Series 1: Compass Academy

Meet the Main Cast

The main ones behind every Case File — Station Zero command, the four cadets, their tuk tuks and one sniffer dog.

Station Zero Command

Master Kiran Shah runs the station. Rishi “Patch” is the one who finds the mysteries and sends the cadets out.

Master Kiran Shah

Commander of Station Zero

CalmExactNever raises his voice

Master Kiran Shah runs Station Zero from the map room above the four garage bays. He chose each cadet for the Academy himself, and he keeps the one rule everything else hangs on: report what you found, not what you hoped to find. The cadets bring him their case notes at five o'clock sharp — and he always asks one more question before he says yes.

Always with them: The Station Zero key ring and a brass pocket compass said to belong to the Academy's founder

Rishi "Patch"

Case Handler — he finds the mysteries

RestlessFast talkerKnows everyone in the city

Rishi is the reason there is always something to solve. He trawls the city's radios, night buses and back-street forums for strange happenings, then sends the cadets their instructions through ECHO with a scout drone already in the air. He signs every case note "Patch" — his jacket is held together with patches from places he has been chasing leads.

Always with them: A lime-green headset, a tablet full of open case notes and a lanyard heavy with keycards

The Cadets

Four cadets chosen for Compass Academy. Each has a special skill — and a Station Zero tuk tuk to train with.

Leader · ATLAS

Isha

Team Leader & Navigator

DeterminedNatural leaderBorn in Mumbai

Fifteen-year-old Isha grew up riding in the back of her dad’s tuk tuk, so she knows every street in Mumbai. Everyone expects her to be the best, and that pressure is the hardest thing she has to carry. She’s learning that a real leader listens first. From the teal bay at Station Zero, she plots every route and keeps the team together.

Signature gear: ATLAS’s holographic map and command radio

Tech · NOVA

Kofi

Gadget Genius & Drone Pilot

InventiveFunnyThinks fast

Thirteen-year-old Kofi from London can build, fix or hack almost anything, and his pockets are always full of gadgets. His biggest secret? He’s terrified of heights. From the purple bay, he launches NOVA’s drone and scans every scene for clues.

Signature gear: Tech goggles, NOVA’s mini drone and clue scanner

Action · DASH

Leo

Speed & Action

BraveFunnyAlways first in

Fourteen-year-old Leo from the USA is the first to jump in and the last to back down. He can make anyone laugh, but he rushes in before he’s spotted half the clues. When there’s a chase, he’s out of the orange bay in DASH before anyone else has moved.

Signature gear: DASH’s turbo boost and grappling hook

Observer · ECHO

Mali

Listener & Observer

QuietPatientNotices everything

Thirteen-year-old Mali from Thailand sees and hears what everyone else walks straight past. She’s too shy to speak up at first, but when she does, the team listens. From the red bay, ECHO’s listening dish picks up every whisper, and her loyal sniffer dog Chutney is never far away.

Signature gear: Red headphones linked to ECHO’s listening dish

The Station Zero Fleet

Each cadet trains with the tuk tuk in their colour. See the full fleet →

DASH

Chases, quick getaways and rough ground

Driven by Leo

ATLAS

Plotting the route and keeping the team together

Driven by Isha

NOVA

Scouting ahead and working in the dark

Driven by Kofi

ECHO

Picking up whispers and hidden broadcasts

Driven by Mali

Chutney

Tracker · ECHO. The dog nobody notices — which is exactly why he is the best detective at Station Zero.

Tracker · ECHO

Chutney

Sniffer Dog & Secret Weapon

LoyalSneakyNever gives up

With one floppy ear, one upright ear and a sandy coat that’s never quite clean, Chutney doesn’t look like a detective dog, and that’s his secret. Nobody notices a street dog. His collar carries the team crest on a flat tag rather than a bell, so he can sneak up on anyone without a sound. He rides with Mali in ECHO’s pop-out seat and is never far from her side.

Signature gear: A flat shield-crest collar tag (no bell, so he’s silent)

Where he was found

Nobody knows where Chutney came from. He’s a scruffy Mumbai street dog who started turning up outside the gates of Compass Academy, sitting under the streetlamp night after night, staring up at the academy as if he was guarding it, or waiting for someone. Mali was the first to notice him. He followed her everywhere, and the day he sneaked into the canteen and stole a whole bowl of mango chutney, he got his name.

His gift

Chutney’s nose is better than any gadget. He can follow a scent across the whole of Mumbai, through crowded markets, train stations and even monsoon rain. When the drone’s battery dies or the scanner fails, Chutney keeps going. He also has a strange sense for danger: if his upright ear starts twitching, something isn’t right.