Sten/Characters

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Sten

The slave who became a soldier who became a spook who became the most important figure in the known universe.

• The Ace
• Badass
• Combat Pragmatist
• Conveniently an Orphan
• Dark and Troubled Past
• The Hero
• Hurting Hero: But very stoically
• Mighty Whitey: Not played straight, but invoked in one book. After Sten helped the Bhor in a bad situation, they mythologized him as "the greatest fighter, lover, and drinker in Bhor history." When he learns this, he comments, "In the whole time I was there, I only got laid twice, and I lost almost every battle except the last." Not to mention that no human can keep up with Bhor alcohol intake.
• Only Known By Their Nickname (He's named "Karl Sten.")

Alex Kilgour

Laird Kilgour of Kilgour, called Sten's "personal thug" by the Emperor. A Scottish aristocrat who joined the Emperor's service like his brothers. Unlike his brothers, he didn't die. He also joined Mercury Corps, became a Mantis operative, and Sten's right-hand man.

• Cultured Badass
• The Lancer
• Heavyworlder
• Stuff Blowing Up: He's a demolitions expert.
• Violent Glaswegian

Cind

A stone-cold gorgeous female soldier with a talent for the "long-arm." Descended from the defunct warrior caste of the Jannisars, she runs away from home to become one of the few humans in the Bhor-run military. Completely and totally in love with Sten.

• Action Girl
• Friendly Sniper
• Boobs of Steel: "Hey, they float!"
• Last Girl Wins
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Interestingly, she more or less abandoned the culture of one Proud Warrior Race (the Jannisars, which Sten broke in half) to join up with another, the cheerful, hairy alien Bhor. (See Otho below).
• Single Target Sexuality: She set her sights on Sten and that was it.

Otho

• The Big Guy
• Proud Warrior Race Guy

Mahoney

• Authority Equals Asskicking
• Colonel Badass
• Four Star Badass
• General Badass

The Eternal Emperor

The Man. The Authority. The Eternal Emperor. Since humanity first reached out to the stars, he has been the supreme ruler of the known universe. No one really knows the secret to his immortality, and after a few thousand years, people have stopped asking. Besides, he's a pretty cool dude. Things are alright under the Emp. Not to mention, he can kick your ass in a bar fight, drink you under the table, and then fix you up with a mean Angelo Stew.

• Reasonable Authority Figure
• Authority Equals Asskicking
• Came Back Wrong: After being successfully assassinated by a cabal of ambitious businesspersons.
• Combat Pragmatist: His preferred shipboard sidearm is a crowbar.
• Emperor Scientist: A skillful engineer
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Pseudonyms aside, he is the Emperor. That's it.
• God-Emperor: His immortality has lead some groups, such as the Cult of the Emperor, to worship him as a god
• Resurrective Immortality
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: He spends so much time personally overseeing his intelligence arm, it's a wonder he gets anything else done.
• Supreme Chef

Bet

The first distaff half of Sten's Battle Couple. Born on the same hell-world as Sten, Bet's parents sold her to the Vulcan corporation to pay off their debt and escape the habitat. Utilizing the same ferocious intelligence that got her singled out in the first place, she escapes the lab (and the living death that faced her) and joins the Delinqs. Then one day a boy named Sten joins their group...

• Action Girl
• The Beast Master: By the second book, this is literally her job description; she has two trained tigers under her command.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend

The Gurkhas

The Emperor's personal bodyguard is made up of Gurkha mercenaries. They are listed together here because in the series their personalities are pretty much interchangeable.

• Nepali With Nasty Knives
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Sten observes that the Gurkhas could be very naive, but sometimes that naivete would result in them getting exactly what they wanted.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Proud Warrior Race Guy

Rykor

The galaxy-renowned psychologist and preeminent criminal profiler, Rykor is frequently called upon by Mercury Corps as a consultant. She is also very good at her own kind of "wet work." Conducting interrogations and brain scans are two of her specialties.

• Genius Bruiser: When she slapped Kilgour on the shoulder she almost knocked him off his feet.
• Intelligent Gerbil: She's a whale-sized alien walrus-thing.
• The Profiler