Summary: On Selene Elara’s first day as captain of the Atlas, a passenger catches her eye.
Selene watched as a Deevine and two Dynamas loudly argued in the passenger lounge. People were gathered around them, watching and looking displeased. What a start to her first day as captain.
As the older Dynamas accused the Jura of murdering and terrorizing, the surrounding passengers gasped. The younger Dynamas began to argue with her. Selene heard her call the older one “Mother.” So this was a family argument. Selene was all too familiar with those. Eos and Pax constantly disagreed with each other on the very same subject. Eos was a Vanguard Marshall and despised the Jura, but Pax was sympathetic to their cause.
She made her way over to the arguing passengers and tried to get their attention. “Hello, I’m Captain Selene Elara. Could we possibly solve this little misunderstanding in private?”
The Deevine and Dynamas ignored her and carried on with their argument. On the verge of tears, the young Dynamas ran away from her mother and headed down the corridor.
“Go after her!” shouted the Dynamas mother.
Selene couldn’t try to calm down the passengers and chase after the girl at the same time, so she turned to Pax. “Help!”
“I’m on it!” Pax took off after the daughter.
Selene turned to the mother and the Deevine. “Now, we can work this out, can’t we?”
The Dynamas glared at the Deevine. “You had to get her started on the Jura. Now she’s run off. I’ve had enough of you.” She walked away in a huff and stood by the corridor, waiting for Pax to return with her daughter.
Selene was left with the Deevine. She couldn’t help noticing that he was extremely handsome. Purple flowers adorned his long golden-brown locks, and his bright green eyes were like polished emeralds. The sides of his forehead, cheeks, and chin were marked with purple tendrils. As she looked him over, she wondered if he had the same marks anywhere else on his body.
She’d better quit staring. That wasn’t professional, and she wanted to make a good impression on the passengers. Especially on him, she thought. She smiled warmly. “It wasn’t your fault that she ran off. I’m glad you stopped arguing, but that wasn’t the way I wanted it to end. I want everyone to have a pleasant trip.”
“So do I. Peace is important, as I was trying to explain to Merope.” He held out his hand. “I’m Octan.”
She took his hand and shook it. A jolt of excitement went through her as they touched. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Octan. So you’re attending the peace talks?”
He nodded. “I think they will be a success. I believe that the Jura and the Vanguard can find a way to coexist peacefully.”
“I hope you’re right. The civil war has taken such a toll on everyone. Obviously the loss of life. But also the strained relationships with neighbors, friends, and family.”
Octan quickly glanced at Merope, who was still standing by the corridor, and then turned his attention back to Selene. “As we just witnessed.”
“True.” She wondered how much she should share about her own family’s experiences. Eos and Pax were both on the Atlas, so it might be best not to reveal too much. However, she really wanted to connect with Octan. “It’s caused a lot of tension between members of my family. They stayed away from each other for a while. I hope they can find a way to get along.“
“If they hear each other out, I think there’s a chance.” Octan smiled at her warmly. “And if they’re anything like you, I bet they’ll listen.”
“Well, not exactly. We’re all pretty different.” And her siblings weren’t particularly open to each other’s perspectives. She thought of what she had overheard Octan saying to Merope: “I was once blind to the injustices of the galaxy, but the Jura have opened my eyes!” She had a feeling that Eos wouldn’t like Octan very much. The idea troubled her. He might be able to be civil to Octan for the sake of his job, but if she were to get involved with Octan, he might argue with her as much as he did with Pax.
Selene looked over to Merope, who seemed to be growing increasingly impatient. As much as she wanted to stay and talk with Octan, she had other responsibilities too, and Merope was obviously still upset. She turned back to Octan. “I’d better go try to calm Merope down. I’m glad we had a chance to talk, though. I hope you will enjoy your trip. If you need anything, just ask.”
“Anything?” Octan smirked.
“Ask and you’ll see.” She grinned at him, then walked away.