Reese Eddings

Reese, with Hirianthial

Full name: Theresa Eddings. Reese is a human and captain of the TMS Earthrise. According to the Guardkin, she is the Godpack matchmaker.

Wife of Hirianthial. Head of Laisrathera (House).

Appearance and Personality

Dark brown skin, middling height, black hair (kept in braids), blue eyes. "Light-boned limbs," typical of low gravity origin, but her height gives away her Martian roots; the Moon colonists are taller.

Biography

"The Eddings family doesn't have sons. We have daughters." - Gran

Early Years

She grew up in one of Mars's giant hemispherical habitats, "the sixth stop down the rail" from Blue Station, in a township "barely larger than the crew complement on the Alliance's warcruisers" (so slightly over 1000 people). The Eddings household looks like a cottage with a basement twice as long as the ground floor, abutting the Wall. The front lawn was anchored by a eucalyptus (later cut down) that Reese climbed and hung a hammock from as a girl. As a child, she rebelled against the course of life laid out for her by her family: "No evidence would convince her that she wasn’t any good at merchanting... especially if it meant limping back home to her mother and grandmother and enduring their censure for using her inheritance on her misguided determination to break free from the pattern of their lives. Their plan had involved Reese staying on Mars and continuing the Eddings clan with another anonymously-donated batch of sperm. That she’d had other hopes had broken her mother’s heart and angered her grand- mother, her aunts. Even her nieces had found her outrageous."

With her inheritance, she took out a loan on a Vespa-class trading vessel, the TMS Earthrise, to begin her career as a merchant trader. She acquired Allacazam, then ran into trouble that required her to look to an unknown "benefactor" to bail her out of her financial difficulties, which was later revealed to be Liolesa. Six years later, Liolesa called in her favor to send Reese to rescue Hirianthial; at that time, Reese had had her crew for roughly three years: the twins first, then Kis'eh't and finally Bryer, "when she’d realized she would never do more than break even relying on contractors and the ship’s automated functions to do the work."

Lady of Laisrathera

She married in early spring, in the Laisrathera chapel.

During the Solstice Vigil, Reese received a stack of patents from Kis'eh't, a joint calligraphy scroll with Hirianthial from Bryer, a Founder's Stone on Mars from Irine and Sascha (plus new nightclothes and underthings from Irine, all tasteful). A peach to coral ombre velvet hooded cloak, lined in cream colored satin and fur was next, plus a fillet of gold with three stones in the middle, two cabochon rubies roughly the size of Reese's thumbnails and between them a tawny fire opal known as the Dorolith opal, roughly the size of Reese's thumb. It was part of the Jisiensire jewel trove and was gifted to Reese from Hirianthial. From Liolesa, a choker of apricot-colored moonestones and rubies, faceted. It was not a historied piece, ordered due to the colors chosen for Laisrathera not being common in the gem hoards of Ontine.

Family

The Eddings family follows Martian tradition since the civil war with Earth, which involves using artificial insemination to have children - daughters only. Seven generations of the family have lacked a father.

• Mother - has a 'short hedge' of hair and Reese's blue eyes
• Auntie Mae - brown eyes, light brown skin; daughter Susannah (a few years younger than Reese)
• Aunt Mabel: daughter Tiffany (born in 463 BA)
• Gran - Grandmother - a hunched figure with skin pink as dried flowers and blue eyes; she knits
• Great-Aunt Charla

Timeline

• We assume Reese was born in 448 BA, since she is 32 years old during the events of Earthrise.
• Six years prior to the events of Earthrise a mysterious benefactor, later revealed to be Liolesa Galare sent Reese an encrypted message and enough money to get Reese out of debt. This puts the date tentatively at 474 BA.
• Most of the crew of the TMS Earthrise were hired 3 years before the start of the book Earthrise. Reese hired the twins (Sascha and Irine) first, then Kis'eh't 3 months later and Bryer 1 month after that. That would put their hiring year at 477 BA. The exception to this is Allacazam who had been with Reese for 7 years Earthrise begins, so they met in 473, one year prior to Liolesa rescuing Reese from debt.
• Reese was in the Mediplex of Starbase Kappa for 2 days, having her esophagus "repaved" (ie, replaced) by Hirianthial.

Quotes

• "We did not spring Hirianthial from jail, flee all over the Alliance with pirates on our tail, save him from that crystal mind-sickness and then risk him arresting a drug lord just so he could die on a backwater colony world because the natives are having a fight about who gets to play with the horses and who has to work like normal people."
• "Fine. I'm used to being the knight in dented armor by now. Let's get on with it."
• "I guess if I convinced one Eldritch not to pitch me out, I can handle twenty-eight."

Trivia

• swears: 'blood and freedom', 'blood in the soil', 'freedom', 'blood'; later 'goddess and freedom'
• Her monthly romance novel subscription has not lapsed in nearly twenty years (i.e., since her early teens).