The Earth personnel are now split: some hiding out on in an Earth sub-polar base, the rest abducted up to Space Tektonics, Inc. (STI), Hengst’s massive orbiting complex near the moon. (Manfred Hengst is the heavy on Earth. He is a mining magnate, unscrupulous, and greedy. He and Pitar Ellisen are rivals to the death. "Hengst" is German for stallion.)