Meet the Crew
Two years ago, Exotech Industries sent an unmanned probe to Tantalus 13 carrying a single SCARAB drone. Its mission: to lay the foundation for a future human mining colony.
Six months ago, a seven-member survey crew boarded the XIS Diamelen and set off to follow up on SCARAB’s progress. A misfit team of scientists and mining specialists, their goal is to learn everything they can about the planet, assess its viability for long-term colonization, and to ensure that SCARAB is operating within its designated mission parameters.
But Tantalus 13 is not the planet the crew of the Diamelen were led to believe it would be, and SCARAB seems to know much more than it lets on. When the simple survey mission becomes something far bigger than any of them signed on for, each member of the crew will be tested to their absolute limits. On Tantalus 13, far beyond the edge of civilized space, the crew of the Diamelen must endure the perils of the unknown, or die.
Dependable. Resourceful. Irrepressible. The pilot of the XIS Diamelen can handle almost anything the universe throws her way. Almost.
Gorrister’s in charge. He knows it, you know it, and he’ll remind you if you forget. Should he be? He doesn’t question it. Neither should you.
Lightyears away from help, you need a good doctor with a clear head. So what do you do when he snaps before the mission even starts?
When he’s in a serious mood, he’s an excellent and reliable worker.
Good luck ever catching him in one of those moods.
A hard worker with a strong back, Yancy is at his best when he has a job to do…and at his worst when Hollis Rook is with him.
Enthusiastic to a fault, Becky’s passion for science is all-consuming. She must learn all the universe’s secrets, no matter how dark.
Hertz has it all figured out. Everything can be quantified if you just have the right data. Surely there’s no such thing as too much knowledge, right?
It’s intelligent. It’s adaptive. It’s built to serve its crew’s every need. It’s the perfect AI assistant.
And it’s a liar.