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1The ''[=ColSec=] Trilogy'' (''Exiles of [=ColSec=]'', ''The Caves of Klydor'', and ''[=ColSec=] Rebellion'') is a young-adult s-f series by Douglas Hill (of ''Literature/LastLegionary'' fame), first published in the 1980s.
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3AfterTheEnd, [[PoliceState an authoritarian regime has seized control of what's left of civilization]]. Criminals and dissenters are [[PenalColony shipped offworld]] by the Colonization Section of the world government. If they can build a colony, the world is ripe for exploitation; if they don't live that long, they're no great loss.
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5One particular group of deportees crash-lands. The survivors decide that they're going to do things their own way, the world government be damned.
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7----
8!!These novels provide exam
9* ActionGirl: [[TheBigGuy Heleth]], unequivocally. [[TheLancer Samella Connel]] also has her moments.
10* AerithAndBob: Names are either [[OnlyOneName singular]] and fantastical or at least unusual (Jeko, Heleth, Rontal), or consist of a slightly unusual or fairly ordinary given name paired with a fairly ordinary (if sometimes [[MyNaymeIs idiosyncratically spelled]]) surname ([[TheHero Cord MaKiy]], Samella Connel, Bren Lathan). Being as it's AfterTheEnd, this may be the result of language drift.
11* AfterTheEnd: Set a century and change after [[ApocalypseHow human die-back]] over much of Europe, Asia, and eastern North America. References to the "Virus Decades" imply that this was caused by some sort of plague.
12* AtArmsLength: At one point in ''Exiles'', Jeko and Heleth get into a heated argument that threatens to turn into an actual fight. Cord breaks it up by straight-arming Jeko. (Although Cord isn't stated to be taller than Jeko—both boys are kind of shorties—he's stockier and a ''lot'' stronger.)
13* AuthorTract: Not obnoxiously so, but you can kind of tell that Hill's views were fairly anti-authoritarian. There's also a faint undercurrent of anti-corporatism and/or environmentalism—Cord's simple life in the idyll of the Highlands before his exile, the unspoiled new worlds of the Colonies being exploited by the grasping Organization.
14* BearHug: In ''Rebellion'', [[spoiler:right after the final battle,]] Cord runs into the [[spoiler:control room]] and all but glomps Samella.
15* TheBerserker: When Cord's blood gets up he throws himself into battle with relish and a [[ScreamingWarrior Highland war cry]], sometimes falling into a sort of battle trance where he just fights and fights until there's no enemies left to fight.
16* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:Bren]] tries to pull this several times. [[spoiler:He survives to the end of the series nonetheless.]] There's also [[spoiler:Samella's ploy in the asteroid mine]].
17* {{BFG}}: Sun-guns, a powerful new prototype weapon that the Crushers sent to Klydor were armed with, that fires a ravening blast of pure energy. Not a ''huge'' weapon, but by far the most powerful one seen in the series. [[spoiler:In the final battle on the asteroid, [=ColSec=] have mass-produced enough to arm their ''entire'' battle force with them.]]
18* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Heleth and Rontal]] play this role towards the end of ''Exiles'' by [[spoiler:intervening in the fight with the [[AdvancingBossOfDoom giant worm]]]]. And in ''Rebellion'', [[spoiler:Jeko, Rontal, and Stele]] play this role when they [[spoiler:break Cord, Bren, and the girls out of the prison transport]].
19* BlindedByTheLight: Heleth gets a face full of high-beams in ''Rebellion'' and actually faints from pain. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as her eyes [[InnateNightVision are specifically adapted to see in the dark]], and [[DayHurtsDarkAdjustedEyes they were in near-pitch-blackness right before the lights flared in her face]]; to her it would have been like being shot in the eyes with a laserifle.
20* BraveScot: Cord is the descendant of back-to-the-land types who retreated to the Scottish Highlands so as to not be bothered by The Organization. He pretty much plays the trope straight.
21* CrapsackWorld: The Organization's Earth (aside from a few tiny pockets of territory that they don't deem worthwhile) makes the colony worlds—no matter how rough and dangerous—look [[GhibliHills positively idyllic]] by contrast.
22* CombatPragmatist: Samella is a [[ReluctantWarrior surprisingly]] dirty fighter. Sometimes [[AHandfulForAnEye literally]], no less.
23* CurbStompBattle: Cord may be a [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower physical powerhouse]], but he's no match for someone with extensive combat training. [[spoiler:Good thing Samella was able to find the spare batteries for the [[RayGun laserifle]].]]
24* DeadpanSnarker: Seems to be one of Rontal's main personality traits.
25* DeathByOriginStory[=/=]MentorOccupationalHazard: Cord's [[{{Nephewism}} uncle/father figure]] dies of untreated injuries from an accident before the story begins, leading to Cord's RoaringRampageOfRevenge and subsequent exile.
26* {{Determinator}}: Cord, full-stop. Apparently also the source of Lamprey's NomDeGuerre. [[spoiler:At the end of ''Caves'', the government killer Warreck [[NotQuiteDead turns out to be one as well]].]]
27* DressingAsTheEnemy: The team get the Streeters off Earth by loading them into captured prison vehicles, dressing themselves up in Ceedee uniforms, and driving them straight into the airport and onto a freighter.
28* DumbBlonde: Samella inverts this by being TheSmartGuy of the group.
29* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Heleth—a StealthExpert with SuperSenses who's lived underground most of her life—has black hair and a complexion that's compared in ''Exiles'' to "mushrooms grown in darkness." (By the beginning of ''Caves'', she's rather badly [[ProneToSunburn sunburnt]].) ''And'' she's got [[FacialMarkings facial tattoos]].
30* {{Egopolis}}: Inverted at the end of ''Rebellion''. [[spoiler: It's the ''rest'' of the kids—at Cord's suggestion—who want to name the newly-discovered world after Samella]].
31* EliteMooks: The Organization's equivalent of a police force, the Civil Defenders, have an elite branch who're better armed and (supposedly) better trained. They're called Crushers, and are frequent antagonists in the second and third novels. Elite paramilitary police, outfought by street gang members. Money well invested.
32* TheEmpath: Samella, again, although this ''only'' factors into the plot at all in ''Exiles''.
33* EverybodyLaughsEnding: In [[spoiler:the next-to-last chapter of]] ''Rebellion'', everyone just loses it at some tension-breaking silliness [[spoiler:after the asteroid battle]].
34-->[[spoiler:'''Bren:''']] "Nothing funnier than victory?"
35-->[[spoiler:'''Cord:''']] "Nothing sweeter, anyway."
36* EvenEvilHasStandards: Every Crusher we meet is a sadistic brute...and Lamprey was still too violent and unstable even ''for'' that band of merciless butchers.
37* FieryRedhead: Cord has anger issues—especially if [[BerserkButton Samella is endangered]]—although they're somewhat mitigated by his introversion and [[ChaoticGood relentless decency]]. He also has [[WildHair messy]] dark auburn hair.
38* FiveManBand: More or less, although most of the central cast overlap archetypes. (Samella, for example, is ''mostly'' TheSmartGuy, but occasionally also plays the role of TheLancer—level-headed and extroverted where Cord is introverted and occasionally quick-tempered—and TheHeart.)
39* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Cord is Leukine with Choleric tendencies, Samella is Phlegmatic, Heleth is straight-up Choleric, Jeko is Sanguine, and Rontal is Melancholic.
40* {{Frameup}}: What got Samella exiled. Some other [[GotVolunteered indentured workers]] at the computer firm [[GreenEyedMonster got jealous of her skills]] and falsely accused her of theft.
41* TheGadfly: Jeko. Heleth is his preferred target, but he's also gone after Cord a couple of times.
42* GenkiBoy: Jeko again.
43* GigglingVillain: Lamprey has the disturbing habit of [[EvilLaugh cackling]] like [[Film/HouseOf1000Corpses Baby Firefly]] [[TheHyena at inappropriate moments]]. This is an early hint that he [[AxCrazy is not stable, trustworthy, or predictable]].
44* {{Gonk}}: Lamprey is described as [[LooksLikeCesare pallid]], [[LeanAndMean cadaverous-looking]], [[WhiteHairBlackHeart prematurely white-haired]], and [[FangsAreEvil sharp-toothed]], with CreepyShadowedUndereyes and [[TheNoseless a nose so smashed as to barely be there]]. All-in-all: evocative of a skinnier version of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Tombstone]].
45* GotVolunteered: Samella's family sold her into indenture out of desperation.
46* GroinAttack: In the third book, [[spoiler:Samella]] first [[AHandfulForAnEye flings dust in a thug's face]], then kicks him in the nuts while he's distracted. The thug, understandably, [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl squeals]] and curls up "as if his backbone had been removed."
47* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Samella is a downplayed example; she's the least aggressive member of the original central cast, occasionally serves as TheHeart, and has dirty-blonde hair.
48* AHandfulForAnEye: Again: that's what [[spoiler:Samella does to a thug]] right before [[GroinAttack kicking him in the rocks]].
49-->[[spoiler:'''Samella''':]] "''Now'' who needs looking after?"
50* HealingHerb: [[spoiler:The planet Itharac's]] primary export is [[spoiler:a yellow herb with antibiotic properties]].
51* HotBlooded: Cord (who verges on {{Berserker}} status), Heleth (who occasionally hauls off and belts people who needle her), Jeko (whom Rontal calls an "action junkie" at one point).
52* HumansAreWhite: Averted. Cord, a redheaded, freckle-faced Scot, is the only central character who seems to be explicitly white. Samella is a gray-eyed blonde with an Irish surname, but apparently still looks tanned after three years indentured to an electronics firm; Heleth, although pale from living underground for the first seventeen years of her life, is ambiguous. Jeko and Rontal are explicitly ''not'' white; Rontal is black, Jeko is Japanese-American.
53* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Played straight more than once.
54* IfWeSurviveThis: Heleth threatens to make Jeko regret [[YouAreFat insinuating]] that she [[FormerlyFat used to be chubby]] in ''Rebellion''.
55* ImHavingSoulPains: Samella gets migraines in ''Exiles''. [[spoiler:It's because the [[WhenTreesAttack sapient trees]] are freaking out.]]
56* ImpliedLoveInterest: Cord clearly has strong feelings for Samella by the end of the trilogy, and she possibly reciprocates, but they never make anything official.
57* InnateNightVision: Heleth has this, with the [[PowerAtAPrice drawback]] of [[DayHurtsDarkAdjustedEyes light sensitivity]]. Exactly ''how'' she got that way is left ambiguous; however, Samella speculates in ''Caves'' that Heleth and the rest of the inhabitants of the tunnels under London may be some sort of mutants.
58* InevitableWaterfall: ''Caves'' begins with the five central characters rafting down a river. The first line of dialogue in the book?
59-->'''Samella''': "I think the current's speeding up."
60* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Lamprey meets a quite literal DeathOfAThousandCuts at the hands of Klydor-native humanoids]] towards the end of ''Exiles''. In ''Rebellion'', [[spoiler:Tuller meets a similar fate at the hands of his own gang]] after [[TheStoolPigeon selling everyone out]].
61* KillHimAlready: Heleth pretty much outright yells this in ''Exiles'' when [[spoiler:Samella has Lamprey at gunpoint]].
62* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Lamprey is ''only'' ever called by his NomDeGuerre. If he ''has'' a legal name, we never learn it.
63* MeaningfulName: Lamprey boasts that he earned his NomDeGuerre for his tenacity. "When I grab a fella he stays grabbed." He could just have easily have earned it by virtue of being as ''mean'' as an eel, or by virtue of being an emotional parasite on the central cast.
64* [[LadySwearsALot Lady Swears-a-Lot]]: Heleth, by [[UnusualEuphemism euphemistic implication]].
65* MyNaymeIs: Cord's surname is an obvious phoneticization of "[=McKay=]." Heleth's name may or may not be a phoneticization of the Welsh "Heledd."
66* {{Nephewism}}: Cord was raised by his uncle, whose death in an accident led to Cord's exile.
67* NatureHero: Cord is a {{downplayed}} example. He grew up in an isolated corner of Scotland, has extensive wilderness survival skills, and is introverted and socially naïve; also, [[WildHair his hair is described as somehow unruly]] in every book.
68* NoBiochemicalBarriers: Not universal, but explicitly stated to be true of Klydor specifically: It's more-or-less safe to forage in the woods, but watch out for predators. Justified as the characters were put there to try and start a colony, and there's no point in sending people to a planet where they can't eat anything.
69* NoYou: When [=ColSec=] Commandant Mirvandel [[YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive demands the rebels' surrender]] [[spoiler:in the asteroid mine]] in ''Rebellion'', Jeko's response is a catcall:
70--> '''Jeko:''' "You throw ''your'' guns down and come out!"
71* OneHandedZweihander: Cord's [[ImprovisedWeapon improvised]] [[CarryABigStick bludgeon]] in ''Exiles'' is stated to be heavy enough that "many people" would need both hands to wield it effectively. And Cord uses it one-handed, apparently just because he ''can''.
72* OnlyOneName: Tends to be true of people living, shall we say, ''outside'' the law (Jeko, Heleth, and Rontal included).
73* PenalColony: Every habitable planet is treated as one. There [[AmbiguousSituation may or may not]] also be one in Antarctica.
74* PoliceState: What's left of civilization in North America, Europe, and most of Asia has essentially become one big one, although it's more "corporate oligarchy" than the usual "military dictatorship" take.
75* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The central cast. [[spoiler:Can also be applied, all things considered, to the rebel army as a whole.]]
76* ReluctantWarrior[=/=]TechnicalPacifist: Samella is the least physical of the central cast, and seems to have a moral opposition to killing. That said, [[CombatPragmatist in a pinch]], she's not afraid to [[spoiler:threaten to [[KneeCapping put holes in someone's kneecaps]], [[AHandfulForAnEye throw dust in faces]], [[GroinAttack kick crotches]], or [[SelfDestructMechanism rig an asteroid mining operation to self-destruct]] and [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled kill everyone present]] [[TakingYouWithMe at her next keystroke]].]].
77* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: What got Cord exiled. His critically injured [[{{Nephewism}} uncle/father figure]] was [[DeathByOriginStory turned away from a hospital and left to die]]; Cord tried to trash the place in retaliation. (And that was only the first of ''several''.)
78* {{Robinsonade}}: Of sorts.
79* RunningGag: Samella calling Cord a "barbarian."
80* SandWorm: A recurring threat in ''Exiles''. They range from about three feet long to about ''seven'' feet in ''diameter'' (that seemingly uniquely exceptional specimen[[spoiler:—which the kids eventually make peace with the forest natives by killing—]]was stated to be taller than Rontal, who is implied to be at least 6'4", at its back) and have barbed tentacles which secrete what seems to be a potent neurotoxin. Justified in that they have tough exoskeletons and don't dig themselves in that deeply.
81* ScreamingWarrior: Cord likes his highland battle cries.
82* SelfDestructMechanism: [[spoiler:Samella]] rigs [[spoiler:the entire asteroid]] to detonate at her next keystroke [[spoiler:in the final battle in ''Rebellion'']]. [[spoiler:Samella's and Bren's]] acts of VehicularSabotage, in ''Exiles'' and ''Caves'' respectively, may also count, although the former was only such by virtue of the freighter's lack of re-entry shielding.
83* ShipTease: A [[ImpliedLoveInterest clearly deliberate one]] for Cord and Samella; although it's never [[OfficialCouple outright stated]], it's fairly clear that he's in love with her by ''Rebellion'', and she seems to reciprocate. Jeko and Heleth have an [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther implied]] but much more subtle (for a certain [[BelligerentSexualTension value]] of "subtle," that is) one.
84* SixthRanger: [[spoiler:Bren, by the end of ''Caves''.]]
85* TheStoolPigeon: [[spoiler: Tuller]] is a "Betrayer Barry" of the "just a {{jerkass}}" variety. [[spoiler:He gets his [[KarmicDeath comeuppance]] in the end.]]
86* StoutStrength: Cord plays with the trope. He's ''very'' strong (bordering on CharlesAtlasSuperpower territory) and looks pudgy when fully clothed (partly on account of being a little fireplug of a guy, partly on account of being baby-faced). However, when he [[ClothingDamage loses his shirt]] during a fight in the first book, he's revealed to actually be quite trim.
87* SuperSenses: Along with her InnateNightVision, Heleth has incredibly keen hearing.
88* TakingYouWithMe: Invoked several times. The most epic example, however, is [[spoiler:Samella winning the day in the asteroid]].
89* TeamDad: Although he does his best to treat the (much younger) five central characters like equals, [[spoiler: Bren seems to somewhat fall into this role after the end of the second book]].
90** TokenAdult
91* TrueCompanions: The five main characters by the end of ''Exiles''. [[spoiler:By the end of ''Caves'', Bren has become a SixthRanger.]]
92* {{Tsundere}}: Heleth is a four-plus Spicy. She's always bickering with Jeko (and, to a lesser degree, ''almost everyone else''), but there's the occasional implication that she doesn't outright hate him.
93* UnskilledButStrong: Cord is ''not'' a trained martial artist, but anything he can actually land a punch on is usually out for the count.
94* UnusualEuphemism: When Heleth says "yeck," it's ''occasionally'' the obvious expression of disgust equivalent to "ew." Far more often (and it ''is'', in fact ''[[SirSwearsALot often]]''), she's calling something that she dislikes "yecky" or someone who annoys her a "yeck-head," creating the impression that it's a euphemism for "shit."
95* VehicularSabotage: The series all but starts out with [[spoiler:[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Samella sabotaging a spacecraft]]]], thus [[ItMakesSenseInContext allowing the central cast to survive in the first place]]. In ''Caves'', [[spoiler:Bren does away with Warreck by [[SelfDestructMechanism rigging his escape ship's engine]] to overload]].
96* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Samella's {{empath}}ic ability never comes into play again after ''Exiles''.
97* WhenSheSmiles: Samella is described as otherwise "unremarkable" in appearance, but her smile lights up her face.
98* WoundedGazelleGambit: Cord sets out to [[spoiler:rescue Bren from the clutches of the Crusher team]] in ''Caves''. His plan involves [[spoiler:feigning a broken leg until he can sucker-punch Warreck]]. Things don't go entirely according to plan...[[spoiler:but luckily, Bren wasn't actually unconscious, just playing possum.]]
99* WrenchWench: Samella, although computer hardware is more her forte.
100* YouAreFat: Cord is on the receiving end of ''quite'' a bit of this in ''Exiles'' (and it's lampshaded at the beginning of ''Caves''). This is ''mostly'' due to Lamprey trying to stir the shit. And in ''Rebellion'', Jeko inverts this at Heleth, stating that she "[[FormerlyFat doesn't look as fat as she used to]]." (Neither character ''is'' fat, although both are solidly built.)
101* YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive: The Organization's prime flunkies seem fond of this. [[spoiler:It never works.]]
102* YouWouldntShootMe: Invoked by [[spoiler:Lamprey]] as an attempt to psych out [[spoiler:Samella when she has him at gunpoint, on the grounds that she's too much of a wimp to kill him]]. Her reply is that [[spoiler:even if she wouldn't kill him outright, she wouldn't think twice before neutralizing him as a threat by {{kneecapping}} him]].
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