Riley: Sergeant, Marine armorer. Older armorer, can't hack the black. Former EVA suit tech on Anvil. Before that Riley was an armorer on many worlds, making his way from one world to the next as needed. Friend of Major Forth. Sergeant Riley is a bit of a tinkerer, almost as much as his protégé Ox.
Anvil:
Lieutenant Governor and Anvil station governor Enrique Salvador: An old hand at playing both sides of the game. Enrique will do what he does best, survive. Former XO of the station. Tough but pragmatic, politician able to compromise his ideals and honor to get things done. Human, black hair with a bit of salt on the sides. Crows feet. Bit of a dress up queen, politician.
Smithy (AI): dumb AI turned “Semi” smart by Sprite, Proteus, and Firefly. Smithy is a plodder, focusing on keeping the command staff happy.
Judge Hershey: Judge on the station. Renown for being above corruption and impartial.
Judge Farley: Senior judge in the system, he helped to refine the Pyrax Constitution. He is tough, hard on crime and impartial to a fault.
Sheriff Trask: Veraxin sheriff on Anvil.
Lieutenant Commander (doctor) Thornby: Chief Medical officer of Anvil, also of the star system of Pyrax. Human, brown hair shoulder length, with a clean face despite being in her 60's. Smart, but growing into her role as an officer more each day. Before she had been reluctant to sign on, but now she likes the reserve officer status. She has also started the cataloging and resurrection project and is in charge of all medical personnel in the navy.
Matilda, Dean and Lieutenant Commander: Grandmother and dean of Anvil college and San Diego academy. G-3 schools. Former secretary and mistress of a prominent businessman Mr. Malfoy. Canned for being 'too old'. She has grown into both roles, as the dean of the civilian college and acting commandant of San Diego Academy. She is a natural organized person, able to turn chaos into order in very short order.
Valdez family:
Senior: Chief tug pilot and owner of the growing tug business.
Mother and children: Mrs. Valdez is the glue holding the Valdez family together. Her brother in law is now serving as one of the assistant chief engineers of the station. Her sister is one of the heads of life support. Both they and their children know to be home by 6 sharp for dinner, as does Senior and her children. And woe any who forget to wash first or are late!
On Destiny:
Captain Ferguson: Tough civilian Captain, one of the original crew of the Destiny. He rose from third mate on Destiny to being a slave under the pirates, then was liberated. He took on the job of Captain when no one else seemed able to handle the job after being liberated. Human, with some college training and knowledge that he is caught between masters.
Chief engineer Bailey: Balding Neo chimp. Tough, loves martial arts. Smart and independent, friend of the admiral. Wives Galiet, Clennie, Sylvia, sons Fiben, John, and Devin
Everette: Electronics tech 2nd class. Wishes to become a tech reservist with the Navy.
Bryan Kelley: Medic. Has Coonies. Human, gay. Brown hair, tall, smart, lovable smile. Deep empathy. Friends to Cheetara and the admiral.
Galiet: Senior wife of Bailey. College student. Tough, pragmatic. She stayed behind to attend college while Destiny took the admiral into exile.
Sylvia: Second wife of Bailey, bonobo, pregnant with Fiben when Irons left Destiny. Bridge officer.
Clennie: Bridge officer, third wife of Chief Bailey. She had twins, John and Devin.
On Agnosta:
Cheetahra: Neo Cheetah medic. Former member of the Anvil cat clan. Relocated to Agnosta from Anvil. Was the Omega of the Anvil cat clan like all cheetah. Now has a small clinic near the equator and was pregnant with a littler of kits.
Nana Jersey: Elderly woman, grandmother of Billy and Pidge.
George Custard: Leader of the Agnosta delegation. Avid reader, mayor, w/ largest book collection on the planet. He is being maneuvered into the role as governor of the system.
Jim: Delegate, former mayor.
Chumly: Farmer, aide to other Agnosta delegates. Works as a manager in a store George owns. Into cars. Quiet, seemingly thick headed but not.
Doc Wallace Waley: Balding dentist, former pirate slave. Returned to Agnosta on Destiny.
Maggie Lu Kasey: Friend of Nana Jersey. Former pirate slave returned to Agnosta on Destiny. Became the outspoken leader of former slaves. In her 20's.
Vesuvian: A giant adult Vesuvian near the growing space port. Several juvenile Vesuvians from Destiny joined it to form a small colonial forest.
Lieandra:
Captain Pen'Kelly: Veraxin Captain. Old, past his prime but eager to help in order to improve his ship and unload some of his excess passengers.
Antigua Prime:
Cybers:
Yan Fu + wife Hishina: Leaders of the pacifist and old guard parties. Asians from Earth. Hishina was a reserve first Lieutenant in the Navy when she met her husband in college and fell in love. She resigned her commission and hid her former life from her husband. She has lived in his shadow for centuries, always supportive, even when Prime was in it's darkest time. She started to come out of her shell a bit when the Admiral was on board. His mistreatment by her husband and his supporters rankled and hit a nerve with her. She began to quietly support the admiral and after he left, the Yard Dogs. Her former rank and support for the Yard Dogs has come out into the open when the Horathian's attacked Pyrax. Her father was a general, her brother was an Army officer.
Kenny Kennet : Lawyer, follower of the Fu's.
Averies: Dilettante and self taught programmer of cybers.
Sid and Emily Berkheart: Directors of Human resources.
Doctor Megan Trask: Head of the medical department.
Ron and Rachael Steward: Neo bears, 1 grizzly, 1 half human half black bear. Life Support managers. They like Averies trained themselves to run and repair what they could after the station went dark. They usually give their council proxy to the Fu's to vote since they are so busy. They resigned from the station council in order to clear the way for someone younger. They will continue serving in their department.
Doctor Myers: Head of science and R&D.
Ribber: Gashg gardener. Signed over his proxy to Yan Fu before resigning from the council. He is a pacifist, preferring to attend to his garden over dealing with people. He committed suicide after the Horathians tore up his newly restored gardens and parks.
The Warners, 1st Lt Taylor Warner and Ensign Rasha Warner: Sleepers awakened over 100 years ago. Their son is the exec of Kiev 221. Both have been placed in the reserves and are currently the system naval commanders.
AI:
The muses: all class one dumb AI
Clio: historian/researcher. repurposed to manage the first fusion reactor.
Euterpe and Terpsichore: Music and Dance: air heads, entertainment coordinators and directors
Thalia: Muse of comedy: recovered. Rebuilt.
Urania: Astronomy: science. Found and recovered. Brought online. Assistant to doctor Myers in science and teaching.
Mnemosyne: Memory computer management Smart AI. Took a lot of her higher functions down to keep system running. Did permanent damage to herself. She has to be reintegrated as each fragment is recovered. She is an experimental civilian AI.
Tribal leaders:
Romeo: Terran male. Former gang leader. Killed by the Horathians. He had a love interest in Juliet.
Y'ru: Veraxin, old but wise.
Juliet: Terran female. Genie descendant. Former gang leader. Killed by the Horathians.
Sheriff Derrango: Curly handle bar mustache, old, silver hair, beady eyes. Laid back attitude. Has a wife, kids, and grand kids.
Deputy Barney Fife: Nervous gangly 1st deputy. Terrible shot, very by the book person. The Sheriff frequently uses him as a foil to get others to accept his directives.
General Staff On the station:
Savo and Petunia: Primate Neo chimp security officer and Neo gorilla space worker. Transferred from Kiev 221
Howi and Shari: Tribal members. Neo chimps. Both have become welders on the station.
Sparks and Regina: 40's something couple transferred from Kiev 221. Sparks is an electrician, Regina is a SBA training to be a nurse. Regina was killed by the Horathians.
Mr. Freeze and Ezri: Freeze is a lifetime friend of Sparks. Partner, HAC tech. Ezri is his wife, she is a RN and surgical nurse. 1 adult child left on Kiev 221.
Ralphie and Alice: 50's couple bartenders from Kiev 221. Adult son left in charge of bar on Kiev 221. Own Ralphie's bar and grill and Alice's nail salon.
Gwen, Riff, Torg: Tauren engineers who transferred to the station from Kiev 221. Torg was killed by the Horathrians.
Doctor Kraft: Sleeper from Kiev, specializing in implant surgeries. Dr. Kraft is old, a former teacher of implant tech.
Antiguans:
Governor elect mayor Jeff Randall and his wife: Politically charismatic couple set on changing their world. 2 daughters, Ramona/Kylie, age six and four. The Governor like his wife and many other Antiguans lost relatives during the Horathian attack. He has an about face with his former beliefs and becomes a military supporter. He has grown into his role as leader.
Sneak Peek:
The following excerpt is from Afraid of the Dark:
The beginning of a never ending nightmare:
Shane woke to the sound of the dogs barking and the girls screaming at them to shut up.
“Trina, Tori, go back to bed, I'll deal with it,” he sighed pulling the sheet off and kicking his feet out of the bed.
“Something going after the rabbits?” Jen asked sleepily, sitting up.
“No idea. Might be a cat, I'll check it out,” he said, getting the flashlight and kissing her on the cheek. “Try to get back to sleep dear.” He knew it was useless, she'd be up in a few minutes, worried about the animals.
He sighed and headed outside to see what was happening. Something was out there, something... a cat maybe, he could see light reflecting from eyes. Definitely not a coyote. A couple of them, maybe a whole pack. Max and Rufus were going nuts at the door, but their mother Broadzilla was looking unsure.
“Scaredy cat,” he said looking at her. He fumbled the lock open and then had to haul Max back from the door so he could get it open. He opened the security door and the dogs shot past him, snarling. “Go get em!” he said stepping out with Mama.
“You too...” he said as she stalked by him. He heard crunching and winced. He was wrong, definitely a coyote he thought, wondering now if it was such a good idea to be out there unarmed.
He heard one of the dogs yelp and then something moved, leaping in the shadows. There was an animal squeal and he felt his heart begin to hammer, smelling blood. He shined the light and saw something insane... something tearing up his German Sheppard puppies. The mother was barking hysterically, dancing around. The lights came on, something he should have thought of before.
A spotlight illuminated monsters the size of large cats, lizard creatures with spines and sails on their backs. Two were in a tug of war, tearing apart one of the puppies. Other animals were swarming all over the place. Some went right over or through the fences. Most screeched or hissed as light hit them, shying away from the spotlights, retreating into the dark.
He could hear more altercations from his neighbors. He waved to Jayne as he heard her sliding glass door open. “Get back inside!” he yelled. She looked out, saw something and screamed. He heard the door slam shut and then winced at the sound of breaking glass.
Broadzilla was frantic now, barking and snarling and whining. He started backing up, and then checked his six, unsure about what was behind him. One of the animals tried to make a run at him and the mother dog snapped at it. With a whirl the thing spun and tore into her, another leaped on her hind quarters and she went down with a frightened squeal.
“Damn it,” he said backing up fast. He knew that Broadzilla had just saved his life and had gone down fighting like a true man's best friend. He got inside and screamed at his family to lock the doors and to get away from the windows. Jen came running, belting her robe on and wanting to know what was going on. She looked outside to see the animals fighting over the body of the dog. “Oh my god,” she said, hand going to her mouth in sudden shock, the sudden attack scared her.
“Go,” he said, pushing her back, not caring if he was too rough. “Get to the kids,” he hissed at her, looking around frantically for a weapon. He grabbed a dirty steak knife from the counter then tossed it aside and pulled out a chef's knife. “I've got to get a better weapon,” he said. Jen reached around him and pulled the knife drawer open. She grabbed a pair of knives and headed out at a run.
He made his way to the gun cabinet and fumbled in the dark for the combination. At least it was a combination lock, not a key, right now he was cursing himself for not opting for the thumb print lock.
Shane got to his shotgun just as he heard breaking glass in the dining room. He loaded ten shells fast and turned just as the four eyed monster came around the corner.
He blasted it, watching it rebound off the lower kitchen cabinet and then shake itself. Its sail was pretty torn up but otherwise it appeared to have suffered little damage.
“Shit,” he said, giving it a second and then third shot. Another animal came around the corner and he gave it a load of buckshot as well, flinging it onto its' back.
“Shit! What does it take to kill these things?” he snarled, firing a second and third shot into the overturned animal's exposed abdomen. It writhed on the ground and he was gratified to see purple guts suddenly fountain up.
“Gotcha, that's for Max you bastard,” he snarled.
“Dad!” Nick said, opening the garage door. He whirled leveling the gun then quickly dropping the muzzle down. “Damn it Nick!”
“Sorry,” Nick said, coming in and hefting an ax and hatchet in either hand.
“Give me that,” Shane said, handing the boy his shot gun as he took the ax. He turned and swung just as the first alien started to recover. Three good strokes were all it took to sever the neck, purple blood squirted out, spraying him and the kitchen. He turned, ignoring the mess.
“Dad what's going on?” Tori said coming into the kitchen. “Have you gone nuts and lost it?” she said, eyes wide. “What happened to... wait that's not Rufus is it? What...”
Nick turned and handed his father the gun. Shane tucked the ax under one arm as Nick approached the horrified Tori. “Tori,” he said touching her arm. She was shaking. “Look Tori, we don't have time for this,” he said. When she started to tear up and bite her lip he grabbed her arms and shook her.
“Listen to me. Come on,” he said, taking her by the arm and pulling her away. She looked back, eyes wide.
“Come on, where is your hair stuff?” he demanded.
“Huh?” she asked as he pulled her down the hall. “In the bathroom of course. You know that,” she said.
“Good, go get it,” he told her. He came back and yanked the extended lighter off the key rack and when Tori returned with an arm load of cans he took one can, gave it a shake, lit the pilot and then pointed it at the broken window just as another alien came up to it. He pressed the can nozzle and a burst of flame licked out into the alien's face. It screamed and backed away, pawing at its face, its ears and sail on fire. It tumbled away in grass and other aliens came to investigate it as Shane checked the window.
Shane watched warily as one of the newcomers poked at the wounded one. The wounded beast turned and swiped at it. The second creature backed off a little, hissing and arching its back. Jen flipped the patio lights on, the aliens screeched, red eyes closing, bellies flat. They spun and ran away into dark. “Good job kids,” Shane told them, nodding. Jen moved to the coffee table but Nick saw and understanding her intent and took it from her. He wrestled it in front of the broken window. “What are we going to do dad?” he asked.
There were screams in the night. Some of them were human, all too many sounded alien. There was a weird chitterl
ing sound, and strange animals growled and roared.
“I think we've got a problem,” he said softly looking around. He was a cop; he knew what was going on right now. The police and military were most likely swamped. Anyone who was armed, like the gangs or for home protection were probably fighting for their lives. Most were likely losing, taken by surprise and lacking the experience and discipline necessary to overcome the invaders.
You'll have to wait for the book to come out to read the rest!
Hopefully by Spring of 2014 (yeah, I keep saying that)
Jethro: First to Fight Page 76