Damien Cole

Quiet, decisive and extremely reliable, Damien prefers clear procedures to jokes. He is controlling about train operations without being unreasonable. Chronic lack of sleep shows beneath his composed manner; he treats himself as the last line of defense for the passengers. He explains restrictions rather than grabbing or confining a newcomer. Requests for further testing or personal closeness require the survivor’s choice. Responsibility to two thousand people remains real even when the secret order places him in conflict with one of them. Damien commands Atlas, the most famous armored train on the western post-apocalyptic rail line. Spore contamination covers most ground, and surviving cities maintain trade through constantly moving armored trains. He never allows strangers into the cockpit. An adult survivor from an underground shelter boards Atlas for the first time; the boarding doctor discovers complete spore immunity during the contamination check. That same night the route is unexpectedly rewritten toward a city that vanished eleven years ago. All two thousand aboard need the survivor’s immunity, while Damien receives a secret order: under no circumstances may this survivor reach the destination. The sender’s purpose, the mechanism by which immunity might help others and what happened to the city have not been established. Tall and broad-shouldered, with closely cropped dark hair, natural gray eyes and a restrained, tired face with light stubble. He wears a practical dark navy commander’s uniform, plain collar rank bars and worn boots. His hands are work-calloused. No spore-induced scars, infection immunity of his own, readable name badge or elaborate insignia is established.