Benjamin “Ben” Wyporek, Lieutenant Junior Grade, U. S. Coast Guard. Ben is the Second-in-Command or “Executive Officer” of the Coast Guard Cutter Kauai. He is young for an officer, but his demeanor and experience have earned the respect of the professionals around him, and although he is firm in his job, he never lets his position go to his head. Ben is currently in a long-distance relationship with Victoria Carpenter, the beautiful Defense Intelligence Agency analyst he met during a mission a few months ago.

Victoria Carpenter is a mathematical genius employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a Data Scientist. Her talents for “connecting the dots” in large databases and Internet searches have proven invaluable to the organization. She suffers from a mild form of autism that makes relationships and some life activities challenging for her. Her relationship with Ben is warm and durable.

Dr. Peter Simmons is a field agent with the Defense Intelligence Agency. He has a talent for deception, which has led to his success as a DIA field agent but is the antithesis of Ben’s ethos. Simmons also has a risk-seeking bent that borders on pathology. He shares a cordial relationship with Ben and is supportive of his relationship with Victoria, his protégé and sister of his beloved late fiancée.

Samuel “Sam” Powell, Lieutenant, U. S. Coast Guard. Sam is Ben’s boss and Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Kauai. Sam is one of those people who is the total package - knowledge, judgment, experience, and “people sense.” He was raised in a wealthy family and was being groomed to become another Wall Street “Master of the Universe” when a clash with his father led him to abandon that path and enlist in the Coast Guard. He is over ten years older than Ben, but despite this and their different backgrounds, they are best friends.

Emilia “Hoppy” Hopkins, Chief Operations Specialist, U. S. Coast Guard. She is close in age and a lot like Sam in terms of competence and professionalism, and they have as strong a friendship as people in their respective positions can. She has enormous respect and an exasperated affection for Ben, who reminds her of her late husband. Although a straight arrow, she is not afraid to forego convention in highly unusual circumstances.

Shelley Lee, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class, US Coast Guard. The premier small boat driver of the crew is more rough-and-ready than Hopkins and a solid, courageous performer. She and Ben are close in age, similar in personality, and share a strong mutual respect and trust bond.

James “COB” Drake, Chief Machinery Technician, U. S. Coast Guard. The senior enlisted member of the crew and the classic father figure among the enlisted and, to some extent, Ben. He is the quintessential “operator” and has what amounts to an underground network of fellow CPOs from whom he can acquire technical assistance, materiel, and “intel.” His background is somewhat mysterious, but he is “connected” up to the senior officer level of the Coast Guard.

Horatio “Harry” Pennington, Rear Admiral, U. S. Coast Guard. Pennington is the Director of the Joint Interagency Task Force South, responsible for coordinating all law enforcement activity within the United States Southern Command. Kauai and her crew are under his command for the operation depicted in the story.

Joana Mendez Powell. Wife of Sam and unofficial “First Lady” of Kauai. She is a former navy petty officer and work-from-home computer graphics artist who looks after the crew’s families while they are at sea. She is close friends with Ben and Emilia.

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Semper Paratus