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Sam

Engineer Fourth Class Samuel Collins jogged swiftly to the engineering station at the stern of the Vesuvius. At this moment he did not have time to consider the mysteries of greater-than-light-speed travel. Something had gone terribly wrong on this return voyage to Earth. Something that should have never happened was happening....the Vesuvius was passing directly through the Von Hadel asteroid belt!

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Sam dropped into the engineer's control chair. Even though it was 1:30 in the morning he was fully alert. He brought up the readouts on the propulsion drives. Speed was dropping more quickly and now plummeted to 7.0 LS.

Sam was a 37-year-old chemical engineering graduate from the University of Illinois. He prided himself on his wide range of scientific and engineering knowledge. Even more than that, he prided himself on his thoroughness and ability to avoid mistakes. Especially, the potentially lethal mistake of miscalculating the Vesuvius' flight path to Earth, he agonized. Sam had planned a course that was close to the asteroid belt to shorten their voyage by two weeks. However, they should have never ended up inside the asteroids.

Sam shoved the problem of how they had gotten into this mess, to the back of his mind. What mattered now was saving the Vesuvius, and somehow he had to find a way.

Victoria

First Officer Victoria Maria Medici strode smoothly down the corridor towards Sam's cabin. She was a stunning Italian woman. The form-fitting starship uniform enhanced the beauty of her slender, five feet, four inch figure. She had a petite, oval face with green eyes and long eye lashes. Her dark brown hair was straight and long. It went below her shoulders and ended with a slight curl upwards.

As attractive as she was, Victoria was more brilliant than she was beautiful. She graduated from preparatory school at age fifteen and the University of Rome at age seventeen, with multiple majors in chemical and mechanical engineering and a minor in physics. Her competitive nature and desire to lead caused her to enter the Italian Air Force Academy.

Victoria used her connections as a member of one of the richest families of Italy to become the first woman in combat pilot training. Within two years she graduated as the top cadet in her class. This was an amazing accomplishment, considering the not-so-subtle resentment against her from the academy's male leaders.

Josh

Josh Bonnell was now fifty-five years old. He had lived in New Jersey for thirty-five years, but had spent the last twenty years of his life in Italy. Soon after joining the Icarus Space Force, Sam asked Josh why he had lived in Italy so long. Josh's face had clouded over with grief. He slowly mentioned that his wife Elizabeth had died after thirteen years of marriage. Many things in the United States reminded Josh of his beloved Liz. So, when the opportunity to do some applied research with Guillermo Marconi had come along, he had moved to Italy. Josh became caught up in the development of plasma-fusion technology, and he had never returned to the United States.

Josh never remarried. Many of the younger Italian women in the Icarus Space Force loved him like a father. The middle-aged Italian women treated him like a brother although many gave him admiring glances when he wasn't watching.

Sam thought Josh was an excellent engineer. He believed that the Vesuvius would have never left the ground without Josh's practical genius. The plasma-fusion shield design was the only problem Josh hadn't solved. Nevertheless, he cheerfully worked alongside Sam to build the shields. Also, several of Josh's suggestions made installation of the shields much easier.

Josh was asked to join the crew of the Vesuvius as third officer and chief mechanical engineer. Josh had no real ties on Earth, so he eagerly accepted. Aboard the Vesuvius, Josh did an excellent job in overseeing the maintenance of the plasma-fusion reactor, propulsion drives and major electrical systems. In addition, Josh could be found all over the ship repairing many different kinds of electrical and mechanical devices during his spare time. Thus, he proved to be a great asset to the Vesuvius' crew.

Josh was a steady, reliable and kind man. Sam had never seen him flustered.

Antonio

Captain Antonio Laruso walked slowly down the corridor to the engineering station. He still felt the effects of their drastic maneuvers to escape the asteroid belt. Antonio was in his late fifties. He was six feet tall and had a deep bass voice. At one time he had been very handsome and in excellent physical condition. Now, his curly black hair was streaked with grey and a slight paunch was visible under his uniform. His face was lined from anxiety and too many hours in the sun at his seaside villa.

Antonio had been the top operational commander in the Italian air force. He could make tough, quick, good decisions in battle. What made him outstanding, however, was his ability to judge a person's character and personality. Whenever possible, he tried to take all circumstances and information into account before he rated his subordinates. His subordinates liked him because he was not a stickler for operating according to the letter of military law.

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