Characters who appear in The Sojourn.
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Avalon Expedition
Intrepid members of the expedition from Tantalus who signed up for a possible one-way trip to Nebula CDC-41-Gamma to find resources to stave off famine.Crew of the Guinevere
Cassandra Farren
Voiced by: Larissa Thompson
Captain and Co-pilot of the Independent Privateer Corvette Guinevere and Defence Adjutant of the Avalon Expedition.
- Ace Pilot: Due to the incredibly difficult nature of flying the Guinevere, her ability to do so effectively cements her as this.
- Action Girl: Captain of an Ambush Corvette and proficient with small arms. Prior to the series, she was a decorated servicewoman on the CDF.
- The Captain: Captain of the Independent Corvette Guinevere and her crew. Later, defence adjutant of the Avalon Expedition.
- Captain's Log: She starts keeping one, but only at the insistence of Meds, who thinks it'll help Cass process events that may be upsetting to her.
- It's All My Fault: She is prone to falling into this line of thinking.
- On Episode 2, she bitterly chastises herself over not being able to save the rest of the Gatehauler's crew, and not arriving sooner to help the wounded man, which could have prevented his lower body paralysis.
- On the Anthology Short The Canary, she is tormented by leaving the eponymous Unioner freighter to fend by itself and agonises over whatever (unknown) fate might (or might not) have befallen her and her crew.
- Episode 4 reveals that Cass blames herself for the destruction of the Acrisius, a fellow Centrum ship, when she ordered her ship to open fire on it after mistaking it for a Union warship.
- Retired Badass: She has been out of the military for several years, and is the top choice for Defence Adjutant even over an active duty Admiral.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: A incident of friendly fire during the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads that destroyed a fellow Centran ship and killed 47 people has left Cass with ongoing issues, including anxiety about taking leadership (outside of her own small crew) and a tendency to have panic attacks. Meds is assisting her with these issues.
- Straight Gay: Is a lesbian according to
Word of Gay, and she enters into a relationship with Elizabeth halfway into Season One. - "Well Done, Son" Guy: Her upbringing consisted of brutal military training and expectations. At the time, she thought it was her duty to live up to her family's proud military history.
Mathias Croft
Voiced by: Ben Prendergast
Pilot and Gunner of the Independent Privateer Corvette Guinevere.
- Ace Pilot: Similarly to Captain Farren, Matthias' ability to fly in the unusual flight model of the Guinevere proves he is one of these.
- Deadpan Snarker: He always seems to have a clever wise-crack ready no matter the situation.
- Lethal Chef: When told that Croft was cooking breakfast, Cass mutters "God help us." Subverted, as it appears to be a matter of ingredients as opposed to skill, as no one complains when he uses real food instead of protein paste.
- Mellow Fellow: As a Merician, Croft stayed neutral during the war. As a member of the Guinevere crew, he is the one most often defusing fights and making friends (unless someone insults his beloved ship or loots corpses).
- Never Bareheaded: Always wore a Guinevere cap before the Expedition set off for CDC-41-Gamma, but he swaps it for an Ushanka once they've found the ice field.Meds: Why are you wearing a fur hat...?Croft: Ice field. It's bloody freezing outside.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Always in good spirits even on the face of adverse situations, and always with a funny quip to boot.
- Space Pirate: He implies that he used to be one. And he wasn't very good at it. The crew says he was only a pirate for about a week, wherein he was caught stealing a shipment of mustard condiments; which, to him, are some of the most valuable commodities in the cluster
- Team Chef: Even in a mass famine, someone's gotta cook what little is left. Surprisingly, though, Croft seems to enjoy it.
Tamara Melari
Voiced by: Laura Faye Smith
Quartermaster and Medical Officer of the Independent Privateer Corvette Guinevere.
- Action Girl: She was a Marine serving under the Centrum Defence Force during the Frontier War.
- Boomerang Bigot: She was born on the Frontier Union world of Maiala's Rest, but has deep-seated mistrust and animosity toward her countrymen that she has not been able to let go of, even though the war ended years ago. After being forced to confront her bigotry by the selfless actions of both Captain Jinn and the crews of Maalsuwda's flotilla, Meds finally realised that her bigotry is a matter of addiction or regularity, rather than a belief she actually wants to hold. By the end of Volume 3, she seems to be wanting to make amends for her past bigotry
- Combat Medic: A doctor turned Marine medic who, after leaving the military, is also the Guin's medical officer.
- Communications Officer: Meds normally fills this role on the Guinevere when the crew assumes battle stations.
- Distinguishing Mark: She has distinctive tattoos on her arms forming a grid-like hexgonal pattern.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her crewmates tend to address her as "Meds".
- Hidden Depths: According to Croft, she has a great singing voice; She used to sing during the doldrums of combat in the Frontier War. She later proves this when she entertains the others with a performance of The Grey Stablemaid the night before the final battle against the Advari.
- The Medic: That nickname ain't just for show. She even had her own clinic back on Maiala's Rest, before she fled the planet during the war.
- You Can't Go Home Again: After siding with the Centrum Assembly during the war, she was cast out of her homeworld of Maiala's Rest and is no longer welcome there. After seeing the crews of the Whiplash, Seraphina, and others selflessly sacrifice themselves for the rest of the Expedition, Meds decided she'd like to try and visit home if/when they ever get back to Tantalus.
Guinevere
KDFY-2709-HC. The Keepers Dance Fleet Yards Prototype "Huntress"-Class Ambush Corvette Guinevere.
- Artificial Gravity: One of the special features of the Guinevere is the artificial gravity induced by using Drift. This also helps negate inertia, allowing the ship to perform lightning fast maneuvers without reducing the crew to smears on a bulkhead.
- Cool Starship: The Guinevere is a sleek, fast, agile, nimble, one-of-a-kind strike ship.
- Crippling Overspecialization: The Guinevere was designed for speed to such a degree that normal RCS thrusters were swapped out for eight vectored fusion rockets to give the ship turning.
- Fixed Forward-Facing Weapon: The Guinevere is equipped with a keel-mounted Broadhead-Lock Retractable Coilgun capable of causing significant damage to ships much larger than herself, as part of her design ethos as an Ambush Corvette.
- Fragile Speedster: The Guinevere can outrun and outchase any other ship in the Cluster, but she cannot take much punishment. If even one of the vectored fusion torches that are used to steer the ship are damaged, she'll be rendered nigh impossible to fly.
- Glass Cannon: The Guinevere can't take much punishment, but with a keel-mounted coilgun, torpedoes and cannons, she can certainly dish it out.
- Meaningful Name: The ship shares a name with a horse Cass had as a child whom she once attempted to run away from home with. When she describes the memory to Liz, it's clear that to her, the name is synonymous with freedom.
- No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: The Guinevere was born out of a scrapped top-secret military project and is the only ship of its kind ever built. The blueprints for building more have been lost.
Centrum Assembly Personnel
Members of the expedition from the Centrum Assembly and Centrum Defense Force Director Elizabeth Ancelet
Voiced by: Emily Serdahl
Director of Avalon Expedition and employer of the Guinevere crew.
- Befriending the Enemy: As she is first and foremost an explorer, her first instinct is always to try and understand whatever situation she is in. As such, when she meets the alien Castian for the first time, she bears no ill will towards him despite previous encounters with his species, and even expresses remorse that he had been tortured. Her compassion and efforts to learn the Advari language allows her open up a dialog with Castian."It's harder to be afraid of something you understand."
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: At first glance, she comes across as a hyperactive, caffeine addicted, chain smoking airhead. However, she quickly proves herself as a competent scientist and a capable leader unafraid to get her hands dirty and willing to give her all for the expedition. She also goes nose to nose with Admiral Redfield when he oversteps his authority prior to the mutiny.
- Deadpan Snarker: Not quite on Croft's level, but she is no pushover when it comes to sarcastic commentary.
- The Determinator: After suffering a potentially life-threatening injury in episode 4, her primary focus is on continuing the Avalon's mission by figuring out if some local plantlife is edible or not.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": Reacts this way when Cass calls her "ma'am".
- Happily Adopted: She was raised by and followed in the footsteps of astrophysicist Sadavar Edric, but he is not her birth father.
- Must Have Caffeine: She drinks a lot to get through her stressful work load as chief of the Expedition, though she hasn't had real stuff for quite some time due to food shortages.
- Must Have Nicotine: Her reason for not appearing on the command deck overseeing ship traffic? She's not allowed to smoke there.Cass: Liz! Are you alright?!Liz: *grunt* Well, I haven't had a smoke in like, four hours.Cass: Ok, she's fine.
- Plucky Girl: Being in charge of the expedition that is Humanity's best shot a survival, having one of her ships lost to a potential alien menace, or being caught in a meteoroid hailstorm, Elizabeth never loses her optimism and sense of wonder for the situations she finds herself in, never letting them get the best of her.
- Red Is Heroic: The leader of the expedition to save all human life in the Tantalus Cluster is a redhead with a crimson jacket.
- Rugged Scar: After her arm is injured on a mission, she is hoping for the injury to become one.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Red hair? Check. Green eyes? Double check. Leading the expedition into an unknown nebula upon which humanity's fate rests? Triple check.
Lt. Cmdr. Jasper Ravi
Voiced by: Matthew Kaufman
Head of CDF Security aboard the Avalon.
- Ambiguous Gender: According to the anthology short "Dearest Alex", Ravi has a partner back home named Alex, and they are always referred to with they/them pronouns and called Ravi's partner.
- Field Promotion: Both a temporary and a permanent example.
- He is temporarily assigned the role of Defense Adjutant as the senior-most CDF officer present following the expedition's initial arrival and scattering. He continues to serve as Elizabeth's dependable right-hand XO after Cass over the DA role.
- He is also granted a proper one by Admiral Redfield (from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander) when the Admiral returns and takes command of the CDF attachment, supposedly in recognition of Ravi's excellent handling of the situation following the scattering, though more likely it is Redfield attempting to get Ravi on his side in preparation for a military coup attempt.
- Fish out of Water: A freshly promoted lieutenant, he is tasked with performing as the acting Defense Adjutant (a position assigned to an Admiral) when the Shabayev goes missing after the jump. He doesn't do horribly at the job, but is clearly relieved when Cass takes over for him.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Was killed aboard the Avalon while defending the expedition's retreat back to the Tantalus Cluster through their drift gate, although he managed to destroy one Lightship just before Avalon went down.
- The Resenter: Although he was outwardly relieved that Cass had decided to take over as Defence Adjutant, Ravi in fact harboured resentment toward her for taking away an opportunity to rise to the occasion, all so she could, in his mind, gallivant around the nebula with Elizabeth.Ravi: Don't patronise me, Captain. You decided I didn't have what it takes to be Defence Adjutant the moment you saw me. You never even gave me a chance to prove it.
Vice Admiral Winston Redfield
Voiced by: Jimmy Lockett
A CDF Admiral assigned to the expedition and commanding officer of the Shabayev. He is Dr. Ancelet's second pick for Defence Adjutant after Cass initially turns down the position.
- Break Him By Talking: Cass recognises her father's influence on him and uses it to convince Redfield to end the coup and reinstate Elizabeth.Cass: Listen to me. You can take charge of this fleet, you can fight the Advari on their own turf against impossible odds, fill all of these ships with food and bring every last one of us home alive and I promise you, he will never even look you in the eye. You will dance in his shadow forever.
Redfield: Of course you don’t understand. You were his daughter, you never had to win his attention or fight for his respect. You had it.
Cass: I may have had his attention, but never his respect. I burned away years chasing it. I did things I can never escape and you’re about to do the same. Please don’t. The people out there don’t need you, and they don’t need me. They need Elizabeth, and both of us know it. - General Ripper: Introduced in episode 6, he ends up commandeering the Guin, as well as the entire flotilla, with the express goal of going to war with the Advari. Later subverted when he admits that his service during the Frontier War was focussed on logistics rather than combat.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Following his coup against the civilian leadership of the expedition, he finds himself quickly overwhelmed by infighting amongst his demoralized crew and disobedience from the other civilian ships. After only a few hours, he turns command back over to Liz, disagreeing with her command style but acknowledging that she is better able to lead the fleet than he is.
- Military Coup: Overthrows the civilian authority of the expedition with the intent of militarizing the fleet and attacking the Advari.
- War Hero: Served during the Frontier War against the Frontier Union and was decorated for his participation in the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads. Subverted later in Season One, however, when he admits that his service during the war was primarily in a logistical capacity, was barely present during the battle that got him decorated and pretty much received the medal just for showing up.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Under his mentor's influence, Redfield has sacrificed his personal life for the sake of his career and Admiral Farren's respect — even to the point where Redfield had to talk himself out of marrying and settling down. The unfortunate truth, as Cass would point out, is that earning her father's respect is a fruitless endeavour, no matter what he did to try and earn it.
Michael Fevarra
A supply officer aboard the Avalon. Responsible for the terrorist attack which destroyed the Abigail.
Frontier Union Personnel
Members of the expedition from the Frontier Union Captain Tamika Jinn
Voiced by: Tori Danner
Captain of the Frontier Union ship Abigail.
- Enemy Mine: During the war, she negotiated a truce with a squad of Centran troops so they could work together against attacking wildlife. She was later court martialed for it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: After the Abigail is critically damaged in a terrorist attack, Jinn scrambles the ship to a safe distance before it explodes, killing her and everyone else on board, but saving the Avalon in the process.
Captain Omar Maalsuwda
Voiced by: Martin Roach
Captain of the Frontier Union ship Rodrigo.
- Dreadlock Warrior: A naval commander version of the trope. Promo images depict him with this short dreadlocks off to one side.
- The Captain: Ends up commanding a small group of Union ships for four months after the scattering before making contact with the rest of the expedition.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Despite insisting that he wanted to hold position and keep the gate component as leverage against Liz, as soon as their position is compromised he reverses course, has the component removed post haste, and starts teearing fown the holdfast they had built.
- Polyamory: Maalsuwda mentions he has two husbands when talking with Meds, making him part of a three-way marriage.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While abrasive, he is trusted by the people under his command.
Merician Freehold Personnel
Members of the expedition from the Merician Freehold Captain Maxine Blake
Voiced by: Angela Tran
Advar's Sanctum, aka the CDC-41-Gamma Aliens, aka the Advari
Natives of the Nebula dubbed CDC-41-Gamma by the people of the Tantalus Cluster, known locally as Advar's Sanctum. Lord Inquisitor Castian Vadric
Voiced by: Stephen Trafford
Lord Inquisitor of the Civilisation native to CDC-41-Gamma.
- The Atoner: Has willingly executed hundreds of Advari on the orders of the church as part of their sacrifices, but Castian has an attack of conscience when presented with the idea that it all may have been for nothing, and so wishes to make amends.
- Cool Sword: He carries an ornate claymore around.
- I Choose to Stay: Is offered the chance to return to the Tantalus Cluster with the rest of the expedition but chooses to remain in the nebula so that he can try to rescue Valendra.
- Manly Facial Hair: Sports a goatee, and is one of the most-feared people in Advar's Sanctum.
- No Social Skills: Whilst he certainly can work through social situations when pushed, he's shown throughout Episode 8 to struggle with social exhaustion and awkwardness - classic traits of an introverted person.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: His sidearm looks vaguely revolver-esque.
- Rugged Scar: Has one across his left eye.
- Secret Relationship: Is in one with Empress Valendra the Sixth.
- Socially Awkward Hero: Despite his outwardly calm demeanour (and possible history of war crimes), he's shown on multiple occasions to be skittish in social situations. Whilst this is partly due to the language barrier, he also remained quite reserved around people of his own species, only able to put on his strong willed demeanour when around subordinates. He especially gets awkward when talking about his relationship with Valendra.
- Token Heroic Orc: Becomes this to the Avalon Expedition once he gains the trust of Elizabeth and the Guinevere crew, to the point where he willingly joins them on a mission to disable the Aegis of Invia.
- Walking Spoiler: He's an alien from CDC-41-Gamma... Oh... Yes, there are aliens in CDC-41-Gamma.
Empress Valendra the Sixth
Voiced by: Lelia Symington
Empress of the Civilisation native to CDC-41-Gamma
- The Empress: If her title is anything to go by, she's one.
- Puppet Empress: What she is ultimately supposed to be as far as the church is concerned, although Arvannis notes that she is a lot more curious and willful than her predecessors.
- Secret Relationship: Is in one with Lord Inquisitor Castian Vadric.
- Uncertain Doom: She is left alone inside the Mechanism at the heart of the Wheel pulsar, and based on her reactions it is not a pleasant experience.
- Walking Spoiler: As with pretty much all other CDC-41-Gamma Aliens.
Lord Cardinal Hastus Arvannis
Voiced by: Tim Parker
- Bald of Evil/Beard of Evil: No hair on his head, except for a full Sigmund Freud style beard.
- Dragon with an Agenda: While his title implies a religious role, he functions more like something akin to a Fleet Admiral, commanding the ships ostensibly in service to Empress Valendra. However, his orders given to the fleet regularly contradict the wishes of the Empress; he is determined to continue the mass ritual sacrifices practiced by the Advari, despite Valendra's newfound reservations, for some yet-unknown purpose.
- Evil Chancellor: Whatever his goals are, his loyalty to the throne is... limited.
- Manipulative Bastard: From the moment he is introduced, he comes off as sleazy and suspicious and no one trusts him. As the story continues, that impression is only strengthened, as he seemingly works to undermine Valendra and Castian from behind the scenes.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: When told by Valendra that even if the Avalon Expedition is destroyed to the last man, the Advari must accept that life does exist beyond the Sanctum, Arvannis' response is to call her a fool for not recognising that there is no distinction between God's word and the word of His church, implying that the truth is immaterial when he and the rest of the church say so.
High Cleric Darsellia Lantris
Voiced by: Marta Da Silva
- The Dragon: To Arvannis.
- Hannibal Lecture: Gives one to Castian when they meet up on the Aegis of Invia control station, taunting him over all the lives he's taken in the name of the faith he's now questioning.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Castian with a sword, in response to the taunting.
Cindra Tacira
Voiced by: Amy Kay
- Lady-In-Waiting: To Valendra.
Revion Jedrish Carradin
Voiced by: Aaron Jones
Factions
The Centran Assembly
- Decadent Court: While the war accelerated the famine ravaging Tantalus, it would've come eventually, due to the rapid, unchecked expansion by the Centrans, stretching the limited resources of Tantalus wafer thin. By the time anyone realised, it was already too late.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: With a strong naval tradition, a parliamentary government that was heavily influenced by a monarchical past, and a heavily urbanized core territory, one could equate the Centrans to the British Empire, especially since most Centran characters possess various British, Canadian, and American accents.
The Frontier Union
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Having recently fought a bloody and extensive war of independence against the Centrans, which ended in a decisive victory around a crucial naval port, and possessing a representative democracy where, in theory, all component states are equal, but some are more equal than others, it could be reasoned that the Frontier Union is akin to the early United States of America.
- La Résistance: They style themselves as revolutionaries against Centran oppression, whatever that means.
The Merician Freehold
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Being a former Centran colony that became self-sufficient enough to become a trading powerhouse in their own right, that developed its own culture in isolation, and possessing immense material wealth despite having a small population, the Mericians could be akin to Australia, further reinforced with all of the Merician characters having Australian accents.
- Team Switzerland: Staunchly opted to remain neutral in the war between the Centrans and Unioners.
The Advari
- Absolute Xenophobe: The teachings of The Faith tell them that life beyond Advar's Sanctum is a literal impossibility, so when the presence of humanity in their nebula proves just how wrong their religion is they...don't react very well.Revion Carradin: If these creatures are truly from beyond The Sanctum, then they are cursed, sent to lead us astray. Their writings must be purged and their remains destroyed.
- Advari Sacrifice: Their religion practices human — well, Advari — sacrifice in large numbers. It is implied that they do this as a form of population control, although everyone who isn't a high-ranking member of the church believes it is Advar's will.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Promo images of Lord Castian and Empress Valendra suggest that purple skin is a species-wide trait.
- Church Militant: It stands to reason that many if not most of the species are fanatically devoted to the state religion; the person with the title of "Lord Cardinal" even functions as a naval fleet commander.
- Human Aliens: Even accounting for the fact that denizens of the Tantalus Cluster are also this trope, the fact that CDC-41-Gamma is host to an unrelated group of humans is something they themselves find peculiar when examining the bodies of the Mariana crew. It is noted that, while externally there are only cosmetic differences betweens the humans of Tantalus and those of CDC-41-Gamma, internal biology is drastically different.
- The Advari are apparently not as resilient when it comes to enduring high-gravity manoeuvres as humans are, if Castian eventually passing out while aboard the Guinevere is any indication. Also, with the exception of alcohol, Advari cannot ingest human food or drink.
- Macross Missile Massacre: The Advari Lightships have on-board foundries which allow them to construct whatever they like — such as an infinite number of missiles at the battle in the Season One finale.
- Mirror Chemistry: Their ability to consume alcohol but not other things humans do implies this, as alcohol molecules are symmetrical.
- Schizo Tech: On the one hand, the Advari's technology is lightyears ahead of the Tantalus Cluster. On the other, it's implied that only a small fraction of the species (i.e.: the church and the Imperial Court) has it while the rest are forced to live in squalor. For example, the Aegis of Invia, an impenetrable barrier that protects the empire's Inner Worlds, is guarded by peasants with spears. Not high-tech weapons that only look like spears, actual spears.
- Furthermore is the implication that the Advari either inherited their technology from someone or something else, or they no longer have the means to produce new technology, when three Lightships represent the full might of their military forces (or, at least, a large portion of it).
- Vestigial Empire: Where the Holy Advari Empire once spanned the entire nebula, it now only consists of the innermost worlds within the Aegis of Invia and a small handful of 'giftworlds.' According to Arvannis, the rest of the Empire's worlds were 'given up,' and their populations were put to the sword.
- Voice of the Legion: All members of the species have voices that reverberate when they speak.
- Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: All Advari seen or described so far have piercing yellow eyes.Elizabeth: Remarkable! Look at the eyes... Like amber.
- Zerg Rush: In addition to manufacturing an infinite number of missiles, the foundries aboard their Lightships are also capable of producing large numbers of unmanned fighters to swarm the enemy.
Significant Background Characters
Characters who are historically or culturally relevant to the people of the Tantalus Cluster and Advar's Sanctum. Sadavar Edric
Founder of the Edric's Gate project and Liz's adoptive father and mentor.
Ariana Hawker
Decorated Centran Frigate Commander.
- Cool Starship: The CSV Vanquisher, all the more notable that her command was a frigate rather than a ship-of-the-line.
- Father to His Men: Was universally beloved and respected, especially since as a Comodore she lead her fleet from a frigate rather than establishing her flag on a more powerful ship-of-the-line. Her final act, leading her troops in a counter-attack during the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads, resulted in the Vanquisher's ship's mast being adjusted to hold her ceremonial sword in her honor.
- Posthumous Character: Was killed at the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads, which was fought some years before the first episode.
- War Hero: Was the war hero of the setting. Her counterattack that drove the Frontier Union forces from Dalais (which made her a personal hero of Lt. Ravi, who decided to join the CDF in the hopes of serving under her) is of particular note, as well as the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads.
Adam Meric
Founder of Meric's Keep and namesake of Mericians.
Darius Farren
Father of Cass, commanding officer of the Centran Defence Force and a total asshole.
- Abusive Parents: When Cass was a child, Darius had instructed her in military theory and strategy for eleven hours, every single day until she was old enough to join the war college, and frowned upon anything that would detract from her education such as Cass' self-taught lessons in playing the cello.
- The Mentor: Was one to Cass (albeit an unwilling and borderline abusive one) and also to Admiral Redfield, who became so single-minded on his career because of Darius' influence that he sacrificed his personal life for the sake of his career.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Well, let's just say that there is a reason why he and his daughter are estranged.
Holy Advar
Religious icon of the Advari.
