Aether Resource Collective (ARC)

An orphan corporation with roots in the earliest days of Belt exploitation, ARC is one of the oldest and most entrenched mining conglomerates in human space.

History and Status

Founded: ~2160s, during the Great Buildout era
Origin: Pan-European consortium (EU successor states, prominently including Ireland)
Status: Orphan corporation since the Lost Years consolidation and UEF formation
Headquarters: Ceres (operational), with nominal registered address in Dublin arcology

ARC was among the first privately-funded asteroid mining operations, established when fusion drives made Belt exploitation economically viable. The founding consortium pooled resources from several EU successor states to stake early claims before the corporate rush.

The name "Collective" reflects founding ideals that have long since hollowed out. Early ARC rhetoric emphasized cooperative principles, worker ownership, and shared prosperity — language that persists in corporate rituals while meaning nothing in practice. Old-timers still use Irish or continental European phrases; annual meetings include toasts to "the founding principles" that no one takes seriously anymore.

When the UEF consolidated authority during reconstruction, ARC's patron states were absorbed into the new federal structure. The corporation became legally orphaned — operating under unclear jurisdiction, theoretically subject to UEF oversight but practically autonomous in the outer system.

Corporate Culture

ARC's institutional personality blends several threads:

• "We were here first" — Deep Belt knowledge and resentment of newcomers
• Anti-UEF sentiment — Quiet but persistent; views federal oversight as colonial imposition
• Faded idealism — The gap between founding rhetoric and current practice breeds cynicism
• Long-term thinking — They've been playing the long game for over a century

The European roots give ARC a veneer of civilization and bureaucratic respectability. Corporate communications are formal, processes are documented, everything is proper.

Corporate Structure

ARC operates through several divisions, of which the most relevant are:

Extraction Operations: The public face — mining, refining, transport. Genuinely profitable and genuinely competent. Most ARC employees work here and know nothing of the corporation's deeper activities.

Asset Security: Corporate security and risk management. Handles facility protection, personnel security, and corporate intelligence.

Advanced Research Division: Focused on extraction technology and propulsion efficiency. Heavily compartmentalized; most researchers know only their specific projects.

Community Relations: Public affairs, labor relations, and reputation management. Handles the public narrative around ARC's Belt operations.

The Mispahk Incident

The Cluster

The Mispahk asteroid cluster is a group of co-orbital rocks in the Belt, rich in rare earth elements and platinum-group metals. Several families worked claims there cooperatively for generations — genuine small-scale Belter mining of the type that predates corporate dominance.

The Tragedies

Over approximately five years, the families of the Mispahk cluster suffered a series of tragedies that left only children surviving:

Family	Event	Survivors
Moliwa	Mining accident killed both parents	Tumelo (9), Kago (4), Itumeleng (2)
Jeong	Environmental system failure	Rin (15), Sion (11)
Lorelli	Accident killed widowed father	Cristina (15), Michael (13)
Jarvii	Parent abandoned child on Ceres	Kirsten (11)

Whether these were genuine accidents or something more sinister has never been established.

The Children's Resistance

Rather than collapse, the surviving children organized. Rin Jeong and Cristina Lorelli emerged as leaders. They named themselves "Mispahk" — from the Hebrew mishpachah (family) — and continued working their claims.

For approximately four years, the Mispahk operated successfully:

• Rin led mining operations and served as primary decision-maker
• Cristina provided emotional support and co-leadership
• Sion and Michael handled mechanical systems and accounting
• Kirsten managed external contacts and medical needs
• Tumelo learned the trade while handling cooking
• Kago and Itumeleng were raised by their older "siblings"

The children were profitable. They were functional. They were also, according to ARC, living in dangerous and unsupervised conditions.

The "Rescue"

ARC eventually moved to take control of the cluster, framing the operation as a humanitarian rescue of endangered children.

The corporate narrative:

"ARC personnel discovered a group of minors living in unsafe conditions following a series of tragic accidents. The children were immediately provided with shelter, counseling, and support. ARC has committed to funding their education and care as they recover from this traumatic period."

The children tell a different story — one of corporate aggression, armed personnel, and claims seized through legal maneuvering. Their version has been dismissed as trauma-induced confusion.

The Cylinder

During mandatory counseling sessions following the rescue, one of the younger children mentioned something the older children had found — an artifact of unknown origin, cylindrical, sealed. The counselor filed a report. UEF Fleet became involved. The artifact was seized for "evaluation and safekeeping."

Rumors persist about what was inside. ARC has declined to comment on the matter.

Current Status

The Mispahk children are now scattered:

Name	Current Age	Status
Rin Jeong	20-21	Education funded by ARC
Cristina Lorelli	20	Emancipated, operating "The Long Jeong"
Michael Lorelli	18	Emancipated, operating "The Long Jeong"
Sion Jeong	16	Emancipated, operating "The Long Jeong"
Kirsten Jarvii	17	Compulsory Community Service
Tumelo Moliwa	14	Adopted
Kago Moliwa	9	Adopted
Itumeleng Moliwa	7	Adopted

ARC's funding of the children's care and education is presented as corporate generosity.

The Long Jeong

The Jeong family mining vessel — the ship where Rin and Sion grew up. After the "rescue," ARC took the vessel to a corporate dock. When Rin went to retrieve it, ARC "impounded" it for "unpaid maintenance and docking fees". After a bit of a battle, and a grudging call to Haneul, the ship was released to Rin and docked at the Ceres public docks.

Once the dust had settled, the younger kids were taken care of, and Rin had decided to pursue her education on ARC's dime, Sion insisted on taking over the ship. Cristina and Michael offered to help, and together they are working a new claim in the outer Belt, as far from ARC's sphere of influence as they can manage.

The Long Jeong represents continuity — a piece of the old life that ARC didn't take. For Sion especially, it's home in a way nowhere else can be.

Cristina Lorelli

Age: 20
Role: Captain/operator, The Long Jeong

While Rin was the strategist and decision-maker during the resistance, Cristina was the heart. She held the younger kids together emotionally, mediated disputes, and made sure everyone felt like family. Her father's murder by ARC drone strike left her with cold, settled rage — not sharp like Rin's anger, but patient. She can wait.

Now she's de facto captain of the Long Jeong. She corresponds with Rin when she can, but they're careful about what they say — they assume ARC monitors communications. The distance between them is geographic but also something else: Rin left for education, Cristina stayed to hold the family together. Neither choice was wrong, but there's unspoken weight there.

Beliefs:

• We survived ARC once. We will survive them again.
• The Moliwa kids got out. I will not let that sacrifice be wasted.
• Rin chose her path. I chose mine. We're still family.

Instincts:

• When someone's struggling, check on them privately.
• Never discuss family business on monitored channels.
• When I see ARC's logo, remember what they took.

At the table:

• Calm, warm, and quietly implacable
• The person everyone turns to when things fall apart
• Her patience can read as passivity, but she's always thinking three steps ahead
• If Michael is about to do something reckless, she's the one who can stop him

Sion Jeong

Age: 16
Role: Engineer, The Long Jeong

Rin's younger brother. He was 11 when their parents died, 15 when the "rescue" happened. He's quieter than Rin — more mechanical, more internal. He processes by fixing things. During the resistance, he kept the equipment running. Now he's the Long Jeong's engineer.

He hero-worships his older sister but also resents that she left. It's complicated. He understands why she went, knows the education matters, but understanding doesn't make it hurt less. When she calls, he drops everything. When she doesn't call, he notices.

Rin's empathic Talent manifested after the trauma. Sion is not Talented, as far as anyone knows. There may be jealousy, or relief, or both.

Beliefs:

• Rin left, but she's still my sister. I'll be here when she comes back.
• If I keep the ship running, I'm keeping the family together.
• I don't need Talent. I have skills.

Instincts:

• When something breaks, fix it before anyone notices.
• When Rin calls, drop everything.
• When I'm angry, go work on something mechanical.

At the table:

• Quiet and competent; speaks through actions more than words
• The emotional subtext with Rin is always present but rarely spoken
• If Rin needs something from the Long Jeong, Sion is her point of contact
• He's sixteen and trying very hard to be older than he is

Michael Lorelli

Age: 18
Role: Logistics and external contacts, The Long Jeong

Cristina's younger brother. He was 13 when his father was killed — old enough to understand exactly what happened. He's the angriest of the Mispahk. Not patient like Cristina, not sharp like Rin, but hot. He wants revenge. He wants to hurt ARC the way they hurt him.

On the Long Jeong, he handles logistics and external contacts. He's good at it, but he's also reckless. Cristina spends energy keeping him from doing something that would bring ARC's attention back to them. So far it's worked. So far.

Beliefs:

• ARC murdered my father. Someone will pay for that.
• Cristina protects me. I protect her.
• The system is rigged. The only way to win is to break it.

Instincts:

• When ARC comes up, clench my fists.
• Always have an exit route.
• When Cristina says stop, stop.

At the table:

• Hot-headed but not stupid — his anger is focused, not random
• The most likely to do something reckless if provoked
• Genuinely good at the logistics work; he learned from necessity
• Cristina is the only person who can reliably talk him down

Kirsten Jarvii

Age: 17
Status: Compulsory Community Service (UEF jurisdiction), Ceres

The outsider. Kirsten's story is different — her parent abandoned her on Ceres, and the Mispahk took her in. She wasn't born into the cluster; she was chosen. That makes her loyalty fiercer in some ways, more fragile in others.

During the resistance, she handled external contacts and medical needs. This meant dealing with gray-market suppliers, falsifying documents, and other activities that were crimes even if they were necessary for survival. When ARC executed the "rescue," they made sure these crimes came to light — and possibly exaggerated their severity.

Kirsten is now serving community time on Ceres, working the community oxygen fields. This is UEF jurisdiction, not ARC — she's paying a legitimate debt to society, not serving corporate interests. She's free to communicate with her family. She's even free to leave, as long as her destination includes equivalent community service; the UEF balances freedom of movement against accountability for crimes that don't justify restricting fundamental rights.

But she's separated from her family, which is almost certainly what ARC wanted.

Beliefs:

• The Mispahk chose me when no one else would. I will never betray them.
• ARC thinks they can break me by isolating me. They're wrong.
• I survived the Warrens. I can survive this.

Instincts:

• Never give information for free.
• When I'm alone, remember I'm not really alone.
• When someone offers help, look for the angle.

At the table:

• Street-smart and guarded; trust is earned slowly
• She grew up in the Ceres Warrens — same environment as Haneul Goh, potentially a connection
• The most isolated of the Mispahk; may be hungry for contact
• If PCs route through Ceres, she's reachable — and might have local knowledge they need

The Moliwa Siblings

Tumelo (14), Kago (9), and Itumeleng (7) were adopted together after the "rescue." They're out of the situation — safe, cared for, separated from the older children but not from each other. The older Mispahk made sure of that much.

They're background characters for now, but they represent what the others sacrificed to protect.

Key Personnel

Massimo Conte

Title: Vice President, Asset Security
Age: Mid-60s (appears 40s with life extension)
Background: Born in an Italian peninsula arcology on Earth. Served twenty years in the Peacekeepers before joining ARC.

Conte is known as a consummate professional — calm, methodical, and discreet. He rarely appears in public but is respected within ARC for his competence and reliability.

Massimo left the Peacekeepers after growing disillusioned with what he perceived as UEF political interference in necessary operations. ARC recruited him specifically for "difficult situations." He has delivered.

Haneul Goh

Title: Director, Community Relations (Belt Division)
Age: Early 30s
Background: Born in the Ceres Warrens. Rose through ARC's ranks after demonstrating exceptional talent for de-escalation and community engagement during a labor dispute.

Goh is the primary ARC contact for the Mispahk children, particularly Rin Jeong. She has advocated internally for their wellbeing and is credited with ensuring their education funding came without onerous conditions.

Born in the Ceres Warrens. Birth name unknown and unused. Orphaned young and raised in Warren gang structures — the same environment that would later produce Kirsten Jarvii.

Transitioned in her late teens and chose her name then: Haneul ("sky") Goh ("high"). A declaration, not a concealment. A Warren kid who named herself High Sky and meant it.

She fought her way out through charm, hustle, and genuine talent for reading people. ARC noticed her during a labor dispute at a Ceres refinery where she de-escalated a near-riot through sheer force of personality. They recruited her. She rose fast.

Related

• Story — current events and the Mars expedition
• Mysteries — the Belt cylinder and other unanswered questions
• TrueHistory — what ARC's artifacts actually mean
• Technology — spacecraft and the implications of artificial gravity
• Tensions — corporate frontier and Belter independence