Rive Amber appears in Vol 1.0 of the Slipshot saga. She is on of a class of Slaves called Mechanics, or more formally, Mechanic Class Slaves. Her origin, like all Slave Classes, is Griddish, a wide, domed disk that is floating in a separate dimension is deep space. Within Griddish, she hails from the city of Ashen Fissure. She lives, along with other Mechanic Class Slaves, in a walled fortress known as Sanguine Heap.
Description[]
Rive's skill set is managing the Constructor Class Vérkatrae as they descend to an assigned Var during a dismantlement project. Her primary responsibility is ensuring the Constructor Class Vértkatrae successfully follow the deployment of the Sleeper Class Vérkatrae. Their primary purpose is to dismantle the target Var on a molecular level. Constructors can also be deployed to take on more mundane tasks, like repair and rejuvenation of organic material. Constructors, like and Vérkatrae that are deployed on a Var do so through the Slipshot.
In Slipshot Vol 1.0, Rive Amber begins to question to role of Slaves in the management of the Vars. She eventually takes on a leadership role, inspiring Mechanic Class Slaves to rebel against the laws set by the Engineer Class Citizens and the aging and corrupt Council of Engineer Class Citizens. She is the inventor of the Bestiar Class Slave, which is a highly trained version of the Mechanic Class Slave to be used for combat purposes. Because Rive Amber places great appreciation on achievement, she has been know to adopt members from other classes of Slaves, namely one Mora Thrembroke, who appears in Slipshot Vol 3.0, and was originally a Producer Class Slave, whose role was harvesting and agriculture.
Appearance[]
Rive Amber is 5' 11" tall. In the early parts of Slipshot Vol 1.0, she wears functional clothes that assist her in her Mechanic Class duties. Later, after she declared war on the Council of Engineer Class Citizens, she wears more militaristic gear, consisting of dark khakis, combat boots, and belts that carry Bestiar Class weapons like the whip-like Plaxis Strand, also known as a Plaxi.
Personality[]
Rive is a cunning individual. She often seethes with anger and she is highly manipulative. She is driven by a sense of justice and a desire for freedom, not just from the role that has been imposed on her and all Mechanic Class Slaves, but also from the influence of the Tenddrome, which is an ancient network of individual Slaves accessible only by Slaves through spiritual, meditational means. Rive seeks a life where she and all Mechanic Class Slaves can be free to determine their own futures. It must be said, however, that Rive does indeed relish the chaos that she creates.
Relationships[]
Rive has a strong, personal connection to Cythiria Crenshaw, a Mechanic Class Slave who appears in Slipshot Vol 2.0 in her teenage version. Rive was a mentor to Cythiria, training her how to fight, and believes that she is one of the people who can bring about extreme change in Griddish. Cythiria Crenshaw does not reciprocate Rive Amber's affections however.
She also has a close, working relationship with Natty Mick, a Mechanic Class Slave who has no particular role in managing Vérkatrae, but appears to be someone who can make Rive's plans work. Together, they spread mischief and chaos across the Vars as well as Griddish.
Rive develops and uncomfortable relationship with Fredrick Munchen and Jillian Crenshaw. She frequently looks derisively upon them, being Varlings, and also being the foster parents to Cythiria Crenshaw as she grew from a young child to a teenage on Var 7, also known as Farth, in the city of Nissy.
She is also enemies with former Engineer Class Citizens Matere Songgaard and Betel Longshrew Piper. However, she will at times form tenuous alliances with them if she thinks that will serve her ends.
Alliances[]
Rive Amber's primary alliance is Natty Mick, who is also a Mechanic Class Slave turned Bestiar Class Slave. She is also the mentor to Cythiria Crenshaw, who appears towards the end of Slipshot Vol 1.0 as a child and again in Vol 2.0 and 3.0 as a teenager and young adult.
Enemies[]
Rive Amber's main enemies are Matere Songgaard and Betel Longshrew Piper. Matere is a former Engineer Class Citizen from Griddish. Betel is a former member of the Council of Engineer Class Citizens.
Although Fredrick Munchen and Jillian Crenshaw are not considered enemies, she nevertheless holds them in disregard, firstly because they are Varlings, and secondly, as they were foster parents to Cythiria Crenshaw while they were refugees on Var 7, Farth, she thinks they did not do their job properly to maintain Cythiria's mental well being.
Skills[]
Rive manages the Constructor Class Vérkatrae as a field technician. Her job is to ensure that Constructor Class Vérkatrae are deployed after the Sleeper Class Vérkatrae have completed their task of bringing the human populations of the targeted Var into a state of soporification.
Quotes[]
"Do you really think you can save your little experiment from my Constructor Class Vérkatrae? Frankly, I hope you burn when my Vérkatrae arrive."[1]
“I’m sorry,” Rive Amber whispered as she grasped the supine body of Opal. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her body heaved as she sobbed. Her stomach turned and her mouth watered salty. She pulled herself onto her hands and knees and dry heaved. “I’m so sorry, Opal.”[2]
Trivia[]
- Rive Amber is a master of the Tenddrome. She can easily slip into it and traverse great distances. However, such efforts often leave her exhausted.
- Rive Amber is a master in hand-to-hand combat. She was Cythiria's teacher in Vol 2.0.