Haruko Otaka

Dr Haruko Otaka was an astrohistorian and a friend of Bernice Summerfield.

Biography
Otaka grew up in Ishikawa and was given a nickname by her parents which translated to "sunbeams through the leaves". She became an astrohistorian and befriended Bernice Summerfield, whom she travelled with to the Scarlet Cluster. On the way back, the two of them got drunk on Phobian wine.

Otaka was part of a group of astrohistorians who set up a colony on Ulkesh with the Horizon in orbit. Inside the Horizon's total immersion suite, the group was affected by the Tippler Nebula and went to war against one another in a Christmas setting. Otaka sent a transmission to Resheph Masri telling him about armageddon. When Benny and Resheph came to the Horizon and found Otaka, Otaka showed Benny the Christmas Angel that the two groups were fighting over, which made Benny realise that they were in the total immersion suite.

The trio left the Horizon, switching the suite to a summer setting, and Otaka was taken to a hospital. Benny sat by her bedside and told the story of what happened to a group of interested journalists. (AUDIO: Null Zeit)