Today I'm continuing my series introducing the main characters from my science fiction series Flight of the Kestrel.
Tabitha
Enns is a young woman from the first Earth colony, Alpha. The gravity
there is twice that of Earth, so the first colonists had to wear
powered exo-skeletons, but over the generations their bodies have
adapted by becoming short and stocky. This means they are fast and
strong in Earth-normal gravity. Over the years the colony has become
insular, having little to do with other humans or alien races.
Tabitha
always wanted to see the rest of the galaxy, but it took a long time
to persuade her father to let her apply to PACT. Her mother never
agreed. She joined the PACT Training School on Alpha and her
enthusiasm quickly took her to the top of the class. She was about to
transfer to the main training facility on Earth to do her last year
of advanced training, when the Kestrel arrived at Alpha looking for a
top student as an emergency replacement crewman.
Before
she knew it, she was on board, excited but scared stiff she would do
something wrong. She was initially appalled at having to share a
cabin with a man, but Andrew Chambers took her under his wing. Apart
from an initial bout of space sickness caused by lack of training to
acclimatise her to the lighter gravity, she settled in very well and
proved to be a useful addition to the crew.
Through
her, we get to know the various characters in the book, especially
the alien representatives who join the mission. To keep them busy,
they are asked to teach her about their race and culture, and pass on
their area of expertise.
All
is not plain sailing, however, since Roy Stubbs, the assistant
engineer, takes a shine to her. His advances are not welcome, but she
doesn't know how to discourage him without being rude. She wishes she
had been allowed to have boyfriends so she had some experience of how
to handle men.
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