To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

Kira is the protagonist of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. She is a xenobiologist from Weyland, where her father, mother, and sister Isthah still live. Her father works in the greenhouses on Weyland, and Kira fondly remembers spending time there, caring for plants and watching them grow. These childhood memories and her deep connection to plants informs her relationship with the xeno throughout the novel.

When a xeno attaches itself to her during an investigation mission, Kira accidentally kills her fiancé Alan because she is not able to control the xeno’s reactions to her emotions. She was planning to settle with him on Adra and build a home and a family. This dream is lost almost immediately, and Kira spends the rest of the novel Finding Family. She finds one with the Wallfish crew, and even as she struggles with the xeno, they accept and are loyal to her. At the end of the novel, though she is forced to leave that family behind, she still maintains a connection with them.

When Kira first bonds with the xeno, she tries to control it, but once she begins to feel grateful for the xeno’s protection, she becomes willing to cooperate more with it.