CAST OF CHARACTERS

SKY MASTERS AEROSPACE INC. PERSONNEL

HUNTER “BOOMER” NOBLE, Ph.D., spaceplane pilot and chief of aerospace engineering

HELEN KADDIRI, Ph.D., president and chairman of the board

JASON RICHTER, colonel, U.S. Army (ret.), Ph.D., vice president and chief of technology development

SONDRA EDDINGTON, student spaceplane pilot, Battle Mountain, Nevada

ARMSTRONG SPACE STATION PERSONNEL

KAI RAYDON, brigadier general, U.S. Air Force (ret.), station director

TREVOR SHALE, station manager

VALERIE LUKAS, chief of combat operations

JESSICA “GONZO” FAULKNER, lieutenant colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.), chief of flight operations, spaceplane pilot

DR. MIRIAM ROTH, chief medical director

HENRY LATHROP, aerospace tactical weapons officer

CHRISTINE RAYHILL, terrestrial weapons/surveillance officer

ALICE HAMILTON, engineering officer

LARRY JESSOP, life-support techniciam

THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D.C.

KENNETH PHOENIX, president of the United States of America

ANN PAGE, vice president of the United States and White House chief of staff

WILLIAM GLENBROOK, president’s national security adviser

JAMES MORRISON, secretary of state

THOMAS TORREY, CIA director

PAULA ELLS, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

ROBIN CLARKSON, special agent, U.S. Secret Service

WASHINGTON, D.C.

STACY ANNE BARBEAU, candidate for president of the United States

LUKE COHEN, Barbeau’s campaign manager

THE PENTAGON, WASHINGTON, D.C.

FREDERICK HAYES, secretary of defense

HAROLD LEE, undersecretary of defense for space

TIMOTHY SPELLING, general, USAF, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

JASON CONAWAY, general, USAF, U.S. Air Force chief of staff

JOSEPH EBERHART, admiral, U.S. Navy, commander, U.S. Strategic Command

GEORGE SANDSTEIN, general, USAF, commander, Air Force Space Command, and deputy commander for space, U.S. Strategic Command

SCION AVIATION INTERNATIONAL, ST. GEORGE, UTAH

KEVIN MARTINDALE, president, former president of the United States of America

CHRIS WOHL, sergeant major, U.S. Marines Corp (ret.), ground ops leader

JAMES RATEL, chief master sergeant, U.S. Air Force (ret.), martial-arts instructor

JORGE “DICE” LUNA, ground-team member (logistics)

RICHARD “FLEX” ROSEN, ground-team member (intelligence)

BEN “RATTLER” SCOTT, ground-team member (weapons)

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY (CAL POLY) SAN LUIS OBISPO, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

BRADLEY J. MCLANAHAN, Battle Mountain, Nevada

LANE EAGAN, Roseburg, Oregon

KIM JUNG-BAE (“JERRY”), Seoul, United Korea

CASEY HUGGINS, Kansas City, Missouri

JODIE CAVENDISH, Brisbane, Australia

DR. MARCUS HARRIS, Ed.D., president, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)

DR. TOSHUNIKO “TOBY” NUKAGA, Ph.D., aerospace engineering professor, Cal Poly

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

GENNADIY ANATOLIYVICH GRYZLOV, president of the Russian Federation

SERGEI TARZAROV, president’s chief of staff

VIKTOR KAZYANOV, minister of state security

GREGOR SOKOLOV, minister of defense

DARIA TITENEVA, foreign minister

ANDREI NARYSHKIN, United Nations ambassador

GENERAL MIKHAIL KHRISTENKO, chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces

BRUNO ILIANOV, colonel, deputy air attaché, Russian embassy, Washington

YVETTE KORCHKOV, assistant and bodyguard to Bruno Ilianov

BORIS CHIRKOV, chief envoy, Russian Trade Mission, San Francisco, California

COLONEL MIKHAIL GALTIN, Elektron spaceplane commander

PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

ZHOU QIANG, president of the People’s Republic of China

COLONEL GENERAL SUN JI, chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Armed Forces

UNITED NATIONS

SOFYAN APRIYANTO, president of the United Nations Security Council