It was a time of war. The Confederacy of Man was crumbling under the weight of its own corruption, with new rebel groups attacking Confederate interests every day. Two powerful alien races had come to light and were fighting one another without any regard for terran lives. The military needed every able-bodied soldier on the front lines, especially telepaths.

Had Nova Terra been anyone else, she would long ago have been conscripted into the ghost program. But as the beloved child of an Old Family, Nova Terra grew up in the lap of luxury. She was sheltered from fear, hunger, sickness—even her own growing psionic potential. She knew nothing of suffering.

All that changed when a group of anti-Confederate terrorists murdered her family. Overwhelmed by grief and rage, Nova lashed out instinctively, without thought or control. Hundreds of people died in an instant, the guilty and innocent alike.

Fleeing the shattered remains of her life, Nova thought that she had seen the worst of humanity. Soon she discovered otherwise, confronted by the harsh realities of life on the street. Her abilities attracted the attention of the crime lord Fagin, who forced her into his employ.

At his command, she used her telepathic skills to scan the minds of Fagin’s associates, root out disloyalty, and even kill. As a rogue telepath, she could not help reading the thoughts and emotions of the people around her. It wasn’t long before she dreamed of death. Fagin’s or her own. Maybe both.

Haunted by her memories, Nova could hardly believe her luck when she met Agent Malcolm Kelerchian. He told her that the Confederacy wanted her to enroll in the Ghost Academy. Upon graduation, all ghosts routinely underwent a memory wipe.

That memory wipe, she realized, was exactly what she needed. She eagerly agreed to join the ghost program. Her psionic abilities were well beyond any of the other recruits, and she completed her physical and telepathic training in record time.

Today Nova Terra neither remembers nor cares about her past. What, after all, could it have to do with her current life as a loyal ghost of the Terran Dominion? She follows orders with unquestioning efficiency and hunts down the enemies of the Dominion, no matter where they might hide.