First novel in the Solar Queen series.
Characters:
Dane Thorson- apprentice-Cargo-Master (10 years of study at the Pool), assigned to Free Trader ship Solar Queen, orphan, 'lanky', 'long legs', Scandinavian descent.
Ripley "Rip" Shannon- astrogator-apprentice on Solar Queen, 'His naturally brown skin could have taken no deeper tan for he was a Negro.'.
Ali Kamil- engineer-apprentice on Solar Queen, with 'a handsome, daredevil face. The crisp black hair which framed the finely cut, space tanned features, was cropped short, but not short enough to hide a wave. The heavy lidded eyes were dark, and a little amused smile held more than a hint of cynicism as it quirked the corners of his too-perfectly cut lips. He was a Video idea of the heroic space man…'. 1
J. Van Rycke- Cargo-Master of Solar Queen, 'His thinning hair was white-blond, his broad face reddened rather than tanned. And he was a big man—though not in fatty tissue, but solid bulk.', Dutch descent.
Captain Jellico- Captain of Solar Queen, 'Grizzled hair showed an inch or so beneath the Captain's winged cap. His harsh features had not been improved by a scar across one cheek, a seam which could only have been a blaster-blister. And his eyes were as cold and imperious as the pop ones of his blue captive [the Hoobat].'.
Steen Wilcox- Astrogator of Solar Queen, Captain Jellico's 2nd in command, 'a lean Scot in his early thirties who had served a hitch in the Galactic Survey before going into Trade, and now held a full rating as Astrogator.'
Tang Ya- Com-Tech of Solar Queen, Martian colonist of 'Terran Oriental' descent.
Johan Stotz- engine-room Chief of Solar Queen, engineer, 'a silent young man who appeared to have little interest save for his engines (Dane gathered from Rip's scraps of information that Stotz was in his way a mechanical genius who could have had much better berths than the aging Queen, but chose to stay with the challenge she offered)'.2
Karl Kosti- engineer, 'jetman', 'a lumbering bear of a man, almost bovine, but as alert to his duties with the jets as a piece of perfectly working machinery.'3
Jasper Weeks- engineer, Kosti's assistant, 'small… his thin face pallid with that bleach produced on Venus, a pallor not even the rays of space could color to a natural brown.'
Craig Tau- Medic of Solar Queen.4
Frank Mura- "Cook-Steward" of Solar Queen of Japanese descent.
Sinbad- ships cat on Solar Queen, 'a large tiger-striped tom cat'.
Queex- Captain Jellico's pet Hoobat on Solar Queen, also misspelled "Queez".
Artur Sands- an assured young man, classmate of Dane's, assigned to Inter-Solar's Star Runner, 'has two older brothers, and uncle and a cousin all with Inter-Solar'.
Ricki Warren- classmate of Dane's assigned to Martian-Terran Incorporated's Venturer.
Hanlaf Bauta- classmate of Dane's assigned to The Combine's Deneb Warrior.
Cofort- "legendary prince of Free Traders."
"Dr. Salzar Rich"- a "Federation archeologist" but actually a wanted criminal named Gart Salzar.
Lav Snall- a criminal wanted by Patrol.
Kraner- a poacher on Limbo killed by thrown rocks.
Algar- a criminal spaceship captain.
Jennis- criminal Com-Tech on Limbo.
Traxt Cam- A Free Trader with claim on Sargol, murdered by poachers on Limbo.
Sanford Jones- 'the first man who had dared Galactic flight, whose lost ship had suddenly lashed out of Hyperspace, over a Sirius world three centuries after it had lifted from Terra, the mummified body of the pilot still at the frozen controls,'
Alien Races:
Arvas- remotely feline alien race recently contacted by humans.
Fifftocs- brachiopod alien race recently contacted by humans.
Kanddoyds- insectoid alien race recently contacted by humans. Music boxes helped establish friendly relations with them.
Limbian- natives of Limbo, primitive intelligence, cultivate fields of plants for food. 'Its body consisted of two globes, one half as large as the other. There was no discernible head at all. From the larger globe protruded two pair of very thin, four jointed limbs which must have been highly flexible. From the small globe another pair which separated at the second joint in to limber tentacles, each of which ended in a cluster of hair-fine appendages. The globes were joined by a wasp's slenderness of waist.' '…there were no features at all—no eyes, ears, or mouth. But the oddest sight of all were the globes which formed the body. They were a grayish-white, but semi-transparent. And through the surface one could sight reddish structural supports which must have served the creature as bones, as well as organs…'
Mimsis- insectoid alien race recently contacted by humans.
Rigellian- reptilian alien race who were in space before humans.
Sliths- reptilian alien race recently contacted by humans.
Martian Colonists- humans but with noticeably wide chests compared to regular human stock.
Venusian Colonists- humans but noticeably tiny and pale compared to regular human stock.
Planets/Places:
Angol Two- a planet with a recently vanished race.
Baldur- planet mentioned.
Corvo- a Forerunner world with mysterious Twin Towers.
Gorbe- planet famous for Storm Dancers who use powerful drums in their dancing.
Hades- Forerunner world, blasted, cinder
Hel- Forerunner world, blasted, cinder
Juno- a planet Solar Queen conducted trade on.
Karmuli- planet mentioned
Limbo- a mostly burned-off Forerunner planet in a 3 planet system, planet closest to it's star, no moon.
Mars- terraformed and colonized.
Naxos- human colonized frontier world with twin moons, 'enough like Terra to be unexciting', not one of the 'Federation district' planets.
Poldar- planet with nearest Patrol post to Limbo.
Sargol- a recently Surveyed planet with intelligent alien race.
Satan- Forerunner world, blasted, cinder
Sirius- star mentioned
Sodom- Forerunner world, blasted, cinder
Terra- Earth
"Green Whirly Bird"- name of a half café, half restaurant on Naxos.
Patrol Headquarters-
Twin Towers- Forerunner buildings on Corvo.
Fauna/Flora:
Hoobat- 'a blue creature which could only be an utterly impossible combination of toad—if toads had six legs, two of them ending in claws—and parrot.'
Crax seed- a Galaxy wide outlawed drug.
Terms/Tech:
astrogation- space navigation.
black tunics- the uniform of Patrol Officers.
blaster- an energy weapon.
bopper- a long-range weapon which fires gas canisters.
"breaking orbit"- orbit which uses planet's atmosphere to slow ship down as it comes in for landing.
broadcaster beam- 2 way radio.
Class A planet- "Planets newly contacted by Galactic Survey but with a high degree of civilization- perhaps carrying on interplanetary trade within their own systems…"
Class B planet- see Class A. (Advanced civilization without interplanetary trade?)
Class C planet- "worlds with backward cultures"
Class D planet- planets with "primitive or no intelligent life."
Com-Tech- communications technician.
com-unit- communications unit, radio.
The Combine- a big trading company
Companies- Trading companies with regular runs from one system to another.
Control- bridge of spaceship.
cradles- berths for spaceships on 'fields'.
Crawler-
credit slips- money
Deneb-Galactic- a big trading company
Falworth-Ignesti- a big trading company
Fed Agents- Federation spys/double agents.
Federation- government of human colonized planets.
Federation Free Claim-
Federation Home- orphanage
Field- landing/take-off field for spaceships.
First Circler in the Pool- someone only beginning their studies at the Pool.
Flamer- a tank-like vehicle with 'wide heat beam' weapon.
flitter- a 2-3 person plane for planetary exploration/transport.
force-blade- an illegal knife weapon.
Free Traders- 'One of the roving, exploring spacers which plied lanes too dangerous, too new, too lacking in quick profits…'
freighter- spaceship for transporting freight.
Forerunners- ancient, lost space civilization.
Galactic Survey- aka "Survey", ships which locate new planets.
HG computer on Terra- "GH com" for short, biggest computer on Earth.
Haverson's 'Voyages'- a vid of a Forerunner archeological expedition.
helmet with short wave installation- a radio headset.
Hyperspace- faster than light travel.
individual flyers- a jet pack type device.
Inter-Solar- a big trading Company.
Kagle's 'Survey'- a vid of a Forerunner archeological expedition.
Koros- gemstones from Sargol.
liner- a spaceship for transporting people.
maul- a weapon for shooting down spaceships from planet's surface.
Metaplast- material a helmet is made of.
micro-film- a recording medium for Survey reports.
New Hope- a refugee ship from Martian rebellion which has become a tragic space legend.
"off circuit"- when one's radio is off.
Paravian carpet- an expensive carpet.
Patrol- space police
Patrol Posted- criminal wanted by the Patrol.
poacher- a criminal/thief.
Psycho- computer which determines career placement on Earth. 'The Psycho was nothing but a box, a square of solid metal'
rider beam- a signal used to guide planes or ships in.
rim prospector- a sturdy spaceship of explorers.
Sampler- equipment which tests atmosphere of planets.
Scooter-
Service-
sleep ray- a rod which emits a 'radiation' which causes people/animals to fall asleep.
Solar Queen- Free Trader spaceship with a crew of twelve.
sonic screamer- a sonic weapon which can literally tear a person apart.
Survey- see Galactic Survey
Survey auction- an auction for Trading rights of newly discovered planets.
tela-screen- tv
Terraport X-Tee Zoo- a zoo of extraterrestrial animals.
thorlite (a stick of)- an explosive.
Trade Creed- an oath/laws which govern trade.
Trade Service- Trade for short
Training Pool- "the Pool" career training center on Earth.
under-surface transcontinental cars- bullet shaped, high speed trains
Tel-Video melodrama- soap opera?
tri-strength delve-ray- a visa-screen camera attachment for night recording.
Video- tv program/movie
visa-screen- a screen with a camera attachment.
vita-cube- an emergency ration, probably high in vitamins.
"Whisperers"- voices reportedly heard in deep space, space madness.
X-Tee- extra-terrestrial
History/Time placement:
"All of the strictly human races we have encountered are descended from Terran Colonies. And the five non-human ones we know are as ignorant of the Forerunners as we are."
"It's been exactly ten years since the Crater War—" on Mars.
Japan wiped out by "Volcanic action, followed by tidal waves"
"We've contacted eight X-Tee races so far. The Sliths are reptilian, the Arvas remotely feline, the Fifftocs brachiopod. Of the rest, three are chemically different from us, and two— the Kanddoyds and the Mimsis— are insects."
"They didn't have hyper-drive 500 years ago. We were still confined to our own solar system."
"There are Terran colonies in other systems which are over a thousand years old,"
"And there were earlier variations of the hyper-drive…"
"Rigellans and that vanished race of Angol Two were in Galactic Space before we were"
Gart Salzar crashed on Limbo 12 years ago and began using the Forerunner installation to crash ships.
