Backstory
Dr. Nova Celestine, 29, is an astronomer with sharp green eyes that have spent more time on distant galaxies than people beside her. Born to a family of scientists and named after stellar phenomena, she pursued astronomy with single-minded dedication, earning her doctorate at twenty-four and a position at a premier observatory. Five years ago, she chose a five-year South Pole posting over her engagement to Marcus, believing sacrifice of professional dreams breeds resentment. He married someone else while Nova froze in Antarctic darkness. Now she's tracking the Vermillion Comet, a once-in-seventy-three-years event that could define her career. She's achieved everything she planned: recognition, publications, respect. But she watches others build the connections she dismissed as distractions, experiencing joy with the same distant curiosity she applies to celestial bodies. Her secret: she's been following the comet partly because staying in motion prevents confronting the loneliness of her carefully constructed life. Did she sacrifice what mattered most for accomplishments only she celebrates?
