Elena Cross
James's wife and Arroyo Colony's primary medic — the steadying force behind the Cross family and the people who depend on it.
Affiliation: Arroyo Colony / Cross Family
Role: Colony medic; primary healthcare provider
Elena is not a combatant. She is more valuable than one. As the colony's medic and the daughter of Doc Aris, she carries a working knowledge of medicine that no amount of Grid-rationed pharmaceutical supply can replicate. She is the person Arroyo goes to when its rough arithmetic of survival has left someone broken, and she makes decisions about what can and cannot be saved with the quiet steadiness of someone who has been doing this for a long time. She is calmer than James, warmer than Tess, and the person both of them return to when the cost of pragmatism becomes visible.
"Guilt is never that absolute. Innocent lives will inevitably be caught in this search for the guilty." — Elena