Aliases: Marq, Marc Katergarus, Mr. Luxhomme, Gene Klament (birth name)
Affiliation: Founder and leader of Juno
Species: Human
Apparent Age: Mid-40s (actual age over 500 years, thanks to amortality treatment)
Notable Trait: Born too late to truly appreciate Van Halen
Profile
Marcus Leitman is one of the most enigmatic and dangerous figures in the Compact Universe—a shadow architect of chaos, political manipulation, and ideological engineering. With centuries of influence and multiple alias identities, Leitman plays the long game, believing himself humanity’s rightful evolutionary guide—even if that means inciting wars, toppling colonies, and rewriting the moral framework of entire star systems.
He is the founder of Juno, a secretive organization aimed at transforming the Compact through covert control, gene-culture manipulation, and strategic upheaval.
Background and Identity
Leitman’s real name, Gene Klament, was erased as he built an elaborate chain of legally distinct identities through the Thulian legend system.
Under the alias Marcus Leitman, he rose to prominence as a Compact delegate and deputy secretary-general after working underground to launch his covert crusade through Juno.
He shares a century-spanning rivalry with Tol Germanicus, his ideological opposite and oldest adversary. Despite their mutual hatred, both men understand that exposing the other would collapse institutions they depend on.
Leitman was seen again on Metis during the Occupation of Amargosa, in his guise as a sales rep for JunoCorp. He as assaulted by an angry Tishla, then minutes later, Douglas Best. However, he was not arrested and made his way to Belsham, where he was arrested after the missing Etrusca Explorer turned up with no crew and no cargo. Returning to Earth to answer for what he knew, he manipulated Assembly dynamics to undermine political adversaries and pursued opportunities to revive Juno’s influence .
Philosophy and Goals
Leitman believes humanity must evolve or die, and that peace and democracy are insufficient. He advocates for amortality, extreme population control, and centralized ideological regulation.
Views the Compact not as a political entity, but as a vehicle to mold the species. He sees Gelt, sapient lycanths, and even Juno followers as tools—or obstacles—in that mission.
His approach is ruthless: He has manipulated planetary invasions, corrupted noble families, and orchestrated mass death for narrative control.
Activities on Essenar and Hanar
Under the alias Marq, Marcus Leitman inserted himself into the Gelt colonization of the penal planet Essenar, manipulating events behind the scenes to create instability and power vacuums he could later exploit. He tempted Lattus Kai to the planet with the promise of a lucrative new crop—a tuber with extraordinary yield potential. When the crop failed catastrophically, it left Kai politically and economically vulnerable.
At this low point, Marq introduced Kai to Laral Jorl, igniting the chain of events that would lead to the unsanctioned invasion of Gilead. Tishla, a concubine bonded to Kai, remained suspicious of Marq from the outset, but it was only later that the full scope of his manipulation became clear.
When Kai discovered that Tishla was pregnant—carrying not only his child but the posthumous heir to his House—he acted to protect her. Believing he had no other option, Kai entrusted her indenture to Marq and ordered him to take her offworld to Metis. This decision, meant to save her and her unborn children, unknowingly placed her in the hands of one of the Compact’s most dangerous figures.
On Metis, in the city of Sophiopolis, Tishla came to suspect that Marq had orchestrated the agricultural disaster on Essenar, setting the entire collapse in motion to manipulate Kai. Her suspicions boiled over into violence, and she physically assaulted Marq in his home. Wounded and exposed, he was later discovered by Douglas Best, who recognized his true identity as Marcus Leitman.
Tishla escaped Metis with help from Delda Rallis, a Laputan and old enemy-turned-friend of Kai. Rallis arranged her passage to Armaneya, a Laputan orbital city, allowing her to elude Marq’s control and ultimately assert her own political destiny on Hanar.
Key Actions Surround Liberation of Amargosa
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Supplied Lucius Kray with a fusion weapon on Amargosa and planned to blame its detonation on human rebels, seizing power as a savior.
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Seduced and manipulated Tessa Dasarius, using their relationship to monitor Dasarius Interstellar and push JT Austin toward martyrdom.
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Feuded with Germanicus, making wagers on planetary outcomes. He promises to vanish if Amargosa is liberated—but expects to rule if Kray holds it.
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Targeted Tishla and Ellie (Chapaan) as threats to his mythos. Both are marked for elimination after surviving and leading mixed-species resistance efforts.
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Was foiled by President Baker ibn-Aziz, who refused to be conned by Leitman’s machinations as he was pushed into the presidency. Ibn-Aziz made it clear the president was now the top authority in the Compact, and the Secretary-General was now a secondary role.
Personality and Traits
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Charismatic but calculating: Projects warmth and wisdom but is a master manipulator behind closed doors.
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Ruthlessly pragmatic: Believes sacrifice—including entire populations—is a necessary cost for progress.
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Unsettlingly amused by devotion: Finds Jez Salamacis’s desire to immolate herself in his name “excessive,” but secretly admires her loyalty.
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Culturally sterile: Though well-versed in history, Leitman was born too late to truly appreciate Van Halen, a detail Tol Germanicus mocks him for.
Legacy
Marcus Leitman is the ultimate puppet master of the Compact Universe—more dangerous than any single warlord or admiral because he plays entire civilizations like pieces on a board. He is a warning of what happens when immortality meets ideology, and when control becomes its own religion.
Appearances: Gimme Shelter, Chasing Eternity, Storming Amargosa