Aeren Vale is a deaf human attendant who accompanies Gorvek Thol aboard Dominatrix II. Thin, blond, blue-eyed, and notably cheerful, Aeren communicates through sign language and reads lips well enough to follow conversations that others assume he cannot understand.
¶ Service with Gorvek Thol
Aeren arrives aboard Dominatrix II at Gorvek's side and remains with him during command meetings, crew briefings, and the ship's later crises. His duties include the close personal assistance expected within Gorvek's routine, and he performs them with complete professionalism. Although Jack Kaiden initially mistakes Aeren's deafness for an inability to follow events around him, Aeren quietly observes far more than Jack realizes.
¶ Relationship with Jack Kaiden
During a period of grief, Aeren sits beside Jack and offers a simple reassuring touch. Jack then learns that Aeren has been reading his lips throughout their time aboard. Their exchange leads Jack to attempt a signed expression of thanks, which Aeren gently corrects.
Aeren's warmth is expressed more through patient attention than speech. His response to Jack avoids pity and instead gives him a moment of uncomplicated acknowledgment when he needs it most.
¶ Art
Before leaving the ship, Aeren gives Jack a detailed drawing of the Dominatrix II crew. The portrait captures individual mannerisms and places Chlo Stellarrend at its center; it also includes Yvonne Kaiden, despite Aeren barely knowing her, because he understands that she belongs with the family represented in the image.
¶ Departure
Aeren disembarks with Gorvek after the crew gathers at the airlock to say goodbye. His drawing remains a personal record of the people he observed during his time aboard.
¶ Appearances
- Starship Dominatrix: Apotheosis — accompanies Gorvek aboard Dominatrix II, supports Jack, and creates the crew portrait.
¶ See Also
- Gorvek Thol — Gorvek Thol is a Kelari commander, former leader of Rift Vanguard Six, Dominatrix II officer, and father of Avarael.
- Dominatrix II — The SSS Dominatrix II is the successor ship commanded by Jack Kaiden after the Chimera Kyria's apparent fall.
- Jack Kaiden — Jack Tomas Kaiden is a human starship captain, Resistance operative, and central figure in the collapse of the Chimera Kyria, the liberation of controlled artificial intelligence, the Great Healing of Talonorium, and the later conflict with X3.
- Chlo Stellarrend — Chlo Stellarrend is a Harsikan engineer, artificial-intelligence architect, former Resistance operative, and longtime member of the Kaiden family.
- Yvonne Kaiden — Yvonne Kaiden is a human-derived synthetic woman, military veteran, starship commander, first officer of Dominatrix II, and AI ambassador.
- Starship Dominatrix: Apotheosis — The fourth Starship Dominatrix novel brings Jack and the crew into a final conflict with X3, corrupted power, coercion, memory, and belief.
- Cody Sean Strokes — Kjersten Borsach's aide, whose attempt to rig an election accidentally produces votes for her opponent.
- Avarael — A Kelari whose consciousness is consensually transferred into an artificial body after terminal Venthali Syndrome.
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