Travis Montana/Dazak Verran
Clive Robertson
Kidnapped as a small child by the Raiders, Travis was raised as a member of the Verran Clan. He was a particularly enthusiastic and violent Raider, known to be involved in drugs trafficking amongst other crimes, but eventually he realised that he wanted nothing more to do with the Clans. When he tried to break from them he was shot and left for dead, but survived, changed his name back to Travis Montana, and became a bounty hunter. The skills learnt as a Raider are of great use to him in his new line of work, but he hates what he once was. He cuts himself off from other people - Marcus excepted - until he comes across the Tulip and its diverse crew. Often silent, Travis is a solitary animal, apparently sombre and morose, though he has a sharp sense of humour when he chooses to use it. He is haunted by the past, however, and is wanted by the Raiders, who have a bounty on his head. Lately he has fallen in love with Callista Larkadia, but doesn't have a clue what to do about it. Travis's mother, Penny, was a scientist working on research into the Divinity Cluster, and it is thanks to her that his first gene was activated. He knew nothing about it for years, but recently the second gene has activated as well. Travis is now wanted by the Orchard, and the shadowy Tristan Catchpole, who have unknown plans for him. Born on Titan, Travis remembers nothing about it or his parents, and considers space his home.

Marcus Fagen
Paul Fox
Having grown up in an orphanage, Marcus ran away at an early age, and spent some years living rough on the streets. During this time he became a drug addict, but eventually got himself clean and discovered a remarkable talent as a mechanic. He was employed by the Raider Clans for a short time, but soon realised that the life was not for him. Travis got him away from the Clans, and they joined forces as bounty hunters. Energetic, enthusiastic and always hungry, Marcus talks almost constantly and generally loves life. He recently discovered that he is from the colony on Callisto, and was a son of the ruling family there. When Callisto fell to a coup by an organised crime syndicate, Marcus and his identical twin brother - then babies - were sent away for their own safety. Marcus's twin, who was their parents' heir, hopes to one day win Callisto back. Although overjoyed at finding a family connection, Marcus is not yet sure where his loyalties lie.

Callista Larkadia
Dawn Stern
The daughter of one of the richest families on Mars, Callista (Cally) hates her family and its power, riches and snobbery. She rebelled at an early age, and eventually became an operative for Mars Special Forces, an elite crime fighting unit. After blowing the whistle on crooked colleagues, she left the unit and became a bounty hunter. Largely estranged from her family, though recently reunited with her father to some degree thanks to Travis's influence, Cally is professional and efficient to the core. Her methods frequently bring her into conflict with Travis, who she sees as haphazard and rash. She has fallen in love with him, and is infuriated by his stand-offishness and apparent inability to connect.

Rudolpho DeLuna
Stephen Marcus
Rudolpho is a trader, with dodgy connections everywhere, friends in every port, and a host of illegal dealings here, there and everywhere. Recently he ran out of money, and wound up having to throw in with Percy to make ends meet. The original owner of the Tulip, he used to lease it out to Dante, but lost ownership of it following its apparent disappearance in hyperspace. Rudolpho has a teenage daughter that he rarely sees, and used to have loyalties only to himself. He even once tried to sell Travis to the Raiders, but the pair have now become very close. Large, jovial and friendly, Rudolpho is one of the good guys, but doesn't relish danger, and frequently despairs of his shipmates' talent for getting them all into trouble. He isn't entirely trustworthy around other people's valuables, but basically he means well.

Percy Montana
Tanya Allen
The niece of Dante Montana, the Tulip's former captain, Percy has spent the vast majority of her life aboard the ship, and knows it better than anyone. A talented mechanic, Percy is highly eccentric and suffers from agoraphobia. She rarely leaves the Tulip and hates to do so, and instead spends her life amongst the ship's engines and electrical components, patching them up and helping to keep the ancient ship working. Percy is desperate to find the lost Dante, although - thanks to her lack of contacts in the outside world - she seems to have adjusted well to suddenly finding herself fifteen years in her own future. She was extremely suspicious at first of Travis, and his claim to be her long missing cousin, but has apparently now accepted him. Prone to wild mood swings and apparently odd behaviour, Percy is difficult to deal with and prefers to be left alone.

Caravaggio
Graham Harley
Caravaggio is the AI system on board the Tulip. As old as the ship itself, he is sometimes temperamental, and his holographic projection flickers almost constantly. Programmed during the ship's days as a luxury space liner, he is prickly, airy and a bit of a snob. More than capable of running the ship by himself, his workings can, however, be unpredictable. With his flickering image and ageing electronica, he is the perfect compliment to the continously patched and ancient Tulip.

The Orchard
A powerful, shadowy organisation involved in illegal research, the Orchard have eyes and tendrils everywhere. First set up with a view to controlling hyperspace, they appeared to have shut down as a result of internal strife, but have now stepped up their operations. With a large part of their operations geared towards work on the Divinity Cluster, they are trying to find all those humans whose genes are naturally activating. They want Travis, but are prepared to kill him instead if it will keep the Divinity Cluster, and their work, a secret.

Edward Murchison
Greg Ellwand
Effectively the Chairman of the Orchard, Murchison is a respected psychologist. He has formed an alliance with the enigmatic Catchpole, which appears to be for the good of the Orchard, but is very likely as much for his own gain as that of his associates. Murchison is oily, slippery and untrustworthy, as happy to order a death as he is to make adjustments to the organisation's budget. As with Catchpole, it is unclear exactly where his ambitions lie.

Tristan Catchpole
Geordie Johnson
The Orchard's main consultant on matters relating to the Divinity Cluster, Catchpole's own first three genes activated some time ago. He has made it his life's work to track down other 'Naturals', and either use them or kill them. He and Travis have collided more than once, and hate each other. Catchpole knows that the activation of the fourth gene will cause metamorphosis, but is not put off by this; on the contrary, he seems to celebrate it. He has his own agenda beyond his work for the Orchard, but at present it is not clear what that agenda is.