Melanie Truscott

Dr Melanie Truscott was an activist, politician, and engineer working for Kosmik as the director of Project Hope until 2203.

Project Hope
In 2202, Truscott led the initial phase of Project Hope on Quraqua. With her second-in-command, Harvey Sill, she resided on Kosmik's space station orbiting the planet. Among her responsibilities was overseeing the detonation of the ice caps and release of icy asteroids into the oceans of Quraqua. Her subordinates included Ian Helm, who was in charge of detonating the Southern ice cap.

She talked to Priscilla Hutchins at one point, who coordinated the evacuation of the scientists on the surface of Quraqua, and considered her a sensible young woman. Nevertheless, she authorised the premature release of an asteroid towards Quraqua to send a warning, but reacted with humour when Hutchins repaid her in kind by sending a faux asteroid made of polymer towards the space station.

Beta Pacifica
Following the death of Richard Wald during the flood on Quraqua, Norman Caseway demoted Truscott in 2203 and ordered her to return to Earth on the Catherine Perth. En route home, the ship received a distress signal from the NCA Johann Winckelmann and was rerouted to the Beta Pacifica system, where they rescued Frank Carson and his team, including Hutchins. In direct violation of her orders, Truscott decided to assist the mission and provided a lander to bring Carson and company to Beta Pacifica III and allowed the use of the Perth 's facilities and crew for their purposes. She also confronted Hutchins, who admitted to her sending the snowball towards Kosmik's orbiter, and the two got drunk together.

Later career
After disappearing for a few years following the Quraqua and Beta Pac affairs, Truscott resurfaced in 2207 to protest deforestation. The following year, she successfully ran for Senate and was promptly elected. She also became an outspoken and influential advocate of the Academy of Science and Technology.