Fenella Spindrift
Fenella is an academic by inclination. She fell into the exploration and salvage business more or less by chance, simply to make ends meet while awaiting the probate of her parents' will after their tragic disappearance in a jump accident. She's now reasonably well off in her own right, and owns a very respectable estate on Alphanor. She desires more than anything to make a discovery which will make her name in the realm of interstellar archaeology.
Talya Voronova
A rather mysterious figure, Talya keeps herself to herself — at least, as much as her stunning good looks and majestic bearing allows her to. Her motivations are hard to fathom; she keeps herself to herself and has no close friends (as far as anyone knows). Talya likes to wear black. Lots and lots of black. Did I mention that she keeps herself to herself?
Captain Joseph Abraham Lincoln III (New Amsterdam Militia, retired)
Captain Joe is a cyborg, a relic of NAM. He's never happier than when the party is surrounded by heavily armed hostiles and the only way out is to wade through rivers of blood. He likes to listen to military marches, clean his weapons, and lift very heavy weights. He's a simple soul; give him bigger guns and better armour, and he's happy as a sand-boy.
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo is an AI core with a brain the size of a planet. He wants more ram, more storage, and a faster ship. The ownership of Sutton Hoo is a cloudy matter; Fenella (and, to a lesser extent, the other humans) thought they owned him until the appearance of the mysterious and enigmatic Ishmael...
EV-434 (Eve)
Eve is a medical droid, with desires and cravings above her station. Fenella has set up a bogus trust in her name, with Eve herself as the only asset and beneficiary, as a means of giving her the illusion of self-determination. It wouldn't stand up for five minutes in court, of course, but at least it gives her an ID she can wave at officials when they want to know where her owner is.