Shom Reuel is another non-human on the Kestrel crew. He is Altairian.
Reuel is humanoid, two metres tall and gangly, with long fingers and toes. Instead of hair, his head has cranial spines, like a coxcomb, which rise and move when he is excited or agitated. Altairians also have a strange kind of singing or humming, which they do unconsciously, especially when stressed. It can be very soothing or very irritating.
Their voices are melodious, which, along with their diffident manner, can be deceiving, as they have no problem with violence for the right reasons. Reuel can seem rather silly sometimes, but is actually very intelligent. Altairians live three times as long as humans.
Altair has a lower gravity than Earth, and since the artificial gravity on the Kestrel is set at Earth normal (1G), Reuel wears a back brace on board. However, when in a low-gravity environment, there is no-one more graceful or adept than Reuel. In Intruders, he goes to help rescue Dr Robinson out on the surface of an asteroid, and almost seems to fly in the minimal gravity. The oxygen is also lower on Altair than on Earth, so his skin is very pink in the higher oxygen on board.
Reuel is keen to learn about humans and often asks about some custom or form of words he has not met before. The Kestrel crew do not always have the time or patience to answer his queries. In contrast, there is a lot about Altairians which is not known. Particularly the structure of the family and their mating practices, which are simply not talked about. They introduce other Altairians by name, without any indication of relationship.
In Alien Secrets, one of the secrets revealed is about the Altairian mating. Balitoth tries to help Reuel, who gets quite desperate when he comes into ‘heat’, but Dr Nefar is eventually able to help, revealing that he knows about it.
Surprising then, to find that Balitoth and Reuel develop such a friendship that they visit one another’s families while on leave (in a later story). They do not share what happened or their impressions of each other’s families with anyone when they return, much to the disappointment of the other crewmen.
Ann Marie Thomas is the author of five medieval history books, a surprisingly cheerful poetry collection about her 2010 stroke, and the science fiction series Flight of the Kestrel. Intruders, Alien Secrets, and Crisis of Conscience are out now. Follow her at http://eepurl.com/bbOsyz