Valka
Full name: Valentina Sergeevna Koroleva
(pronounced KorolYOva)
Age: 18
Rank: Junior lieutenant
Position: Pilot
Tomboyish teen pilot Valka grew up breathlessly following the adventures of the Soviet Union’s celebrity aviators. When she enlists, she has her sights set high: She wants to become a fighter ace. Being assigned to the night bombers instead feels like a snub—but it could become her big chance to prove herself.
Iskra
Full name: Iskra Ivanovna Koroleva
Age: 21
Rank: Junior lieutenant
Position: Navigator
Valka’s sensible cousin can usually be found buried in maps and calculations when she isn’t curling her hair or embroidering flowers onto her footwraps. She’s quite sure Valka would be helpless without her. If only she could escape her past…
Pasha
Full name: Pavel Kirillovich Danilin
Age: 17
Rank: Redarmyman (equivalent to private)
Position: Radio operator
Shy, quiet Pasha would rather be singing or tinkering with his homemade crystal radio than fighting. He leaves the heroics to his childhood friend and longtime crush, Valka. But that doesn’t prevent him from getting caught up in a mission bigger than either of them.