Aster (RBU)

Aster is a long-time activist for the rights of shape-shifters living in the Tanari Confederation, and former member of the resistance against Edward Allman.

Early life
Six years prior to the events of BZPB Reborn, Aster became the parliamentary assistant of David Robert Jones, a nominally conservative Tanari senator nevertheless known for his vocal and avant-garde support of shifters' rights. Presumably around the same time, she became friends with Richard, another shifter working for Jones.

The Rise of Edward Allman
After Edward Allman took over the Tanari Confederation, Aster was forced to flee the planet with Jones and Richard to avoid being murdered by the new dictatorship. They took refuge in an abandoned church on Malchior IV, which Aster and Richard used as a base of operations for stalking a Malchiorian police officer named Klak, who Jones had somehow identified as potentially useful to stopping Allman's plans. Just as she returned from one of these outings, Jones was shot by Robert "Barricade" Clinton, an assassin sent by Allman. Even though the injury should have been fatal, Jones recovered thanks to a powerful healing serum he'd been given by a friendly scientist as an insurance policy against assassination attempts by Allman. As Jones hadn't told Aster about this, fearing the information could somehow get back to Allman who would adapt his tactics accordingly, she was quite angry about it.

Aster and Richard followed Klak, Nadle and Bob on their excursion to the Bangalore Plains to find a temple containing the Craft of Laigula, and jumped into action when the three were attacked by Figlio di Armechio, who wanted the Craft for himself and his father Uteriach. When Figlio proceeded to accidentally awaken Caiaphus from his slumber, Richard tried to convince him to attack the Dachori, a plan Aster thought was crazy, and was proven right, as having injured Figlio, Caiaphus immediately went after Klak. Figlio then pretended to have a plan to kill Caiaphus with explosives he claimed to have hidden on his person and needed one of the others to distract him, and, though Aster protested vehemently, Richard went along with it and yelled abuse at the eldritch being while Figlio set up the explosives. While Richard's abuse did anger Caiaphus, this just allowed Figlio enough time to make off with the Craft. Aster, at this point furious with Richard's repeated miscalculations, laid down her own smoke screen, allowing the group to get out of the temple just as Figlio escaped in the Craft, Coro belatedly turned up to berate Aster and Richard for not deciphering the message he had left, in the form of runes on Jones' bed, warning them to keep away from the temple, and Klak accused them of intending to free Caiaphus all along. All this, especially Coro's unwillingness to communicate clearly, made Aster very angry again, and Richard had to calm her down and agree to help the others locate Figlio and the Craft.

Aster and Richard went with the rest of the group to Klak's house, where Klak's mother, Norma Vell, took her aside to gauge how much she had already figured out about Klak's powers. Aster revealed that she knew Klak was 'no ordinary Malchiorian', both in terms of his physical abilities and his character, in the process accidentally letting it slip that part of her mission was to find out more. Norma made Aster promise not to tell anyone about Klak's abilities, as she believed that the revelation could cause a war and doom Malchior, though Aster had no intention of keeping the promise, as the conversation had only further convinced her that Klak could be used as a weapon against Allman.

On their return to the church, Aster and Richard found Jones already on his way out flanked by a suspicious machine, which Jones claimed was a messenger taking him to see someone also opposed to Allman. That person turned out to be Aria Nashton, daughter of prominent progressive senator Anthony Nashton, who had made it out of the Confederation (unlike her father ) and was now running an anti-Allman spy network and had constructed a small army of robots, as well as planted an agent, Azrael, within Allman's inner circle. Aria proposed an alliance to Jones, arguing he would serve as a perfect symbol for an uprising against Allman. Jones agreed, and Aster and Richard echoed his agreement even though nobody was really asking them, because they were feeling left out during the conversation.

Trivia

 * The image of Aster on this page - the only 'official' representation of Aster - is actually of the version of Aster DRJ uses in D&D, which is why she carries so many blades in it.