The most popular set of stories so far in Tales from TOMORROW seems to be Epsilon Express and its follow ups. So, I will begin with Dani and Ringer and their associates from that series. The main characters have somewhat fuller bios than most:
Ringer - { Epsilon Express, C.O.D, Milk Run, overanx32 } < Tripline > and other stories to follow (hopefully).
Name: Thomas Ringer
Description: 5’ 11” (180.3 cm), brown hair, hazel eyes
History: Born 2226 A native born Havener, he was a ‘yard rat’ as a kid, spending much of his formative years in and around the shipyards of the 4K shell and the Inner Roads along the Spindle of Far Haven. His parents owned Ringer Shipworks (logo: 5 intersecting rings in a circular pattern). Knows his way around ships and is a versatile shipwright and mechanic. Has a degree in spacecraft structural engineering and design. He can pilot most craft with above average skill but prefers flight engineer duties. Currently serving as Engineer and Cargomaster of the Turtleback class cargo carrier; ‘Cracked Back’.
Service: Enlisted in Fleet out of engineering school for Basic Service. Transferred to Rim Haven for cross training. Participated in the Huygens expedition as an engineering tech. Returned to Far Haven only to find his parents lost in space and his friends enlisted; serving aboard the Assault Carrier Wellington, a ship they had all helped build. He reenlisted, transferring from Fleet to the FHR, and signed up for OCS. Ten years of combat as a Ranger culminated in the invasion of the NeDan world of Kinkus as a Major. Brevetted to Colonel after all superior officers were killed.
KIA on Kinkus – bagged and evac’d. Nine months in Recovery.
Honorably discharged out of Recovery as ‘stressed’.
Dani - [ Docking Maneuver ], { Epsilon Express, C.O.D., Milk Run, overanx32 }, < Tripline >
Name: Danielle Willemina Steele (Dani)
Description: 5’ 2” (157.5 cm) short Raven black hair, emerald green eyes
History: Born 2230 with a twin brother (Daniel William Steele) both were orphaned in the ‘Big Surprise’ of ’39 when their parents were killed in an attack on Far Haven. The attack was unsuccessful and bloodily repulsed, but their parents were among the defending forces casualties. With no other relatives, the nine year old twins were semi-adopted by Ringer's family.
Service: Enlisted in CMAF Flight School at 18 so she could learn to kill NeDan. Became a top pilot, flying transports, escorts for convoys, and finally, ASDARs, earning the rank of Flight Lieutenant. Most ASDAR pilots are women and, because of the nature of their job, are called valkyries. After Kinkus, people started calling her The Valkyrie. She hates the term, preferring to think of herself as a 'chooser of the slain' because of all the bodies she hauled in her assault boat; 'The Wellone' (Wellington 01). This was especially true during the Kinkus campaign. On the last disastrous day (called 'lastday' by survivors) she piloted the final evac flight off the planet. The Wellone was packed with almost three-thousand refrigerated body bags, stacked in the assault deck like cordwood. Most of these KIA's including Ringer, were later revived, though that did little for Dani's peace of mind. She left behind her twin brother and almost every other living friend she had ever known. Applauded for that wild takeoff ride, she knows the truth; She never would have made it were it not for the doomed troops she left behind who provided her an escape corridor to orbit with their covering fire. Like Ringer, and just about every other Kinkus survivor, she was honorably discharged after that as 'stressed'.
She is currently piloting for Epsilon Express.
STEELE, Daniel William (Billy), Lt., Far Haven Rangers (FHR) MIA in the Kinkus fiasco < Tripline >, (Dani's twin brother) - Mentioned in most EE stories at some point.
Cliff - { Epsilon Express*, C.O.D.*, Milk Run, overanx32 } < Tripline >
Name: Anderson, Clifford B.
Description: 5’ 9” Blue eyes, dirty blond hair.
History Born: 2224 AD
A pale complexioned ‘beanpole’ who many underestimate because of his somewhat malnourished appearance, sallow complexion and nerdy demeanor. He surprises those who get physical with him (mostly in Dani’s bar brawls). Underneath his outwardly consumptive camouflage, he keeps himself in top shape.
Overtly a shady character with numerous shady connections and a low scruple threshold, Cliff operates with an internal code of honor more akin to Robin Hood (though he DOES include himself in the ‘needy’ category. The accrual of money is not really the point with him. It is simply how he keeps score in playing the game. Making deals, and beating those (such as governments) who he feels are too ‘grabby’ out of ‘their’ share are what makes him tick.
Service: Enlisted with the Far Haven Rangers when the Wellington was finished. Rose to the rank of Master Sergeant as a quartermaster for the 2nd FHR, As a quartermaster he would ‘collect’ materiel that he thought was being wasted. His unit always benefited from this acquisitive habit, though his superiors might have had other views. At the end of his military career he was left with various caches of ‘stuff’ that it would have been embarrassing to turn back in. Honorably discharged after Kinkus.
He makes few friends but is fiercely loyal to those he has, particularly those he has had the longest.
Myra - { C. O. D., overanx32 * }
DeSimone, Myra – accountant who Bilked ‘Squire’ Mason out of …a lot. Saved almost inadvertently by Dani and Ringer as they shot their way out of his estate, killing him in the process. Myra has a large bounty on her head, placed by Mason’s heirs – who now rule the planet Riviera. This may also be a problem for Dani and Ringer, as well. She may also be related to the recently deceased ‘Squire’ of Riviera, further complicating things. She currently lives on Far Haven in the lifestyle her newfound wealth allows. She is never without the company of several burly types - bodyguards supplied by Mike Mazone in return for a modest loan to expand his business.
Mazone, Mike – was Crew chief for the ASDAR ‘Wellone’ - is still alive because he decided to ride along to monitor a fire control problem on Wellington ‘01’ on its last flight to the surface of Kinkus. Sometimes called ‘Big Mike’, he is actually short but solidly built. Sometimes also called ‘immovable Mike’. Since getting out, all he wants to do is run a nice quiet pizza parlor – with a few guns under the counter. He has many contacts in the CMAF, both active and non. { overanx32 }, < Tripline >
Sandoval, Alessandra - ‘Sandy’ Captain of Liberty Company, a mercenary outfit specializing in LRRP, infiltration, and sabotage. Does side jobs for the mob due to family obligations. Has a ‘history’ with Cliff Anderson with some bad blood currently. Commandeered an ASDAR (Wellington 03) to get her people off Kinkus when everything fell apart. This left the 2nd FHR short of transport. EXTREME bad blood over that. Most survivors of the 2nd would shoot her on sight. What no one knows is that she did it under orders from the patriarch of her family, a mob kingpin. Description: Tall, brunette hair, brown eyes, trim and lethally athletic………….. { overanx32 } < Tripline, Pickup >
Rucker, Devonshire (Devon) - Sergeant, Liberty Company Pathfinders - < Tripline, Pickup >{ overanx32 }
MONITOR – Specific designation unknown to most people. He is an Oscar class golem ( meaning humanoid shaped) warbot. A Machine currently in the service of the Merchants guild. ‘He’ is 2 meters tall with a human form (in fact, he bears a remarkable likeness to the Oscar statue) A supposedly decommissioned warbot, he doesn’t seem to have actually been decommissioned since he still carries his twin 20mm cannon and is coated with adaptive camouflage. It is likely he has an interesting history, but nobody asks since he’d probably have to kill you if you found it out. Oscars were never numerous, specializing in infiltration and recon. They are reputed to have a very high order AI. So secret, few living people can identify an Oscar for what it is; a lethal and cunning fighting machine. Ringer occasionally thinks of Monitor as a ‘bronze demon’ from a story read as a child. C-3P0 he ain’t. { Epsilon Express, C.O.D., Milk Run, overanx32 } < Pickup >
Other Havener Universe characters:
Jase and Pella – Dani’s two gunners from the ‘Wellone’ who stayed behind on Kinkus to make more room for the ‘dead’ and to crew the last remaining perimeter guns to help Dani make her escape. - < Tripline >
Flemyng, Victoria – pilot of Wellington 03 “Wishing Well” , which was commandeered by Liberty Company for emergency evac - has not been seen since. < Tripline, Pickup* >
Principal, Tanya - pilot of Wellington 05 “Fast Five” disappeared over Kinkus on Last Day while following 01 down to the last LZ - < Tripline >
Carstairs, Carla – call name ‘Cee Cee’ - pilot of Wellington 07 “Lucky 7” survived Last Day because she and 07 were not there. They were on a ‘supply’ run under command of Cliff Anderson that day. - <Tripline >
Petersen, Catherine - call name ‘Cat’ - pilot of Wellington 09 -“9 Lives” blown up over Kinkus on Last Day while following 01 down to the last LZ - < Tripline >
Characters in other stories:
< Harry and the Hauzer >
Freeman, Harold, (Harry) - Physicist and inventor of the InterPhase drive – an introspective little guy with a big IQ. Does not ‘get out’ much.
Hauzer, Petra – ‘The Hauzer’ to her crew. Chief Engineer on the L4 University construction project. A large, Nordic type of British extraction, she is known for habitually wearing a heavy multitool on her hip and using it in extended spanner (wrench) mode to direct her crew like an old time general with a martinet. Though most people find her a bit intimidating, she is generally liked by her construction crew.
Jacobs, Peter – Freeman’s lab assistant. A young graduate, he is a research physicist in his own right.
{ SOUL MATTER }
Crew of the Deepstar:
James Warden – Captain
MacKenzie, Phillip – supercargo - genius
Randall, Leigh – ship’s medtech and biologist
Gregory – comtech
Taylor – astrogator
Ted Collins – ship’s engineer
The NeDan:
Grog il Purnex – Director of Planetary Survey
Schnema - Portmaster
{ PING }
Crew of the 'Golden Venture':
Philip Weiss -Captain
Jennings - astrogator
Colson - pilot
Parchem, Thecla - com tech - company Evaluator
Max (Maxine Weiss) - Chief Engineer – also the Captain’s wife
George - second engineer
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Characters in Tales from the Infinite Empire:
J'hana Te – medical student – part of a survey team on a ‘refuser’ world when a disaster isolates her among the local primitives.< Cold Storage >
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Characters in Tales from Other-when ...
{ Welcome }
Grindle* - a wizard/mercenary, who now holds the Black Keep of Drizzle Downs
Nin* – former ruler of the Black Keep and a great deal of surrounding territory. A powerful wizard and all round Real Bad Guy who everyone who ever knew him fervently hopes is dead, dead, DEAD!
Fael – Former apprentice to Nin. Assistant to Grindle. A dangerous foe.
Harold Quickhands –owner of the ‘Welcome Inn’
Elaine – Harold’s wife
Hernan de Sousa – captain of infantry – a conquistador in a strange new land
Friar Dominic – a member of the Holy Inquisition
Incindus – A demon – a fire elemental
< Jihn >
Jihn - an aetherial presence with great latent powers.
Fael – Apprentice to the dread wizard Nin, on a scout for magical artifacts
< Grindle >
Grindle – A warrior/wizard of some power and mysterious origins. Led a group of mercenarys that usurped the wizard Nin during the Downs incident. Newly appointed as Count of the Downs.
Fael – Former apprentice to Nin. Currently assisting Grindle. A collector of magical items.
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[ Sword of Orion ]
Characters in ‘Sword of Orion’
< Frostfire >
Altus, Jaime – First Prince of the Empire – An Emperor in training, serving as a junior officer on The ISS Orion, a ‘marchwarden’ one of the Empire’s largest ships. On an away mission aboard one of its scouts; the ‘ ISS Ghost’ when things go badly wrong – for everybody.
(*) SOMETIMES MENTIONED IN A STORY, but NOT AN ACTIVE CHARACTER
More characters to come
For ALL characters in ALL stories written by me, listed in alphabetical order, and with the main stories in which they appeared, click HERE.
Yeah, we're workin' on this page too. Be back after lunch.
The people in the novel DREAMBONES have their own page. For them, click HERE. For all the rest from my futureverses (and elsewhere), just check below. Ignore the guy on lunch break.
PEOPLE
Both human and non... and maybe a few who aren't too sure.
{ Completed story } < Work In Progress > [ In notes or under contemplation ]
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