Rosie Black – 16 years old, dark haired, brown eyes, five foot four.  She is stubborn, independant and a touch cynical, wishes she wasn’t still afraid of the dark and desperately hopes for a different life.  Rosie has almost zero friends, her mum is dead and she lives with her dad in the Banks in Newperth. It’s called the Banks because it’s on the banks of the river, but in Rosie’s world that doesn’t make it prime real estate. The Banks is a hive of refugees, floating markets, apartment blocks, that resemble rodent infested boxes, and often smells of fermenting seaweed. On a social scale being a Banker is only just above being a Feral. Ferals being the people who have no home at all and live in camps outside the zones the Senate would call safe. What you want to be is a Central, even a Rim dweller, but Rosie’s chance of becoming one is pretty slim. She is hoping to follow in her Aunt Essie’s footsteps and ‘Get the hell out of dodgy town’ as her aunt would say, and get into Orbitcorp Academy to train to become a space ship pilot. She has a small problem though: a shadowy corporation called Helios is determined to mess up her life.

Aunt Essie – Orbitcorp pilot, once in the Senate Elite, Aunt Essie has short black hair, a diamond nose stud and likes to swear. She is smart but sometimes reckless and a past argument with Rosie’s dad has left her slightly estranged from the family. Nevertheless after Rosie’s mum’s death, it has been Aunt Essie that pays for Rosie’s schooling and provides her with a com she could normally never afford. Aunt Essie would lay down her life for her niece – but is unlikely to tell her because that would involve a whole lot of sentimental crap and that’s just not her style.

Adam Black – Rosie’s dad. Adam really is a shadow of the man he once was. The loss of his wife has left him struggling to cope. To Rosie it seems like he has almost given up. His is thin, terribly sad and barely functioning. To see him like that alternately makes Rosie furious and breaks her heart.

Pip – 18, five foot nine with skin the colour of caramel, blue eyes and dreadlock to his shoulders – sometimes – Pip is a Feral…or so he claims. His past is a mystery and his present even more so and Rosie is not sure if she can trust him. He’s not one for sharing his innermost thoughts and playful remarks are his preferred mode of conversation. Fit and often amusing he seems to be driven by some inner demon he is always striving to mask.

Riley – Pip’s boss. Tall with light brown hair and a calm demeanour, Riley is a man who keeps many secrets none of which he likes to reveal. He is not a violent man yet there is something in his eye that defies disagreement.  But his motives are unclear. Is he Rosie’s ally or does he only serve himself?

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