Merope and Rana

Merope and Rana, characters in the Across the Void book, are the mother and daughter passengers on the Atlas. They are first seen in Chapter 3.

Appearance

Merope has a brown bob with crystals scattered in it. Her skin is light and has crystals scattered along her cheeks, chin, and forehead. Her eyes are multicolored, and she wears purple lipstick and eyeshadow. She wears a white fur coat with animal print, as well as a sparkling white dress underneath. Her hair is tucked beneath a black silk hat with a flower on it.

Rana has light blonde, mid-length hair with pink streaks, as well as crystals scattered in it. She has light skin with crystals on her neck and and around her eyes. Her eyes themselves are multicolored, and she wears aquamarine lipstick and purple eyeshadow. She is draped in a brown fur coat and wears a multicolored dress underneath.

Personality

As a typical mother-daughter duo, Merope and Rana have opposing views on the war, the Vanguard, and the Jura. While Merope feels the Jura are terrorists and the Vanguard are their protectors, Rana feels that the Jura are impoverished fighters battling against oppression.

Chapters: Merope

Across the Void

Chapter 3: Meet The Passengers
Chapter 7: Mark of the Lektra
Chapter 10: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody
Chapter 11: Under the Mask
Chapter 13: The Capital (Mentioned)
Chapter 14: Under Fire (Mentioned; Physical Appearance Determinant)
Chapter 15: Library of Souls (Mentioned; Determinant)
Chapter 22: Sanctum

Chapters: Rana

Across the Void

Chapter 3: Meet The Passengers
Chapter 7: Mark of the Lektra
Chapter 10: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody
Chapter 11: Under the Mask
Chapter 13: The Capital
Chapter 14: Under Fire
Chapter 15: Library of Souls
Chapter 22: Sanctum

Relationships

Octan

Octan is their friend. He is usually seen debating with Merope. In Chapter 14, Rana implores Captain Elara to save him from the Senate building fire.

Main Character

In Chapter 3, Captain Elara meets Merope and Rana in the passenger lounge where the mother and daughter are fighting. Merope is pro-Vanguard while Rana is pro-Jura and they argue about the war. In Chapter 11, Captain Elara can either save Merope from assassins by grabbing the gun (which leaves her unharmed), tackle her (which temporarily injures her), or be panicked into inaction and Merope will be shot. If Merope is temporarily injured, she complains that she has a bump on her head. If Merope is shot, she is stated to be in a coma in Chapter 14 and does not appear physically. In Chapter 15, Meridian states that the coma has left her permanently brain dead to which Rana wails that she is an orphan now, but Sol interjects that Merope is still technically alive.

Trivia

They are revealed as part of the Dynamas alien race in Chapter 3.
In keeping with the astronomy naming theme of the story, Merope, or 23 Tauri, is a star part of the constellation Taurus and the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster. Rana, or Delta Eridani, is a star in the constellation Eridanus.
Rana's name means "eye-catching" or "to gaze at longingly" in Arabic.
- In Spanish, her name "Rana" translates to "Frog".
Rana's character model is later used for Ether, a character in Platinum.