Sam Higgins (female in her late teens to early twenties, soprano): Headstrong but sometimes naive female lead and orphan whose wish to go to space comes true.

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Jim Baxter (male in his mid-forties to mid-fifties, baritone): A grizzled ex-convict with lots of life experience whose checkered past is slowly revealed throughout the show.

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Pawn (any gender from mid-twenties to mid-forties, any singing type): Annoyingly competent and knowledgeable, Pawn the robot does not read people particularly well, especially after his emotional inhibitors are fried and he falls in love with Sam.

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Demona Firedrake (female in her mid-forties to mid-fifties, mezzo soprano): Heartless, cruel and self-centered, Demona is the plunderous captain of the Manticore  – the most feared pirate vessel in the solar system.

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Gene (male in his late twenties to early fifties, baritone): A large alien whose child accidentally damages his spaceship and strands them both on an asteroid during wormhole travel. Gene is at first mistrustful of the earthlings though he is desperate to get home so as not to upset his powerful mate, Kate

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Bobby (any gender, usually smaller than Gene, can be a puppet, ideally a higher vocal range): Gene’s mischievous child. Noisy but incomprehensible since they lack translation hardware, Bobby is gender-neutral, cheeky and full of energy.

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Kate (female in her late twenties to early fifties, soprano or mezzo soprano): Gene’s mate. Formidable, heavily armed alien female who brings the show to its climax.

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Tina Young (female in her twenties to early fifties, soprano or mezzo soprano): An independent and self-serving member of Sam’s mining team, Tina makes rash decisions and pays the price for them.

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Robot Guards Hans, Franz and Arnold (any gender, age and vocal range): Demona’s mistrust of other people has left her with no choice but to employ robots to crew her ship and carry out her orders. They are cold, unfeeling and sometimes played with German accents.

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Trainer (female or male in their twenties to mid-fifties, any vocal range): A by-the-book and uptight corporate drone who trains Sam, Jim and Tina for their mission.