her interrogators, Nova eventually bonded with them, somewhat. During a certain interview (#63, 6/June/1949) Nova learned that Murray was divorced and egged on the topic of marriage and civil unions, revealing in turn that couples in the Domain usually pair up at work and live together for years or even throughout life and switch shifts in day-to-day chores or in early child-rearing, but that obligations or different bonds may separate them afterwards or get them to meet new people. Nova apparently also "sometimes lived with ['her'] biological parents when off-hours, which is normal", as revealed to Stewart when she mentioned her children having moved out. An infatuation with Kattenby may have begun when he mentioned his ex-wife, a woman named Montserrat, and Nova asked him over the language "not sounding English".

Against the advice of Stewart, Nova was also shown public service announcement film reels over daily life in America, whom argued that the propaganda showed idealized American families and not reality connected to history. The pilot nonetheless watched these films without complaint, only occasionally interrupting to ask about the functions of certain appliances or customs. These screenings sometimes were about history topics, with a heavy American bias, but the visitor quickly saw through Earth's political alliance systems by contrasting the opinions and narrations held about the Soviet Union before and after wartime productions. In discussions about the War, Nova revealed that they (the Air Fleet) always viewed the conflict with some morbid curiosity, that many Domain crews had trailed Allied and Axis aircraft around to provoke reactions or to "film them too". More worrying to American intelligence, Nova also off-handedly mentioned that some Ahnu view the Soviet Union as showing promise to make a society "like ours", to which Nova had to explain that the Ahnu followed a command-economy partially guided by computers and which often used personal credit as currency.

Small talk also revealed that Nova was actually aware of some music trends in the USA, like Ella Fitzgerald's music, easy listening and boogie woogie: as the Ensign explained that Air Fleet spacecraft often picked up trivial radio signals when inside the Earth and that crews sometimes listened to them to pass the time, even if they couldn't understand any of it without translators...though it opened the implication that the "Saucer People" were eavesdropping on more confidential signals. The Ensign, nonetheless, remained fixated on tunes and tried to explain that music in the Air Domain was superior in complexity, though could not explain it too well, saying songs had mixed and intertwined time signatures and that the old Ahnu people must have really gotten bored in space as individual improvisation is valued and "short" songs last eight minutes or so.

On one hot September afternoon of 1952, just when Ensign Nova was about to go soft and consider cooperating with warmer and more familiarized captors, Nova was shown newspapers over waves of flying saucer sightings around the world by CIA operatives who pressed her to answer what it meant, the space-pilot shrugged and called it "Something big" but also snidely remarked that "half of the photos are frisbees and pie tins". And so, the pilot shut themselves in again from revealing State secrets. Sometime between that date and mid-October, the Air Domain contacted several US defense agencies and presumably also the President through channels the Americans thought were secure, demanding a meeting. After a very noticeable flyby around Washington D.C., elements of the US Department of Defense and the acting President conceded. Negotiations lasted for weeks and Nova was released in exchange for a rescued airman from the Texas Air National Guard that had been held by Air Fleet. Later on, the Holloman Treaty of 1952, gave the Domain access to US airspace to obtain "non-intrusive and non-fatal" genetic samples from American citizens in exchange for a (down-graded) flying saucer and a technical support package.

New Role in Earth



" Oh damn! The kids found the matches (the H-Bomb)."
OOC: Illustrations from Morita Rui's Warera Contactee

Considered culturally contaminated and somewhat disgraced, the Ensign was considered a liability at home. It was a stigma they couldn't shake even after internal investigations from the retrieved saucer did reveal that the crew had been following procedures and Nova was aqitted of intentional wrongdoing, though the recklessness they showed at goading Captain Nightfall to be closer than what was needed and Nova was relieved of their piloting job; they also had to write several hundreds of reports over their captivity on Planet Earth. Shortly after returning to the asteroid habitat called home, the pilot offered some personal condolences to the parents of Captain Nightfall and Navigator Starshine, to mixed results, as the Captain's parents slammed a door at her but the Navigator's didn't spread any blame at all for the accident and even offered her to stay for dinner in remembrance of their child. The Domain Fleet requested Nova's presence for a new type of mission should it be accepted, more formal and diplomatic and back down in the United States. Nova accepted, feeling some distance from home was needed for a while once more. To this day, the flight Ensign's parents think their child left towards to Earth because they're too ashamed to stay at home after their name became synonymous with Roswell, even if pilot error was discarded as the main cause of the disaster..

"Well-versed" in American history and some of it's customs (as they didn't have much else to read about in 5 years of captivity), Nova was assigned as an assistant to the Station Chief of the US Observation Group, following a diplomatic course they took. Though others believe that Nova was promoted from their old post because their Commanding Officer didn't like their reputation and wanted them away. The aforementioned US Observation Group is a small advisory and assistance body meant for the US Government and the Air Dominion to study each-other on their own terms. Their job can be described as being a mix between a cultural and military attaché, an intelligence officer and an ambassador of sorts; though Nova enjoyed the hands-on parts of their job more than it's administrative parts as they often leave bits of the work to assistants when they're off being test pilots. It is probably a good thing that Anhu only sleep for five hours and dedicate most of the day to activities.

At the behest of the US DoD, the Anhu and their detachment on Earth have also made it clear to inform whenever "accidents" occur, namely parts of drones or drones themselves falling to the craft in order for clean-up teams to retrieve the aforementioned technology. Though bilateral, this action is almost always a highly competitive affair that involves US covert units and Anhu demolition teams racing to crash sites to destroy it (in the case of the Air Fleet) or to keep it (in the case of the USA); both sides use operatives dressed as civilians, and for a while, the human but stunted Anhu tried to pull it off with ground crews but they looked too odd so they wound up using "Men in Black" androids, whom try to keep witnesses blissfully ignorant. Nova has also declined to give the US any information related to flybys done over the Soviet Union by the Air Domain as they fear it would embolden US offensive capabilities and make nuclear war even more possible, though Nova claims it's because they Air Domain has nothing against the USSR to merit getting overtly involved in Earth affairs, at the time being.

Nova was known to be on amiable terms in most work relationships they're in, most notably, the three fellow Anhu Domain Fleet mechanics and technical advisors stationed in Area 51, though it's rumored that more than 300 to 2600 Domain staff are set to arrive once a subterranean base is completed. Either comfortable or accustomed to it, Nova was also the only citizen of the Air Domain which felt almost entirely comfortable around the "cavemen". The small but imposing pilot also maintained relatively friendly relationships with most USAF partners assigned to fly the "Monkey Model" (a downgraded export saucer of inferior capability). At least one pilot was re-assigned after they didn't adjust too well to receiving orders from a woman or around one. Notably, Nova was also the only Anhu stationed on Earth whom is permitted to officially fly as part of a foreign power, as a USAF test pilot for a export model disc, which has biometric scanners activated only one or more Anhu operators.

As the space-pilot is surrounded by "lonely airmen who haven't seen a skirt for months on end" whom sometimes try to demonstrate their skills and talents to (possibly) woo them, Nova finds that showing off too strongly to be an annoying distractions. Naturally, Nova's favorite working friends on Earth are older pilots who can keep home where it is or younger men who don't think twice about receiving orders and following rigid protocol to the point. Even off-hours, Nova's "favorite Earthling", is Charlie Kattenby, because they're "not a tryhard". Nova feels incomplete taking the "suppressor pills" and prefers to try to stave off their feelings of possible romantic attraction towards Kattenby through sheer discipline and professionality, noting that they still have to set an example for subordinates. Nova has drunkenly admitted that if they're ever relieved of their burden, that they'd consider formally "proposing something"; though, informally and unofficially, their relationship is more discreet.

Job as US Station Chief
Following an incident which involved Special Agent Grimes entering a demonstrative saucer without permission, and then activating a space-time fold by accident when Nova was inside a saucer but wasn't looking at his tinkering for a moment, the entire enterprise of the Observation Group was called into question by the Ahnu Central Committee. After Nova and Grimes returned from a parallel dimension, Air Fleet's investigation into the matter absolved Nova of any fault as they had stuck to their role and Grimes was malicious or negligent enough to have broken several rules. For the laxness of the security measures around the demonstrative saucer, the then-Station Chief ultimately resigned for the relatively harmless but embarrassing incident, whereas their American counterparts forced Grimes to retire all together.

Though Nova's findings of the alternate realm intrigued and satisfied their bosses and proved to them that the former-ensign was still a valuable explorer of sorts, they were nonetheless punished for the problem through a "promotion" and the role of US Station Chief became theirs as the Ahnu's senior "America expert". Nova now finds themselves in a not-so-desiderable position at all: they have great powers and responsibilities, but a questionable amount of agency of their own. Their function has ever since taken a more administrative role within the US Observation Group, which itself has had it's leash tightened to keep up with the desired political goals of the Air Domain's Central Committee, to the point that a Political Officer was sent as a liasion to council Nova and their staff. For their part, Nova has picked up the ball and drafted policies that'd set a line between Earth's sovereignty and Ahnu interests, even if the approval of these ideas is out of their hands.

Under Nova's recommendations that have been approved, stealth "killer drones" were placed around Earth's orbit as a contingency should ICBMs be sent hurtling saucers or between the nations of Earth (a technology expected to develop on the planet soon enough), though it's mostly the latter preoccupation as it'll avoid millions or billions of deahts. Nova likes to pretend that they did it to secure genetic samples for the Domain's population like most of their bosses whom approved of their proposal, though secretly, Nova did it for the sake of their friends and acquaintances on Earth and arguably, for all mankind.Nova has also probably had no small part in shifting the opinion of the Committee towards a position of non-intervention in Earth, mostly by laying arguments in favor of the faction that desire to see the Earth and it's nation-states as a giant zoo and lab, noting that the Anhu are finally not alone in the universe and that they can entertain themselves with the Blue Planet; if one were less cynical about it, the non-interventionists could believe that the warlords of Earth and their people should develop on their own capacities and forge their own future as it isn't the Air Domain's encumbrance...unless it directly threatens Anhu interests or their own self-preservation

The new accords with a fraction of the United States government have nonetheless led to a need to create formal protocol and guidebooks, part of which was written by Nova. For the Anhu, this new set of rules pertains to rules of engagement towards fixed-wing aircraft and the legal questions pertaining to what counts as intrusion in US Airspace after it was made clear that the existence of the Saucer People wouldn't be made public or readily available to the average US airman. The answer was simple: anything short of getting caught or firing upon a bogey (aircraft acting with hostility) counts as fair game, self-defense would be considered evasive actions or electronic counter-measures meant to disable or out-run far slower Earth craft.

Nova's largest challenge as a full-time bureaucrat and leader of the US Observation Group was kissing up to the right ministers to fight for their cause in keeping the status-quo. Nova's detractors accused them of going soft on the Americans and either wanting to pull out of a nation they see at ideological odds with the Air Domain as the Ahnu Central Commite would've liked to assure the world as a sperm bank before the superpowers' capacity for nuclear annihilation become powerful enough to actually harm humanity. Political Officer Blue in particular grew to be a particular pet peeve for Nova, as they were keen on pointing out that the Soviet Union, though flawed, has greater promise in being steered to a rational planned economy for the sake of the Ahnu's Earth cousins. Consequently, Blue pressed for the Air Domain to balance out the US diplomatic mission with one to the USSR, though their ulterior motive was to turn the Soviet Union into a less politically fickle outpost for the Domain.

Politics, Opinions and Interests
"We [humanity] don't want to conquer space at all. We want to expand Earth endlessly. We don't want other worlds; we want a mirror. We're not too different. A single reality, our own, will do; but we can't accept it for what it is. We are searching for an ideal image of our own world and ourselves. Angels to bless us for our good deeds and demons to punish our sins, monsters to be fearful of; but all of that and more is within our lonesome selves. Scary, isn't it?"
-Some Polish guy Nova, on humanity's fruitless desire to look for xeno life and civilizations

The pilot may have grown accustomed to the longer work-breaks on Earth and notes that there's more distractions while on land at least. As a result, their favorite times of the day are often lunch breaks, coffee breaks and dinner to make small chat with the mechanics or Schmidt, the last whom doesn't seem to go out much, but neither do most personnel on the base. A TV set has been applied on the lounge assigned to the Anhu and their co-workers and the group sometimes watch and Nova's favorite show was The Disneyland Story, admitting that "having great imagination is an important part of one's spirit", though it has been used both as genuine praise and as backhanded-complements depending on the circumstances. Nova identifies the Magical Kingdom as a filtered lenses of American Pop Culture towards America itself, the rest of the world, the past and the future.

Nova grew to be slightly critical of the Air Domain after more than 8 years on Earth. Though they considered the average American shown on TV and PSAs to be a vapid and atomized individual, Nova's also come to concede that their hyper-individuality has led to great innovations when it comes to consumer goods and creature comforts, something exemplified by the profit-driven drive to please in Capitalistic economies; though they were also highly skeptical of Capitalism's capacity to take strategic decisions in favor of the greater good that prove temporarily detrimental to profit, noting the Oil Industry's influence in the US Government and its' novice effects on the world climate, for example, but also knew that the Soviet Union seemed to suffer from this problem out of necessity to conduct trade with the outside world.

Deep down, even if they won't admit it, Nova also sympathizes with some American idealisms. Though they find American exceptionalism to be stupidly arrogant, consider it's puritanical prudishness comical and find the profit-driven mindset of the American Dream as a reductive exercise in self-worth, the little space-pilot truly does believe that Laissez-Faire's philosophical implications (relinquishing control over others to ensure one's own agency to do as oneself pleases) are ideals worth preserving, and even dying and fighting for and that "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit are Happiness" is a noble mantra to follow. Though the Anhu live in what can be described as a nanny-State, even the aforementioned body recognizes that free time is sacred and gives many pilots free reign in expeditions. Perhaps Nova sees some Anhu in the Americans and viceversa: as, in Nova's eyes, both are hardy children of a wild frontier-land and both societies see themselves as a "Shining City on a Hill". It's no surprise that at home, Nova's been rumored to have become Americanized, earning her the moniker of "Nova of 'Merica".

Though they're only an amateur cultural critic, Nova was a bit more dedicated in their task to genuinely "enlighten" the Earth cousins out of obligation when it came to technical matters. Perhaps to the extent that it was better to make mistakes in front of Nova and allow them explain things rather than to try to force it out of them or to try to better them. Though Nova's behavior may be perceived as sometimes condescending or showy, the small space-visitor also doesn't doubt to respect her counterparts in the US Air Force, noting that a lack of willpower is not an issue even if a lack of technology is obvious. An anonymous American general has described Nova as being "almost insufferably smug for a young lady", though it should be noted that this may be due to most middle-aged and typically old-fashioned brass not being used to facing so much assertively from somebody they regard as a woman, let alone one that is a 1.48 meter tall spacer and is most definitely not Caucasian.

Much to the chagrin of some of their hosts and certain CIA liaisons, Nova is an unwavering believer in the merits of AI-assisted central planning as a greater good in service of humanity's continued survival, at least in the case of the Anhu. They consider that, at the current time, maybe the system shouldn't be exported to another context (Earth) in great part because of the social upheaval it would temporarily bring, but perhaps more importantly, because the Anhu have finally found a dazzling Other to contrast themselves with. However, the promoted pilot also feels a sense of remorse over possibly taking the Domain's first steps into Earth, fearing that it's inhabitants could lose their barbaric and unique little charms one day in the future thanks to its' influence. With no arbiter but sheer power or sheer boredom, Nova very much desires for Earth to be a zoo or film prop, a lot like those villages and exotic locations described as "primitive" and "exotic" by Disney's crews in his Adventureland episodes, sometimes questioning if it's for the sake of the cultures of mankind or the Anhu's (themself included) selfish desire for a contrast to themselves.

As a result, Nova embodies the tendencies of Anhu non-interventionism. Nova's under the opinion that all people (Anhu or Earthlings of varying cultures) think the same, but that the way they operate around tasks (culture and scientific parameters) lead to different results that result in telling material differences. Deep down, Nova's a bit unorthodox among their peers in believing that they, the Anhu, aren't any better than their Earthling cousins if all the fancy gadgets are stripped away. It should come to no surprise that Nova is accused of going native. Among the US DoD liaisons, file reports on Nova's personality and motivations indicate that the view isn't too different at Earth. The "little lady" has been compared to a well-meaning LinkColonial D.O., torn between loyalty for their nation and a genuine love for the planet-locked, bayonet-flinging primitives while carrying on "The Little Grey Man's Burden" in the aftermath of the unequal 1952 Holloman Airbase Treaty that made the United States a protectorate in all but name (the Anhu will intervene on Earth and occupy it according to some in case of imminent nuclear war).

Re-Evaluating America and Politics
"You won't regret it but your descendants will pay for the mess."

In her later years, Nova did commit themselves to some serious introspection over the pros and cons of the laissez-faire philosophy they were so enamored with in their younger days and they seemed to go back to faith in the Air Domain’s centralized planning being a rational way to handle resources. This source of ideological anguish can be traced to a tour of a suburb and her own stay in one outside of Las Vegas for several months. Nova eventually recoiled at the thought of suburban development, what they saw as the absolute worst of American society materialized: the incessant need to “keep up with the Joneses” as to supposedly show self-worth as an individual, working for its own sake, the psychological conditioning to want things seen on advertisements, the racist segregation in place and a short-sighted and over-confident reliance on unsustainable economic growth built on gas-guzzling cars and the subsided infrastructure needed to keep the inefficient model afloat.

To make matters worse, Nova as gifted with a fruit basked which poignantly reminded them over the US’ recent violent overthrow of a reformist Guatemalan president, all to keep the prices of fruit ridiculously cheap. That poignant fat made Nova ask themselves how morally just was a society if it was bound to be built on the over-exploitation of others’ resources, all while keeping their victims in a cycle of dependency and poverty and seemingly leading the world to environmental collapse which was bound to screw over poor countries far more. Nova also felt betrayed that the Majestic 12 shadow government didn’t even write up plans to eventually phase out fossil fuels in favor of the highly ductile electromagnetic generators or more efficient nuclear reactors that the Ahnu had given them tips about.



A giant Angel of Death.
OOC: Illustration by Inio Asano

However, despite this falling out, Nova kept on dutifully maintain the Ahnu’s end of the bargain and deeply hoped that in a few generations, the Ahnu wouldn’t need to intervene on Earth to save their Earth cousins from a slow societal collapse. The Civil Rights Movement which kicked off in the “Reactionary South” made Nova see a silver lining in their semi-adopted country: that free-thinking and altruistic individuals could lead onto reform society. That was enough to make Nova reinforce their belief that the nation in general was trying to do the right things in terms of social justice, or eventually would. And that made Nova dream that America (and the Air Domain itself) would eventually grow to have a not-so-exploitational view of everyone else…which in turn, made Nova feel far more than a little disappointed in their own government and the Air Fleet for not being completely open over their presence in the world.

So, in short, Nova loved the United States of America far more than they’d have liked to admit, or at least, the values the USA claims to defend. And in a sense, this critical support of the USA was consistent throughout their tenure as a liaison.

Nova's Last Flight
"I love you."

In the 26 of October of 1962, a rogue B-52G strategic bomber armed with a nuclear payload steered away from its squadron while on patrol over the Caribbean Sea seemingly en-route to Cuba, threatening to trigger World War Three. It was particularly dangerous because it was a singular experimental model which had an electronic warfare suite copied from technology from the Roswell Saucer, making it hard to track on Radar and hard to hit with missiles. Nova and her longtime friend, Kattenby, volunteered to stop the hijacked bomber using an unarmed saucer which was fast enough to reach the bomber, even if the mission likely would’ve cost them their lives. In the end, they succeeded in stopping the bomber from reaching its target even of the mission maybe did kill them; though their bodies were never recovered from the wreckage and Cuban-Soviet communiques indicate that "two Americans" that matched their description were captured near Banes.

Nova and Kattenby's perceived sacrifice was not in vain: in rough estimates, their decisive and swift act saved five to two dozen million American citizens, seven million Cubans as well as hundreds of millions of people around Europe and Asia. Also, though the hijacking led the Ahnu Central Committee to doubt the internal security and failsafe's of America's nuclear deterrence force, it ironically led to future Observation Groups having a faster Command and Control structure with hotlines and joint teams. That is, the near-disaster strengthened the apparent need for inter-agency cooperation and inter-State communication between the Ahnu and the Americans, something which no doubt would've made Nova happy should they had seen it there.

Unfortunately for her and Kattenby, the success of their mission came at the cost of captivity, as the pair were picked up by the Cuban militia and handed over to the Soviets as prisoners of interest. In 1965, after less than just three years of being held in a Moscow prison in relatively fair conditions, the release of the two was negotiated by the Domain's Ministry of Civil Services, who had it's own interests in opening relations with the USSR, or rather its cryptic 20th KGB Directorate.

Miscellaneous Facts

  • Nova's sex was registered as female in 1947 US Army Air Force records and medical examinations. Mountains of transcribed interviews and microfilm recordings reveal that they're always referred to using feminine pronouns. Nova don't seem to mind at all, but they haven't actually done anything to set their behavior to specific gender norms, at least not those observed in Mid-Century America. When asked about "her" role, Nova states that working in an interplanetary craft, defending the Domain, maintenance duty, sexual reproduction and child-rearing are all necessary.

  • Nova dresses in whatever is given to them. At first, it was medical patient gowns, then it alternated between extra-small sized nurse outfits, dresses and even boy's suits when they requested pants. Nova was initially unaccustomed to the elements and preferred to wear pants or nylon pantyhose when outside. After 1952, a custom-made boiler/flight suit is their typical work gear, though they like wearing dresses and shoes with complementary colors when they go outside.

  • Their skin tone is described as "White", it is literally very pale, unnervingly so according to some US airmen. Others have stated it's a very light grey, in contrast.

  • Nova's favorite brand of cigarettes is Lucky Strike, rightly considering them addictive and notes that if it weren't for cell-rejuvenation therapy, they would take a physical toll. Nova learned how to make rings with smoke.

  • One of Nova's preferred pastimes are nature walks, as they're not used to seeing biomes. At all. Each hiking trip is literally a new experience. Their rarest privilege on Earth is also "going out to town", usually around plainclothes guards and "those cats in black" to visit diners and furniture stores.

  • Nova apparently liked Doo-Wop music "despite it's simplicity" and sometimes unknowingly hums catchy songs that are stuck on their mind, most notably, the Del-Vikings' "Come Go With Me".

  • Graffiti on a bathroom stall in Base 51 written in Anhu block-alphabet claims that "Nova likes hot dogs"; though a more sympathetic one states that they're a "merciful boss off hours".

  • Unsurprisingly, the usually light-handed Nova turned into a very demanding chief of flight operations or superior officer whenever safety protocol is involved, hoping to never ever see a repeat of 1947.

  • Known as "USAF Nova" among their Ahnu compatriots, it's rumored there's a "VVS Nova" working in or about the Soviet Union.

  • Nova knew how to operate a few Earth fixed-wing aircraft as some downgraded saucers, or flying wings, were installed with more conventional control systems. With the help of an adjustable seat, they actually enjoy operating a LinkConvair B-36 "Peacemaker" utilized as a mother-ship for test drones and craft.

  • Nova once won a bet over doing a demanding turn in a test flight and was gifted a Vespa scooter.


Nova on their Vespa
OOC: Illustrations from Morita Rui's Warera Contactee

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