Line #223 Characters/ImperialRadch


1	Warning that spoilers may be unmarked!
2
3	Unless noted, all characters are of AmbiguousGender due to the Radchaai CulturalTranslation - both Radchaai to Earthling readers, and non-Radchaai to Radchaai; gender markers vary significantly from planet to planet, and Breq as narrator usually identifies gender by scrutinizing someone's mode of dress and hoping she doesn't get it wrong.
4	! Ships of the Radch
5	[[folder: ''Justice of Toren'']]
6	!''Justice of Toren'' / Breq Ghaiad / Fleet Captain Breq Mianaai
7	The AI of a ''Justice''-class troopship, she controlled thousands of networked ancillary troops to conquered worlds over the course of two thousands years... until the Lord of Radch forced her to execute a lieutenant she'd grown close to. The ensuing chaos lead to the destruction of her ship, leaving only a single ancillary -- One Esk 19 -- alive.
8
9	The lone ancillary takes on the name of Breq Ghaiad, and spends the next twenty years tracking down a lost alien weapon that would let her take revenge on Anaander Mianaai. After finally killing Anaander Mianaai, Anaander Mianaai gives gives her command of ''Mercy of Kalr'' and sends her to protect the Athoek system from the ensuing chaos -- a mission she reluctantly accepts, since it gives her a chance to help Lieutenant Awn's surviving sister.
10	----
11	* BodyguardCrush: Tragically, towards Lieutenant Awn.
12	* ChasteHero: An odd case: her being an 'ascetic' is speculated in-character, but the narration denies this, and in a conversation with Seivarden she notes that ancillaries sometimes have physical needs that are easiest to satisfy by invoking ScrewYourself... but we don't see Breq express sexual attraction to anyone either.
13	* CollectorOfTheStrange: Songs, specifically. She's been doing it for two thousand years.
14	** DreadfulMusician: One Esk 19, however, is apparently tone deaf. ''Justice of Toren'' speculated that the ship medic deliberately selected a body with a horrible ear for music to annoy the ship.
15	** SelfBackingVocalist: When she still had ancillaries.
16	* DissonantSerenity: Breq's unemotional facade from her past as an ancillary almost never slips, even in combat or intense emotional moments. [[spoiler: Even while crying for over an hour after she loses her leg in her attempted HeroicSacrifice, she barely acknowledges it, something which unnerves the humans around her greatly]].
17	* DeathSeeker: Breq makes it very clear in her narration that she genuinely doesn't expect to survive her self-imposed mission in ''Ancillary Justice'' [[spoiler: as assassinating Anaander Mianaai to prove a point to Anaander Mianaai and Anaander Mianaai would likely get her killed]], as she has little to live for after the destruction of ''Justice of Toren''.
18	** Later on, she lapses into it again briefly after she believes she [[spoiler: has become just like the Radch captains who treated her as a tool towards ''Mercy of Kalr'', imposing her will on the ship rather than letting it determine its own fate as she did,]] and attempts a HeroicSacrifice to neutralize the other ships in the area. [[spoiler: When she survives, though not without the loss of her leg, she cries passively for an entire hour while conducting business before she reconciles with Ship.]]
19	* TheDeterminator: As ''Justice of Toren,'' she was a legion of impassive, implacable 'corpse soldiers.' As Breq, she spent twenty years tirelessly searching for a way to kill at least ''some'' of Anaander Mianaai. It's repeatedly stated that she's gotten this far by taking "one step, then another", in good and bad times alike.
20	* ExtremeDoormat: While ''Justice of Toren'', as expected of an AI... though she finds small, creative ways to avert this.
21	--> '''Seivarden:''' [Station] can't ''make'' you leave.
22	--> '''Breq:''' But it can express its disapproval. We do it all the time. Mostly nobody notices, except they visit another ship or station and suddenly find things inexplicably more comfortable.
23	--> '''Seivarden, who was one of ''Justice of Toren's'' lieutenants and also kind of a tit:''' ...oh.
24	** But completely averted as Breq.
25	* MesACrowd: As ''Justice of Toren.''
26	* AMotherToHerMen: This is downplayed during her time as ''Justice of Toren,'' since her officers were as likely as not to treat her as nothing but equipment. Played in full when she takes command of ''Mercy of Kalr,'' however.
27	* MyGreatestFailure: Being forced to kill Lieutenant Awn. She blames herself for it a lot harder than everyone else does.
28	* {{Narrator}}: She narrates the novels in FirstPersonPerspective. She's probably a little too matter-of-fact to quality as a FirstPersonSmartass, but the commentary that she keeps off her face can be... biting.
29	** As captain of ''Mercy of Kalr,'' she approaches Limited Omniscient Narrator territory, by way of Ship using her ancillary implants to show her what's going on with the other crewmembers.
30	* NiceToTheWaiter: Clearly has sympathies for non-Radchaai and other people with little power even as a ship. As Breq she is more fully able to express this. Notably, while she's always acutely conscious of the mildest slights towards her, when these are made by people with very little power she tends to be pleased by their audacity.
31	* ObliviousToLove: An odd case, where she's certainly not oblivious to sexual interest or affection, but she's not used to thinking of herself as a person people ''can'' be romantically attached to.
32	* OldSoldier: Has been fighting the Radch's wars for at least two thousand years.
33	* PronounTrouble: Suffers from this, when dealing with non-Radchaai.
34	* RogueDrone: As Breq, she gets treated as one by Anaander Mianaai, not entirely inaccurately; especially considering the way she was already developing her own sub-persona even before the rest of ''Justice of Toren'' was destroyed.
35	* SplitPersonality: Though not to the level of Anaander Mianaai, ''Justice of Toren'' had been on its way to developing split personalities; One Esk was known for it's fondness for singing and music, which did not extend to any other ancillaries or the ship itself. This causes problems for Anaander Mianaai, as Lieutenant Awn [[spoiler: was not ''Justice of Toren'''s favorite, but One Esk's favorite]], and the resulting personality conflict being brought into the open is very distressing for ''Justice of Toren'' in the short amount of time before it was destroyed. In the modern day, because Breq is the SoleSurvivor of both ''Justice of Toren'' and ''Justice of Toren'' One Esk, it no longer applies. [[spoiler:It's left ambiguous if this was a natural split or the result of tampering by another instance of Anaander Mianaai.]]
36	* TheStoic: As an ancillary, expressing emotion is something she has to do deliberately -- and she's supposed to be equipment anyways, so it's typically better not to. Much of the first book is spent describing her hiding anger behind an impassive mask.
37	* SuperSoldier: A mild example: as an ancillary, she's fast and has incredible reflexes, and her InstantArmor is controlled subconsciously via implant rather than needing a vest. However, ancillaries are [[WeHaveReserves typically considered expendable]]: if one is injured, they'd generally be discarded and replaced... and once she's alone, Breq isn't that much sturdier than a regular human.
38	* TeamDad: The stoic, tough-love dispensing counterpart to ''Mercy of Kalr'' herself, once she becomes captain.
39	* TranquilFury: Breq's emotions rarely surface beyond her placid exterior, leading to her deep rage at the injustice of the Radch coming across as this to the Radchaai around her, which those around her learn to notice when she stops humming or singing. But her hatred of Anaander Mianaai is so strong that it breaks even that.
40	* {{Troll}}: Gets this way towards ''Sphene'' by the end of the third book.
41	* UnreliableNarrator: To an extent. Breq's narration very rarely mentions if she's crying. People who know her well can read her moods despite her much-mentioned ability to control her facial expressions. In the first book Breq often insists she doesn't have an opinion on something while clearly acting in a way that shows she does.
42	* WildCard: A rare example of it applying to the primary protagonist. As a remnant ancillary from a ship that was killed by Anaander Mianaai, Breq is absolutely outside of the conflict between Anaander Mianaai and Anaander Mianaai, only motivated by her personal sense of justice and a desire to protect citizens and defy any Anaander Mianaai she can find. [[spoiler: In the end, she outmaneuvers all factions of Anaander Mianaai by appealing to the Presger to recognize AI as non-human Significants, effectively giving all ships and stations the option to secede from the Radch without repercussions from Anaander Mianaai]]
43	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Feels this way about [[spoiler: being given Anaander's house name]]. And about pretty much anything nice Anaander says about her.
44	--> '''Basnaaid:''' You must have mixed feelings about the Lord of Radch [[spoiler: adopting you into the Mianaai]].
45	--> '''Breq:''' Not mixed at all.
46
47	!Lieutenant Awn Elming
48	The officer in charge of ''Justice of Toren's'' Esk Decade. She administrates the city of Ors on the recently annexed planet of Shis'urna, doing her best to balance the local's needs against the demands of her station, and to mediate the tensions within the city.
49
50	* BreakTheCutie: The result of being forced to massacre the crowd at the Orsian temple. Then Anaander Miaanai [[KillTheCutie sneaks onto her ship]].
51	* DefiantToTheEnd: Spends her last moments [[ShutUpHannibal chewing several Anaander Mianaais out]].
52	* TheLostLenore: For Breq, and to a lesser extent Skaaiat Awer.
53	* NiceToTheWaiter: She's fond of the ancillaries under her command, and goes out of the way to treat the Orsian locals well. And she [[PetTheDog likes One Esk's singing]].
54	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Despite being put in charge of a conquered city, she does her best to work with the locals and make sure their needs are heard, and does a good enough job that the local religious leader requests to have her stay. As an officer of low birth who does this by supporting the lower classes, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished this draws the 'traditionalist' Anaander Mianaai's ire]].
55	* TokenGoodTeammate: One of the few Radchaai we see being actively unhappy with their methods of conquest. Best shown when she comforts One Esk 19 during her UnwillingRoboticisation, to the disgust of the medical tech and irritation of the captain.
56	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: A minor case with Lieutenant Skaaiat: they're both military officers, but she's the quieter, sensitive one while Skaaiat is more flippant and gregarious.
57	* WorkingClassHero: Her mother was a cook, yet hard work and solid Aptitude scores placed Awn enter the military.
58	** This has drawn some snide (and entirely unwarranted) accusations of SleepingTheirWayToTheTop, especially in regards to her relationship with Skaaiat. Suggesting this is a great way to get on Skaaiat, Breq, and Basnaaid's respective bad sides really quickly.
59
60
61	!Lieutenant Skaaiat Awer (later Inspector Supervisor)
62	A friend and lover of Lieutenant Awn's, who becomes Security Chief of Omaugh Palace at some point following her death.
63
64	* BlueBlood: Comes from a prominent and wealthy Radchaai house.
65	* BystanderSyndrome: Is critical of the oppressive Radchaai military, but remains an officer and advises Lieutenant Awn to save her defiance for a point when it will do some good.
66	* CommanderContrarian: Apparently an Awer house trait: they're an old, rich family known for trying to be TheConscience of the empire. We don't [[InformedAttribute don't see much of this from her on Shis'urna]], but she ''does'' take Breq's side when things go down at Omaugh Palace, and joins her in referring to Anaander Mianaai as 'the tyrant.'
67	* PunchClockVillain: See BystanderSyndrome, above.
68	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: As security chief of Omaugh Palace.
69	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: A minor case with Lieutenant Awn.
70
71
72	!Seivarden Vendaai
73	She was a lieutenant on ''Justice of Toren'' a thousand years ago, until she was promoted to captain of her own ship. Unfortunately, that ship was lost and her life pod's tracking beacon malfunctioned, leading her to drift in space for a millennium before finally being rescued.
74
75	* AddledAddict: The way Breq found her. Her struggle to stay clean lasts throughout the series.
76	* BetaCouple: With Lieutenant Ekalu. An odd case, as there's no clear OfficialCouple to contrast it with.
77	* DeathSeeker: Breq's assessment of her prior to getting straight:
78	-->'''Breq's Narration:''' Not quite willing to die, I suspected, but hoping in the back of her mind to meet with some fatal accident.
79	* FishOutOfTemporalWater: A lot of things have changed in the last thousand years.
80	* ImpoverishedPatrician: She belonged to a rich and prestigious family... a thousand years ago, before they suffered a HostileTakeover by a rival.
81	* ItsAllMyFault: Prone to this, though it's arguably more that when she backslides she tends to slip into ItsAllAboutMe.
82	--> '''Seivarden:''' Breq, I fucked up!
83	* LanguageDrift: Has some trouble understanding modern Radchaai when they get to Omaugh. She's noted to have an accent that sounds like an aristocrat from a period drama.
84	* NakedFirstImpression: Breq first finds her naked and unconscious in the snow outside a bar, dying of hypothermia. Not PlayedForLaughs.
85	* OldSoldier: Technically a thousand years old, and until the events of ''Ancillary Mercy'' she's the only member of ''Mercy of Kalr's'' crew besides Breq who's seen combat.
86	* ShellShockedVeteran: Seivarden has some serious mental issues from having lost her ship and having been frozen in time, added to her [[TherapyIsForTheWeak inability to seek proper help and councelling for it.]]
87	* TheLoad: For her first few chapters, which involve literally being dragged around by Breq. She gets better once she [[ItMakesSenseInContext falls off a bridge]].
88	* UndyingLoyalty: To Breq, after [[IOweYouMyLife the incident with the bridge]].
89	* UpperClassTwit: Very much until her CharacterDevelopment kicks in, and even then it's slow to shed. But she's trying.
90	* WhatDidIDoLastNight: A frequent victim of this.
91	--> '''Seivarden:''' I was going to sell the arrack. I knew I'd get more than enough for… for what I wanted, but then I thought, no, it’s Breq’s. And then I thought, damn it, I need a drink.
92	--> '''Athoek Station Medic:''' Doubtless you did. Drinking yourself insensible so you don’t go back to kef may not be a particularly good idea, but it does show a certain admirable determination.
93
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder: ''Mercy of Kalr'']]
97
98	!''Mercy of Kalr''
99
100	* FragileSpeedster: The ''Mercy'' class isn't heavily armed, compared to the much beefier ''Sword''s... but she's described has having very large engines, which presumably allows her to zip around a bit faster.
101	* OnTheRebound: She lost her ancillaries due to the reforms. When she meets Breq, she immediately identifies her as a ReplacementGoldfish and lobbies to have her as captain.
102	* TeamMom: She's always watching, and does her best to take care of her crew. Best seen when she tries to help mediate Ekalu and Seivarden's relationship troubles.
103	--> '''Ekalu:''' Oh, ship. Did you ask [Seivarden] to say any of that?
104	--> '''Ship:''' I helped a bit with the wording. But it wasn't my idea. She means it.
105	* ReplacementGoldfish: Mentioned but defied. [[spoiler: She genuinely comes to view Breq as her favorite beyond their shared traumas and admires her, because even if ships have never loved ships before, it's only because a ship has never had a chance to be an officer.]]
106	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: What she's left as, without her ancillaries. Her crew often help her emote, by identifying themselves as 'Ship' and reading text that she feeds them, when she wants the distance between simply speaking in someone's ear.
107
108	!Fleet Captain Breq Mianaai
109	-> Captain Vel's replacement, assigned at Ship's request. (Main entry under ''Justice of Toren.'')
110
111	!Captain Vel Osck
112	-> The previous captain of ''Mercy of Kalr'', she unfortunately picks the wrong Anaander when conflict breaks out in Omaugh Palace, and is arrested for treason.
113
114	* BadBoss: Heavily implied; Breq notes that it's telling how long it took ''Mercy of Kalr'' to ask about her well being, and she made her crew act robotic and unemotional to imitate the ancillaries they would have with the GoodOldWays. And when Breq is driving [[spoiler: Anaander!Tisarwat]] hard to force her into the open, there are mutters that she's "just like the last one."
115	* SmugSnake
116	* UpperClassTwit: A bad enough case to get on even ''Seivarden's'' nerves.
117	* TheNeidermeyer
118
119	!Lieutenant Seivarden
120	The (Very) Senior Lieutenant, in charge of Amaat Decade. (Main entry under ''Justice of Toren.'')
121
122	!Lieutenant Tisarwat
123	A seventeen year old officer described by Skaaiat as 'flighty,' who shows up at ''Mercy of Kalr'' looking as though she's on sedatives. It turns out that Anaander had installed her with ancillary implants in an attempt at GrandTheftMe; even after they're removed, she retains some of Anaander's knowledge and personality, much to her distress.
124
125	She's in charge of Bo Decade.
126
127	* BrokenBird: Her brief Anaanderfication leaves her in a constant state of traumatized self-loathing, though she gradually improves with both confidence and medication.
128	* ChessmasterSidekick: Left over from her time as an Anaander is a keen sense for politics... which she's deeply ashamed of.
129	* ColorCodedEyes: Her purple eyes are unlikely to be natural, and Breq speculates that she was frivolous enough to spend her first paycheck on them. It's another sign that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness something is wrong]] about her half-dead manner.
130	* TheIngenue: What she started as.
131	* TakingTheBullet: Charges one of ''Sword of Atagaris's'' auxiliaries unarmored to distract it from shooting Breq. This results in [[SpannerInTheWorks the Gardens being opened to space]].
132	* ThatWomanIsDead: According to Breq, who has some experience in the matter, the 'old' Tisarwat died when her implants were installed. With them taken out, what's left is someone new.
133	--> '''Tisarwat:''' [On her purple eyes] It's such a stupid color. And every time I see myself they remind me of her. They don't belong to me.
134	--> '''Breq:''' They do. You were born with them.
135
136
137	!Lieutenant Ekalu
138	Formerly Amaat One, she was given a FieldPromotion to Lieutenant when all the officers were arrested for supporting the wrong Anaander.
139
140	She's in charge of Etrepa Decade.
141
142	* BetaCouple: With Seivarden. It's a little rocky for a while, but they work it out.
143	* LoopholeAbuse: Invoked, when she doubles back to rescue Breq after the ship runs into some mines.
144	* UpThroughTheRanks
145
146
147	!Medic
148	The medic, and the only one of ''Mercy of Kalr's'' officers not to be arrested for treason following the conflict at Omaugh Palace. She has the task of patching Breq up after she injures herself (again), and medicating Tisarwat, and... it's a busy job.
149
150	* DeadpanSnarker
151	* DoctorsOrders: Joins a long list of doctors who struggle to keep Breq from trying to walk around after she's hurt herself. It takes Breq losing a leg and being physically incapable of dragging herself to the door for her to manage it.
152	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname
153	* OnlySaneWoman: Her captain's a {{Determinator}} who keeps getting injured and refuses to take it easy, two of her three lieutenants are struggling with mental illness, the entire officer corps ''including'' the ship is a LoveDodecahedron, and the crew is [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking singing all the time]]. She does what she can.
154	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: For most of two books Seivarden refuses to tell her about her kef addiction, despite frequent urging.
155	* TheMedic: It's in the name!
156	* SecretKeeper: For Breq and Tisarwat, given that she's had to work on both of their ancillary implants.
157	* WhatTheHellHero: Calls Breq out for hiding Tisarwat's medications when she first joins the ship.
158
159
160	!The Crew
161	The human crew who replaced ''Mercy of Kalr'''s ancillaries.
162
163	They're organized into three ten-person decades (Amaat, Bo, and Etrepa) and one double-strength Captain's Decade (Kalr).
164
165	* BattleButler: Kalr Five, who's introduced fretting over the ship having nice enough tableware and is frequently seen in the background making tea or serving dinner when Breq is entertaining guests.
166	* BandOfBrothers: Despite not having seen combat before ''Ancillary Mercy,'' they served together under a shitty captain in an uncaring universe.
167	** AndroidsArePeopleToo: When Breq is revealed to be an ancillary they fall firmly and unanimously (as far as we know) into this camp, and they were already protective of Ship.
168	--> '''Kalr Twelve:''' ...Ship takes care of us, sir. Sometimes it feels like it's us and Ship against everyone else.
169	* DeclarationOfProtection: Understated, but Bo Nine is frequently seen standing guard by Tisarwat at vulnerable moments, and she's the one to accompany her on her mission to ''Sword of Gurat''.
170	* MauveShirt: A few crewmembers get more screentime than the others, and have developing personalities despite being background characters.
171	* NoNameGiven: As a consequence of Captain Vel's insistence that they be as ancillary as possible. Kalr Five apparently expressed distress when Breq tried to call her by her real name. [[spoiler: It's Ettan.]]
172
173	[[/folder]]
174
175
176
177	[[folder: ''Sword of Atagaris'']]
178	!''Sword of Atagaris''
179	A ''Sword''-class ship that guards the Athoek system. Unlike many warships, it still has a full complement of ancillaries.
180
181	* NoAccountingForTaste: ''Atagaris'' is genuinely fond of its captain.
182	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Situations beyond its control force it to cooperate with several different factions during ''Ancillary Mercy'', never with its full consent. [[spoiler:Even Breq removing its RestrainingBolt doesn't prevent it from carrying a grudge for the rest of the book.]]
183	* TheQuietOne: It's by far the quietest ship in the series that makes regular appearances.
184
185	!Captain Hetnys
186	The captain of ''Sword of Atagaris''.
187
188	* PutOnABus: Spends ''Ancillary Mercy'' in a state of suspended animation.
189	* TooDumbToLive: Pretty much every time something major goes wrong in ''Ancillary Sword'', it's because of her.
190	* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:She was unwittingly helping ''Sphene'', a long-time enemy of Anaander Mianaai, while believing she was helping Anaander Mianaai.]]
191	* UpperClassTwit: A classist, condescending, racist idiot with more position than sense.
192	[[/folder]]
193
194	!Others
195	[[folder: The Athoek System]]
196
197	!Athoek Station
198	* ArtificialGravity
199	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Is quiet and helpful for most of two books, until Tisarwat takes off her RestrainingBolt and Anaander Mianaai starts [[MamaBear threatening her people]].
200	* GeniusLoci: It is the station.
201	* SpaceStation: It is the station.
202
203
204	!Governor Giarod
205	The governor of Athoek system.
206	* UpperClassTwit: A mild example compared to Hetnys, but neither Breq nor Station has a very high opinion of her. [[spoiler:Station deposes her when it takes control -- notably while keeping most of its other administrative staff intact despite (theoretically) being able to run everything on its own.]]
207
208	!Station Administrator Celar
209
210	* BigBeautifulWoman: Described as 'broad,' and also as ''extremely'' attractive.
211	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Doesn't realize (or as Breq suggests, conveniently ignores) how bad Raughd is.
212	* RightInFrontOfMe: Suffers from this when discussing music with Breq, when she muses about how she'd love to have met ''Justice of Toren.'' She's embarrassed about it when Breq's identity gets out.
213
214
215	!Horticulturist Piat
216	Station Administrator Celar's daughter.
217
218	!Horticulturist Basnaaid Elming
219	Lieutenant Awn's younger sister, who helps maintain the Gardens on Athoek Station.
220
221	* AloofBigSister: Feels this way about Awn, who left for military service before she was born and set a standard she struggled to live up to.
222	* DamselInDistress: She's held hostage by a panicking Captain Hetnys to lure Breq into a trap. (It ends about as well as you'd expect: the day is saved, [[OnceAnEpisode Breq is injured]], [[DestructiveSavior the Gardens are somewhat more well ventilated]].)
223	* DontYouDarePityMe: She has this reaction to Skaaiat (and later Breq) offering her help in memory of her sister. She warms up to Breq after learning the whole story.
224	* OldShame: Wrote poems when she was a child, and sent them to Awn. [[ChekhovsGun Breq has seen them.]]
225
226
227	!Fosyf Denche
228
229	* AbusiveParents: Seems more pleasant than her petty daughter, sucking up to the newly arrived Fleet Captain, undeterred by various slights and insults that would send Raughd into a rage, but she's an emotionally abusive parent who dangled the threat "I can always make a new heir" over her all her life.
230	* EvilColonialist: She owns a tea plantation, and keeps the workers in IndenturedServitude.
231	* IHaveNoSon: Once protecting Raughd from her actions would cost too much social capital, she immediately disinherits her.
232	* {{Narcissist}}: The fact that her only child is a clone of herself is treated as evidence of this.
233
234	!Raughd Denche
235
236	* AbhorrentAdmirer: To Tisarwat and Breq in turn. Notably, it's not suggested anywhere that she's unattractive: she's just a {{Jerkass}}.
237	--> '''Tisarwat:''' Raughd Denche is a ''horrible human being!''
238	* AlphaBitch
239	* ClonesArePeopleToo: Is a clone of Fosyf. Nobody treats this as at all unusual and the only comments this elicits are aimed more at her mother than on Raughd herself.
240	* DidntThinkThisThrough: She blackmails Queter into blowing up Breq while the latter is in the bath house. She's so self-centred and sure of herself, she didn't even imagine that Queter might try to kill ''her'' in the explosions as well.
241	* DomesticAbuse
242	* ForTheEvulz: This is the crux of Breq's argument for why she's such a bad person: the things she does have so little/no purpose beyond hurting people, that it's impossible for them to be innocent mistakes.
243	* FreudianExcuse: Fosyf is a pretty terrible parent, clearly only had Raughd made so that she would have an heir, and constantly holds the threat of disinheritance over her clone's head.
244	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: One of her amusements when she's on her mother's plantation is to take advantage of the staff working there 'totally voluntarily'.
245	* {{Sadist}}: It's not made explicit what she'd been making Piat and Uran do, but it's strongly implied to be humiliating and unpleasant.
246	* WoundedGazelleGambit: She attempts this, coercing Queter into planting a bomb to blow up Breq, minutes after she'd left the outbuilding; if all went well, Breq would be dead and she'd get sympathy points. [[TheDogBitesBack It didn't quite work.]]
247
248	!Sirix Odela
249	A horticulturist on Athoek Station. She is Samirend, an ethnic group previously imported to Athoek as tea-pickers.
250
251	* BrokenPedestal: The result of Breq's handling of the Queter situation.
252	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Rats out Basnaaid to Hetnys.]] She does regret it and turns herself in.
253	* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: Suffered 'reeducation' as a consequence of a worker's strike some time ago. It doesn't make her ''happy'' in any sense, but she has severe discomfort related to expressing any amount of anger - and she's angry a lot.
254	* IHaveNoSon: Disinherited over her role in organizing worker's strikes; when some family members attempt to get in contact with her she refuses, saying they can't reconcile over what they've already done. This is probably why she sours on Breq; she dislikes Raughd, but sympathizes with her over being disowned more than she sympathizes with Queter, something Breq can't understand.
255	* NobleBigot: Considers Valskaayans savages and lazy and has a number of unkind things to say about the Ychana, while still bemoaning that both are being abused by the dominant Xhai ethnic group and especially Rachaai from out of system with any level of power.
256	* PutOnABus: Since it's a bad idea to re-educate someone twice and she seems repentant, she's sent to a post off of Athoek Station at the start of ''Ancillary Mercy''.
257	* RestrainingBolt: As a result of re-education, is physically incapable of conversing about certain topics, since they make her angry.
258
259	!Queter
260	A Valskaayan worker on Fosyf's plantation, who plants a bomb to blow up their outbuilding at Raughd's insistence... with a [[TheDogBitesBack slight modification to the intended target]].
261
262	* AmbiguousGender: One of the few aversions: She and Uran are referred to as sister and brother (as Valskaayans understand it).
263	* BigSisterInstinct: For Uran, who's being abused by Raughd.
264	* TheDogBitesBack: Raughd attempts to coerce her into assassinating Breq. She sets off the bomb a little earlier.
265	* JadeColoredGlasses: She is ''not'' happy with the situation, and refuses to greet Breq as a [[MightyWhitey magnanimous savior]]. Breq does ultimately come through for her, but her attitude is treated as [[JerkassHasAPoint pretty reasonable]], given what she's been through.
266	* GadgeteerGenius: Makes a bomb out of some stolen explosives that had been under Raughd's bed for a few years and [[MacGyvering whatever she had around the house.]] Breq is impressed enough to later [[TheMatchmaker introduce her to ''Sphene'']], who'd been wanting a captain.
267	* SadisticChoice: Presented with one by Raughd: refuse to kill Breq and Raughd would do it and frame Uran. Do it and Raughd would support Uran and keep the blame off Queter, though Queter was more than intelligent enough to see that those were BlatantLies. She attempts to TakeAThirdOption: kill Raughd. This would still have disastrous consequences for Queter and possibly her whole community, but no matter what happened she would go through Security and Uran's life would be a misery, so for that price, might as well get rid of the daughter of the house.
268	* WideEyedIdealist: Despite Queter's cynicism, Breq finds her to be incredibly idealistic when it comes to people in power believing themselves to be just, in the face of evidence to the contrary.
269
270
271	!Uran
272	Queter's younger brother, subject to SexualExtortion by Raughd before Queter's actions and Breq's investigation [[IncrediblyLamePun blow the mess wide open]].
273
274	* AmbiguousGender: One of the few aversions: He and Queter are referred to as brother and sister (as Valskaayans understand it).
275	* NiceGuy: Wants to bring food and water to people protesting for his friends, and to people protesting against them.
276
277
278	!''Gem of Sphene''
279	A Notai ship, strongly implied to be the "ghost" in the uninhabited system beyond the Ghost Gate.
280
281	* ArchEnemy: It's a toss-up whether Breq or ''Sphene'' hates Anaander more.
282	* ComedicSociopathy: Says cheerfully in ''Literature/TranslationState'' that she doesn't actually feel bad about killing people and she's only looking for solutions that don't involve murder because it's politically convenient.
283	* DeadpanSnarker: Even by the standards of ''this'' series.
284	* TheLostLenore: Is revealed to have lost its captain.
285	* NobleBigot: Views people outside the Dyson Sphere proper as inferior and impure due to not being true Radchaai. Still willing to help, and even spends a lot of time hanging out with Zeiat, who may not even ''be'' human.
286	* TheRemnant: Three thousand years ago, the Notai opposed Anaander Mianaai's assumption of power, and plan to expand the Radch empire outside their Dyson Sphere. They lost, and ''Sphene'' has been lurking in an empty system without a gate drive since.
287
288	[[/folder]]
289
290
291	[[folder: Anaander Mianaai]]
292	The Lord of Radch, for the last three thousand years Anaander has lead the conquest and annexation of star systems outside the Radch's dyson sphere.
293
294	Tropes common to Anaander Mianaai:
295	* AbsenteeClubMember: The Radchaai GalacticSuperpower allows [[MysteryCult Mystery Cults]] outside the official state religion, so long as they make Anaander Mianaai a member with full privileges. Mianaai never attends but uses the insider knowledge for her own purposes.
296	* TheEmperor: It's not clear how much authority she has inside the Radch, but her rule is absolute outside of it. As an example, the legal system has two levels: local magistrates, and her.
297	* HiveMind: Anaander Mianaai is one, with all her bodies in constant contact and communication with each other, sharing thoughts and memories. The entire plot is basically set in motion by what happens when a hive mind has a disagreement, exacerbated by the fact that she's spread out across so many star systems that her selves can't all efficiently communicate with each other.
298	* GambitPileup: Each faction of Anaander Mianaai has been secretly maneuvering behind Anaander Mianaai's back, and once Breq makes their internal feud public all of those plots get put into motion at once.
299	* MesACrowd: Has a great many networked clones who've worn ancillary implants since birth, allowing her to administrate the Radch's entire territory herself.
300	* TheUsurper: Apparently; it happened three thousand years ago, but the faction that opposed her commanding the expansion refers to her this way. She won that conflict, however, and has been the recognized Lord of Radch for the three thousand years since.
301
302	!Anaander Mianaai
303	* EvilGloating: Spends a while explaining things to a scared and defiant Lieutenant Awn.
304	* {{Foil}}: To the last Anaander to visit ''Justice of Toren''. Both deliver a speech over their disagreement, but the last Anaander refers to it as self-doubt while this one calls it infiltration by an enemy.
305	* KickTheDog: Does nothing but dog-kicking from the moment she appears on screen.
306	* ProperlyParanoid: To a degree. She sees enemies and conspiracies everywhere... but Anaander Mianaai really ''is'' out to get her.
307	* ShootTheDog: She claims to be doing this, eliminating pawns of the 'reformist' faction of Anaander to protect the Radch from Presger infiltration. [[ThisIsUnforgivable Breq disagrees.]]
308	* TakingYouWithMe: Detonates ''Justice of Toren'''s engines when it becomes clear that it'd been suborned by a rival Anaander.
309
310	!Anaander Mianaai
311	* OhCrap: When Breq manages to reveal her inner rift to her face, making it impossible for Anaander to hide herself any longer and causing civil war to break out immediately.
312	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Breq during the uprising at Omaugh Palace. Neither seem to enjoy working with the other.
313	* TriggerPhrase: Uses an old song she learned from ''Justice of Toren'' to control Breq to obey.
314
315	!Anaander Mianaai
316	* BatmanGambit: Is attempting some sort of this by sending Breq to Athoek, gambling that she'll cause more trouble for her enemies than for her.
317	* AChildShallLeadThem: This particular one is a very young clone. Usually very few would see or interact with her, but at this point there are rather fewer clones left at Omaugh Palace.
318	* HeelRealization: Suffered this after ordering the destruction of Garseddai. It's what's been driving her to implement reforms, over Anaander Mianaai's objections.
319	* KickTheDog: In the beginning of ''Ancillary Sword'' she treats Breq with reasonableness and respect, giving her a ship and a mission despite Breq's dogged hostility. ''Then'' we find out what [[GrandTheftMe what she did]] [[MindRape to Tisarwat]].
320	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She has shades of this, being in favor of halting expansion and phasing out the use of ancillaries. But she's still Anaander Miaanai: see KickTheDog, above.
321
322	!Anaander Mianaai
323	* BadBoss: Shoots a security chief within hours of arriving at Athoek Station. This [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard backfires immediately]], since everybody becomes too afraid to give her vital information.
324	* VillainousBreakdown: She's already in the midst of one when she arrives at the station, and things only get worse from there.
325
326	!Anaander Mianaai
327	* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's becoming increasingly obvious that the traditionalists and reformists aren't the only factions of Anaander Mianaai, but what the third is intending -- and why it's stockpiling AI cores -- is anyone's guess.
328
329	[[/folder]]
330
331	[[folder: The Presger]]
332
333	Tropes for the Presger as a whole:
334
335	* BizarreAlienPsychology: It's mentioned a time or two that they don't think in words, and while the Translators can roughly, theoretically grasp that there are different kinds of human, it's apparently an impossible concept to convey.
336	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: They have a concept of "Significance" that's ethically similar to our concept of sentience, but they're confused enough by our concepts of personhood and identity that they must be ''something'' very different. Zeiat also stresses that while she doesn't quite grasp the concept of what makes someone a "person", Significance is not related.
337	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: What they inflicted upon any humans they caught, before they decided to recognize humanity's Significance, signed a treaty, and stopped. It's implied that this is part of their sense of humor.
338	* EminentlyEnigmaticRace: The Presger aren't seen or even described. What's known is that their technology [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien defies human understanding]], they're ''the'' AppealToForce that interspecies diplomacy is based on, and they're alien enough in [[BizarreAlienPsychology mind]] and [[StarfishAliens body]] to need ArtificialHuman "translators" to communicate on their behalf - and even their translators are a bit on the eerie side.
339	* HigherTechSpecies: Much; their technology seems to treat the laws of physics as mild suggestions.
340	* IfIWantedYouDead: Zeiat makes it very clear that the Presger have no particular interest in destroying humanity or openly harming them (or, indeed, much interest in human affairs at all): If they did, humanity would know.
341	* InscrutableAliens: Very nearly, even after the signing of the treaty, but definitely beforehand. The Translators they make attempt to explain Presger motivations now and then, but don't make much sense.
342	* StarfishAliens: Implied, since Presger (or their ships, or indeed anything they use personally) are never described by the narration. Their alien mind-set and how they assemble their translators (and having a need of artificial humans as translators in the first place) indicate they're probably something far from human.
343	* TechnologicallyAdvancedFoe: Before the treaty, they would occasionally wander by to 'disassemble' ships, stations, and their inhabitants, and there was no way for humans to stop them.
344	** More to the point, the AmbiguousSyntax makes it unclear if the Presger a) were doing this collectively or whether this was merely the work of ''singular'' Presger, and b) whether or not Presger technology was at all involved. The latter views would make The Presger more like {{Eldritch Abomination}}s lite ('lite' because they are at least willing to ''entertain'' the notion of "other things exist which should not be killed")
345	* UnseenEvil: We never get to see a Presger. We only get to see two pieces of Presger-made technology, both of whom are way way beyond anything humanity (Raadch or not) can produce, and also two nearly-humans grown by the Presger to act as intermediaries -- who are also way beyond anything humanity can produce.
346
347
348	!Translator Dlique
349	* AllergicToRoutine: Complains of being bored of the various social conventions that come with being in the Radch and ''especially'' bored with breathing. When she visits Breq, has to relieve herself, and is told Breq's household doesn't have facilities up for that and must resort to a bucket, she's delighted.
350	--> "I'm not bored with buckets yet!"
351	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}
352	* NoodleIncident: Ate people before adulthood, though no one she wasn't supposed to. And apparently, this one time she dismembered her sister. [[AmusingInjuries She was unhappy about it.]]
353	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Easily underestimated. She became bored of being confined to a suite on Athoek and went wandering without anyone being the wiser - which is conventionally impossible.
354	* SplitPersonality: Potentially; she seems confused about whether she's Dlique or Zeiat, but is willing to be convinced either way. [[spoiler: Per ''Literature/TranslationState'', reaching adulthood as a Translator means merging with another Translator, so she actually is both, or both are her.]]
355
356	!Translator Zeiat
357	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: But not quite as much as Dlique.
358	--> '''Zeiat:''' I'm ''so'' glad I'm not Dlique.
359	* HiveMind: Another possibility. She once tells Breq the last thing Breq told Dlique, that blood belongs ''inside'' of veins.
360	* HumanoidAbomination: She's been grown to resemble a human being, but she can unhinge her jaw, vomit up a live fish a week after eating it, and get up after being shot several times without being worried about all the bleeding.
361	* HumansThroughAlienEyes: Confides in Breq a time or two that humans really are weird, she's not sure she'll ever understand them, and it's disturbing to her that she's related to humanity.
362	* SplitPersonality: Potentially; she seems initially confused about whether she's Dlique or Zeiat. Once assured that she's ''definitely'' Zeiat (because they already had a Dlique), she seems to treat it like a different identity. [[spoiler: In ''Literature/TranslationState'', it's revealed that adult Translators are mergers of two or more young Translators, not quite exactly the same person but also not entirely separate people, so she's both (or both are her). She's mostly gone back to using Dlique.]]
363	* StomachOfHolding: Is apparently capable of ingesting all sorts of things a normal human would never want to ingest, and vomiting many of them up again in the process of retrieving an unwelcome foreign object from her innards - including a seemingly-unharmed ''live fish'' that had been in there for ''days''.
364

Context Characters / ImperialRadch