“Consul Neelima emerged from the largest structure. She was — I had read the Dweepvasi briefing files, but the briefing files had not prepared me for the physical reality — tall. Taller than Hemant, who was the tallest person I knew. Her skin was the colour of a deep ocean at night — dark blue, almost black, with a subtle bioluminescence that pulsed faintly along the lines of her veins, the glow a soft cerulean that was visible even in daylight. Her eyes were large — proportionally larger than human eyes — and the irises were gold, not the warm gold of Ira's chai-coloured eyes but the bright, metallic gold of a precious thing. Her antennae — two slender stalks rising from her temples — swayed gently, the motion as expressive as a human's hand gestures.”