My name is Jehen, and I’m in charge here–so they say, anyway. The truth of the matter is something more complicated, but then the ones planet-side don’t have the faintest idea of what happens out in space. They have the logs, and  the simulators, but it’s not the same.

As a veteran told me when I was ten or so. That was Mavra Two-Eyes; she was one of the rare ones who came back. With a glass camera for an eye and sophisticated prostheses that she told them not to bother to hide. We all know what that means, and it’s only on those other worlds that folk stare. On Sarronny, we’re lucky to get repaired and it was a good job, so it’s admired much the way that … oh, I suppose, some sort of very expensive personal adornment is on the other worlds.

***

During the second half of October, I will be posting character interview excerpts for this year’s NaNo novel, Inside the Jump. This week’s excerpt comes from the interview with Jehen, the starship captain who will be taking on the role of detective when a political murder is committed on her ship.

My NaNoPrep is based on the thirty-day character questionnaire. Who are your people? This is a magical tool for finding out! Watch my NaNoFeed posts for more information about ways to use the character interview to generate plot.

Weekend Writing Warriors offers eight-sentence excerpts from a variety of writers; see the other excerpts here.