Alastar Virgil

A portrait of the character

Second Commander (science department head) of the UAV Stardancer, Alastar Virgil is a Karaka'An in Fleet known for her calm and meticulous nature.

Physical Characteristics

Grayish-brown with short black hair (with one long, thin side-braid). Blue-gray eyes. Average height for one of the Karaka'A.

History

At Fleet Academe

Alastar was an Academe cadet a year above Alysha Forrest, who became friends with Laelkii Takara Lifeweave; Laelkii later introduced her to Alysha. Laelkii described Alastar as "very calm and unruffled." Alastar specialized in science and computer studies, and was extremely perceptive as regards to both systems and people.

When Harroway Sloan attempted to frame and blackmail Matthew Brighthaven (and kill Alysha) to advance the goals of the Anti-Human League, Alastar was instrumental in finding evidence of his crime, which allowed Brighthaven to save Alysha from murder.

Interstitial Assignments

Here's where all the stuff she did between the Academe and her assignment to the Stardancer is listed.

• Ensign -
• Lieutenant -
• Lieutenant Commander -

Stardancer Career

On the UAV Stardancer, Alastar went by 'Star, "having unavoidably been so christened after her assignment to a ship with a name so similar to hers, and as with everything, she’d accepted it without fuss."

On Gledig (Second Commander)

Alastar had been with the UAV Stardancer as second commander for six months at the time Alysha Forrest and Laelkii Takara Lifeweave came aboard (as captain and chief medical officer respectively), and thus had been there a year by the beginning of Sword of the Alliance. When Alysha pressed her for an opinion on her relationships with the crew, 'Star opined that the application of "discipline and praise in proper measure" would solve the problem.

During the investigation of Gledig by the UAV Stardancer, Alastar joined the advance party in investigating the planet. 'Star was the first to notice that the buildings in the residential area where they had set down were abandoned completely. After she was sent to investigate on her own, 'Star was asked by Alysha to investigate the local clinic, and found it full of bodies from Adderey. She was subsequently present in the Gledig governor's mansion during the bombing by Secessionist terrorists.

After the advance party was rescued by Svetlana Karishenikov in the wake of the bombing, Alastar spent the night with her compatriots at Svetlana's family's home, with the plan that she and she and Alysha would return to the Stardancer, and Taylitha Basil and Laelkii Takara Lifeweave would remain on Gledig.

On the Stardancer, 'Star assisted with figuring out the strange issues in Gledig's system, including the pirate activity and the curious nonresponse of the UAV Voidsong. She was the one to provide the evidence that enabled Alysha to confirm--though, true to form, she didn't herself spell it out--that Voidsong was more than simply incompetent or negigent, and to turn up the Voidsong's earlier court-martial.

'Star is the one to make the point that if the Stardancer rendezvous with the Voidsong, they'll need to leave the planet undefended and exacerbate the dispute on ground.

During the rendezvous, 'Star noted that the Voidsong and its captain Baerut Flait was either extremely incompetent ("incapable of executing the most basic tasks with proper discipline" or are insulting the Stardancer and its crew intentionally. She, along with Alysha, comes to the immediate conclusion that the Voidsong captain is lying about his work and the state of Gledig. Upon returning to Gledig, she analyzed the possible status and nature of the pirate ship (Scythe), and ultimately located right beneath Stardancer's belly, and used her analytical skills to determine that the enemy was using "hedgehog" missiles, and that a direct hit on the Scythe could cause them to explode in the hold, which in fact they did.

On Amity

This is what happened during Either Side of the Strand

Events of the Captain's Retreat

The stuff from Faith in the Service.

Quotes

• "Atrocities are only limited by people’s imaginations. And blackmail does not require a great deal of it."

Trivia

• Swears seldom, if in fact at all.
• She can break a good deal of Fleet encryption, but not all of it.
• She is also fairly good at forensic accounting and legal stuff.
• Alastar is intrigued by ancient weapons.

Body Language

Dylan Brushnie observed her as "The quieter second commander [who] offered the occasional comment and exuded an unobtrusive air that did not conceal how likely it was that she was recording every specific of the event."

Alysha Forrest notes that she can maintain a masklike affect, indicating what she really thinks to those who know her by such means as eye contact or a lifted brow.

A running commentary in the series is that public displays of overt emotion (including sarcasm) are a sign that things have gone very wrong, as she is normally inherently phlegmatic; for instance, she calls her friends by terms like 'arii' in public rarely, and always with deliberate intention.

Related Fiction

Alysha's Fall (Fiction)

Dark Lighthouse (Fiction)

In Good Company (Fiction)

Sword of the Alliance (Fiction)