Given that the New Frontier stories are all written by Creator/PeterDavid, it should come as no surprise that every single character on this list is a DeadpanSnarker.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: U.S.S Excalibur]]

!! The U.S.S Excalibur
The ''U.S.S. Excalibur'' is an Ambassador-class starship in the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet. It is commissioned to go provide humanitarian relief in the former Thallonian Empire and is populated by some of Starfleet's best and...quirkiest. After the ship was destroyed in 2376, it was succeeded by the ''Excalibur''-A, a Galaxy-class vessel.
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* BadassCrew: Almost everyone has an amazing story or two.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: All of the crew seems to be this. ''All of them'' [[AndZoidberg except Shelby.]]
* CloudCuckoolander: How other members of Starfleet tend to view them and their adventures.
* DysfunctionJunction: Just about everyone has a crippling personality flaw of some form or another. Only [[WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks the Cerritos]] could rival it in this and several of these other tropes.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: ''Two'' demigods, a daughter of an immortal, an exiled prince, a Conan-the-Barbarian Expy, a hermaphrodite HandsomeLech, and so on...

!!Mackenzie Calhoun
Captain of the USS ''Excalibur''. The first and, so far, only Xenexian in Starfleet. Born [[PunctuationShaker M'k'n'zy of Calhoun]], he watched his father die at the hands of Danteri oppressors at a young age and eventually led his people to their liberation...all before the age of twenty. A chance encounter with one Captain Jean-Luc Picard set his path in motion to Starfleet, moving up through the ranks until the ''Grissom'' incident caused him to resign his commission (though he continued to work for Starfleet Intelligence on the DL). His nomination to command the ''Excalibur'' was met with much resistance, particularly with Admiral Jellico, but so far it seems to have worked out pretty well.
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* BatmanGambit: Performs many of these over the course of the books.
* CanonImmigrant: He was included in ''Star Trek Online.''
* TheCaptain: A great example of such, being the center of a ship of complete misfits.
* ChickMagnet: Women like Calhoun. He's only really after one, though.
* TheChosenOne: Was one of these on a world he visited. Is this to his people.
* TheComicallySerious: DownplayedTrope example. Calhoun reacts to his crew and insane adventures as if nothing at all were strange.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Is a PragmaticHero compared to most Starfleet captains.
* ConsummateLiar: He's amazingly good at this and it served him well in Starfleet Intelligence.
* CowboyCop: Or whatever the equivalent for a Starfleet captain is.
* TheCynic: His view on the galaxy is darker than most.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Grew up on a DeathWorld where his people were enslaved.
* {{Expy}}: Conan the Barbarian...IN SPACE.
** WordOfGod says Captain Calhoun is based on the historical William Wallace, who was a teenager when he did many of his great deeds.[[invoked]]
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a very noticeable one from a battle on his homeworld.
* HappilyMarried: To Shelby.
* HumanAliens: Xenexians are identical to humans in appearance and seemingly every other respect. They don't even have the usual funny foreheads or noses. In fact, purple irises seem to be the limit of it.
* MilitaryMaverick: This is the captain whose solution to the ''KobayashiMaru'' was to ShootTheHostage for Pete's sake.
* NameFromAnotherSpecies: {{Justified}}. His Xenexian name more accurately translates to English as M'k'n'zy of Calhoun (Calhoun being his hometown). He goes by "Mackenzie" or "Mac" among humans because it's close enough and were easier for his Academy classmates to pronounce.
* MindRape: Is subjected to this by [[spoiler:Soleta]] of all people. [[spoiler:Then he's subject to actual rape, though she wasn't actually at fault.]]
* OnlySaneMan: Subverted. Calhoun is just as crazy as everyone else but handles it all in stride.
* PragmaticHero: As a contrast to the majority of ''Star Trek'' captains.
* PunctuationShaker[=/=]TheUnpronounceable: His Xenexian name.
* SlaveLiberation: Led a successful one of these on his homeworld.
* TakeAThirdOption: During his test for the ''Kobayashi Maru'' "No-Win Scenario", he targeted the ship and blew it up because he thought it was a Romulan trick.

!!Elizabeth Shelby
Elizabeth Paula Shelby first came to the attention of Starfleet higher-ups with her quick expertise on the Borg. After consulting with the ''Enterprise'' through the Locutus incident and the Battle of Wolf 359, she became first officer of the ''Chekov'' under Captain Morgan Korsmo, whom she would follow onto the ''Excalibur''. When Korsmo was killed during the second Borg attack on Earth (in the events of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''), she was ready to move on to a captaincy when Admiral Jellico requested that she remain first officer so she could ride herd on Mackenzie Calhoun, with whom she had a relationship at the Academy. She eventually gets her own command in the ''Trident'', then becomes an Admiral in charge of Bravo Station.
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* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Is subjected to one in ''Double or Nothing'' when Commander Riker temporarily acts as captain of the ''Excalibur'' while Calhoun is on another assignment; after she's spent time criticising Riker for not taking any of his offered command opportunities, Riker counters that she may want to consider why ''she'' has never received the offer of a captaincy herself?
* AscendedExtra: Appeared for a pair of episodes in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation.'' Admittedly, these were ''The Best of Both Worlds.''
* BattleCouple: With Calhoun.
* TheCaptain: Finally becomes one after a lot of effort.
* TheFettered: Holds to Starfleet regulations above just about everything, which makes her a huge pain in the butt for Calhoun. [[spoiler: It gets better when she gets her own ship.]]
* FourStarBadass: What she aspires to be. [[spoiler: She eventually achieves it.]]
* GirlOfMyDreams: Calhoun first sees her in a near-death hallucinatory vision long before he enrolls in Starfleet Academy. (He also first sees Jean-Luc Picard this way, thus pretty much affirming his visions).
* HappilyMarried: To Calhoun.
* TheIdealist: Shelby attempts to hold to Starfleet ideals at all times. She's unaware that's a ''horrible'' idea in this series.
* OnlySaneMan: Believes herself to be this but in the RagtagBandOfMisfits, she's actually the only ''insane'' one.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Thinks she's in a more typical ''Star Trek'' series so she acts as TheIdealist and TheFettered, which means that she's completely out of her depth with the craziness she encounters.
* AndZoidberg: Shelby never quite learns to fit in with the ''Excalibur'' crew. Ironically, a more professional crew dislikes the oddball habits she picks up from the ''Excalibur.''

!!Burgoyne 172

Burgoyne 172 is a Hermat, a hermaphroditic species, and chief engineer of the ''Excalibur''. [[PronounTrouble S/he]] is uninhibited in hir sexuality, and generally has affairs with several crew members at a time. When Selar became the CMO, s/he pursued her, but was rebuffed many times, until her ''pon farr'' reignited and she finally gave in to hir charms. This resulted in a son, named Xy after the captain's son (who was at the time missing and presumed dead). A short custodial battle ensued, after which the pair decided to raise him together. Promoted to first officer when Shelby gained command of the ''Trident''.
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* CrusadingWidower: [[spoiler: After Selar dies.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: In the proud tradition of Starfleet Engineers.
* GeniusBruiser: Is incredibly ''dangerous'' once s/he puts hir mind to it.
* HandsomeLech: At least s/he chooses to behave this way.
* {{Hermaphrodite}}: Very vocally so.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: With Selar.
* StalkerWithACrush: Behaves like this to Selar due to sensing her attraction.

!!Selar

Dr. Selar was a medical officer aboard the ''Enterprise'' for many years. During that time, she experienced ''pon farr'', and returned home to mate with her chosen one...only to have him [[OutWithABang die of a heart attack]] while still in its throes. She covered her shock reasonably well, but her urges returned when she became CMO of the ''Excalibur'' two years later. After rebuffing Burgoyne's advances for a time, she finally gave into hir, and produced a son. A few years later, she became obsessed with finding a cure for her son's condition, to the point of kidnapping. [[spoiler:She would eventually die trying to save the child she kidnapped from the Brethren, while in the process uncovering a cure for her son's condition.]]
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* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:Her death is one of the surprises of the series.]]
* AscendedExtra: Was a minor character on ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]''.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Due to the incident with her husband.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Her arc with Burgoyne.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Performs one as part of her efforts to save her son.]]
* MamaBear: Will do anything for her child.
* OutWithABang: Accidentally killed her husband during sex.
* {{Tsundere}}: A major one for Burgoyne.

!!Robin Lefler

Operations officer of the ''Excalibur'' and special liaison to Si Cwan after a tour on the ''Enterprise''. Bright and cheerful; best known for her "Lefler's Laws" she started to impress her mother. Seems like the OnlySaneMan...until her mother, whom she thought was dead, turns up alive in Thallonian space. Eventually falls in love with and marries Si Cwan, and serves as a Starfleet liaison to the New Thallonian Protectorate until she resigns her commission [[spoiler:after her husband was murdered by opposition forces]]. He did leave her SomeoneToRememberHimBy, but that caused her even more trouble, sending her to Bravo Station for refuge.
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%%* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Possesses a particularly bad case of this.
* AscendedExtra: Was a minor character on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation.''
%%* CannotSpitItOut: With Si Cwan [[spoiler: until she finally does.]]
%%* CrusadingWidower: Is one of these after [[spoiler: Si Cwan's death.]]
%%* PregnantBadass: Is briefly one of these.
%%* RelationshipUpgrade: With Si Cwan.

!!Zak Kebron

Chief security officer of the ''Excalibur''. A member of the Brikar species. Known for his mighty strength and his DeadpanSnarker tendencies...at least until he molts; then he becomes quite a bit more verbose (and doubles as ''Excalibur'''s counselor).
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* BunnyEarsLawyer: A ship's counselor who looks like the Thing.
* CharacterDevelopment: Becomes a wise and erudite ship's counselor after his change.
* GeniusBruiser: Becomes one after his change.
* {{Heavyworlder}}: Was born on one and it made him nearly indestructible.
* MightyGlacier: Has a MeaningfulName for his species ("Brick").
* TeensAreMonsters: It's discovered his angry demeanor is because he hasn't hit adulthood yet for his species.

!!Mark [=McHenry=]

The helmsman of the ''U.S.S Excalibur.'' [[spoiler: He turns out to be part-god.]]
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* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Once his past comes out and he resolves his issue with them.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Can fly the starship while asleep. No, this isn't a metaphor.
* TheBusCameBack: With the ''Returned'' series.
* DisappearedDad: Father [=McHenry=] ran from the house, and then the entire planet Earth, after an incident when Mark was a little boy. [[spoiler:Being nearly killed by an angry god will do that to a man.]]
* GoodWithNumbers: Better than the computers.
%%* IJustWantToBeNormal
* LastNameBasis: Pretty much everyone just calls him [=McHenry=]. [[spoiler:Artemis is one of the few who calls him Mark.]]
* LastSecondShowoff: He is very good at quickly calculating trajectories and other math in his head, so he spends most of his time looking bored and not doing anything, then at the last minute he'll calculate and set the coordinates, then go back to being bored.
* NinetyPercentOfYourBrain: Has been modified by the Aesir.
* NoSell: One of the first big hints that he's not ''quite'' human is that he [[NoSell No Sells]] ''Q''.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: At the beginning of ''Being Human'', the normally sleepy [=McHenry=] is much more serious talking to Zak, who finds it pretty scary.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Which annoyed his mother and weirded out his father. [[spoiler:Being part god and having your great-grand aunt following you about didn't help.]]
* WeirdnessCensor: Despite the fact he is pretty dang weird, no-one finds anything at all odd about his everything. However, during ''Being Human'', it starts to wear off.

!!Soleta

The half-Romulan/half-Vulcan science officer of the ship. Soleta is the secondary protagonist of the series and one of the most important characters in the series. She would eventually leave Starfleet after her Romulan heritage was uncovered, and rise to prominence in the Romulan hierarchy, getting a ship right around the time of ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''.
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* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler: Is carrying Captain Calhoun's child at the end of ''The Returned''.]]
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: As her mutinous Romulan crew discovers.]]
* ChildByRape: Her mother was raped by a Romulan pirate.
* DeadpanSnarker: In the proud Vulcan tradition. Soleta actually does this better than most of her species.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Zig-zagged as she defects from the Federation to the Romulan Empire then back. Sort of.
* EasilyForgiven: A DownplayedTrope example with [[spoiler: her rape of Captain Calhoun. She had to be willing to sacrifice her life to save his, survive, and reveal that she had been in the midst of pon'far.]]
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: From Starfleet's perspective. [[spoiler: She actually has always remained the same moral person, just her allegiances have changed to whoever she feels supports her.]]
* {{Expy}}: Of [[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry Valeris]] and [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Saavik.]]
* MindRape: Is much more willing to subject people to this than most Vulcans. [[spoiler: Because she comes to identify more with her Romulan side than her Vulcan.]]
* TheStoic: Subverted as she's in a state of near-constant anger and barely-concealed exasperation.
* TookALevelInJerkass: The discovery of her Romulan heritage didn't improve her disposition.
* UnwittingPawn: Her biological father claimed a FaithHeelTurn. It turns out he was just using her to get revenge.

!!Si Cwan

The last remaining prince of the Thallonian royal family. He alone amongst them wasn't a complete scumbag. He attempts throughout the series to try and rebuild the Thallonian provinces into something resembling a functioning government. [[spoiler:He succeeds.]]
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* AbusiveParents: His parents were real scumbags.
* AnyoneCanDie: Is killed by his political enemies just as everything worked out for him.
* CulturedBadass: How he sees himself, and how he tries to appear to others. Unfortunately for him, his culture is Thallonian, and most of the other characters do not share it.
* TheExile: Was driven off his homeworld in a coup.
* HopeSpot: Finally manages to organize a new government for his people.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Has to sneak aboard the ''Excalibur'' in a cargo container.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: Lost everything when his family was overthrown.
* RelationshipUpgrade: With Robin Lefler. They start off as Robin being his guide around the ship then gradually become lovers after it takes some time for Si Cwan to pick up on her interest.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: With Robin. [[spoiler:He gets over it, though.]]
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Is a warrior prince and "diplomat" despite having no authority anymore.
* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: He leaves Robin with child when he's murdered.
* TheUnfettered: When he wants to do something, he does it even if it's against his morality. Robin hates this element about him.

!!Janos
Security officer under Kebron. A genetically-bred mutant (who looks quite a bit like a mugato). [[spoiler:He reverts to mindlessness in]] ''[[spoiler:Stone and Anvil]]''.
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* FateWorseThanDeath: Or a BittersweetEnding [[spoiler: depending on how you view being reduced to a non-sentient animal.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He is known to pretend to be a non-sentient animal on occasion.
* UpliftedAnimal: It turns out he doesn't look like a mugato so much as ''is'' one.

!!Kat Mueller
Originally the Executive Officer of the ''Grissom'' (she worked the night shift where Calhoun and the captain worked the day shift); was imported to the same position on the ''Excalibur.'' She would later become Shelby's first officer on the ''Trident'', then promoted to captain when Shelby was promoted to admiral.
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* ActionGirl: Quite capable of throwing down when events require.
* AmazonianBeauty: Is built like Ronda Rousy versus Eppy's more traditional form.
* TheCaptain: Becomes one after Shelby's promotion.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has a number of these.
* TheLadette: Hard partying, hard-working, hard-edged XO.
* NewOldFlame: Used to be lovers with Captain Calhoun after his relationship with Eppy at the Academy.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Has always been there, just off-camera.

!!Arex

One of two alien crew members from ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' imported to the novels.
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* FishOutOfTemporalWater: He and M'Ress are from the time of the original series. They got stuck in a time-warp.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Has three of them and can use them all.
* StarfishAliens: Quite the exception to the usual HumanAliens.

!!Shiboline M'Ress

The other alien character from ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries''.
----

* CatGirl: A fact she is very much aware of.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: More so than Arex, whose species is so long-lived his parents hadn't even known that he was gone. Her species has about a human-length lifespan.
* HurricaneOfPuns: She discusses the cat jokes the crew makes about her.
* RapeAsDrama: Finds out that she has been psychically drugged before getting into bed with the Excalibur's counselor. She does not react well.

!!Kalinda

The sister of Ci Cwan and one of the last remaining members of the Thallonian royal family. After the fall of the Thallonian Empire, she is brainwashed into believing she's a native of a local culture before being rescued by Xyon. She can see the dead and has visions of a world called the Quiet Place.
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* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Briefly thought she was someone else entirely (as well as a different species).
* ISeeDeadPeople: Her primary power is the ability to do this.
* NiceGirl: One of the nicest in the series.
* PowersViaPossession: Is imbued with all of her brother's skills when she's possessed by him.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: As active as Si Cwan in trying to make the galaxy a better place.

!!Xy

The son of Selar and Burgoyne. Because of the conflict between his parents' genetics, he grows up extremely quickly; the three year time-skip between ''Stone and Anvil'' and ''After the Fall'' is long enough for him to grow up and become a Starfleet science officer. It's intimated he'll die just as quickly, thus causing Selar's parental conflict [[spoiler:and would lead to her betrayal and death...and his possible salvation]]
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* DeadGuyJunior: Is named after Xyon when he was believed to have sacrificed himself for the ship.
* TheSmartGuy: Which is doubly-impressive in Starfleet.
* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: {{Justified}} by his unique biology. He ages mentally and physically so he doesn't bog down the cast.
* WeAreAsMayflies: Was originally cursed with rapid maturity and aging but compensated for it with enhanced intelligence.

!!Morgan Primus

An immortal citizen of Earth who has a striking similarity to a number of Starfleet characters.
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* AbusiveParents: A DownplayedTrope example. She abandoned her daughter early on by faking her death.
* CanonImmigrant: Was the XO of the original ''Enterprise'' pilot.
* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Happens twice.]]
* ContinuityPorn: Is one long joke about the role of Majel Barrett in ''Star Trek.'' [[spoiler: Then she turns evil.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Turns evil due to becoming a machine.]]
* NighInvulnerability: Is almost indestructible in her human form. [[spoiler: More so when she becomes a starship.]]
* SpaceshipGirl: Her fate after a series of adventures.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Starfleet]]
!!Edward Jellico

The Starfleet Admiral of Deep Space Five and one of the direct supervisors of Captain Calhoun's mission.
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* DaChief: Serves as this since he's the head of Starfleet operations.
* {{Flanderization}}: From his appearance in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation.'' He's gone from being a curmudgeony ReasonableAuthorityFigure to Calhoun's version of J.J. Jameson. [[spoiler: He gets over it. It turns out that Calhoun and Jellico had a very negative personal history...until during a TimeSkip they get over their animosity and become friends.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Calhoun and the ''Excalibur'' crew are, bluntly, completely insane.
* JerkassWithAHeartOfGold: He wants what's best for the Federation and Alpha Quandrant as a whole.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Has this role with Captain Calhoun. [[spoiler: He gets over it.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Is actually one of these, underneath his terminal dislike of Calhoun.

!!Romeo Takahashi

A blond Asian with a southern drawl. Works ops on the ''Grissom'' and later the ''Trident''.
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!!Mick Gold
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Worked the conn on the ''Grissom'' and later on the ''Trident''. His sister Leanne went to the Academy with Calhoun and Shelby. [[spoiler:Died at the hands of the Brethren.]]

!!Tania Tobias

The conn replacement for [=McHenry=] and a former subject of the Worlds Within Worlds project. The project left her with terrifying psychic visions [[IJustWantToBeNormal she'd rather not have]].
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[[/folder]]

[[folder: Others]]
!!Moke

Son of a mother on Yakaba, a dry planet where Calhoun crash lands after the ''Excalibur'' is destroyed. Calhoun adopts him as his own after his mother is killed. He later learns that his father is the All-Father (aka Zeus, Woden, Odin and ''Santa Claus'') and he has inherited weather-related powers from him.
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* CharacterDevelopment: He's vastly different in book 12 than he was in book 11, though seeing what he went through, and the time spent with Mac, it's no wonder.
* DivineParentage: He is the son of Odin. Yes, really.
* HappilyAdopted: Zigzagged Trope. He loves and admires Calhoun a great deal but the latter is an awful father.
* {{Tykebomb}}: He has a lot of powers that he's only begun to tap.
* WeatherManipulation: He can do this thanks to his heritage.

!!Xyon

A mysterious starship captain working in Thallonian space. [[spoiler: He turns out to be Captain Calhoun's son.]]
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* {{Antihero}}: An UnscrupulousHero variant in ''Star Trek'' that's notable even compared to the rest of the crew.
* AttackHello: He loves this.
* ChekhovMIA: He was the child borne from Calhoun's one time "duty tryst" with the widow Catrine from his days of being a warlord on Xenex.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Xyon is always betraying his partners, whether they be the ''Excalibur'' crew or their enemies.
* {{Expy}}: Han Solo.
* KarmaHoudini: Gets off with a slap on the wrist for his many misdeeds. This includes ''genocide.'' [[spoiler: Planting an all-consuming organism on the Redeemers' homeworld.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mostly. Occasionally, even the reader is left to wonder if he's a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk.
* LukeYouAreMyFather: [[spoiler: Captain Calhoun's son]]
* MoralMyopia: Does several absolute bastardly things to get back at his father, which potentially could have gotten the ''Excalibur'' crew killed.
* {{Robosexual}}: With his starship's holographic A.I.
* TookALevelInJerkass: It seems to be the case after the destruction of [[spoiler: Xenex.]]

!!D'n'dai of Calhoun
M'k'n'zy's older brother. Was the far more political savvy of the two, and helped solidify Xenex's standing in space after his brother got the Danteri off the world. Unfortunately, one of his first decisions was to trade with their former oppressors, which put a strain on his relationship with his brother. [[spoiler:Died at the hands of the Brethren.]]
----

* CainAndAbel: Subverted. D'n'dai is hateful to his brother but doesn't want to see him dead.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Thinks Xenex views his brother as a living god while they look down on him as second best despite both being vital to freeing their home planet.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Mac calls him out on the fact he traded Xenexian independence for a foreign power's aid. D'n'dai points out they never would have won their independence without said aid in the first place. For once, Mac is speechless.
* WhatTheHellHero: Points out Mac left their home planet when they needed his presence most.

!!Lodec
A Danteri nobleman. Calhoun rescued him at the behest of a Thallonian mercenary, where he then discovered that as a young soldier in the Danteri army, Lodec was the whipman in the torture and execution of Calhoun's father. Although he tried several times to get revenge, Lodec escaped and returned to Danter, where he helped negotiate for ambrosia with the Beings, and the Danteri became their first willing subjects.
----

* JustFollowingOrders: How he justifies killing Mac's father to Si, pointing out if he hadn't, his superior would've just killed him and gotten someone else to do it anyway.
* YouKilledMyFather: How Mac views him--which is not at all inaccurate.

[[/folder]]

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