Captain Ksenia Rolanovna

Ksenia (Rolanovna) Starikova was born in Petropavlovsk (PK) a city situated on a peninsula of land called Kamchatka between the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk—and she knows the land well. Kamchatka, Russia, is a place of endless, rugged beauty, where volcanoes rise like living giants and cold winds sweep across icy plains. People call it the land of fire and ice, which is fitting—but the volcanoes aren't just scenery to her; they are alive, unpredictable, and woven into the identity of everyone who lives beneath them.

For decades, Kamchatka’s allure has been its raw adventure— helicopter flights over volcanoes, heli-skiing down untouched slopes, horseback treks, river rafting, salmon fishing, hikes through the Valley of Geysers. That was the Kamchatka she’d grown up with, the one that felt real. But everything changed the moment the mammoths were brought to the Kronotsky Reserve. In 2032, the impossible became real, and suddenly tourists no longer came for the land— they came for the mammoths.

Her mother, Katya, had come to Kamchatka from Moscow during her bachelor’s, searching for organisms called extremophiles that thrived in fire, salt, and radiation. What was meant to be a short research expedition had become a lifetime. Katya stayed, earned her Ph.D., and built a career in this remote frontier, convinced the peninsula hid secrets worth staying for—devoting her life to the wilderness and to life forms forged in extremes.

It was here that Katya met her father—Rolan—a man of entirely different pursuits. He had studied international trade and saw in Kamchatka not only wilderness but opportunity. Where Katya sought hidden life in volcanic vents, her father sought gold, silver,|platinum, and coal. He flourished and made millions in this land at the edge of the world. This was why Ksenia often thought of her parents as opposites, each loving a different side of Kamchatka’s allure: the raw frontier of discovery and the bold frontier of fortune

After she earned her degree, she joined the Ministry of Internal Affairs—Russia’s national police force. She rose steadily through the ranks until she was promoted to captain. In the beginning, her supervisor —Boris had been hesitant to promote her. He told her it was not the custom to promote women detectives. But Ksenia argued her point of view, adding that women had an eye for detail and were excellent observers. And to her surprise, she passed the trials—the psychological tests, the physical ordeals — as if the land itself had also tempered her for this new role. From science to law — it was a slightly peculiar background, but Ksenia had encountered far more peculiar life stories.

But what disturbs Ksenia the most these days is the new "unofficial" investigation that landed in her lap — after a strange mauling occurred on Krontotsky Volcano during a heli-ski tour. She's not sure what to think after they found the strange tracks and a witness who describes a cat that doesn't exist. She also can't shake the thought pressing at the back of her mind. If Atlasov has already revived mammoths, what else might he have attempted? The witness describes a lion-shaped predator with a hyena’s gait and long fangs — which sounds disturbingly close to a Pleistocene cat, something that should remain frozen in permafrost or locked in a museum drawer. She types up an unofficial memo for Nikita, a major of Justice who asked for her assistance.

Subject: Interview with Matthias Kross — Impressions (unofficial)
— Extremely agitated; hands shaking, voice unstable.
— Claims fog limited visibility
— Rejected tiger or bear identification immediately.
— Strong guilt response
— Description of animal inconsistent with known wildlife
— Asked if the creature would be hunted down - suggests fear or
belief that the threat is ongoing

The fact that the Investigative Committee was cooperating with
the MVD on this case was, to say the least, surprising. They generally
clashed and distrusted each other — hiding information, cherrypicking investigations, and trying to assert jurisdiction over each other. And now Nikita was here, working in a makeshift office downstairs. Marked Department "X," it sits in the MVD basement, and she's not sure exactly why. The investigation is getting stranger by the minute.

But tomorrow will be worse. She can feel it. The strange
account of the animal, and Nikita’s evasiveness, lingers like a stone
in her stomach.