History Characters / TheLostFleet

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[[foldercontrol]]

!! The Alliance Fleet

[[folder:Captain/Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary]]
An officer of the Alliance Navy who makes a heroic LastStand when his convoy is ambushed by warships from the Syndicate Worlds. He goes into [[HumanPopsicle cryosleep]] after escaping his dying ship, and is recovered a century later only to find that the Alliance and the Syndics are [[ForeverWar still fighting the same war]], and he's a hero of legend.
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* TheAce: A brilliant tactical commander, bordering on supergenius. {{Subverted}} and {{Deconstructed}} with the fact he's not so much a genius as standards have degenerated so badly that he stands out by comparison.
** [[spoiler: His grandnephew Michael]] states in the comics that “He doesn’t fight in one right way. He fights in whatever way is right.”
* AmazonChaser: He's attracted to Victoria Rione and Tanya Desjani because they're both strong, tough, independent women who refuse to take guff from anybody.
* BerserkButton: Murdering [=POWs=] and civilians. Also, to a lesser extent, comparing him to Black Jack Geary's myth or being insubordinate.
* ByTheBookCop: A naval officer from a time when this was standard wakes up in a time when they're all expected to be CowboyCop MilitaryMaverick types.
* TheCaptain: He was "posthumously" promoted to the rank after the battle at Grendel, and uses a loophole regarding seniority to assert his authority over the other captains in the fleet.
* CluelessChickMagnet: Rione literally has to tell him that she's trying to seduce him before he gets the hint, and it takes him quite a while to realize that Desjani is interested as well.
* TheCreon: Countless people would love to see Captain (later Admiral) Geary force the Alliance government to make him a benevolent dictator. Unfortunately for them, Geary is appalled at the idea of having that kind of unquestioned power and won't even accept a permanent promotion to fleet admiral, insisting that he revert to the rank of captain as soon as the war ends, though he does have other reasons for that decision.
* ExplainExplainOhCrap: He gets an internal version when he realizes exactly how he feels about Tanya Desjani.
* {{Expy}}: Of both King Arthur and Steve Rogers.
* FamedInStory: To an almost ridiculous degree, much to his chagrin.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: A running theme throughout the entire series is Geary coming to terms with the many ways in which the fleet and civilian society have altered since he went into cryosleep.
* {{Flanderization}}: Has been subject to this over the past century, with his myth elevated to an AxCrazy LeeroyJenkins who is, somehow, still an InvincibleHero.
* FourStarBadass: He's promoted to admiral twice over the course of the series. First, he receives a temporary promotion to fleet admiral for the duration of the sixth book, and then a permanent promotion to admiral after the end of the war and his marriage to Desjani.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Desjani, Duellos, Cresida, Tulev, and Badaya. Geary is the Melancholic.
* HeroicBSOD: He's in the middle of one at the beginning of the series, having just been awoken from cryosleep only to be told that he's been out for a century and the [[ForeverWar war is still raging]]. He sinks into another one after the disastrous First Battle of Lakota, when the fleet gets pinned between superior forces and is badly mauled.
* HumbleHero: Which is all but inevitable when you don't accept being TheMessiah.
* InappropriatelyCloseComrades: This comes up a few times. The first time is when Geary notes that Rione is the only woman in the fleet to whom this doesn't apply, and is therefore the only one he can have any kind of relationship with. Then he has to struggle with his feelings for Desjani, which gets so bad that he considers transferring off ''Dauntless'' to ease the strain on them both.
* InvincibleHero: What most people believe him to be. He's far from it, but still very good at what he does.
* LanternJawOfJustice: His appearance in the ''Corsair'' comic gives him a pretty impressive jawline.
* LivingRelic: Geary is the only human alive who remembers a galaxy where the Alliance and the Syndics weren't at war.
* LogicalLatecomer: Geary is a logical latecomer as a result of being a HumanPopsicle. He is trapped in cryo-sleep during the first battle of the Alliance-Syndic war and isn't found and woken up until a century later. Because he's the only member of the Alliance military who remembers how things worked before the war, Geary can see the flaws in the way things are run now when everyone else believes their own propaganda about how those methods are the best ones or that things have always been like that. For instance, every commander is a LeeroyJenkins in battle rather than fighting as a fleet. The Alliance indiscriminately kills civilians and prisoners, believing it's justice for the people the Syndics have killed and will demoralize the enemy (even though it hasn't in decades). The worst ship commanders are assigned to the ships that are the least likely to be destroyed due to notions about honor, while talented commanders are put into the ships most likely to be destroyed. Geary works to change that way of thinking, and it doesn't take long for most of the other characters to begin realizing that his alternate methods are working.
* MilitaryMaverick: A bizarre example. The REST of the fleet doesn't have much in the way of discipline, ethics, or devotion to rules--so he's this by dint of the fact that he is a ByTheBookCop.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: Geary himself notes that by the standards of his time, he is only an average tactician and ship driver, and that he knew ''many'' officers who could have run rings around him. The reason he is nearly unstoppable now is because both the Alliance and Syndic fleets have been reduced to simplistic, brute-force tactics by a century of attrition.
* OfficerAndAGentleman: One of the few left in the fleet, at least until he starts teaching the other captains to abide by the laws of war again.
* OnlySaneMan: A large part of his ability to command the fleet effectively boils down to the fact he's one of the few officers who isn't interested in a suicidal attack on the enemy.
* TheParagon: A morally virtuous man and brilliant strategist held up as an example to others. Again, much to his chagrin.
* RankUp: He's promoted to fleet admiral in ''Victorious'', though he doesn't want the rank for several reasons and is able to convince the government to make it a temporary promotion. After he's successfully ended the war and gotten married to Desjani, he accepts a promotion to admiral and remains at that rank throughout the next series.
* RealMenLoveJesus: Is faithful to his ancestors, albeit not as much as some.
* RipVanWinkle: Wakes up a hundred years after he went into his stasis pod.
* ShellShockedVeteran: The destruction of ''Merlon'' weighs quite heavily on him, and he suffers from nightmares throughout the first and second series.
* TheStrategist: His biggest advantage is that he employs ''any tactics at all' against the Syndics.
* {{UST}}: He has quite a bit of it with Desjani, starting somewhere toward the end of ''Valiant''. It's finally resolved when they get married between ''Victorious'' and ''Dreadnaught''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Tanya Desjani]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Dauntless'', Desjani serves as Geary's flag captain. Over the course of the series, she becomes one of his closest advisors, friends, and eventually his wife.
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* BloodKnight: Geary often wonders what Desjani will do for fun if she can't go around blowing up Syndic targets anymore.
* BoyishShortHair: Her brief appearance in the ''Corsair'' comic shows that she wears her hair in a pixie cut.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Geary, Duellos, Cresida, Badaya, and Tulev. She and Tulev are the Phlegmatics, though when it comes to combat she starts displaying Choleric tendencies.
* GreenEyedMonster: Develops this attitude to Rione when she takes up with Geary. It takes him a while to realize why, though.
* [[MrExposition Ms Exposition]]: Serves as this to Geary, calling him out on his mistakes as well as educating him on common elements of culture he doesn't know about due to his long period in cryosleep.
* NumberTwo: She's Geary's flag captain, and serves as second in command of the fleet on a few occasions.
* RealMenLoveJesus: She is a devout woman who believes that Geary was sent by the living stars.
* WomanScorned: A minor example as she utterly loathes her ex-lover for cheating on her and won't even have his name spoken in her presence afterward.
* {{UST}}: She and Geary start developing a lot of tension toward the end of ''Valiant'', and it isn't resolved until they get married between ''Victorious'' and ''Dreadnaught''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Victoria Rione]]
The Co-President of the Callas Republic, a minor power that aligned itself with the Alliance. Her husband was captured by the Syndics earlier in the war and is believed K.I.A.
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* AccidentalAdultery: Discovers her husband was taken prisoner and was possibly still alive ''after'' she started a romance with Geary.
* BelligerentSexualTension: It takes awhile for Geary to realize that this is what's going on between them.
* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: Pretty much every time she calls out Geary for one of his stratagems, she is left eating crow at the end. Eventually she gets wise to this and tells him that he should probably just go ahead and ignore her.
* DeadpanSnarker: Like Duellos, she gets some good one-liners. "Numos is so dense I'm surprised he doesn't have his own event horizon."
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted. [[spoiler: After her death at Unity Alternate, Geary often finds himself missing her counsel, and even Desjani honors her memory by adding her to the plaque that bears the names of all her dead friends]].
* GreenEyedMonster: Though she repeatedly denies it, she's implied to be jealous of Desjani after she realizes that Geary is in love with her.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: At the end of ''Leviathan'', she deliberately collapses the hypernet gate at Unity Alternate in order to wipe out the rogue AI fleet. She is unable to escape the shockwave and dies alongside her husband.]]
* HonestAdvisor: To Geary, who values the opinion of someone who doesn't venerate him, and can describe things through a civilian lens. Rione appreciates this, never disguising the concern she feels about Geary's potential to be a dictator, or how bad things are back in the Alliance.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Assumes Geary is a AxCrazy GloryHound or a wannabe dictator. It takes a long time for her to realize he really is as good and honorable as he seems. On the other hand, she's quite good at reading other people, so this is probably a case of her perceptions being colored by the legends that have grown up around Black Jack.
* SourSupporter: She occasionally has this attitude toward Geary.
* TricksterMentor: After she realizes Geary really isn't planning to take over the Alliance, she starts teaching him how to handle the political games he will inevitably face once he gets the fleet home. She does this by being oblique, demanding, and contrary, forcing him to read between the lines to understand what she's really saying.
* {{Tsundere}}: During the early books of the series, she acts like this around Geary, which seems to confuse her as much as it does him. She's very heavy on the "tsun-tsun", and only rarely shows off her "dere-dere" side.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Her fears about a legendary war hero lost to time for a century giving into megalomania and trying to seize control of the Alliance government through military force are pretty sensible. Or at least they would be, if John Geary didn't ''despise'' his 'Black Jack' mystique and have a sense of professional ethics that makes such a course of action totally anathema to him. Ironically, Captain Falco pretty much ''is'' everything Rione is afraid of and Geary is the one to overrule him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Roberto Duellos]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Courageous'' [[spoiler: (and later of ''Inspire'')]], Duellos is one of Geary’s first supporters in the fleet. He becomes one of Geary's closest friends and most trusted advisors.
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* TheConfidant: Aside from Desjani, Duellos is one of the people Geary is most likely to use as a sounding board about anything military related, especially when he's trying to understand the changes that a century of total war has wrought on the Alliance fleet.
* DashingHispanic: Like nearly all the characters in the story, his physical description is left to the reader’s imagination. That said, his homeworld is named Catalan and he was trained at a base called Fort Cinque, which would argue for Spanish/Catalonian heritage in his distant past.
* DeadpanSnarker: He gets some good one-liners throughout the series, especially when he's verbally sparring with Numos and Casia.
* ADayInTheLimelight: He gets this when Geary is required to transfer to ''Inspire'' to go handle a refugee crisis at the border in ''Steadfast''. Duellos becomes his NumberTwo for the duration.
* DisappearedDad: His father and uncle died in the war.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Geary, Desjani, Cresida, Tulev, and Badaya. He's the Sanguine.
* TheGadfly: Duellos seems to enjoy needling other commanding officers he doesn’t like, especially Numos. Geary has to rein him in once or twice to keep fleet conferences from deteriorating into slanging matches.
* TheLancer: He emerges as this among Geary's most trusted circle of captains.
* LovedINotHonorMore: Duellos is married with kids, and loves his family very much. He also loves being in the Alliance fleet, so he stays on after the end of the war despite the strain it puts on his marriage. Sadly, his wife ends up separating from him by the time of the ''Outlands'' series.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Despite his intelligence and loyalty to Geary, he’s still a battle cruiser captain at heart, meaning that he is still sometimes aggressive to the point of stupidity. He’s also not above publicly needling commanding officers he doesn’t like.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander/Captain Jaylen Cresida]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Furious'', Cresida is one of the first captains to back Geary and becomes one of his most valued advisors, as well as his ''de facto'' scientific expert.
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* CrusadingWidow: Cresida’s husband was killed in action before the series began.
* FieldPromotion: Cresida starts the series as a commander, but Geary promotes her to captain at the end of the second book, in recognition of her tactical and scientific skills.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted. Geary, Desjani, and Duellos all find themselves missing Cresida after her death at Varandal. Desjani even tells Geary that if they have a daughter, they're going to name her after Cresida.
* GeniusBruiser: She's a talented scientist and skilled tactician.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Geary, Desjani, Duellos, Tulev, and Badaya. She and Badaya are the Choleric.
* HiddenDepths: Cresida at first appears to be nothing more than a competent, if hotheaded, battle cruiser captain. As the series goes on, she is revealed to be a remarkably good scientist and the fleet’s best expert on the hypernet.
* HotBlooded: Cresida is aggressive, fierce, and intense, and throws herself into any task she's given with maximum effort.
* TheMcCoy: Of all Geary’s advisors, she is the most passionate and emotional, often arguing for the most aggressive course of action possible.
* LeeroyJenkins: Cresida is a classic Leeroy at first, like all battle cruiser captains in the fleet. That said, she takes to Geary’s tactical training like a duck to water.
* MissingMom: Her mother died in the war when she was twelve.
* NotAfraidToDie: Due to believing that her husband will be waiting for her.
* SacrificialLion: Cresida is killed in the battle at Varandal when ''Furious'' becomes the focal point for a barrage from the entire Syndic reserve flotilla.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Kostya Tulev]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Leviathan'', Tulev is another early supporter of Geary, and becomes one of his closest confidants, alongside Duellos, Cresida, and Desjani.
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* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Geary, Duellos, Cresida, Desjani, and Badaya. He and Desjani are the Phlegmatics.
* LeeroyJenkins: Notably averted. Tulev is one of the few battle cruiser captains who doesn't go charging valiantly and brainlessly into battle at every opportunity.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: He dies fighting at the Battle of Unity Alternate in an effort to stop the dark ship drone fleet from annihilating Alliance space.]]
* ShellShockedVeteran: Even after the war is over, Tulev admits that the war has not ended inside his head.
* TheSpock: He is the most calm and levelheaded of Geary’s advisors. Geary often uses him in situations when clarity and steadiness are required.
* TheStoic: Tulev displays strong emotion only twice: once when the war is officially over, and again when a cousin he had believed dead is recovered from a POW camp.
* StoutStrength: While we never see him in ''physical'' combat, he's described as "stout" in his first appearance, and it one of the fleet's best captains in a fight.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Tulev’s homeworld was bombarded into ash by the Syndics during a particularly brutal phase of the war. Almost his entire family was wiped out.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Badaya]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Illustrious'', Badaya emerges as leader of a faction who wishes to crown Geary as dictator of the Alliance. Thereafter, Geary must walk a fine line between keeping Badaya's faction happy and not encouraging their ambitions.
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* {{Foil}}: Serves as one to Falco, Numos, Admiral Bloch, Captain Kila and various other mutinous or conspiratorial figures within the fleet. They tend to be set in their opinions, acting impulsively and forcefully (yet in the shadows to avoid punishment), and display little to no regard to the lives of their fellows or subordinates. Badaya is more careful and thoughtful (taking time to observe Geary before deciding that he would be an ideal leader and later considering Geary's arguments about why a dictatorship wouldn't solve problems), is upfront with Geary about his plan, is more reactive (stating that he won't force a coup, although he hopes/expects for Geary to join one) while intending to let the paranoid Alliance senate make the first move against Geary (something that comes very close to happening once they do get home, but is averted) and does show genuine concern about the lives of Alliance sailors and anger towards those who would murder them to further their plans.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: With Geary, Desjani, Duellos, Cresida, and Tulev. He and Cresida are the Cholerics.
* IconicSequelCharacter: While he is one of the more developed and prominent captains in the fleet, he doesn't properly appear (every captain in the series is technically present in the background at fleet conferences from the beginning of the series) until the third book.
* LastNameBasis: Badaya’s first name has yet to be revealed.
* LeeroyJenkins: Like most of the battle cruiser captains, Badaya can be aggressive to the point of stupidity. He gets over it eventually, though not before he leads a charge on Ambaru Station when he thinks that Geary is about to be arrested and spirited away by the Alliance government.
* PoisonousFriend: He's one of these to Geary at first. He supports Geary, but only because he wants to make him a dictator. Geary is horrified by the idea and refuses to do it, but this doesn't deter Badaya in the slightest. Geary therefore has to worry about a ''coup d'etat'' being declared in his name, on top of all of the other problems on his plate.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Defied and played straight. Badaya is made acting commander of the fleet while Geary is away visiting Earth. After concluding that this has been done under the expectation he will act rashly and get the fleet into trouble, Badaya decides to do nothing - clearly refusing to be the Spanner to Geary while also being the Spanner to whoever put him in charge. He of course takes great pleasure in having defied ''everyone's'' expectations.
* UndyingLoyalty: When the fleet successfully returns home from the frontier in ''Guardian'', Desjani notes that Badaya is going to be one of Geary's closest allies from now on regardless of what Geary chooses to do.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: His plan to overthrow the government has no malice or personal ambition behind it. He is driven by desperation at the amount of corruption in the government and the meaningless sacrifices the fleet has been forced to endure. Unlike most examples of the trope, he actually grows out of it once Geary explains to him that things wouldn't necessarily improve if he took over, due to how corruption tends to flourish in dictatorships, even well-intended ones.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Armus]]
Captain of the battleship ''Colossus'' and one of the most senior officers in the fleet, Armus emerges as the spokesman for the battleship captains, and eventually joins Geary's inner circle.
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* JerkassRealization: He is often reluctant to accept Geary's strategies at first, but after the conspiracy against Geary is fully uncovered, he is ashamed that his mindset might have encouraged the plotters. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Being who he is]], Geary doesn't hold it against Armus.
* MightyGlacier: Like the ship he commands, Armus does not move or react as quickly as many of the other captains in the fleet, and everyone knows it. Though most of them disregard him for this reason, Geary knows he can be a tremendous asset when employed properly. It pays off magnificently at the Second Battle of Midway, when Armus is faced with an enigma fleet that intends to try [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming his ships]]. He slows his formation of battleships down to make their sensors more accurate, forms them into a StoneWall, and uses all their tremendous firepower to [[MacrossMissileMassacre unleash annihilation on the enigmas]].
--> '''Geary:''' I am aware that Captain Armus is not distinguished by flexibility or quickness. But he is steady.
* OldSoldier: Geary and Desjani note that he might be the senior warship commander in the fleet at the beginning of the ''Beyond the Frontier'' series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Jane Geary]]
Geary's grand-niece and captain of the battleship ''Dreadnaught''. Jane joins the fleet after the Battle of Varandal, and must learn how to live in a universe where her heroic grand-uncle is BackFromTheDead.
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* HiddenDepths: She says that she'd have liked to be an architect, had she not been railroaded into the fleet by her family's legacy.
* LeeroyJenkins: Not at first, but as she becomes obsessed with proving herself to be a "real Geary", she starts to spin out of control, becoming increasingly aggressive and insubordinate.
* NotAfraidToDie: Averted. She admits to Geary that she was terrified when she led an apparently suicidal charge against the Kicks at the Battle of Honor, and that she is obviously a coward because of this. Geary, naturally, explains to her that courage is ''not'' [[FearlessFool the absence of fear]], and tells her that he too was scared during his LastStand at Grendel a century ago.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Jane is a skilled ship commander and tactician, but she still lives in the shadow of Black Jack Geary. This becomes a problem in ''Beyond the Frontier'', when she decides to try and live up to the legend of Black Jack.
* TheResenter: As she tells Geary, she has spent her entire life hating him and his heroic reputation, since it is now expected that every able-bodied member of his family will join the fleet and serve honorably.
* TheUnfavorite: Between herself and her brother Michael, she appears to be this trope. Michael received command of a battle cruiser, to which all Alliance officers aspire, while she was given a battleship due to being "insufficiently aggressive" by modern standards. She has also been the recipient of suggestions that she lacks the spirit of Black Jack Geary, despite being one of his descendants.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Shen]]
The new commander of the battleship ''Orion'' at the beginning of the sequel series ''Beyond the Frontier''.
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* HeroicSacrifice: In ''Guardian'', he steers ''Orion'' into the path of several Syndic suicide attackers aimed at the fleet's auxiliaries, saving them at the cost of ''Orion'' being destroyed with all hands.
* HiddenDepths: Despite his unprepossessing exterior, Shen proves to be an excellent captain who manages to motivate and inspire his crew in a way Geary hadn't believed possible.
* ICanStillFight: After ''Orion'' has taken a series of batterings at Pandora and Honor, Geary asks Shen whether he thinks the ship is combat-capable. Shen says yes, though he concedes that the damage is severe enough that ''Orion'' isn't able to fight on the frontline.
* MauveShirt: Shen gets several appearances before his HeroicSacrifice.
* TheNeidermeyer: Averted. Geary is afraid that Shen will be one of these, but he turns out to be more of a DrillSergeantNasty.
* PerpetualFrowner: He smiles ''once'' over the course of the entire sequel series; said smile is described as being like watch an earthquake crack rock.
* PetTheDog: He unreservedly praises ''Orion''[='=]s crew for their efforts to restore the ship to battle-readiness, stating that he couldn't have asked for a better or harder-working crew.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He turns out to be the kind of captain who will lecture his crew when necessary, but also praise them when he knows they've done a good job.
* RememberTheNewGuy: He's an old friend of Desjani, but was never mentioned in the original series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Colonel/Major General Carabali]]
Commanding officer of the fleet's Marine contingent, who winds up in charge after her superior officer is murdered by the Syndics in ''Dauntless''.
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* TheChainsOfCommanding: She has been at war a long time, and is tired of sending men and women to die. She is also clearly not happy that her rank and responsibilities require her to stay out of the fighting, rather than getting deployed alongside her Marines.
* ColonelBadass: She's an excellent tactician and strategist, though she usually remains out of the action so that she can focus on the overall tactical picture.
* FourStarBadass: She is promoted to major general after the fleet's return to Alliance space.
* MedalOfDishonor: As a junior lieutenant, she was once awarded a medal for keeping her platoon alive under trying circumstances. She did this by allowing her platoon sergeant to execute a bunch of unarmed Syndic prisoners so that they could use the power cells from their armor to recharge her platoon's suits. She doesn't wear the medal or its ribbon.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Though she is a consummate professional and an excellent officer, she's not above occasionally cracking jokes about the Navy.
* RankUp: She is promoted to major general after the fleet returns to Alliance space.
* TragicKeepsake: Her colonel's insignia, which belonged to her father and grandmother. Both of them were killed in action before they could pass them on.
* UndyingLoyalty: To the Alliance. Even after the rest of the fleet is fully prepared to overthrow the Alliance government in Geary's name, Carabali flatly states that she will do everything in her power to keep her Marines from joining a coup attempt.
* YouAreInCommandNow: After her superior officer is murdered by the Syndics, Carabali winds up in command of the remaining Marines in the fleet. Fortunately, she rises to the occasion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Admiral Bloch]]
The original commander of the Alliance fleet, who turns over command to Geary while he goes to negotiate with the Syndics.
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* AmbitionIsEvil: Bloch fully intended to declare himself dictator of the Alliance upon successfully defeating the Syndics in their home system.
* BadBoss: Desjani and Duellos both make it clear that they don't think highly of him as a commanding officer, and Geary is relieved that he never actually had to serve under Bloch.
* DirtyOldMan: Towards Desjani, apparently. Geary is furious when she tells him this.
* EveryoneHasStandards: When Bloch tells Geary [[spoiler: about the dark fleet's Armageddon Option (that is, blowing as much of the Alliance hypernet as possible under the assumption that the Syndics have won), he adds that he argued against including that protocol in their databases.]]
* MilesGloriosus: Often described as confident that he was a brilliant commander, even as he did things like blunder into the (admittedly fairly complex and well-prepared) Syndicate trap at the beginning of the series, and when the dark ships go rogue, he has his staff try abandoning them to see what happens (they get blown up) before risking it himself.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Zigzagged. He gave Geary command of the fleet in his absence, which ended up winning the war for the Alliance (something that both the readers, and Bloch himself wanted) but also torpedoing Bloch's plans to be a dictator by winning the war himself (not that he was in a good position to do that anyway).
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: He is apparently executed by the Syndics in the very first book of the series, but it is eventually revealed that they kept him alive to interrogate.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Only physically appears in two or three scenes throughout the entire series. It was his mission into Syndicate space which found Geary a short time before the life support on his escape pod would have failed, and Bloch then gave Geary command of the fleet when he went to negotiate with CEO Shalin. His plans for a dictatorship were also part of the reason Rione went with the fleet, and spends so long suspicious of Geary.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: InUniverse, after he is returned to the Alliance in a prisoner exchange, he promptly disappears from the story again, [[spoiler: only to return as nominal commander of the dark ship fleet in ''Leviathan''.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Francesco Falco]]
A famed captain of the Alliance Navy, believed dead for twenty years. Falco is recovered from a POW camp early in the series and immediately becomes a thorn in Geary's side.
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* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Falco has thoroughly convinced himself that he is the only man who can command the Alliance fleet and save the Alliance itself from destruction.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Falco initially presents himself as a friend and ally to Geary. Once he realizes that Geary has no intention of letting him make any decisions or command anything, he moves almost immediately to plotting against him.
* TheCharmer: Even the people who don’t like him are charmed by him. Desjani notes that if anyone ''but'' Black Jack Geary had been in command of the fleet, Falco would very likely have taken over in short order.
* EpicFail: Falco leads thirty-nine ships away from the fleet on a mad dash toward Alliance space, trusting in "moral superiority" to see them through. They immediately run into a series of minefields and ambushes, exactly as Geary had predicted would happen, and are torn to shreds. It goes so badly wrong that Falco snaps and loses his mind.
* DrivenToMadness: Falco loses his grip on reality when his faction of mutineers runs into a series of Syndic ambushes and is nearly wiped out. Even Geary feels sorry for him upon realizing exactly how badly his mind has gone.
* GeneralFailure: Geary notes that, in spite of his reputation as a "fighting sailor", Falco is actually a pretty terrible tactician. His victories all came at staggering costs, while he'd lost more than one battle due to basic errors. Duellos lampshades this at a fleet conference.
--> '''Duellos''': I served under Captain Falco at Batana. My first battle, and nearly my last. My commanding officer commented afterward that as our losses equaled those of the Syndics, it would have been simpler if Captain Falco had only ordered each of his ships to ram one of the enemy ships, thereby achieving the same result with much less difficulty.
* GeneralRipper: Falco believes that peace can only be achieved by massacring every single Syndic in the galaxy, military and civilian. Geary is naturally appalled by his sheer disregard for human life.
* HeroicSacrifice: Arguably. When ''Warrior'' is being shot to pieces around him, Falco refuses to be evacuated (giving another sailor his seat on an escape pod) and dies when her power core overloads. Geary and Rione wonder whether he actually understood what was happening, given his mental state, but conclude that they may as well assume the best of him, since he’s dead and all.
* IRejectYourReality: Falco actively retreats into delusion after the failure of his mutiny. He believes himself to still be in command of the fleet, even rationalizing the presence of armed sentries outside his stateroom as an "honor guard".
* KnightTemplar: Geary and Duellos both recognize that this is what makes Falco so charismatic and dangerous; he is utterly convinced of his own rightness.
* {{Narcissist}}: Falco believes himself to be the greatest ship captain since Black Jack Geary and the only man who can save the Alliance. He also dislikes being interrupted and doesn't do well with people who won't kiss up to him and stroke his ego. Geary outright notes that Falco is jealous of the attention and deference Geary receives.
* NeverMyFault: When Geary asks Falco if he's ever made a mistake, Falco defiantly retorts that he has never made a serious error and neatly dumps all the blame for his failures onto his subordinates.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: His mutiny quickly proved the soundness of Geary's strategies, and the foolhardiness of Falco's, while causing at least a few captains involved in the conspiracy against Geary to be pointlessly killed, arrested for mutiny, or undergo a HeelRealization, causing those [[RightHandVersusLeftHand who hadn't accompanied him on his mad run towards Alliance space]] to lose valuable support and forcing them to step out of the shadows, given that Numos and Faresa weren't available as figureheads anymore after being arrested.
* PetTheDog: Lieutenant Riva tells Geary and Desjani that Falco devoted a lot of effort to keeping up everyone's morale up even as they spent years in a Syndic labor camp, and it's outright stated that many of them would have been broken if it weren't for him. Geary reflects that seeing Falco as just another scumbag like Numos or Faresa isn't going to be as simple as he himself would prefer.
* TheRedBaron: He’s known as Fighting Falco. Geary isn't impressed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Numos]]
Captain of the battleship ''Orion'', Numos proves to be a self-centered and conniving man, who becomes a major problem for Geary.
----

* DirtyCoward: During Geary's first fleet conference, Numos suggests that every still-functioning ship should just run for it and leave the many heavily damaged ships to the nonexistent mercies of the Syndics. Later on, after Falco's mutineers run into a Syndic ambush, Numos doesn't hesitate to flee with ''Orion'' while the battle cruiser ''Triumph'' stays behind to hold the enemy off, even though a battleship is better suited to that kind of rearguard action. Much later on, when it becomes clear that he's facing a firing squad for his actions, Numos turns state's evidence to worm his way out of being executed.
* InsufferableImbecile: Numos is an obnoxious idiot. Rione lampshades it at one point.
--> '''Rione''': The longstanding thorn in your side Captain Numos is stupid. In fact, Numos is so dense I'm surprised he doesn't have his own event horizon.
* {{Jerkass}}: Numos is nothing but a gigantic prick from the moment he first opens his mouth. It gets to the point where Geary nearly orders him shot in a fit of anger after he refuses to accept responsibility for mutinying and leaving the fleet.
* JerkassHasAPoint: He criticizes Geary's taking command by pointing out that he only outranks them due to date of rank and his promotion to captain (when he was assumed dead) was supposed to be a posthumous one, and that Geary has far less combat experience and context about how the war is being fought than almost anyone else in the fleet. These points have some grounding, and Geary himself is somewhat concerned about them (although given the nature of the fleet they ultimately run out to be assets rather than liabilities).
* MilesGloriosus: Numos makes a lot of noise about honor and courage, but he's the first one to advocate an every-ship-for-itself approach to escaping the Syndic fleet, and he also flees to safety while allowing other ships to cover his retreat in the wake of Falco's defeat at Vidha.
* TheMutiny: Numos is one of the ringleaders of the mutiny which occurs in ''Fearless''. Naturally, when he rejoins the fleet, he immediately throws Falco under the bus and insists that he was JustFollowingOrders.
* TheNeidermeyer: Given that Numos is a belligerent prick to his fleet commander and other officers of equal rank, it's not hard to imagine that he's even worse to the people who serve under him.
* NeverMyFault: Numos disobeys Geary's orders at the Battle of Kaliban, with the result that his subformation of the fleet barely participates in the annihilation of the Syndic flotilla. Numos, of course, blames Geary for his own screwup. He later refuses to accept responsibility for his part in the mutiny, instead shifting the blame to Falco, who has lost his mind, and several other senior captains, all of whom are now dead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Casia]]
Captain of the battleship ''Conqueror'', Casia emerges as the newest pain in Geary's neck after Numos, Falco, and Faresa are relieved of command and arrested.
----
* CommanderContrarian: He argues with literally every decision Geary makes.
* DirtyCoward: Casia avoids action at Second Lakota, which causes ''Warrior'' and several lighter combatants to be destroyed and nearly costs the fleet one of its precious auxiliaries. Geary outright accuses him of cowardice in a fleet conference after the battle.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: When it becomes clear that his only options are death or living in disgrace with the accusation of cowardice hanging over his head, Casia finally accepts responsibility for his actions and demands to be honorably executed via firing squad. Geary is frustrated that he is only now choosing to display admirable behavior.
--> '''Casia:''' You call me coward. I see agreement in many of my fellow officers' eyes. I'll prove you all wrong when I face the firing squad.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler: Kila]] blows up the shuttle taking Casia to the firing squad, apparently to prevent him making a final statement that might implicate them.
* {{Jerkass}}: Like Numos and Faresa before him, Casia is a belligerent, incompetent prick whose main function in the story is to aggravate Geary.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Despite having been KilledOffForReal in ''Valiant'', Casia reappears in Beyond the Frontier, alive and well and still in command of ''Conqueror''. No InUniverse explanation has yet been given for this, meaning that it is most likely a SeriesContinuityError.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Sandra Kila]]

Captain of the battlecruiser ''Inspire'', Kila is an ambitious, aggressive, and ruthless officer. This proves to be a bad thing.
----
* AmbitionIsEvil: Kila's ambition certainly is, since it led her to [[spoiler: attempt to kill everyone on ''Dauntless'', ''Furious'', and ''Illustrious'', successfully destroy ''Lorica'', and generally wreak havoc behind the scenes, all in the name of trying to take command from Geary.]]
* BadBoss: Upon being found out as [[spoiler: the ringleader of the conspiracy against Geary, the first thing she tries to do is murder her executive officer, comms officer, and systems-security officer and pin the blame on them.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She initially seems to be just another battle cruiser captain, but she quickly becomes hostile and confrontational toward Geary. Rione suggests that this is her true personality asserting itself now that she knows she won't be able to use her [[SleepingTheirWayToTheTop normal tactics]] to get on Geary's good side.
* DrivenToSuicide: She opts to blow herself up [[spoiler: rather than be executed for her crimes.]]
* GeneralRipper: Kila openly advocates for using the Syndic hypernet gates as weapons of mass destruction to end the war and doesn't seem to care when other officers point out that they'd be annihilating star systems and butchering millions of civilians in the process.
* TheManBehindTheMan: As it turns out, Kila [[spoiler: has been behind the conspiracy against Geary from the beginning, having used Numos, Falco, Faresa, and Casia as her catspaws. She was also planning to use Caligo as a figurehead after eliminating Geary.]]
* TheNeidermeyer: Desjani notes that Kila is the kind of officer who is a horror to serve under.
--> '''Desjani:''' They say Kila's bitch-switch is locked into the "on" position and has a power-boost setting that activates at the slightest provocation.
* PsychoExGirlfriend: Had a fling with Duellos when they were junior officers together and is hostile towards him in the present.
* SleepingTheirWayToTheTop: Rione says that there are some indications that Kila has done this in the past to advance her career, and asks Geary if she's ever tried seducing him.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: When she is fully exposed as the leader of the conspiracy against Geary, she doesn't hesitate to take her fellow conspirator Captain Caligo down with her by sending Geary the emails and other messages that prove Caligo was in cahoots with her.]]
* TeamKiller: Where to begin? [[spoiler: First, she arranges for an "accident" on the shuttle carrying Casia and Yin to ''Illustrious'' to keep them from potentially exposing her. Then she tries to trap ''Dauntless'', ''Furious'', and ''Illustrious'' in [[FateWorseThanDeath jump space]] by sabotaging their FTL drives. ''Then'' she successfully destroys ''Lorica'' in retaliation for Commander Gaes tipping Geary off about the sabotage. Finally, she tries to murder three senior officers, including her XO, on her own ship when she's found out.]] If there was a trophy for team killing, Kila would be a shoo-in.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Iger]]
The chief of the intelligence section on board ''Dauntless''.
* BearerOfBadNews: While by no means all of his news is bad, he sometimes has to deliver this to Geary, such as the discovery of the Syndicate reserve flotilla.
* TheComicallySerious: On occasion he sounds a bit silly while describing something outrageous or alarming and trying to keep a straight face.
* GentlemenRankers: While his exact social status is unclear, he came from a star system with plenty of safe, draft-exempt jobs, but chose to serve in the fleet anyway.
--> '''Iger:''' People like to joke that's why I wound up in intelligence, because I demonstrated I didn't have much.
* HiddenDepths: As it turns out, the studious, reserved Iger writes haiku. It's speculated that his newfound interest in Lieutenant Jamenson may have had something to do with this.
* TheyDo: He and Lieutenant Jamenson hastily get married when it seems that the fleet is facing certain annihilation at Unity Alternate.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Lommand]]
Commanding officer of the ''Titan'', one of the fleet's auxiliaries.
* TheEngineer: And a very good one, to boot, coming up with a lot of the best ideas about manufacturing supplies, increasing maneuverability and the like.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To Commander Tyrosian, who is an able but unimaginative division commander.
* MyGreatestFailure: Regrets how slow his ship was during the retreat from Syndicate space was, and how Michael Geary was lost covering for him. He also offers his resignation after Honor, since ''Titan'' nearly got a sub subformation of the fleet destroyed by losing a propulsion unit he thought he'd fixed.
* TheSmartGuy: Of the auxiliaries division. Before Smythe takes over, he's the one likely to figure out how to solve any major problem.
* YoungAndInCharge: One of the youngest commanders in the fleet, but the commander of a very important auxiliary.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Michael Geary]]
Commander of the ''Repulse''. Geary's grandnephew, and Jane's brother, who is presumed dead after serving as a rearguard for the fleet during its retreat from Prime. [[spoiler: He is eventually revealed to be a Syndicate prisoner]].
* AscendedExtra: Only appeared in person for two chapters in the first book before [[spoiler: becoming the main character of the comic ''The Lost Fleet: Corsair'']].
* DisappearedDad: Michael has three children, the eldest of whom is around draft age, but was on a tour of duty when their mother died, and her family adopted them.
* TheResenter: Towards the legacy of Black Jack initially, although he ends up getting over it, and actually imitating his grand uncle's famed rearguard action when necessity requires.
* UncertainDoom: Geary assumes Michael is dead, but both he and Jane agree that they can't sense Michael's spirit among their ancestors. [[spoiler: As it turns out, he's very much alive and well]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Smythe]]
Captain of ''Tanuki'' and the new head of the auxiliaries division after the fleet's return to Alliance space.
----
* DissonantSerenity: Generally very cheery and casual about his job, although that doesn't make him any less good at it.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His name is spelled Smyth in the first book he appears.
* FriendInTheBlackMarket: Smythe is an expert at gaming the system for his own benefit and that of the fleet. He uses back channels to acquire funding and materiel for the fleet, while occasionally diverting luxury goods to ''Tanuki'' for the benefit of himself and his crew.
* LovableRogue: A bit shady, but loyal and charming.
* TheScrounger: An effective, fleetwide one who works the system to get hands on necessary repair funds for the fleet.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Elysia Jamenson]]
One of Smythe's subordinates on ''Tanuki''.
----
* BadassBureaucrat: She is incredibly skilled at disguising important information in mountains of paperwork, or finding information that someone else tried to bury that way.
* ChekhovsSkill: Her uncanny talent for finding patterns and deciphering bureaucratic paperwork helps uncover the existence of the dark ships, a Syndicate weapon that would have been used to ambush the fleet, and later to communicate with the Dancers.
* OfficialCouple: With Lieutenant Iger. They get married when it seems that the fleet is facing certain annihilation at Unity Alternate.
* {{Oireland}}: She has green hair, her nickname is Shamrock, she comes from a planet called Eire, the audiobook narrator gives her a very "Oirish" accent, and her last name is one letter off from a popular brand of Irish whiskey. It's sort of a wonder she doesn't start every conversation with "Top o'the mornin'!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dr. Nasr]]
The senior fleet physician, who serves aboard the ''Dauntless''.
----
* DueToTheDead: He brings Geary some coffee so that they can drink a toast to the last two Kick prisoners, both of whom suicided upon awakening and realizing they had been captured.
* HurtingHero: He is saddened and frustrated by the ShootTheShaggyDog fate of [[spoiler: the Kick prisoners he'd been keeping alive for so long]]. He also has a bit of a frustrated, pained blow-up upon finding out about [[spoiler: Paol Benan's mental block]].
* InstantlyProvenWrong: Downplayed, but just one book after he tells Geary that, as far as he knows, the Syndicate worlds never use mental blocks [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim due to simply killing people with information they want to keep secret]] the Syndicate Worlds are shown using mental blocks (although admittedly under somewhat unusual circumstances).
* MisterExposition: Nasr provides Geary with context about anything medical-related, such as mental blocks, the treatment of the Kicks, and the nature of the Europa Plague.
* SeenItAll: Has shades of this, given the nature of both his job and the war.
* WhatTheHellHero: Delivers a furious tirade against everyone else present (and Senator Costa in particular) for planning to try and rescue Yuon and Castries by going behind the local authorities' backs rather than just asking for their help, given the stakes.
* WhyDidntIThinkOfThat: Figuratively slaps himself on the head after a comment Geary makes gives him the idea to ease Yuon and Castries being unhappily quarantined together by having one of them sleep while the other is awake.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Admiral Timbale]]
Commander of the Alliance naval forces in Varandal Star System.
----
* BotheringByTheBook: When ordered to yank half of Geary’s valuable auxiliaries right before the mission to the frontier, he and Geary quickly get around the order by realizing the order wasn’t sent through proper channels. He uses this to ignore it until Geary is gone.
* TheBrigadier: Maintains the border, and helps supply Geary.
* AFatherToHisMen: Upon learning that two of his destroyers were lost to the dark ships he wastes little time in asking whether there were survivors. Even in his first appearance, when he's actively avoiding contact with Geary and the fleet so he can stay out of any potential coup attempts, he's still prompt in seeing to the repair and resupply of their ships.
* NeutralNoLonger: While by no means willing to launch a coup against the Alliance, at the beginning of ''Beyond the Frontier'' he refuses to support fleet headquarters' underhanded efforts to steal Geary's valuable auxiliaries before his mission into alien space in spite of the potential that official action might be taken against him for this (although it doesn't appear that any was).
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Timbale is furious with the [[TheSpook intelligence officers]] who incapacitated him during the dark fleet's assault on Varandal and inadvertently led to the destruction of two of his ships. He outright demands that Geary hand them over so he can have them shot.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Initially afraid of having to pick a side if Geary does launch a coup against the Alliance, although he gets better, and even addresses this (comparing it to Schrodinger's Cat).
* YouAreInCommandNow: Averted after the Battle of Varandal. He could take command when two higher ranking admirals were killed (during the battle he's too far away to exert command over Geary or his grandniece) but is afraid that doing so would make him take a side during the coup.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Neeson]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Implacable''.
----
* ClosestThingWeGot: After Cresida's death at Varandal, Neeson becomes the fleet's new hypernet expert. He notes that he's nowhere near as good as Cresida, but Geary still turns to him on occasion.
* DeadpanSnarker: When Geary demands to know why the hypernet gates got built even though they had the potential to cause nova-scale energy discharges.
--> '''Neeson:''' They let you go really fast.
* GeniusBruiser: Like Cresida, he's a skilled commander who is good at coming up with plans to manipulate the Syndics and has some decent technical knowledge of the hypernet gates.
* NiceGuy: Considerate and respectful when discussing plans.
* SeriesContinuityError: In ''Steadfast'', it's mentioned that a Captain Ekrhi has taken over ''Implacable''. However, in the next book, ''Leviathan'', Neeson is still in command of ''Implacable'' when he's first mentioned, but shortly thereafter he is said to have taken command of the battlecruiser ''Steadfast''. By the end of the book he's back in command of ''Implacable'' and Ekrhi is nowhere to be seen.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: His ship is destroyed during the Battle of Unity Alternate. While much of the crew survives in escape pods, it's left unmentioned if Neeson himself made it off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenants Bhasan Yuon and Xenia Castries]]
A pair of junior officers aboard ''Dauntless''.
----
* BelligerentSexualTension: Subverted. Though they work well together, they bicker a lot when off duty. Their fellow officers naturally assume this means BST between them, but an annoyed Desjani points out that this isn't always the case.
* BridgeBunny: The most prominent ones in the series, although Yuon first appeared a good deal earlier.
* HiddenDepths: Castries is apparently fond of trashy space fantasy novels that turn Geary into a King Arthur figure who romances beautiful princesses and slays "star-dragons".
* HostageForMacGuffin: They are kidnapped during the visit to Earth. The kidnappers are hoping to acquire stealth technology from the Alliance, which is more advanced than anything in Sol.
* ShipSinking: Any idea that they might be a couple is firmly torpedoed after they've spent three weeks trapped in quarantine together.
--> '''Castries:''' I have to be naked in here with him? Ancestors help me. I really am in hell.
--> '''Yuon:''' ''(irritably)'' I hear suffering is good for the soul.
* ThoseTwoGuys: They gradually develop into a rare male and female example, rarely appearing or being mentioned separately from each other.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Admiral Lagemann]]
A POW liberated during the beginning of ''Beyond the Frontier''.
----
* CoolOldGuy: Never obstructs Geary and proves to have a good sense of humor.
* TheCreon: Lagemann never tries to assert his authority over Geary, works to keep others who would in line, and is happy to be given something to do.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A respected and effective leader of the Alliance Navy earlier in the war, who finds himself having seen its end in a prison camp, and is willing to take a supporting role in the fleet after being liberated.
* MilitaryBrat /OneSteveLimit: There was a Commmander Lagemann (possibly an ancestor of his) who was under Geary's command during the outbreak of the ForeverWar, as seen in the short story ''Grendel'' and reluctantly broke away from the ''Merlon'' to escort the fleeing merchant ships to safety while Geary and his crew stayed back to HoldTheLine.
* {{Retirony}}: Averted, he says he intends to leave the fleet and go home to a peaceful existence once they get home. He does make it back alive.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Due to his fresh perspective on the enigmas, he's able to work out a couple of their plans before anyone else, and also helps prevent a lot of the less reliable POWs from interfering with Geary.
* TemptingFate: Admits that he screws up in picking a ship called ''Invincible'' as his flagship. Sure enough, he was captured when it didn't live up to its name. Averted when he names the captured Kick superbattleship the ''Invincible''; he notes that this is an ironic name, since the fleet has already proven that it ''isn't'' invincible.
* {{Tuckerization}}: He's named for a friend of John Hemry's from his time in the US Navy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Gaes]]
Commanding officer of the heavy cruiser ''Lorica''. Gaes joins Falco's mutiny, but comes to regret it.
----
* TheAtoner: After seeing so many ships die following Falco, she realizes that she made a huge mistake. She volunteers to surrender command of her ship and submit to disciplinary action then and there if Geary wants to, and works hard to act as a rearguard for the fleet's damaged ships.
* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]: She tips Geary off to the sabotaged jump drives, and [[spoiler: Kila retaliates by blowing up ''Lorica'' with a worm that overloads its power core.]]
* HeroicBSOD: She appears to be in the middle of one when the mutineers rejoin the fleet at Ilion.
* ShellShockedVeteran: She admits that she's going to have to live with the memories of the disaster at Vidha.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Mosko]]
Commander of the battleship ''Defiant'' and of the Seventh Battleship Division.
----

* AFatherToHisMen: Requests that Geary liberate any survivors of his crew someday. He also expresses deep regret at having to take the rest of his division to die with ''Defiant'', but knows that his ship alone wouldn't be able to hold back the Syndic pursuit force for long enough to save the rest of the fleet.
* HeroicSacrifice: He leads the entire Seventh Battleship Division in a rearguard action to give the fleet time to escape Lakota.
* MightyGlacier: Leads a very effective rearguard at the First Battle of Lakota.
* UncertainDoom: There were apparently some captains of destroyed or captured Alliance ships who survived First Lakota and were taken elsewhere by the Syndics, but it's unclear if he was one of them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Suram]]
The executive officer of ''Warrior'', who is put in command after his BitCharacter captain joins in Falco's mutiny.
----
* TheAtoner: He acknowledges to Geary that he and his crew have a lot to make up for, most especially having left fellow ships to the wolves at Vidha.
* {{Determinator}}: He puts a lot of effort into making his damaged ship battle-ready and protecting the auxiliaries. When ''Warrior'' is crippled and on the verge of exploding, he remains aboard to coordinate the effort to shut down the power core and dies with his ship.
* HypercompetentSidekick: It's implied that he was the one doing most of the work on ''Warrior'' while Kerestes kept his head down and did nothing to draw attention to himself. Geary states that he intends to give Suram full credit for the battleship's good performance.
* RedeemingReplacement: Very much so to the weak-willed, disloyal Captain Kerestes.
* YouAreInCommandNow: After Kerestes is arrested and relieved of command.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Midea]]
Commander of ''Paladin'', a battleship in Numos's division.
----
* BloodKnight: She's easily one of the most aggressive captains in the fleet, which is saying something.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Geary repeatedly notes that her appearance and behavior remind him of a Syndic CEO.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She disapprovingly insinuates that Geary and Desjani [[InappropriatelyCloseComrades have more than just a professional relationship]] at a fleet conference, only for Badaya to inform Geary that she was nearly court-martialed for inappropriate behavior with her executive officer.
* {{Jerkass}}: Just like Casia, Numos, and Faresa.
* LeeroyJenkins: Like so many captains in the fleet. She executes a reckless and doomed solo charge against the Syndic fleet, although she was moving to try and help a damaged ally (just one that was too far away to have a reasonable chance of helping) and [[DoNotGoGentle manages to destroy or damage several enemy ships first.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: Ironically, she always fell in line and did what Numos told her, in perhaps his only display of actual leadership qualities in the whole series.
* WildCard: No one except Numos is really to control her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Master Chief Gioninni]]
One of the senior enlisted officers aboard ''Dauntless'', a counterpart to Smythe in some way.
----
* DidntThinkThisThrough: After ''Dauntless'' returns to Varandal from Earth, Gioninni tries to sell the uniforms of the Marines who went down to Europa, since they're now incredibly valuable collector's items. As Smythe points out, anyone getting wind of such a scheme would crack down hard on any other under-the-table dealings, including the work he's doing on fleet readiness. Geary immediately has it shut down.
* DressUpEpisode: When ''Dauntless'' visits Earth, he dresses up as King Jove to induct the crew and passengers into the Voyagers (those who have crossed Sol's heliosphere).
* FriendInTheBlackMarket: A rival of sorts to Smythe. Desjani notes that she hasn't cracked down on him for two reasons: she's never been able to find solid evidence of his schemes, and he's very good at obtaining equipment and supplies that she can't get through normal channels.
* ImplausibleDeniability: Playfully does this about his money-making schemes on occasion.
* NotMeThisTime: In ''Boundless,'' Geary and Desjani are surprised to find that Gioninni's claims of shock and ignorance about a MilitaryMoonshiner are genuine for once, and he's outraged about someone running a racket behind his back.
* RememberTheNewGuy: He's portrayed as an indispensable member of the crew of ''Dauntless'', who is closely trusted and relied upon by Desjani, but Geary (who has been essentially living onboard the ship for the better part of a year and makes efforts to get to know even low-ranking members of its crew) doesn't interact with him onscreen until late in the seventh book.
* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: When Desjani is trying to figure out how the ex-Syndics at Midway are moving their orbital dockyard out of the path of a bombardment, she asks if anyone in the crew has experience with orbital-structure engineering. Gionnini responds, claiming that he's worked on "everything."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Paol Benan]]
Rione's husband and a liberated prisoner.
----
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: By Alliance security, in order to keep him from revealing his knowledge of their black-ops biowarfare experiments.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Towards Geary, after finding out that he slept with Rione. He recovers somewhat, though he admits that he will always hate Geary for what he did.
* DrivenToMadness: The mental block damages his brain to the point where he has to be kept permanently sedated. Dr. Nasr notes that this is the entire point of imprinting a block on someone; it causes continuous and permanent mental deterioration, but since the blocked person literally cannot talk about the problem, it slowly pushes them over the edge until they wind up committing suicide.
* SecretKeeper: An unwilling one. He was involved in top-secret and illegal biowarfare experiments, until his conscience kicked in and he refused to take part any longer. Alliance security responded by imprinting a mental block on him and reassigning him elsewhere.
* UncertainDoom: It's not clear for some time whether he's alive, even after Rione finds evidence that he survived the destruction of his ship. It's not confirmed until they're reunited in ''Dreadnaught''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Major Guerrero]]
One of [[spoiler: Michael's]] fellow prisoners in ''Corsair''.
* BloodKnight: Enjoys fighting Syndicates, although not to psychotic degrees.
* RuggedScar: His face has a long cut down it.
* SemperFi: A trigger-happy marine determined to protect his men.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Executive Aragon and her men, at first.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chief Taman and Chief Sindi Taman]]
Two of [[spoiler: Michael's]] fellow [=POWs=], a brother and sister, with the brother being the only member of his original crew with him.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: It's unclear which is older but they playfully bicker about which is the better engineer.
* TheEngineer: Both of their jobs.
* OutOfFocus: Once they get the propulsion units working, they vanish into the background while Chief North takes over as the engineer that [[spoiler: Michael]] interacts with more.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: Sindi was reported as having died earlier in the war but was actually picked up as a prisoner.
* SiblingTeam: They work to gather to get propulsion working so the captured ship can leave the Syndicate facility.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Yin]]
Numos' executive officer and successor as captain of ''Orion''.
----
* DirtyCoward: Yin is very adverse to taking risks even when they'll save the lives of other ships, and is described in fairly pitiable terms upon realizing she's facing a court-martial and/or summary execution.
* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]: Judged a liability by the conspiracy after being relieved of command and is murdered, along with Casia.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To her former CO Numos in many ways. She is an unpleasant contrarian and DirtyCoward who blames someone else when facing serious charges.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Tyrosian]]
Head of the fleet auxiliaries division for most of the trip home.
----
* TheBait: Tyrosian and her ships are used as bait for the Syndic warships several times, to the point where she treats it with resigned acceptance by the fourth book.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: Tyrosian is a very good engineer, but the responsibilities of being a division commander and managing the supply and repair needs of the entire fleet overwhelm her, and she’s actually happy to be relieved by Captain Smythe.
* TheEngineer: Tyrosian is a good engineer. She's not so good at division command, however.
* NotSoAboveItAll: While she normally avoids the BloodKnight behavior of the warship commanders, Tyrosian is unusually upbeat when asked to rig explosive traps to several wrecked Syndic warships.
* YouAreInCommandNow: After her worthless boss is KickedUpstairs Tyrosian is made the new division commander.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Faresa]]
Commander of the battleship ''Majestic'' and one of Geary's first opponents in the fleet.
----
* CommanderContrarian: Just like Numos, she never has a good word to say about Geary or any of his plans.
* DeathGlare: Her default expression, usually aimed at Geary.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Blown up along with everyone else on her ship (while locked in the brig) during the Second Battle of Lakota.
* {{Jerkass}}: ''Never'' has a kind or reasonable moment.
* OldSoldier: When first interacting with her, Geary notes that she looks close to retirement age.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Gunnery Sergeant Orvis]]
Head of the Marine contingent aboard the ''Dauntless''.
----
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Orvis is amused to hear that Syndic propaganda claims that Alliance Marines are brainless mutants.
* AscendedExtra: Briefly. He's a background character at best for most of the series but gets some prominence in preparing the mission to rescue Yuon and Castries and ''Boundless.''
* BigDamnHeroes: Serves this role during the brief RescueArc on Europa.
* DirtyBusiness: Acknowledges that he needs to say a prayer to his ancestors for forgiveness for his ILied moment and for having to leave the other surviving mercenaries on the surface of Europa [[LeaveBehindAPistol with just their weapons and some drugs]].
* DressUpEpisode: Briefly dresses up as Davy Jones during the ceremony of crossing the boundary line to the Sol System.
* ILied: Promises one of the hostage-takers on Europa safe passage off the world if he surrenders Yuon and Castries, but then has one of his Marines shoot the man [[JustifiedTrope as they didn't have any spare spacesuits to evacuate the man without spreading the plague]].
* SemperFi: An experienced and disciplined Marine who executes a flawless hostage-recovery operation on Europa.
* ShellShockedVeteran: It's subtle, but when one of his Marines comments about having nightmares, his reply is "you and me both."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Admiral Otropa]]
The Alliance Grand Council's military advisor.
----
* EmbarrassingNickname: He's called "The Anvil." When Geary says that it sounds like a strong nickname, Timbale tells him that it came from Otropa [[GeneralFailure always getting beaten]] in battle.
* IRejectYourReality: Insists that Geary's version of the retreat back home is obviously false (despite every officer in the fleet supporting it) due to managing to inflict such heavy casualties against the Syndicate Worlds and using tactics that he considers to be lacking in fighting spirit. Geary doesn't hesitate to tear him a new one in response to this insult.
* {{Jerkass}}: Picture Numos, but in a position of real authority.
* PutOnAPrisonBus: In ''Boundless'', Otropa is arrested offscreen for being involved with the dark ship project.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Casell Riva]]
Desjani's old boyfriend, and a POW liberated alongside Captain Falco.
----
* HeroWorshipper: Towards both Geary and Falco, which causes him some ConflictingLoyalty. [[BrokenPedestal Falco's mutiny largely shakes this though]].
* LifeSavingMisfortune: Dressed down and transferred off of the ''Furious'' by Cresida for sleeping with a crewmate (and cheating on Desjani), which probably saves his life, given what happens to the ''Furious'' later on.
* RomanticFalseLead: Rekindles his relationship with Desjani for a while after being rescued, until he ends up sleeping with another woman on his new ship and his name becomes mud as far as she's concerned.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Only mentioned twice after he cheats on Desjani (to clarify that she's still mad at him after Geary tells her that the new ship he was on took some damage in a battle but survived, which she just shrugs off, and later when she admits what they had was probably doomed even before his capture). His reaction towards Geary and Desjani's marriage is unknown.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Gundel]]
Captain of the ''Jinn'' and the initial head of the auxiliaries division.
----
* KickedUpstairs: Geary gives him a meaningless staff position in order to have an excuse to relieve him of command of both the auxiliaries and ''Jinn''.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: With his feet-dragging and apparent unfamiliarity with the best engineering procedures, Gundel really couldn't be doing more harm to the fleet if he was trying.
* PointyHairedBoss: Gundel makes his executive officer and fellow captains do pretty much all of the work running ''Jinn'' and the auxiliaries division respectively, and yet is quick to claim that any competence or success they have is from having observed him hard at work for so long.
* PutOnABus: Exiled to fleet headquarters after the return to Alliance space, where he continues working on a logistics report about what it will take to get back to Alliance space even though they're already home.
* TheSlacker: Gundel really isn't a very hard worker.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Kai Fensin]]
A POW liberated during the fifth book, and an old friend of Rione and her husband.
----
* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Despite having a wife back home, he eventually entered into a relationship with a female prisoner (who later died due to poor conditions), something he is clearly guilt-stricken over.
* BearerOfBadNews: Is unable to tell Rione if her husband is still alive, and says he was wounded the last time they saw each other, after being captured.
* DueToTheDead: Fensin is in charge of remembering the names of several other prisoners who died before being liberated, so their families can be notified.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Has spent a long time planning to murder the [[TheQuisling collaborating senior POW officers]] and briefly continues this after the liberation before being convinced that turning them over to the Alliance authorities, while robbing him of that degree of personal revenge, can still see them punished without making him and his confederates murderers.
* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: Shows shades of this, given the return of Black Jack Geary and seeing his old friend "Vic" Rione as an Alliance senator and co-president of the Callas Republic.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Vanishes from the story within a couple chapters of being liberated.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Parr]]
Commander of the battlecruiser ''Incredible''.
----
* FireForgedFriends: With the ''Resolution'' and its crew after they survive near-certain destruction at Heradao.
* LeeroyJenkins: Parr is among those who nearly mutiny when it looks as if Geary may have been arrested, something he later feels chagrined about.
* RageBreakingPoint: His reaction to learning about the dark ships and seeing them killing Alliance people (although a speech from Geary helps calm him).
--> '''Parr:''' Why are we fighting again, why are our people dying again, because of the mistakes made by people who will never pay the price for their errors?
* ShoutOut: His name is Parr, and he's in command of the ''Incredible''. [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles Does that sound familiar?]]
* TakingTheBullet: He and ''Incredible'' survive Heradao when the ''Resolution'' (which has much stronger armor and shields) gets between them and a barrage of Syndicate fire. Both ships manage to survive, to Geary's surprise and relief.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Landis]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Valiant'' and a member of the faction which wants to see Geary crowned dictator of the Alliance.
----

* EveryoneHasStandards: Admits to having bombed Syndicate worlds, and having mixed feelings about it, but utterly draws the line at the idea of using the hypernet gates as bombs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Vitali]]
Commander of the battlecruiser ''Daring''.
----

* BerserkButton: Angrily protests when another captain makes a misrepresentation of what ''Dauntless'', ''Daring'' and the heavy cruiser ''Diamond'' did at the Sancere hypernet gate. He also tends to get disgusted towards the enigmas easily enough later on.
* NervesOfSteel: When helping to keep the Sancere hypernet gate from triggering a nova-scale explosion, he holds ''Daring'' on station even as her weapons overheat and her systems start to shut down.
* NoNameGiven: Had a notable role all the way back in ''Fearless'', the second book of the series, but takes a while to be named.
* OneSteveLimit: Geary and Desjani meet a Lady Vitali on Earth. When they tell her about Captain Vitali, she wonders if they're related.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Vendig]]
Commander of the scout battleship ''Exemplar''.
----

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the first book of the series, the commanding officer of ''Exemplar'' is named Basir. Vendig appears without explanation the next time ''Exemplar'' comes up. [[note]] It's possible that Vendig was recovering from wounds after the battle in the Syndic home system and that Basir was his executive officer.[[/note]]
* FragileSpeedster: His ship has the weapons of a battleship, but in order to be fast enough to scout ahead, it also has far less armor which ultimately gets it, and the other ships of its class destroyed during the return to Alliance space.
* JustThinkOfThePotential: One of the few captains not actively plotting against Geary to give serious consideration to using the hypernet gates as bombs. Vending even suggests using AI-controlled warships, [[{{Foreshadowing}} something that the others angrily reject as absurdly risky and immoral.]]
* LastOfHisKind: ''Exemplar'' is the last scout battleship in the fleet by the fifth book, but [[TotalPartyKill is lost immediately afterwards in the Battle of Heradao]]. Due to their structural weaknesses, no more scout battleships are built afterwards.
* UncertainDoom: His ship is destroyed during the Battle of Heradao, but it isn't explicitly stated that he himself died.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commander Vebos]]
The first captain of the scout battleship ''Arrogant'', who embodies the qualities of his ship's name.
----
* LifeSavingMisfortune: Zigzagged. He's relieved of command of ''Arrogant'', which is then destroyed just a few days later, but the ship was destroyed due to its new captain making a courageous decision that Vebos probably wouldn't have taken if he was still in command.
* MeanBoss: He's described as being hard on his crew and they're all happy to see him go.
* QuicklyDemotedLeader: He offends Geary enough with his insubordination to be transferred to serve as the weapons officer aboard ''Orion'' (a job which is also delegated to a man of his rank but strips him of his own command).
* TheStarscream: He insinuates that Geary should be removed from command (claiming that a century in survival sleep has obviously damaged his brain) and proposes Numos as their new leader.
* TriggerHappy: He blazes away at a Syndic city against orders, even though this risks killing Alliance Marines who've landed nearby.
* UncertainDoom: Vebos is never mentioned after the first book, and it's unclear if [[spoiler:He was still serving on ''Orion'' -as Geary had considered giving it an entirely new crew to purge Numos's influence- when it is destroyed in ''Guardian'' with all of its crew except two who'd been sent for medical treatment on a different ship after a previous battle.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Hiyen]]
Captain of the battleship ''Reprisal'' and senior warship commander of the Callas Republic, a minor power which joined the Alliance for the war against the Syndicate Worlds.
----
* BearerOfBadNews: After the fleet has returned to Varandal from the frontier, Hiyen is forced to notify Geary that his sailors and those of the Rift Federation are preparing to mutiny and sail for home.
* ConflictingLoyalty: He respects Geary and Rione, but cares about his crew and the rest of the Republic's ships, all of whom want him to take them home.
* GeniusBruiser: A dedicated ship captain, and a decent scientific theorist who speculates on the nature of the Kicks' shielding devices.
* PutOnABus: He and his men are sent back to the Callas Republic (officially for repair, but actually to let them go home) after returning from alien space.
* WildCard: The Callas Republic refuses to recall him and his ships due to worrying they might be too loyal to the Alliance fleet, after serving with them for so long. Geary ends up exploiting a loophole in their orders to send them back to the Callas Republic for "indefinite" repair and resupply.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Caligo]]
Captain of the battlecruiser ''Brilliant''.
----

* TheNondescript: Caligo doesn't have any discernible personality, takes no sides, tries to stay in the background, and chooses his words carefully so as not to stand out. Geary notes that he'd ordinarily be thrilled to have someone like that as a subordinate.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Is part of Kila's scheme to get rid of Geary [[AmbitionIsEvil out of his own ambitions]], as Kila has promised to back him as fleet commander.]]
* UncertainDoom: Last seen [[spoiler: facing charges for offenses he could easily be executed for]].
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:The man is clearly terrified and makes poor attempts at denial after being exposed as Kila's coconspirator.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Kattnig]]
Captain of the new battlecruiser ''Adroit'', which is assigned as reinforcements to the fleet after they make it back to Alliance space. An old friend of Tulev, he seems a little too eager to fight again.
----
* DrivenToSuicide: After losing his nerve in full view of the fleet and veering away from the Syndics, which gets several other ships destroyed, Kattnig knows he has only one way out. Desjani realizes what he's going to do and urges Geary to relieve him and put him in protective custody, but the order goes out too late to prevent him from going through with it.
* AFatherToHisMen: He worked himself to the point of collapse looking after his crew when his last ship was destroyed.
* LeeroyJenkins: After joining the fleet, Kattnig is continuously volunteering to put himself in danger and pressing for aggressive strategies. It becomes a tragic subversion when it's revealed that he's actually lost his will to fight and is doing this to try and work his nerve back up.
* ShellShockedVeteran: He doesn't want to fight anymore after everything he's seen, but can't bring himself to admit this, which just makes his internal agony worse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Plant]]
One of Smythe's engineers, and an expert on disarming bombs.
----
* BombDisposal: Her speciality is disarming explosives.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: She seems a bit spacey and laid-back for an EOD expert, but she gives accurate instructions to the Marines on disarming the Syndic nukes.
* DissonantSerenity: Calm and cheerful while giving instructions to a terrified Marine disarming a bomb left by a commando raid on ''Invincible''
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Hopper]]
The fleet's leading expert on remote signals and linkage during ''Beyond the Frontier''. She is deployed to help disarm the [[EarthShatteringKaboom Continental Shotgun]].
* CommunicationsOfficer: Although her only role is trying to ''prevent'' a Syndicate device rigged to a remote communication system from broadcasting a signal meant to destroying the fleet and the planet of Simur.
* ConsummateProfessional: Gives off an aura of calm competence and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
* [[NonActionGuy Non Action Girl]]: She's a fleet engineer, which means that she doesn't usually get involved in combat. However, she receives emergency certification in orbital insertion for the mission to disarm the Continental Shotgun.
* ProperlyParanoid: States that even with detailed instructions, the relay would be too complicated for the Marines to safely disarm without her there, and once the raid is over they agree that she was right.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: An unhappy-looking Hopper gives off this vibe when saying that she needs to personally accompany the Marines going to disarm the device (prompting a BigWhat from Smythe, Carabali and Geary all at the same time) although things do end up working out.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Bailey]]
An officer from the ''Audacious'' who is among Michael Geary's fellow POWs.
* FightingIrish: Bailey is presumably from Eire, given her green hair.
* FireForgedFriends: Initially resents Harbin and the other Syndicate soldiers but comes to cooperate more with them.
* NumberTwo: She spent enough time with Geary and his fleet to get a feeling for his battle plans before being captured at Lakota, making her useful to Michael.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Vente]]
An arrogant and politically connected captain assigned to the newest ''Invincible'' at the beginning of ''Beyond the Frontier''.
----
* {{Jerkass}}: More condescending than outright nasty, but it's there.
* PutOnABus: After ''Invincible'' is severely damaged due to Vente's incompetence and has to be scuttled, Geary refuses to give him any further responsibility in the fleet and leaves him stuck on one of the auxiliaries.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Possibly the reason he was assigned to the fleet. He is the senior warship commander in the fleet, making him second in line for command should something happen to Geary. In theory this could make him an obstacle to Geary. In practice, Vente is too incompetent and self-centered to pull it off, and Geary just bypasses him anyway and designates Badaya as his official second-in-command.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Young]]
Captain of the assault transport ''Mistral'', which plays a key role in the final battle against the dark ships.
* BearerOfBadNews: Given that the ''Mistral'' isn't a combat vessel, Geary was prepared to have her and her alone flee the system to report on the outcome of the battle if things went too badly, although he doubted that Young would be too happy with that order.
* MyGreatestFailure: Deeply distraught at having let [[spoiler: Rione get off her ship, which leads to her HeroicSacrifice]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Colonel Rico]]
Commander of the Marines aboard the ''Mistral''.
* BadassBoast: Makes one before the assault on Unity Alternate.
--> '''Commander Young:''' The bus will get you freeloaders there. After that it will be up to you Marines to pay for the ride.
--> '''Rico:''' We'll earn the fare.
* ShoutOut: He is named for the protagonist of Robert Heinlein's ''Starship Troopers''.
* UndyingLoyalty: Very committed to defending the Alliance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Pradesh]]
An Alliance Marine liberated along with Michael.
* ActionGirl: A tough fighter.
* KickThemWhileTheyreDown: Averted. She specifically refuses to shoot a prisoner due to Geary having re-installed that mindset before she was captured.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chief North]]
An engineer among Michael's fellow prisoners.
* TheEngineer: One who specializes in shields.
* NewMeat: One of the younger-looking Alliance sailors in the comic.
* WhatAPieceOfJunk: Sums up her feelings about the Syndicate ships.
* WideEyedIdealist: Expresses sad disappointment at the Syndicate Government's breaking the deal to return prisoners.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Senior Chief Tarrini]]
One of the chiefs aboard the ''Dauntless''.
----
* AlmightyJanitor: An enlisted sailor who gets things done just like Gioninni (but without his sense of larceny) and is among the first to realize that the universal fixing substance the Dancers want is [[spoiler: duct tape]].
* DressUpEpisode: Dresses as Queen Callisto during the ceremony to celebrate crossing into Sol.
* IronLady: Even during the DressUpEpisode she's described as looking ready to install a little discipline in anyone who gets too rowdy.
* ServileSnarker: After Desjani comments that she'd prefer not to shoot an enemy ship (which has Yuon and Castries aboard) full of holes, Tarrini mutters "That's a first" then pretends to be looking around for whoever said that.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Pajari]]
%%Commander of the light cruiser ''Spur''.
%%* ADayInTheLimelight: While accompanyingGeary's small task force to secure the Adrianna System. It's noted that the %%commanders of the smaller ships generally stay in the background and this gives Geary a chance to observe them in action and get to know them more.
%%* LeeroyJenkins: Averted, with her maintaining strategy and discipline even after losing a ship, but letting the Syndics ''think'' she's displaying this to make them act stupidly and become easy targets for her.
%%[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Commander James Savik]]
%%Captain of the destroyer ''Formidable''.
%%* ADayInTheLimelight: His situation is similar to Pajari's above. Savik gets less focus than she does but is assigned to pick up some prisoners and provide screening for the other ships.
%%* NiceGuy: Takes his orders with a proud smile.
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder: Admiral Chelak]]
A liberated [=POW=] from the beginning of ''Beyond the Frontier'' who is briefly a pain in Geary's neck.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Is utterly convinced that he should be in charge of the fleet despite his long confinement, obvious incompetence, lack of knowledge about their mission, and Geary's own exploits.
* TheStarscream: Repeatedly tries to undermine Geary's authority and have himself installed as head of the fleet, with no success.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Savos]]
Captain of the destroyer ''Spur'', his ship is destroyed and Savos is captured during the First Battle of Lakota, only for him to be quickly liberated during the Second Battle of Lakota and temporarily made commander of the [[spoiler: ''Orion'']].
* ConsummateProfessional: Especially in terms of maintaining a military bearing. Geary describes him as trying to ''sit'' at attention.
* EyepatchOfPower: He's wearing one as a result of his battle wounds when Geary talks to him.
* GutFeeling: Tells Geary that he could sense that the Syndics are scared of him.
* RedeemingReplacement: Zigzagged. He's a better person and displays more personal competence than either of his predecessors, but is unable to whip [[spoiler: ''Orion'']] into shape.
* UncertainDoom: It is unclear if he was transferred off of the [[spoiler: ''Orion'']] after Captain [[spoiler: Shen]] took command, or remained aboard in a lower position. If the later, then he would have almost certainly died along with the rest of the ship's crew (save for two who had been transferred to a troop transport for medical treatment due to injuries from an earlier battle).
* UnluckilyLucky: Due to suffering from a concussion after the loss of the ''Spur'', he is kept separate from the other captured commanding officers, who were either killed during the battle or sent out of the system on a prisoner transport before Geary returns.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Moltri]]
Commander of the destroyer ''Taru''
* DarkSecret: He watches videos that are considered disgusting by Geary, and are described as having computer generated people in them, since they contain actions that would make watching them illegal if real people were used (possibilities include some form of snuff film, torture, or child pornography).
* NervousWreck: During his only scene in the series, due to being about to confess his DarkSecret and its potential role in hacking into the fleet systems to Geary, expecting to face his scorn, and being frightened of potential exposure afterwards.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only appears once in the entire series, for only a few pages, but his actions are what allow Geary to begin unraveling the conspiracy against him.
* UnwittingPawn: The subnet Moltri uses to acquire his videos are used by [[spoiler: Captain Kila]] to hack into the ship's jump drives in an effort to destroy ''Dauntless'', ''Furious'', and ''Illustrious'' through sabotage.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: After realizing that the subnet he's been using to acquire his videos was used to implant a worm into the fleet's jump drives, he reports its existence to Geary in order to increase the chances of catching the perpetrators and preventing a second incident. Moltri does this knowing that it subjects him to the risk of disapproval or worse from his peers and no one would have known about his involvement if he'd stayed quiet.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Barber]]
An officer aboard the ''Inspire''.
* AbsenceOfEvidence: He quickly picks up on how the system defenses have been depleted by noticing the communications, equipment and such that ''isn't'' there anymore.
* BearerOfBadNews: He's the one to tell Geary and Duellos about how badly defended the star system is.
* BridgeBunny: The only named officer on the bridge of the ship during Geary's mission to Adrianna besides its captain.
* TheSmartGuy: Serves this role aboard the ship.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Lieutenant Nicodeom]]
%%An officer onboard the ''Dauntless''.
%%* BridgeBunny: One of the watch standers aboard the ''Dauntless', albeit one with a defined speciality.
%%* TheEngineer: While he doesn't seem to be involved in the actual repairs of the ship, he serves as the bridge %%officer consulted by Desjani about engineering scenarios.
%%* StuffBlowingUp: He plays a role in crafting the plan to rig a minefield out of ships to blow up the arriving Syndics during the Second Battle of Lakota.
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ensign Hochin]]
A junior officer aboard the battleship ''Peerless'' stationed near Varandal.
* AbandonShip: Did this shortly before appearing, and provides Geary's fleet information on the status of the battle from his escape pod.
* ConsummateProfessional: He is very alert, detail-oriented and quick to provide helpful information to the fleet. They greatly appreciate this given that the previous survivor from the battle they'd communicated with, Lieutenant Reynardin, was a ShellShockedVeteran who'd spent too much time talking about how terrible the battle was and how great it was to see them.
* HyperAwareness: He observes which escape pods were picked up by the Syndics and provides a very strong description of the ship that did so.
* RankUp: After haring his report, Geary vows to put him in for a field promotion to lieutenant.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only appears in one, short scene but it's his telling Geary about the prisoners aboard a Syndicate heavy cruiser that causes Geary to go after that ship. From the captain of that heavy cruiser, Geary finds out that the enigma race collapsed the hypernet gate at Kalixa and this knowledge is responsible for him keeping the Syndics from collapsing the hypernet gate at Varandal in retaliation.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Pastak]]
%%Captain of the ''Gavelock'', and commanding officer of the Twentieth Destroyer Squadron.
%%* NoManLeftBehind: He doesn't hesitate to take his ships near a potential core overload in an effort to rescue those trapped onboard the ''Warrior''.
%%* YouAreTooLate: Sadly, the ''Warrior'' explodes before he can reach and evacuate it, something which leaves him somber.
%%[[/folder]]

%%[[folder: Chief Busek]]
%%The chief engineer aboard the ''Dauntless''.
%%* TheEngineer: Serves as this job and has little to do with Geary and the command staff.
%%* NewMeat: Gionnini noes that she has been in the service for a relatively short time and while competent, isn't %%the best authority for Geary to consult.
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:Admirals Baxter and Rojo]]
The co-commanders of the Alliance Navy during the ''Outlands'' trilogy.
----
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: The two greet Geary with plenty of false platitudes and SugaryMalice and then devolve to questioning his sincerity and judgment. By the end of their meeting, the three recognize that they all want the best for the Alliance and get along a little better.
* RulesLawyer: Baxter and Rojo acknowledge that they'll use various bureaucratic maneuvering to keep Geary from getting too powerful. Their first scene has them attempt to keep from following the Senate's orders to send Geary to Dancer space by pointing out that they haven't ''officially'' received those orders due to their computer systems being shut down for de-bugging. [[MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours Geary replies by presenting a physical copy of his orders.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Rojo and Baxter have hated each other passionately since they were ensigns. They are given joint command (and told that either of them failing will get both of them demoted) because the Senate feels sure that they won’t be able to cooperate long enough to get up to any mischief. Consequently, they have a good working relationship, but only out of necessity.
--> '''Desjani:''' Rumor has it that when they were in command of ships, their ships never got assigned to the same force for fear that they'd start shooting at each other instead of the enemy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Kapelka]]
Captain of the ''Passguard'' and commander of the ships that the Alliance's ally, the Rift Federation, sent to the fleet.
----
* BavarianFireDrill: In ''Boundless,'' the Rift Federation breaks ties with the Alliance and tries to ally with the Dancers independently. Kapelka makes it through Syndic space by letting them assume she's still attached to the Alliance fleet and that attacking her ships will court trouble.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In ''Beyond the Frontier,'' she's respectful of Geary and reluctant when the attitude of her crew become hostile toward him. But in ''Outlands,'' she's haughty and dismissive when he makes an offer that could get her and her ships out of a potentially suicidal mission.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Pelleas]]
Captain of the battleship ''Gallant.''
----
* MightyGlacier: He charges his ship through a minefield to take the brunt of an explosion threatening one of the fleet auxiliaries. His ship comes out the other side with minimal damage.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:Captain Zhao]]
%%Captain of the ''Audacious.''
%%----
%%* MortonsFork: Zhao is ordered to obtain the evidence aboard Geary's troop transports at Unity, and both Geary and Zhao seem to realize that he'll be catching flak for what happens whether he succeeds or fails.
%%[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:Captain Romano]]
%%A captain who shows Geary around Fleet Headquarters at Unity.
%%----
%%* NiceGuy: Romano is courteous and respectful toward Geary and displays a good sense of humor.
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:Admiral Barnhorst]]
An unpopular admiral who briefly replaces Timbale as the commander at Varandal.
----
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Barnhorst is nicknamed “Barricade” for obstructing people out to accomplish anything useful. This leads to her failing to carry out several important orders that Geary delivers to her and gets her relieved of command.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ensign Arwen Duellos]]
The eldest daughter of Captain Duellos. She joins the fleet in ''Outlands.''
----
* DaddysGirl: Arwen looks up to her father, saving every message he sent her while he was away on missions.
* EnsignNewbie: She's fresh out of fleet officer training.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Matson]]
Captain of the diplomatic vessel ''Boundless.''
----
* NiceGuy: He's a polite man who dislikes Dr. Macadams but won't openly insult him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Honore Bradamont]]
See: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheLostStars
[[/folder]]

!! The Alliance Senate

[[folder: Senator Navarro]]
The head of the Senate grand council when Geary finally makes it back to Alliance space.
----
* BigGood: The head of the war effort against the Syndicate, and a man who struggles to fight a humane war, while valuing the input of the fleet, and doing what he can to help Geary.
* BotheringByTheBook: Works to find a loophole to prevent punishing the fleet for letting their ships run so low on fuel during the retreat (which nearly incited TheMutiny) and later gives Rione a proxy vote during the trip to Earth so that she can deadlock the vote if the other senators onboard try to order anything particularly stupid.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: His home system is right along the border between the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds. As he rose through the Senate, the Syndics amped up attacks on neighboring systems while deliberately leaving his homeworld untouched to raise suspicions that he might have made deals with them and undermine his credibility. For a long time, it worked.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Willing to hear Geary's proposal out, while rebuking those who wanted to have him arrested just on the off chance that he ''might'' have delusions of grandeur.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Senator Costa]]
An aggressive, militaristic senator.
----
* AssInAmbassador: She has shades of this, especially in ''Victorious'' (where the situation is kind of warranted) communicating with the Syndicate leaders when Geary attacks their home system.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She's introduced as being very supportive of Geary at a time a lot of the council distrusts him, but is willing to give consideration to using the hypernet gates as weapons of mass destruction, grows a bit unfriendlier after seeing Geary retain more independence than she'd like, and was a major force behind the creation of the dark ships.
* DeadpanSnarker: Often.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Always quick to call for an aggressive, risky approach to things, yet reluctant to take any risks herself during incidents like the battle with Tavistorevas, and the Europa rescue mission (not that she doesn't try to take credit for them afterwards).
* PetTheDog: For all of her difficult nature, she does have a fairly large amount of these. She is moved to tears by the the Dancers' compassionate act of [[spoiler: bringing a body of an early space explorer back to his hometown on Earth]], expresses condolences for the loss of Michael Geary and instantly agrees that the ''Dauntless'' should try to rescue Lieutenants Yuon and Castries from Europa.
* WarHawk: Especially in ''Beyond the Frontier''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Senator Suva]]
A somewhat pacifistic senator.
----
* ActualPacifist: To an extent, being very uncomfortable with any battle, although she did vote to approve the dark ships, due to feeling they'd provide security.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Suva generally makes decisions that are both humane and beneficial to the survival of the Alliance ad objectives of the fleet (although not always eagerly), with a few regrettable exceptions, such as the dark ships.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Doesn't get along well with Costa, who is her ideological opposite. Any time they find something to agree on is a cause for either alarm (e.g. approving the dark ships, and trying to keep the mission to the Sol System classified) or celebration (e.g. how moved they are by the Dancers returning a body to Earth).
* StrawCivilian: How many of the fleet see her, and not without justification. That being said, [[HiddenDepths her attitude appears to be somewhat conflicted, rather than simply haughty and unyielding]].
--> "We're... Not like you," Senator Suva said, her voice tinged with what sounded like regret. "Are you sure of that?" Geary asked. The senators looked back at him as if they had never considered that question before.
* TookALevelInKindness: Grows a little more warmer and understanding over the journey to and from Earth, coign to interact more with the crew on a personal level, although it isn't a perfect transition and is damaged by seeing their willingness to be ruthless during the Europa rescue.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Senator Sakai]]
A senator from Desjani's homeworld of Kosatka.
----
* KnightInSourArmor: Sakai is burned out by the endless machinations of the Alliance Senate [[TheCynic and believes that the government's collapse is inevitable]]. Nonetheless, he works to maintain sanity in the Senate as long as it's still functioning.
--> '''Sakai:''' Perhaps my efforts are doomed to failure, but that will not be because I ceased trying.
* OnlySaneMan: When he's next to Costa and Suva, Sakai tends to be the most far-sighted and cooperative of the three.
* TheQuietOne: Rarely speaks except when spoken to, or to offer political insight (which he's careful about giving). When he is assigned to participate in the mission to force the Syndicate government to surrender Geary can't even remember what, if anything, he said when Geary addressed the grand council earlier in the book.
* SleazyPolitician: He isn't one himself, from what we see, but he bitterly notes that politicians who tell the voters the truth (especially in the Alliance, given the ForeverWar) are the ones who tend to get voted out of office.
* TheStoic: Very guarded about showing emotion in public.
--> Even his voice only ''might'' have carried a cutting edge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Senator Unruh]]
A younger senator apparently elected (or at least promoted to the Grand Council) during the TimeSkip between series.
----
* BlackBossLady: Technically not ''the'' boss, but one of the bosses (albeit possibly the youngest of them) after her appointment to the Grand Council.
* DeadpanSnarker: Isn't afraid to snark at her more obstructive colleagues.
--> '''Senator Unruh:''' Could we break from long-standing precedent and actually learn something about a subject before we make statements about it?
* IWasNeverHere: Timbale takes Geary to a secure conference room on Ambaru Station and tells him that there is no one in the room, but that he might want to have a look around. Unruh is there to give Geary a key to access Unity Alternate's hypernet gate and explain that they're moving against the hidden factions in the Alliance government which have been hiding the dark ships and attempting to undermine the Senate and the fleet. She then reminds him that she was never there and that their conversation never happened.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: In a sense, she's visibly touched when, after a discussion about defeating the dark ships and punishing the people in charge of the project, Geary tells her their conversation has reminded him of why he has faith in the Alliance.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: A supporter of Navarro, who Geary develops a quick appreciation for.
* WhyDidntIThinkOfThat: Is left very thoughtful by a speech Geary makes about how the "cost" of the fleet budget should instead be considered an "investment" given how the former term creates an image of money being thrown away because the Senate has no choice, while the later signifies relying on people who make a real difference in effectiveness and efficiency.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Senator Wilkes]]
A hostile member of the Grand Council who first appears in ''Beyond the Frontier''.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: After just one meeting with the man, Geary flat out distrusts him and is willing to speculate that Wilkes is one of the figures behind the dark ships. It's unclear whether or not this is true, but he's definitely a jerk.
* FantasticRacism: Shows plenty towards the Dancers, being openly disgusted by their appearance and questioning why Geary allied with them.
* {{Jerkass}}: Possibly the biggest in the Senate.
* IRejectYourReality: Wilkes refuses to acknowledge Geary’s ample evidence about the Defender Fleet and calls him a liar, although it’s unclear if he really can't accept the magnitude of the disaster or is trying to avoid punishment for his role in the fiasco.
* InsistentTerminology: He thinks the nickname "Kick" is insulting and wants to call the species the bov-ursoids.
* TheNapoleon: A short man who is belligerent and demeaning towards Geary, a man considered to be the Alliance's greatest hero.
* StrawCivilian: One of the biggest examples, blaming the fleet for everything that goes wrong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Senator Nakamura]]
A descendant of Lochlan Nakamura, a main character from ''Literature/TheGenesisFleet,'' and Desjani's godmother.
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing; She’s introduced greeting Geary warmly and having an insightful discussion about art while mentioning her ties to his wife. Then she starts shrilly accusing him of being a threat to the Alliance while possibly trying to hide her own suspected ties to the Defender Fleet.
* BlueBlood: Nakamura is descended from one of Kosatka’s most prestigious families and is very proud of that fact.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:Senator Dara]]
%%A Senator seen in ''Boundless.''
%%----
%%* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Dara feels nothing but confusion and disgust about the utilization of the dark ships and the paranoia that motivated their creation.
%%[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:Senator Kim]]
%%Another senator who appears in ''Boundless.''
%%----
%%* GoodOldWays: Kim questions Geary about the past beliefs and policies of the Alliance with clear curiosity, respect, and nostalgia.
%%[[/folder]]


!! Other Alliance Characters

[[folder: General Hyser Charban]]
An emissary of the Alliance government sent with the fleet on its mission to enigma space.
----
* FireForgedFriends: Nobody in the fleet trusts him when he first joins them in ''Dreadnaught'', but by the end of ''Leviathan'' he's become a trusted advisor and friend to Geary, and Desjani outright says she thinks the Alliance would be fortunate to have him as a politician.
* FrontlineGeneral: Charban led from the front in many battles during the ForeverWar with the Syndics. This has had a negative effect on him.
* GivingTheSwordToANoob: He becomes the first person the Dancers develop a liking to and start communicating with, to the surprise and sometimes jealousy of the academic experts sent with the fleet.
* NiceGuy: He's polite, humble, helpful, and isn't above smiling at InterserviceRivalry jokes.
* OldSoldier: He survived the war long enough to retire, and he freely admits to having seen too much combat and death for his liking.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: He resigned his commission after a battle in which half his division was slaughtered taking a worthless moon from the Syndics, only for it to be abandoned two weeks later. As he tells Geary, he couldn't lie to himself any longer about the war effort.
* SheepInSheepsClothing: Introduced as a respectful and fairly competent advisor/observer, but is also a stranger to the fleet, and a soldier with political aspirations who joins the fleet at a time Geary is suspicious of political forces within the Alliance. He ultimately proves to be a man with noble goals whom Geary is able to understand and sympathize with.
* SpannerInTheWorks: In ''Guardian'', he tells Geary that he believes this is why he was sent with the fleet, since he's has no background in politics and had no way of knowing what they'd encounter. Fortunately for the fleet, he knows his limitations, lets Rione take the lead when she needs to, and proves to be more adept at communicating with the Dancers than anyone else except for Lieutenant Iger.
* SurvivorGuilt: He is clearly grappling with this, wondering why he survived the war when so many others didn't.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ambassador Rycerz]]

The lead diplomat attached to Geary's fleet in ''Boundless''.
----
* BadassBureaucrat: Ambassador Rycerz shows a resourceful streak regarding fruitful negotiation strategies and handling the civilian officials who give her a hard time.
--> '''Admiral Rycerz:''' Once we leave there, heading for Dancer space, Macadams won't have any means of of communicating with his backers except through me or you approving any message he wants to send on your ships. At that point, Dr. Macadams is login to find his responsibilities redefined in ways that effectively sideline him so the other specialists can actually try to do their jobs.
--> '''Geary:''' What if Macadams refuses to accept that?
--> '''Rycerz:''' Don't you have jails on your fleet ships? What do they call them?
--> '''Geary:''' Brigs? You'll want me to arrest Macadams and throw him in the brig?
--> '''Rycerz:''' ''grinning)'' Tell me you don't already like the idea.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: Rycerz has to handle many complicated and sometimes unreasonable orders while dealing with lots of strong-willed people with varying agendas and concerns that can seem unreasonable or risky. She's often suffering from a headache. However, she's also a bit of a BadassBureaucrat.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Downplayed, but Rycerz shows up to provide a political presence in the fleet who can both support Geary and argue with his decisions [[spoiler:one book after Rione's death.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Doctor Setin]]
An expert on the study of extraterrestrials, who is sent with the fleet in ''Beyond the Frontier''.
----

* CynicismCatalyst: It's not too overt, but he grows a bit more withdrawn after Geary's battle with the Kicks at Honor, and when the Dancers choose to communicate with Charban instead of him.
* MeaningfulName: Setin, as in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI_Institute SETI, the scientific organization dedicated to seeking out the origins of life in the universe, and which is an acronym for "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence".]]
* WideEyedIdealist: Hopeful of peaceful contact with the aliens.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dr. Shwartz]]
One of Setin's team.
----
* HypercompetentSidekick: More insightful than Setin, and communicates more easily with the military.
* OneSteveLimit: Geary meets a General Shwartz in Adriana Star System. She doesn't believe they're related.
* ShoutOut: She works at the [[Franchise/StarTrek University of Vulcan]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Colonel Galland]]
The aerospace forces commander for the Adriana Star System.
----
* AcePilot: Commands the local star fighters.
* DeterminedDefeatist: She says that her fighters could take on a battleship, but that it would be a SuicideMission with low odds of success. She also adds that she is fully prepared to engage the battleship if there's no other way.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Galland is quick to help Geary and advise the best official way to communicate with the local authorities.
* ShoutOut: She is named for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Galland Adolf Galland]], a Luftwaffe fighter ace from WWII.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Nadia "Night Witch" Popova]]
One of Galland's pilots.
* AcePilot: She's a formidable aerial combatant and doesn't mind showing off fancy maneuvers.
* TheRedBaron: Night Witch.
* ShoutOut: Her name and callsign are references to the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches 588th Night Bomber Regiment]], an all-female unit of the Red Army during WWII. Her namesake, Nadezhda Popova, was named a Hero of the Soviet Union for flying over 700 sorties during the war.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: General Sissons]]
Commander of Adriana's ground forces.
----
* TheNeidermeyer: He communicates with his subordinates exclusively by yelling and threatening, and he even tries to push Geary around.
* NeverMyFault: Stubbornly refuses to admit having made any mistakes in weakening the system's defenses and not telling the civil authorities.
* SkewedPriorities: He cares more about keeping his career intact and ducking official blame than helping with Adriana's defenses or solving the refugee crisis.
* TokenEvilTeammate: He's the only Adriana leader to obstruct Geary and show more concern for saving his own skin than the system, even deliberately assigning Geary a unit that is suffering from high rates of PTSD for the mission.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: President Astrida]]
The governor of Adriana Star System.
----
* IronLady: She can be quite stern and decisive, particularly towards Sissons.
* OhCrap: Upon finding out so many defense systems have been abandoned and an ex-Syndicate warlord is threatening their borders, although she quickly moves on to discussing solutions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Major Problem]]
An Alliance officer stationed at Ambaru station.
* UnfortunateName: Unsurprisingly. Her subordinates comment that she should really try to get promoted or demoted to colonel or captain.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Colonel Kim]]
The commander of the Adriana System's garrison.
* MilitaryBrat: Her mother was a military logistics officer.
* PerpetualSmiler: Always cheerful, even in cramped and stressful conditions.
* SoldiersAtTheRear: While relatively senior, she hasn't seen much combat, openly acknowledges this and does her best to observe and learn.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Colonel Voston]]
One of Sissons's subordinates.
* CannonFodder: Sissons views him and the men assigned to help Geary with him as doomed and worthless. Voston is determined to prove him wrong.
* ShellShockedVeteran: He was on the frontlines of some costly, and failed, attempts to push into Syndicate space and has the look of a man who has seen too much war.
* SpannerInTheWorks: He tells Geary that he believes this is why General Sissons selected his unit to accompany Geary's task force on the repatriation mission. He explains that his troops have been pushed too hard for too long, and some of them are marginal enough that they might start shooting with little to no provocation. This would reflect badly on Geary and ruin his goal of a peaceful repatriation. Fortunately for everyone involved, this doesn't happen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dr. Jasmine Cresida]]
Commander Cresida's estranged sister and a scientist specializing in hypernet technology.
----
* DefrostingTheIceQueen: Jasmine is initially rude, aloof, and disrespectful of her sister's memory (feeling she wasted her potential by joining the military and betrayed their ethics by studying the military potential of the gates). She gradually warms up, especially after finding out Jaylen’s actions were meant to save people from being killed by nova explosions.
* ScienceHero: She is sent to get around Syndic efforts to block the hypernet gates. She succeeds, and also thwarts an attempt to blow up Midway's hypernet gate and kill everyone in the system.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Kottur]]

The head of the scientific mission into Dancer space, and a hypernet expert.
----
* AffablyEvil: Kottur is a remarkably pleasant man with a monstrous agenda. He's a closet xenophobe who is utterly convinced that the Dancers must be evil aliens plotting against humanity, causing him to attempt to destroy the Midway hypernet gate and kill everyone in the star system to stop an expedition into Dancer territory. While preparing for this, he tries to avoid meeting the people he plans to kill. Right after triggering his (unsuccessful) plan, Kottur tries to poison himself and leaves behind a recording laying out his motives and apologizing for their deaths. He also begins his recording with a line out of a detective novel, and pauses to add that he always wanted to say that.
* TheAllegedExpert: Dr. Kottur is the head of a high-profile mission to link the Alliance and Phoenix Stars Hypernet gates, but he knows more about the big picture principles than the technical workings of the devices.
--> '''Jasmine Cressida:''' Kottur wasn't that good at coding. His scientific skills were mostly in the area of academic politics.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Kottur wholeheartedly (yet incorrectly) believes that killing a couple of billion people is the only way to prevent a genocidal alien invasion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Ken Bron]]
A member of Dr. Kottur's science team.
----
* IgnoranceIsBliss: When Dr. Bron realizes that any warnings about the potential hypernet gate collapse won't give the people of Midway or the Alliance fleet time to evacuate, he despairingly wonders if they should even bother broadcasting a warning and filling everyone's last few minutes with terror.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Normally, kicking a longtime colleague who's just poisoned himself and opposing resuscitating him would be pretty cold. However, said colleague has just attempted to commit an act of mass murder out of xenophobia. He'd also left behind a recorded confession so he could feel better about himself that would have made Bron and several others spend the last minutes of their lives in desperate fear if the plan had succeeded. 
* OhCrap: Bron is terrified by Kotter's recording describing his plan to destroy the Midway system.
--> '''Dr. Bron:''' Oh my ancestors, we're doomed.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:Captain Holmes]]
%%A Marine captain stationed at Unity.
%%----
%%* ConsummateProfessional: He saves Geary’s life during an attack by xenophobic terrorists and then bothers to apologize for yelling "Get down, you fool!" at a superior officer.
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:Colonel Webb]]
The commander of a ceremonial honor guard (really disguised special forces bodyguards) assigned to a diplomatic mission in ''Outlands.''
----
* ColonelBadass: Colonel Webb is a stern, confident veteran of close quarters special forces missions.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Webb is rumored to have been involved in some very high risk and shady covert operations.
* KnightInSourArmor: Webb virulently dislikes the Syndics, hates the idea of peacefully retiring, views Geary through cynical lenses, and shows some distaste for the Alliance’s alien allies. However, he does show respect for a comrade who wants to retire peacefully, and genuinely cares about keeping everyone on the mission safe.
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Webb tells Geary that he dislikes people doing serious and dangerous actions without proper orders because a friend of his got brought on a SuicideMission that his friend's overconfident commander never got proper authorization for. Webb doesn't hesitate to insult the late commander's intelligence and morals, saying there was a good reason the plan didn't get official authorization.
* WakeUpFighting: A sailor who goes to wake Webb up by shaking his shoulder is briefly manhandled.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Macadams]]
A scientist sent to accompany a mission to Dancer space.
----
* TheAllegedExpert: Dr. Macadams presents himself as the galaxy's leading expert on extraterrestrial studies, but has a horrible case of ConfirmationBias and ignores any contributions (no matter how valuable) from people he considers to be his intellectual inferiors. He only got his current job due to his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections high-level connections]] and his HatesEveryoneEqually attitude making him appear unbiased.
* HatedByAll: Macadams constantly throws his weight around even after the limits of his authority are spelled out to him. He also uses condescending InsistentTerminology, insults the suggestions of his more competent subordinates, and falsely accuses Geary and his men of making stupid mistakes. Everyone in the fleet hates him, and Geary expresses hope that he'll eventually be able to put Macadams in the brig on bread and water rations.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: Macadams gets his position largely because most of the other candidates are too heavily biased toward or against the Dancers.
--> '''Ambassador Rycerz:''' Macadams, on the other hand, is hostile to every form of life in the universe, so he couldn't be accused of being particularly biased against the Dancers one way or the other.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Council President Kennedy]]
The head-of-state of Geary’s homeworld, Glenylon.
----
* NiceGuy: During Geary’s homecoming, he comes across as welcoming and complimentary without being sycophantic. He also wants to believe the best about the various alien races Geary has encountered (although like so many others, he’s a bit put off by the Dancers' appearances) and quickly agrees that Geary is better informed about that than he is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Colonel Duncan]]
A veteran on Glenlyon.
----
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Duncan shares a surname with one of the Glenlyon Marines from ''Literature/TheGenesisFleet.''
* CoolOldGuy: Duncan is a RetiredBadass who is charming and friendly when he meets Geary at a banquet, while also expressing appreciation about how his home world's greatest hero resisted the temptation to become a dictator.
--> '''Duncan:''' The military has enough trouble trying to march and talk at the same time. It'd make an awful mess of trying to run the Alliance, wouldn't it?
* RuggedScar: Duncan has a battle scar on his neck that not even futuristic cosmetic surgery has been able to fix.
[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:General Wallach]]
%%A ground force general stationed at Unity.
%%----
%%* InterServiceRivalry: Wallach discusses the traditional army-navy rivalry and amusedly notes that it kept the ground forces from getting involved in the dark fleet fiasco that got many naval officers arrested.
%%[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. John Senn]]
A historian who specializes in researching possible alien visits to human star systems and accompanies the fleet in the third series.
----
* AbsentMindedProfessor: He comes across as a skilled academic, but he has trouble deciphering a drink menu.
* WhosLaughingNow: He spent decades studying the possibility that aliens exist and being mocked for it by his colleagues, only to gain a lot of status and prestige once it turned out aliens are real.
[[/folder]]

!! Alliance members from before the main series

[[folder: Founders: Rob Geary, Carmen Oocha, Lochan Nakamura, Mele Darcy, President Chisholm etc.]]
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheGenesisFleet
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Cara Decala]]
Geary's [[PosthumousCharacter long-dead]] XO aboard the ''Merlon''.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: During the first book, when Geary briefly reminisces about his executive officer, he thinks of a man named Patros (although it's possible that Patros was his executive officer before Decala, given that Geary's memories of him are "several weeks old").
* MarriedToTheJob: Loved venturing into space, which caused strains on her marriage, as her husband wasn't in the fleet and wanted her to stay closer to home.
* NumberTwo: She's Geary's loyal pre-war executive officer.
* SacrificialLamb: She died about a decade into the ForeverWar.
* UndyingLoyalty: She wanted to stay on the ship at Geary's side during his LastStand and took a lot of coaxing to leave.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Geary's Shore Patrol: Demore, Alvarez, Chadra and Riley]]
Four sailors who serve on a Shore Patrol with Geary, eleven years before the ForeverWar, when he was a young Ensign, during the short story ''Shore Patrol''.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Chadra and Riley really don't get along or work well together for most of the story, then Geary walks in on them making out.
* TheDitz: Alvarez isn't the brightest bulb in the drawer and is infamous for screwing up simple jobs, but she is somewhat earnest.
* TheHedonist: Demore is a partier who likes to raise hell on normal shore leaves.
* HiddenDepths: Alvarez and Chadra show interest in visiting Earth someday, and Chadra at least seems to consider working harder to get a transfer to a ship likely to be sent back for a ceremonial visit.
* ImplausibleDeniability: Demore denies having gotten drunk himself while observing which of their crewmates were drinking to excess. He would have been a lot more convincing if he wasn't visibly struggling to keep his words from slurring.
* TheSlacker: Chadra and Riley are described as having decided they'd made a mistake within hours of enlisting in the navy, something their various superiors tend to agree with. Geary does wonder if part of Chadra's problem is having a PointyHairedBoss though.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: On their own, none of them are too competent or inspiring, but they do manage to accomplish some stuff together.
* RugbyIsSlaughter: A couple of the sailors they encounter on the patrol were hurt as a result of a rowdy rugby game.
* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: When Alvarez has to use the bathroom, she deputizes another crew member from the ''Redoubt'' to fill in for her until she gets back. The guy is heavily drunk and nearly uses the (secretly unloaded) taser she left with him on another sailor who tried to steal his drink.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chief Gunner's Mate Diana "Gundeck" Magoro]]
A gunner aboard the ''Merlon'' who is the protagonist of the short story ''Ishigaki'' set during the ForeverWar.
* ChekhovsSkill: Some of her tinkering with guns ultimately lets the ship score a victory when its damaged and in danger.
* EmbarrassingNickname: No one calls her Gundeck anymore, which she is grateful for.
* MilitaryMaverick: Was demoted while serving on ''Merlon'' for unauthorized tinkering with the guns, although she's tried to put this behind her since.
* MyGreatestSecondChance: Decala recommended sending her before a court martial for experimenting with the guns but Geary chose to simply demote her and give her a second chance, something she works hard to prove herself worthy of in the years after his disappearance.
* SergeantRock: Her immediate superior is a green ensign in awe of anyone who was on the ''Merlon'', who defers to her on a lot.
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Commander Weiss]]
An ensign aboard the ''Merlon'' and Magoro's division officer, who later becomes Magoro's commanding officer after being given his own ship.
----
* OvershadowedByAwesome: He tries to avoid talking about serving under Geary partially due to how large Geary's legend looms, and partially because his subordinates are often disappointed when he describes Geary in relatable, human terms.
* RankUp: He's gone from an ensign to a commander in six years, and feels concerned about what that indicates about the fleet and the war.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He has a few lingering doubts about Magoro, due to her MilitaryMaverick past, but is accommodating towards her and appreciates results.
* ToAbsentFriends: He and Magoro talk about how so many of their crewmates from the ''Merlon'' have died in the war, and wonder if Geary would feel happy about that after he (apparently) died trying to save them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Master Chief Milam]]
A former crewmate of Desjani. He is first mentioned in ''Guardian'', the third ''Beyond the Frontier'' book, where his daughter makes a brief appearance. He then appears in person in the prequel short story ''Fleche''.
----
* TheEngineer: He served in the engineering department and was the highest-ranking survivor left after the initial battering their ship took.
* NervesOfSteel: He remains even more collected than Desjani throughout the incident.
* NumberTwo: He becomes Desjani's second-in-command after she realizes that YouAreInCommandNow.
* TakingYouWithMe: After boarding the Syndicate ship, he sets the power core to blow with the few men who had it there with him, blowing up the Syndicate soldiers and themselves while Desjani and the other surviving members of their boarding party retreat back to the ''Flèche''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Seaman Jasmin Holaran]]
A gunner who served in the same battery as Magoro onboard ''Merlon'', who lived long enough to retire.
----
* BadassFamily: Her children would also enlist in the fleet.
* CoolOldLady: Enjoyed entertaining neighborhood children (one of whom would later become a POW before being liberated by Geary and the fleet) with stories about having served under Black Jack Geary during her retirement.
* MilitaryMaverick: Described by Geary as an "occasional hell-raiser", but a capable sailor who received a commendation for her gunnery unit's performance during a fleet wide exercise.
* PosthumousCharacter: Is long dead by the main series and never appears in person during any of the stories taking place earlier.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Spruance]]
Geary's commanding officer onboard the ''Redoubt'', eleven years before the war.
* IWasNeverHere: Chooses to accept a lot of statements to this effect from the shore leave troublemakers in order to cut Geary more slack.
* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: She is named for [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_A._Spruance Admiral Raymond Spruance]], one of the chief commanders of the American fleet in the Pacific theater of WWII and widely acknowledged as one of the best flag officers the US Navy has ever produced.
* TheNicknamer: She was the one who gave Geary the "Black Jack" nickname, in a moment of jest.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Even though Geary couldn't completely keep the peace, she recognizes that he made a good effort, and was undermined by internal factors, cutting him plenty of slack.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Sam Booth]]
An officer onboard Geary's ship ''Redoubt'' eleven years before the war, and a character in ''Shore Patrol''.
* TheNeidermeyer: He gives Geary lousy duty with no advance warning or sympathy in order to spare one of his cronies some work, and is stated as looking down on the enlisted men.
* OneSteveLimit: It's unclear if he's related to Captain Erabus Booth, an ObstructiveBureaucrat from fleet headquarters whose digital avatar briefly appears during ''Grendel.''
* ProfessionalButtKisser: His InSeriesNickname is "Suck-Up" Sam.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ensign Daria Rosen]]
A friend of Geary's aboard the ''Redoubt''
* AFriendInNeed: When she hears Geary is being given the shore patrol duties at the last minute she scrambles to get him a few things that he'll need.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Only appears in two brief scenes but is implied to have been the one who spread Geary's "Ensign Black Jack" nickname after overhearing Spruance use it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Seaman Bandera]]
One of Magoro's subordinates aboard the ''Ishigaki''.
* ConstantlyCurious: About ways to make the guns work better, with Magoro providing him some cautionary advice about the potential dangers of it.
* {{Determinator}}: Wounded during the battle but leaves the sick bay to continue helping.
* NewMeat: He's a low-ranking, recently enlisted sailor who asks a lot of questions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ensign Rodriguez]]
Magoro's division officer aboard the ''Ishigaki''.
* EnsignNewbie: Painfully young looking, with limited training and somewhat reliant upon her senior personal. She's also keen on regulations and nervous at the idea of them being broken.
* HeroWorshipper: An early example of an officer who literally worships Black Jack Geary.
* KilledOffscreen: She is killed by a Syndic hit during the battle in another section of the ship than Magoro (the nov character).
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Commander Lagemann]]
Commander of the ''Pommel'', one of Geary's escort ships during the Battle of Grendel.
* BringHelpBack: She is ordered to spread word about the battle so by Geary despite his own desire to stay and help Geary.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chiefs Vlad Drakar and Kantor]]
Magoro's fellow chiefs aboard the ''Ishigaki''.
* TheEngineer: Drakar keeps the ship's engines working.
* HeroWorshipper: Drakar is deeply in awe of Geary.
* ProperlyParanoid: Kantor fully believes rumors that the Syndics have started shooting prisoners, noting how, historically, the longer a war goes on, the worse it it gets. And the war does get a ''lot'' worse and go on a ''lot'' longer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Petty Officer Cahalan]]
One of Desjani's cremates aboard the ''Flèche'' and a member of her boarding party.
* HoldTheLine: Guards the boarding tubes with eleven others in order to fight against the Syndics who'd charged onto their ship right as the Alliance forces charged onto theirs. He fully acknowledges that this is going to be a HeroicSacrifice, and numbly tells Desjani that he and his men will die with honor. They do.
[[/folder]]

!! The Syndicate Worlds

[[folder: The Executive Council]]
* BadBoss: Both councils tend to order executions, SuicideMission's and other indignities at the drop of a hat. The first council was willing to destroy their own capital system and its people in order to wipe out the Alliance fleet and avoid suffering a humiliating defeat on their home turf. This did not go over well with the crews of their escape ships (whose families they were leaving behind to die with everyone else) once they found out.
* BigBad: They run the Syndicate Worlds and are responsible for its ruthless, shortsighted, and cold-blooded policies.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Bribes, kickbacks, assassinations, and general backstabbing are all part of the package for becoming a senior CEO in the Syndicate Worlds.
* CuttingCorners: ''Literature/TheLostStars'' reveals that they're so cheap that they don't even allow the budget for their ships to have enough escape pods to evacuate everyone, reasoning that whenever it's time to abandon ship, either enough of the crew will already be dead that they won't need that many escape pods, or the crew deserves to be punished for abandoning ship when they could still fight.
* LaserGuidedKarma: The original Executive Council gets caught in a MeleeATrois where everyone wants them dead.
* RedeemingReplacement: Subverted, as Rione notes, the second Executive Council is likely to be just as self-interested and ruthless, given their high ranks, and the sequel series confirms that they are ruthlessly clinging to their power but they are willing to agree to a truce with the Alliance and show limited personal bravery in the face of a potential hypernet gate collapse.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: The second Council only has one brief scene in the whole series, [[TheGhost the first council never physically appears at all]], and anyone who was on the Council at the start of the war is long dead, but their actions drive quite a bit of the story, in an almost exclusively negative fashion.
* WeHaveReserves: Both Councils are willing to sacrifice whole fleets in attempts to crush those who stand in their way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CEO First Rank Shalin]]
* NoNameGiven: Until ''Victorious'', he was just described as the commander who led the ambush.
* PromotionNotPunishment: Even though he let Geary's fleet escape, he was promoted to maintain the illusion that he'd defeated them, although Rione suspects he suffered quite a bit of punishment behind the scenes.
* SmugSnake: He revels in his apparent victory in the first book, but is easily outmaneuvered by Geary. He hasn't lost any of his smugness by the time he reappears in ''Victorious''.
* TheSociopath: A cruel man who seems to lack an understanding of decency.
* TheStarscream: As soon as it occurs to Shalin that he has control of the only remaining fleet in the Syndicate Worlds, he immediately starts gunning for the Executive Council in an effort to seize power for himself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Executive Destina Aragon]]
A Syndicate defector who allies with Michael Geary during the events of the ''Corsair'' comic series.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Already filled with doubts about the Syndicate Worlds' leadership, she and her soldiers revolt upon finding out that they were about to [[SuicideMission be sent]] against [[BadassArmy General Drakon and his rebellious ground force troops in Midway]].
* FieryRedhead: She is a fierce and sharp-tongued combat veteran with bright red hair.
* FireForgedFriends: With Michael and his people.
* FrontlineGeneral: An effective commando leader.
* ScarsAreForever: She has a large X-shaped scar on one cheek.
* WorkingClassHero: She and her brother rose up from workers to reach Executive Status.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sub-Executive Alark Harbin]]
Aragon's second in command, and fellow defector.
* BeneathNotice: He and his whole family have spent years working on this to avoid falling victim to Syndicate purges.
* BigDamnHeroes: Takes out an ISS soldier about to shoot Aragon in the back.
* TheCynic: Downplayed, but he's described as being a bit fatalistic after so many years of having nearly all of his men killed while the [=CEOs=] responsible got promoted.
* TheCreon: States that he prefers to be second in command when Aragon jokes that [[YouAreInCommandNow he would have been left in charge]] if he hadn't saved her.
* FacialHorror: Has a metal plate over the left side of his face as the result of battle injuries that he wasn't authorized to have fixed, due to the belief that he'd get killed soon enough anyway.
* NumberTwo: To Aragon.
* RedOniBlueOni: He's the blue to Nedele's red, being a silent, supportive figure who approves of mediation and is willing to make an effort to work things out with the Alliance soldiers.
* UndyingLoyalty: Towards Aragon. He appreciates her leadership and saves her life even when he could have let her die and then taken over the unit himself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sub-Executive Kat Nedele]]

Aragon's other aide.
* TheDogBitesBack: Has clearly experienced resentment and/or suffering at the hands of the Snakes and relishes any chance to kill them.
* FieryRedhead: Repeatedly advocates shooting one of the Alliance soldiers as an example to the other, and clashes with them in the corridors sometimes. She also enjoys fighting [[StateSec the Snakes]].
* RedOniBlueOni: She's the red to Harbin's blue, being a brave and competent soldier, but one who hasn't yet shaken off the ruthless Syndicate mentality.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Works very tensely with the Alliance POWS.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Naxos and Araya]]
A pair of Syndicate refugee leaders who appear in ''Beyond the Frontier''.
* AHouseDivided: They fell victim to this. They were part of the rebel forces who drove out the Syndicate government of Batara, but didn't have enough common goals with their new leaders, and were kicked off the planet.
* AlmightyJanitor: Naxos has spent his entire career as a line worker, albeit one who advanced just enough that people around him follow his lead.
* BenevolentBoss: Araya describes herself as having tried to listen to the input of her workers, [[TookALevelInCynic although she displays concern about whether or not she'd ever stopped doing so and not even noticed]].
* CoolOldGuy: Naxos. Even the Syndic-wary Alliance soldiers who spend enough time around him start calling him by his first name.
* EnsignNewbie: Araya is described as being too young to have fully been beaten into submission by life under the Syndicate system.
* TheExile: When they're introduced, although Geary sends them back to Batara and ensures a change in government (as well as putting a stop to the threat their more trigger-happy rival neighboring system poses to the Alliance system of Adrianna).
* LaResistance: They helped rise up against the old Syndicate government [[FullCircleRevolution before being exiled by the new one]].
* LargeAndInCharge: Naxos is described as a man of heavy build, and even Araya shows him some deference.
* NoodleIncident: Araya was blackballed by a CEO to never receive any future promotions while stuck at the lowest level possible above worker but it's never explained why (although standing up to SexualExtortion or displaying some sign of humanity in front of a GeneralRipper are likely options).
* TheParanoiac: Araya is described as "looking at me like she expects me to cut her throat during the next sleep period." This is entirely justified, considering what kind of place the Syndicate Worlds was.
* RedOniBlueOni: Have a bit of this, with Naxos being more thoughtful and deliberate than Araya, who is easily frustrated by the circumstances they're in.
* ReluctantRuler: Ruler is a strong word, but Naxos is described as being a bit surprised by the deference he gets from his fellow refugees and uncomfortable with it at first, although he quickly gets better.
* SinsOfOurFathers: Feel a little of this upon being informed by Geary that, contrary to what they'd grown up hearing, it was the Syndicate Worlds who started the war.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Araya has a moment of this, according to one of the Alliance officers accompanying Geary's mission after finding out that their former government has allied with a more militaristic, authoritarian neighboring system.
--> '''Colonel Kim''': The refugee leader Araya is certain from the transmissions we're been picking up that what she calls the "damned cowardly greedy revolution-betraying traitors-to-the-people" who've been running Batara have sold out to Tiyannak.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CEO Gawzi]]
The leader of the Simur Star System.
* CannonFodder: The Syndics are prepared to sacrifice her and her entire planet to try and hurt the Alliance fleet.
* GuiltRiddenAccomplice: Shows heavy unease and terror about what she is being used to do, and then stops appearing in communications (with the Syndic internal security forces trying to fool Geary with an avatar of her) leading to speculation that she either suffered a nervous breakdown or was executed for trying to stop the snakes.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: She's a CEO, but she's in charge of an expendable, unproductive star system, and Geary notes that her uniform looks like it should have been replaced a while ago, but she probably couldn't afford that luxury.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CEO Yamada]]
Head of the Indras star system.
* DecapitationStrike: He apparently falls victim to one. The second time Geary visit Indras (just days after the first time they went through), its under attack by the dark ships, vital targets all over the system have been destroyed and the angry and frightened CEO who contacts them and is running things is not Yamada.
* FatBastard: A smug man with a wide girth who is abetting efforts to illegally continue the war.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Protests the Alliance passing through his system as a sign of aggression even as he allows all kinds of covert activity aimed at the Alliance to go on in Indras.
* SoldiersAtTheRear: The Indras Star system is deep enough in Syndicate space that it has never had to worry about an Alliance attack before.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CEO Niko Cafiro]]
A captured officer in the flotilla Geary battles at Cavalos.
* AntiVillain: He's a CEO, but one who accepts that the war is being lost and is willing to give Geary tacit advice on how to end it (especially once he thinks there may be something in it for him).
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: His first appearance ends with the implication that he might be a tenuous ally to the Alliance in the future, but he never appears again afterwards.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He argued for the CEO defending Lakota to be told about what destroying a hypernet gate might mean. He was overruled, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, died as a result in the collapse, something which clearly distresses him.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Although he lacks an official capacity to enact policy decisions, he does acknowledge that the war is lost, and show some interest in negotiating with Geary, once the current executive council is gone.
* NumberTwo: He was the second in command of the task force, and its highest ranking survivor.
* OhCrap: He's not exactly smug and confident in the first place, but does seem to have some sense of hope that Geary's fleet can be stopped until Geary describes just how easy it will be for him to get home from there.
* RageBreakingPoint: Flies into a brief rant when Geary reminds him of how the attempt to trap the Alliance fleet at Prime failed. Cafiro protests that it wasn't his plan, but Geary counters that he would have certainly seen it as a sure thing and gotten onboard with it.
* SecretKeeper: He has some knowledge of the enigma race, but knows to keep his mouth shut about it around both the Alliance and presumably his own people. It's also implied that he knew about the reserve flotilla that shows up in the next book.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Somewhat reluctantly, Geary implies that the Alliance might be willing to support him in a position of leadership if he stirs up discontent in the Syndicate Worlds, an offer which intrigues Cafiro.
* WeHaveReserves: While he never actually ''says'' anything to this effect, Geary notes that he never once asks about the fate of his captured subordinates, and holds some resentment towards him for it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: General Service Sailor Rank Seven Gyal Barada]]
A captured Syndicate sailor interrogated by Geary after the battle of Sancere.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Played with. She initially seems to be a true believer in the Syndicate system, but Geary starts to wonder if she's just mechanically repeating the Syndic propaganda as a SurvivalMantra, given how easy it is to wind up in a labor camp or on the wrong end of a gun in the Syndicate Worlds.
* OhCrap: Already rattled, she shows sheer terror about finding out that she's being questioned by Black Jack Geary.
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: Her official title is a long one, although unusually this signifies a low rank rather than a high one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Reynad Ybarra]]
A Syndicate merchant captured and questioned by Geary while passing through Baldur Star System.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: His brother and sister both died in the war against the Alliance.
* InnocentBystander: Although he survives, he ends up a brief prisoner just due to having been about to jump out of Baldur at the same time the Alliance fleet happened to jump into it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The CEO of Cavalos]]
One of the first [=CEOs=] to receive a sympathetic portrayal, and the sister of a mining town mayor from a neighboring system.
* CoolOldLady: An older woman who's very disenchanted with the war and the Syndicate government and is willing to display the proper gratitude for the life of her brother.
* NoNameGiven: Her actual name is unmentioned.
* RealMenLoveJesus: She believes in the living stars, despite their ban under the Syndicate government, and admits to thinking that maybe they really did send Geary to save her family from death, and her system from tyranny.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: She provides covert aid to the fleet in exchange for having saved her brother and his family from Wendig.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: A corporation within the Syndicate Worlds government abandoned her brother and his family on a mining town that ran out of resources simply because they deemed it too expensive to relocate them elsewhere (while telling their families that they'd died), and they would have eventually died if Geary's fleet hadn't given them a lift into Cavalos. When she finds out, she is not happy and sends the fleet information which will benefit their trip home out of gratitude, and to get revenge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CEO Third Rank Frederika Nalis]]
The commander of the Syndic forces during the battle of Grendel.
* BlatantLies: Claims to be on a diplomatic mission authorized by the Alliance government upon first being spotted by Geary.
* GeneralFailure: She gets most, if not all of her force destroyed or badly damaged by a single heavy cruiser before even making it to the system she was trying to attack. Granted, she was going up against Geary, but that was at a time when the tactical skills of the average commander on both sides hadn't deteriorated yet.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Her actions lead to Geary becoming a HumanPopsicle, and emerging to win the war a century later.
* TechnicallyASmile: Geary describes her as having "the usual perfectly done hair, perfectly fitted uniform, and perfectly insincere smile" for a Syndic CEO.
* UncertainDoom: Right before abandoning the ''Merlon'' via escape pod, Geary tries to destroy Nalis and her surviving ships by rigging his power core to overload as her ships approach, but it is unclear as to whether he succeeded or not. Either way, she would be dead of ''something'' by the time of the main series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Rhian Wake]]
A citizen of Kane who revolts against the Syndicate Worlds, and becomes the system's provisional president by the events of ''Corsair'' after more than half the population is killed by an orbital bombardment in ''Literature/TheLostStars''
* ActionPolitician: She keeps a rifle in a sling over her back and won't back down before an invasion force.
* BadassCape: Wake wears a red hood and cape in all of her appearances.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Declares that she'll fight to the end with her whole planet rather than surrender, something that seems to be the feeling of the populace at large. While she does expect help from Midway, she knows there is no certainty of it.
* AFatherToHisMen: Well, mother anyway. She evacuates the civilians of the planet to bomb shelters as soon as the Syndics arrive and tells Colonel Orlando and his men to fight well, but not throw their lives away.
* LaResistance: It's unclear if she was part of this ''before'' the previous free to attack Kane killed half the population in an orbital bombardment, but she certainly is now.
* YouKilledMyFather: When the head of an invasion force offers to spare her family if she immediately surrenders, Wake replies that the orbital bombardment already killed her family.
* YoungAndInCharge: Looks to be somewhere in her thirties.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CEO Grandon]]
Commander of the forces seen attacking Kane in the last two ''Corsair'' issues and ''Boundless.''
* BadBoss: His bridge crew clearly live in terror of him, he rebukes them for offering him useful but irritating information, and he threatens to demote the head of his understaffed ground forces detachment to a common soldier and send him on dangerous patrols if he doesn't achieve more results.
* BeardOfEvil: He has a small, but prominent goatee on his chin.
* EvilIsPetty: Vents his frustration on Wake by bombing the transmission site even after being told it was a relay station and not a genuine target.
* IHaveYourWife: Keeps the families of his soldiers hostage and makes it clear that their lives will be forfeit in the event anyone fails or defies him.
* LightIsNotGood: Wears a white suit and might be the most evil character in the comic.
* NoNameGiven: He isn't called anything besides "Honored CEO" until ''Boundless.''
* RageBreakingPoint: Loses his smile and has spit flying from his mouth after Wake states she won't surrender looks forward to killing his people until they get fed up enough to shove him out an airlock.
* SlasherSmile: When he smiles he looks utterly terrifying, and he probably knows it.
* SmugSnake: He's utterly confident in his ability to subject Kane despite their alliance with Midway and its formidable forces.
* ToThePain: Promises Wake that if she puts up a fight, "by the time I get done with you, you'll wish you'd already died".
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Colonel Mako Orlando]]
The head of Kane's ground forces.
* BaldOfAuthority: He's bald and commands Kane's army for President Wake.
* ColonelBadass: Takes to the field with his men and has a strong air of competent authority.
* TakeNoPrisoners: In ''Outlands'', Mako won't even ''consider'' sparing the lives of any prisoners from the Syndic invasion force until learning that their families were being held hostage.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Senior [=CEOs=] of Atalia]]
The leaders of a Syndicate Worlds border system.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Constantly ravaged on the frontlines of the war, and fed up with the Syndicate government, as soon as the Alliance fleet is posing a threat to them (and the loyalist elements in the system have died attacking them) they promptly announce their surrender to the Alliance government, the first time such an event has happened.
* TheLoad: The Alliance government views them as not having enough resources (and too much bad blood) to be worth absorbing them into the Alliance after their surrender and drags its feet about giving them serious aid or diplomatic status.
* NoNameGiven: None of them are ever named.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Executive First Rank Pyotr Zin]]
The leader of a task force chasing Michael and his escapees.
----
* ShameIfSomethingHappened: While urging the Syndic deserters on the ''Corsair'' to surrender, he makes an unsubtle comment about how their families will receive "protection" again if they do.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The CEO of Corvus]]
Commander of the Syndicate forces in the first system the Alliance fleet passes through during their retreat.
* BadBoss: Orders his ships (all three of them) to fight a hopeless battle against Geary's entire fleet simply due to his obsession with the rules.
* NoNameGiven: He never volunteers it and Geary never asks.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: His response to demands for surrender is to recite a lot of Syndic regulations about defending military installations.
--> '''Rione:''' He lives to enforce the rules regardless of whether those rules make sense.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Corvus is not a prestigious system, and his station there does not indicate status or trust.
* UncertainDoom: After a while he stops talking to the fleet, leaving Geary to wonder if he died in they're bombardments or is just hunkering down.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain of Syndicate Heavy Cruiser C-875]]
The commander of a ship which witnessed the destruction of the Kalixa System via an exploding hypernet gate.
* BearerOfBadNews: She informed the reserve flotilla what happened at Kalixa, causing them to attack Varandal in retaliation.
* FakingTheDead: Requests that her crew not be told that she survived and surrendered in order to protect her family back in Syndicate space.
* [[AFatherToHisMen A Mother To Her Men]]: She disobeys direct orders to blow up Alliance prisoners (and the ships coming to get them) in a booby trap due to fearing that this would cause her crew (who had just abandoned ship) to be executed.
* InterServiceRivalry: After one meeting with the reserve flotilla, she reacts with visible anger upon being asked if they represent the most elite elements of the Syndic Navy (apparently they ''think'' they do and didn't hesitate to let her and everyone else know that).
* NoNameGiven: She's only ever referred to by her job title.
* OhCrap: Her reaction is both this and skepticism when Geary tells her that his fleet didn't cause what happened at Kalixa.
* PerpWalk: Desjani accompanies her to the brig as a sign of respect to deter the crew from throwing verbal abuse at her.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Described as being clearly traumatized and suffering mentally from what she has seen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The CEO aboard C-835]]
A Syndicate Mobile Forces commander who clashes with Geary and Aragon in two ''Corsair'' issues.
* BadBoss: Bullies around her workers and starts shooting them when they want to abandon ship. This doesn't end well for her.
* GeneralFailure: Acts stupidly against Michael and makes herself a sitting duck while angrily shutting down any crewmen trying to warn her that her maneuvers are risky.
* LeaveNoSurvivors: She has no intention of sparing any of the mutineers, Stating that if they try to fight her, then they'll die slowly, and if they surrender they'll die quickly.
* NoNameGiven: Her name is unknown.
* SkewedPriorities: Seems to care more that the revolting workers took what was meant to be her flagship than about the escape and mutiny itself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Aragon's Snake Minders]]
The Internal Security forces keeping an eye on Aragon prior to her revolt.
* DefiantToTheEnd: The badly wounded CEO of the group curses Aragon and tries to detonate a hidden nuke before being killed.
* NoNameGiven: None of them are named.
* OhCrap: As his partner is letting an apparent unnarmed Aragon inside th sveilance booth, the other one realizes that some hacking they'd just found out about might be changing the feed and she could be armed and ready to kill them. She is, and she does.
* ProperlyParanoid: The commander of the group doesn't trust Aragon -who is planning to mutiny- and orders her men to keep a close eye on her and alway be prepared for an emergency lockdown.
* SexualExtortion: One of the surveillance monitors boasts about having offered to send Aragon home if she sleeps with him, while not planning to keep his end of the bargain.
* StarterVillain: For the ''Corsair'' comic series. All of them are dead by the end of the first issue.
* VillainousFriendship: The two surveillance monitors have this vibe, amusedly discussing how they exploit the soldiers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:[=CEO=] Paulson]]
The commander of Indras in ''Boundless.''
----
* TheChessmaster: He's a ruthless, strategic leader who passes up a chance to attack a smaller formation of ships due to suspecting that they're TheBait. Later, he nearly tricks Geary into going through a minefield ''while'' Geary is taking evasive action.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Greene]]
One of Wake's advisors at Kane.
* TheSmartGuy: He is introduced giving a thoughtful, pragmatic assessment of why Midway should help them, factoring in {{Realpolitik}}.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Ravanna Executive]]
The commander of an Internal Security Detention facility, who clashes with Michael Geary and Executive Aragon
* ArmchairMilitary: Remains observing things in a heavily fortified office while sending out every one of his guards to fight.
* BadBoss: His men charge to almost certain death in defense of the facility due to knowing that he'll kill them anyway if they don't.
* EvilGloating: Takes pleasure in telling Aragon that her actions could get her family and the families of her men executed once their treason is known.
* NoNameGiven: Like most Snakes in the franchise.
* {{Sadist}}: Aragon is furious to find out that he was happily watching a video of her units families being sent to the frontlines and empties her sidearm into him.
* WardensAreEvil: He takes pleasure in sending his charges off on SuicideMission's along with their families.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The CEO at Kaliban]]
Commander of the flotilla Geary destroys in the battle of Kalliban.
* AbandonShip: Unlike many subsequent commanders Geary faces, he survived in an escape pod.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He is utterly baffled by Geary's following the laws of war, and giving him and his men advice on reaching safety rather than killing them. To be fair though, this is less of a reflection on how the CEO thinks than it is about how everyone thinks after a century of war, and he does seem somewhat relieved by this act of mercy.
* GeneralFailure: He isn't used to Geary's style of fighting, and when downplaying his own accomplishments at Kaliban, Geary notes that the man made plenty of mistakes.
* NoNameGiven: He remains unnamed.
* PunchClockVillain: Doesn't display the typical arrogance or cruelty of a Syndic CEO during his brief appearance, though that's probably because he's in a state of shock.
* VillainousBSOD: After losing a CurbStompBattle to Geary, expecting to have his escape pods destroyed, and perhaps facing a YouHaveFailedMe treatment from his superiors if he does survive, he looks pale and frazzled throughout Geary's brief conversation with him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Others: (CEO Jason Boyens, CEO Gwen Iceni, CEO Kolani, Kommodor Marphissa etc.)]]
see https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheLostStars
[[/folder]]
!! Alien Races

[[folder: The Enigma Race]]
* DoUntoOthersBeforeTheyDoUntoUs: Implied to be their philosophy.
* FishPeople: Revealed to be amphibious based on an examination of a single, badly burned body that the Alliance manage to get their hands on.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Started the ForeverWar between the Alliance and the Syndics in the first place by misleading the Syndicate Worlds with fake promises of military aid.
* TheParanoiac: Willing to conquer systems, enslave or murder millions of humans, and kill their own people just to reduce the chances of information being found out about themselves.
* TheSpook: Enforced. They kill any member of their species who might be captured with suicide bombs, and are obsessed with keeping every detail about themselves (especially their appearance) shrouded in secrecy.
* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: They have quantum computer coding that humanity can barely even understand, and have effortlessly detected and defeated any Syndicate attempt to reclaim territory through force or stealth (although they are cheating by hacking into the Syndicate databases to know everything first). Their ships are also incredibly nimble and good at avoiding fire.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: There are strong indicators that, like humanity, the enigmas lack a united government and just as mistrustful of each other as they are of humanity. Also like humanity, however, they're willing to band together to fight a common enemy.
* UncannyValley: The digital avatars they use to communicate with the Alliance fleet and the Syndics look convincing at first, but the longer Geary interacts with them, the more he notices things that are subtly wrong, such as microexpressions that don't quite jibe with what the avatars are saying.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Dancers]]
* BigDamnHeroes: The Dancer flotilla sweeps in to prevent the enigma bombardment of Midway, and later they bring a small armada to aid the Alliance fleet against the dark ships.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Relative to humanity, as they see everything in patterns. Dr. Shwartz and General Charban both note that this is deeply alien to the human way of thinking.
* DarkIsNotEvil: They're extremely ugly and unnerving to humans, but are nothing but friendly and helpful.
* DueToTheDead: They recovered the body of a human test pilot who became trapped in jump space centuries ago, carefully preserved his corpse and all his personal belongings, and insist on returning him to his hometown on Earth as soon as they have the opportunity.
* TheEngineer: As it turns out, this is their Hat; they are excellent engineers with a flair for design.
* GoodIsNotSoft: They have hypernet-gate mines built on their borders with the Kicks and the enigmas and have used them in the past, and it's suggested that they may eat any Kicks they capture.
* InnocentAliens: The only example in the series so far, although they have lethal self-defense capabilities and have constructed hypernet mines on their borders with the enigmas and the Kicks.
* UglyCute: Described as a mix of spiders and wolves - and are so friendly and [[CloudCuckooLander benignly weird]] they come off as endearing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Kicks]]
* AbsoluteXenophobe: The Kicks are hostile to all other races in the universe and exterminated most other animal life on their homeworld. All attempts to communicate with them result in their suicide and they immediately attack every other species they encounter. The Dancers and Enigmas actually have formed a non-aggression pact against them with the former extending it to humanity.
* BloodKnight: Devote a lot of effort to fighting and their only known entertainment is plays of them killing other species.
* CuteIsEvil: A race of adorable four foot tall genocidal maniacs who every alien race in the galaxy fears, including the Enigmas and Dancers. The Kicks resemblance to teddy bears and cows mean that Gerry finds it very difficult to convince the rest of humanity they are an existential threat.
* ExplosiveBreeders: Their population is enormous, thanks to the Kicks having exterminated all their predators.
* HerbivoresAreFriendly: Utterly averted.
* KillerTeddyBear: Resemble a mix between teddy bears and cows.
* MightyGlacier: Their battle strategy revolves around maintaining pursuit of the enemy for as long as it takes to wipe them out utterly, and their superbattleships are constructed with this mindset. They take forever to get up to speed, but they have tremendous amounts of armor and shielding and essentially unlimited range.
* TheParanoiac: Dr. Setin and the fleet captains speculate that a lot of their aggression comes from being convinced that anyone with sharp canines is a predator out to eat them, and responding with a massive attack.
* SingleBiomePlanet: They have wiped out everything on their homeworld except for themselves, a few pets and crops they grow for food.
* WeHaveReserves: The superbattleship that the Alliance fleet captures has only one escape craft with just enough space for the captain and his senior staff, meaning that the rest of the Kick crew is abandoned to their fate.
[[/folder]]

!! Sol System

[[folder: Lady Vitali]]
A British dignitary who meets with Geary and Desjani during their visit to Earth.
* KnightInSourArmor: She's a helpful, and efficient authority figure, but talks a bit dejectedly about not so much eliminating war in the Sol System as strangling it with red tape, and how this doesn't really solve anything, but simply drive the warmongers elsewhere.
* TheSpymaster: Knows a lot of the goings on in the system and provides Geary and Desjani with useful information and advice.
* ThinkNothingOfIt Geary tries to promise her a future favor for her help but she just says to point her in the direction of the best beer if she ever visits Alliance space.
* UpperClassWit: Shows some, such as asking if the Vitali in Geary's fleet is a hotheaded risk-taker and then saying they're probably not related after all once Geary replies he isn't.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Captain Commodore Earun Tavistorevas]]
An officer of the Covenant of the First Stars, a militaristic and highly ritualized human state attempting to run roughshod over the largely unarmed and divided Sol System.
* BlingOfWar: Played for laughs, as his uniform is covered in so much elaborate braiding and decoration that Geary can't even spot his rank insignia, and he has dozens upon dozens of medals forming a solid sheet across the entire front of his uniform. Desjani snarks that they must get medals for waking up in the morning, to which Geary comments that they probably get new medals for wearing their previous awards correctly.
* BullyingADragon: Tavistorevas tries to order around the ''Dauntless'' and the Dancer ships, not realizing he's messing with the single most gifted and determined human naval tactician alive, who is backed by an aggressive and intelligent captain and a veteran crew.
* ChestOfMedals: There isn't an undecorated inch on the whole front of his uniform. He has far more medals than the most decorated veteran in the Alliance, despite having never fought an actual battle before. The crew of the ''Dauntless'' sarcastically nickname him Mister Medals.
* EvilOldFolks: He's described as being "well past middle age", and is conducting an illegal blockade of a neutral star system, while also attempting to destroy ''Dauntless'' and those aboard either for money and/or because [[UnwittingPawn he's been told that they'll pose a threat to his government's dominance of the Sol System by people wanting to get rid of Geary and/or the senators he's escorting]].
* FantasticRacism: Shows some towards the Dancers and their ships, referring to them as "tramontane creatures".
* {{Hypocrite}}: Is highly condescending towards the Alliance, but is implied to have taken money from someone in the Alliance to serve as their assassin.
* MildlyMilitary: Geary and Desjani comment that Tavistorevas and his ships are what happens when a military has no actual wars to fight; they become increasingly obsessed with appearances and fripperies than with actually being ready for battle.
* MilesGloriosus: Considers himself to be an invincible leader despite having never fought a battle before. Naturally, his entire squadron is [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly demolished]] by ''Dauntless'', an Alliance warship crewed by hardened veterans of the ForeverWar.
* MouthOfSauron: There's a larger government whose agenda he's serving, but he's the one who appears in person, stating their business and enforcing their goals.
* SayingTooMuch: His SesquipedalianLoquaciousness line below. The ''Dauntless'' hadn't identified itself yet, and this causes them to realize that Tavistorevas knows who they are and is apparently waiting for them with hostile intent, while likely serving as a catspaw to one of the more corrupt factions back in the Alliance (a theory which is backed up by his subsequent conduct). Before that, the senators would have been more likely to force Geary to surrender to him rather than risk an international incident (not to mention going up against a much larger force), but knowing that Tavistorevas and his flotilla are up to no good rapidly disabuses them of this notion.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: His dialogue is laden with this.
--> '''Tavistorevas:''' I condescend to speak to the lowly representatives of the barbarous government of the inconsequential so-called Alliance.
* SmugSnake: A remarkably condescending man who is utterly convinced that he can decisively defeat any force that comes his way, even though his combat experience is limited to simulated battles that Geary suspects were rigged to always let him win.
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: His full title is His Excellency Captain Commodore First Rank Stellar Guard of the Fist of the People, Paramount of the Shield of Sol, and he will thank you to use it every time you speak to him. Geary and Desjani absolutely cannot take it seriously.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Tavistorevas clearly has ''no'' idea what he's in for when he picks a fight with ''Dauntless''.
* UndignifiedDeath: Given how it happens as a result of his stupidity in caring more about maintaining a visually impressive formation than an effective one during his attack.
* WackyWaysideTribe: Defeated very quickly and easily, after which (with the possible exception of the attempt to kidnap Yuon and Castries, although that could have also been corrupt Alliance powers), the Covenant of the First Stars pretty much vanishes from the story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Commander Nkosi]]
An officer in charge of the blockade of Jupiter's moon of Europa, which was ravaged by a biological weapon that could still kill all of humanity if it got off-world.
* {{Determinator}}: Unyielding about maintaining the quarantine, even if it means risking his own career and life.
* KnightInSourArmor: Given the grim, serious nature of his job.
* MortonsFork: Faced with either allowing the Alliance to go down to Europa under controlled circumstances to rescue their captured lieutenants and kill the kidnappers (if that ends up badly then his punishment would be being sent down to Europa to die of the plague), or prevent them from going, which could increase the odds of the ship escaping and spreading the virus. In the end, he cooperates with the Alliance to decrease the risk.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Feels this way when someone makes it down to Europa.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Cole]]
Commander of the ''Shadow'', a peacekeeping ship in the Sol System.
* ByTheBookCop: Determined to punish any lawbreaker he can find, and also hesitant to compromise about the issue of the quarantine of Europa.
* {{Foil}}: To the rest of the Sol authorities ship captain (save Nkosi). They either don't pursue the ship with the kidnappers at all or only do so with cautious, reluctant qualifiers for their help (to the point where Desjani half-seriostl considers "accidentally" bombing one of their headquarters), but then promptly leave and ignore the ''Dauntless'' once the crisis is over. Cole doesn't waste time with bureaucracy or question Geary's word during the crisis, but once it's over, continues to follow the ''Dauntless'' (either for their own protection and/or to make sure they do leave the Sol System after what happened on Europa) while requesting regular status updates, causing Desjani some annoyance.
* JumpedAtTheCall: The only local authority figure unhesitant, and even eager, to pursue the kidnappers of Yuon and Castries.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dominika Borkowski]]
A Sol System government official who first hails the ''Dauntless''.
----
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: There's a definite impression that she wants to do something to get rid of the Shield of Sol but is stuck following the time-consuming red tape of the system governments.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She's quick to welcome Geary and the Dancers, while providing somewhat useful information and warnings about the Covenant formation that is antagonizing them.
[[/folder]]

* ActionDad: Has three children back home, with the eldest one nearing draft age.

%%[[folder:Captain Pelleas]]
%%Captain of the battleship ''Gallant.''

%%* MightyGlacier: He charges his ship through a minefield to take the brunt of an explosion threatening one of the fleet auxiliaries. His ship comes out the other side with minimal damage.

%%[[folder:Captain Zhao]]
%%Captain of the ''Audacious.''

%%* MortonsFork: Zhao is ordered to obtain the evidence aboard Geary's troop transports at Unity, and both Geary and Zhao seem to realize that he'll be catching flak for what happens whether he succeeds or fails.

%%[[folder:Captain Romano]]
%%A captain who shows Geary around Fleet Headquarters at Unity.
%%----
%%* NiceGuy: Romano is courteous and respectful toward Geary and displays a good sense of humor.
%%[[/folder]]

* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: He's bald, black and commands Kane's army for President Wake.

* CuteIsEvil: The Kicks resemblance to teddy bears and cows mean that Gerry finds it very difficult to convince the rest of humanity they are an existential threat.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Or green hair in her case. It was genetically engineered into her ancestors' genome.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: In the face of a mutiny, the CEO makes a failed attempt to pump nerve gas into the holding cells of the Alliance prisoners to keep them from getting away or being of any use to Aragon.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Orvis is amused to fear that Syndic propaganda claims that Alliance Marines are brainless mutants.

Captain of the ''Gavelock'', and commanding officer of the Twentieth Destroyer Squadron.
* NoManLeftBehind: He doesn't hesitate to take his ships near a potential core overload in an effort to rescue those trapped onboard the ''Warrior''.
* YouAreTooLate: Sadly, the ''Warrior'' explodes before he can reach and evacuate it, something which leaves him somber.
[[/folder]]

The chief engineer aboard the ''Dauntless''.
* TheEngineer: Serves as this job and has little to do with Geary and the command staff.
* NewMeat: Gionnini noes that she has been in the service for a relatively short time and while competent, isn't the best authority for Geary to consult.
[[/folder]]

* {{UST}}: Has quite a bit of it with Desjani. It's finally resolved when they get married between ''Victorious''and ''Dreadnaught''.

* NumberTwo: Serves as this to Geary.

* TheWatson: Serves as this to Geary, calling him out on his mistakes as well as educating him on common elements of culture he doesn't know about due to his long period in cryosleep.

* BelligerentSexualTension: It takes awhile for Geary to realize they have this.

* {{Tsundere}}: During the early books of the series, she this attitude to Geary, which confuses her as much as it does him.

* TheConfidant: Duellos is the person Geary is most likely to use as a sounding board about anything military related, especially when he's trying to understand the changes that a century of total war has wrought on the Alliance fleet.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted. Geary, Desjani, and Duellos all find themselves missing Cresida after her death at Varandal.

* PerpetualFrowner: He smiles ''once'' over the course of the entire sequel series.

* EveryoneHasStandards: When Bloch tells Geary [[spoiler: about the dark fleet's Armageddon Option (that is, blowing the entire Alliance hypernet under the assumption that the Syndics have won), he adds that he argued against including that protocol in their databases.]]

* EpicFail: Falco leads forty ships away from the fleet on a mad dash toward Alliance space, trusting in "moral superiority" to see them through. They immediately run into a series of minefields and ambushes, exactly as Geary had predicted would happen, and are torn to shreds. It goes so badly wrong that Falco snaps and loses his mind.

* PetTheDog: Lieutenant Riva tells Geary and Desjani that Falco was the one who kept everyone's morale up even as they spent years in a Syndic labor camp, and a lot of the men would have been broken if it weren't for him. Geary reflects that seeing Falco as just another scumbag like Numos or Faresa isn't going to be as simple as he himself would prefer.

* {{Jerkass}}: Like Numos and Faresa before him, Casia is a belligerent prick whose main function in the story is to aggravate Geary.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Despite having been KilledOffForReal in ''Valiant'', Casia reappears in Beyond the Frontier, alive and well and still in command of ''Conqueror''. No InUniverse explanation is given for this, meaning that it is most likely a SeriesContinuityError.

* AmbitionIsEvil: Kila's ambition certainly is, since it led her to [[spoiler: attempt to kill everyone on ''Dauntless'', ''Furious'', and ''Illustrious'', successfully destroy the ''Lorica'', and generally wreak havoc behind the scenes, all in the name of trying to take command from Geary.]]

* {{Oireland}}: She has green hair, her nickname is Shamrock, she comes from a planet called Eire, the audiobook narrator gives her a very "Oirish" accent, and her last name is one letter off from a popular brand of Irish whiskey.

* HurtingHero: He is saddened and frustrated by the ShootTheShaggyDog fate of [[spoiler: the Kick prisoners he'd been keeping alive for so long]]. He also has a bit of a frustrated, pained blow-up upon finding out about [[spoiler: Paul Benan's mental block]].

* AFatherToHisMen: Upon learning that two of his destroyers were lost to the dark ships he wastes little time in asking whether there were survivors. Even in his first appearance, when he's actively avoiding contact with Geary and the fleet due to the coup concerns, he's still prompt in seeing to the repair and resupply of their ships.

* GeniusBruiser: Like Cresida, he's a hit-and-run formation commander who is good at coming up with plans to manipulate the Syndics and has some decent technical knowledge of the hypernet gates.

One of Michael's fellow prisoners in ''Corsair''.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Aragon and her men, at first.

Two of Michael's fellow [=POWs=], a brother and sister, with the brother being the only member of his original crew with him.

* OutOfFocus: Once they get the propulsion units working, they vanish into the background while Chief North takes over as the engineer that Michael interacts with more.

* BeleagueredBureaucrat: Tyrosian is avery good engineer, but the responsibilities of being a division commander and managing the supply and repair needs of the entire fleet overwhelm her, and she’s actually happy to be relieved by Captain Smythe.

[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Pajari]]
Commander of the light cruiser ''Spur''.
* ADayInTheLimelight: While accompanyingGeary's small task force to secure the Adrianna System. It's noted that the commanders of the smaller ships generally stay in the background and this gives Geary a chance to observe them in action and get to know them more.
* LeeroyJenkins: Averted, with her maintaining strategy and discipline even after losing a ship, but letting the Syndics ''think'' she's displaying this to make them act stupidly and become easy targets for her.

[[folder: Commander James Savik]]
Captain of the destroyer ''Formidable''.
* ADayInTheLimelight: His situation is similar to Pajari's above. Savik gets less focus than she does but is assigned to pick up some prisoners and provide screening for the other ships.
* NiceGuy: Takes his orders with a proud smile.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Admiral Chelak]]
A liberated [=POW=] from the beginning of ''Beyond the Frontier'' who is briefly a pain in Geary's neck.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Is utterly convinced that he should be in charge of the fleet despite his long confinement, obvious incompetence, lack of knowledge about their mission, and Geary's own exploits.
* TheStarscream: Repeatedly tries to undermine Geary's authority and have himself installed as head of the fleet, with no success.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Nicodeom]]
An officer onboard the ''Dauntless''.
* BridgeBunny: One of the watch standers aboard the ''Dauntless', albeit one with a defined speciality.
* TheEngineer: While he doesn't seem to be involved in the actual repairs of the ship, he serves as the bridge officer consulted by Desjani about engineering scenarios.
* StuffBlowingUp: He plays a role in crafting the plan to rig a minefield out of ships to blow up the arriving Syndics during the Second Battle of Lakota.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Pastak]]

[[folder: Chief Busek]]

[[folder:Captain Pelleas]]
Captain of the battleship ''Gallant.''

* MightyGlacier: He charges his ship through a minefield to take the brunt of an explosion threatening one of the fleet auxiliaries. His ship comes out the other side with minimal damage.

[[folder:Captain Zhao]]
Captain of the ''Audacious.''

* MortonsFork: Zhao is ordered to obtain the evidence aboard Geary's troop transports at Unity, and both Geary and Zhao seem to realize that he'll be catching flak for what happens whether he succeeds or fails.

[[folder:Captain Romano]]
A captain who shows Geary around Fleet Headquarters at Unity.

* NiceGuy: Romano is courteous and respectful toward Geary and displays a good sense of humor.

[[folder:Admiral Barnhorst]]
An unpopular admiral who briefly replaces Timbale as the commander at Varandal.
----
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Barnhorst is nicknamed “Barricade” for obstructing people out to accomplish anything useful. This leads to her failing to carry out several important orders that Geary delivers to her and gets her relieved of command.

[[folder:Ensign Arwen Duellos]]
The eldest daughter of Captain Duellos. She joins the fleet in ''Outlands.''

* DaddysGirl: Arwen looks up to her father, saving every message he sent her while he was away on missions.
* EnsignNewbie: She's fresh out of fleet officer training.

[[folder:Captain Matson]]
Captain of the diplomatic vessel ''Boundless.''

* NiceGuy: He's a polite man who dislikes Dr. Macadams but won't openly insult him.

[[folder: Captain Honore Bradamont]]
See: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheLostStars
[[/folder]]

!! The Alliance Senate

[[folder: Senator Navarro]]
The head of the Senate grand council when Geary finally makes it back to Alliance space.

* BigGood: The head of the war effort against the Syndicate, and a man who struggles to fight a humane war, while valuing the input of the fleet, and doing what he can to help Geary.
* BotheringByTheBook: Works to find a loophole to prevent punishing the fleet for letting their ships run so low on fuel during the retreat (which nearly incited TheMutiny) and later gives Rione a proxy vote during the trip to Earth so that she can deadlock the vote if the other senators onboard try to order anything particularly stupid.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: His home system is right along the border between the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds. As he rose through the Senate, the Syndics amped up attacks on neighboring systems while deliberately leaving his homeworld untouched to raise suspicions that he might have made deals with them and undermine his credibility. For a long time, it worked.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Willing to hear Geary's proposal out, while rebuking those who wanted to have him arrested just on the off chance that he ''might'' have delusions of grandeur.

[[folder: Senator Costa]]
A militaristic Senator.
* AssInAmbassador: She has shades of this, especially in ''Victorious'' (where the situation is kind of warranted) communicating with the Syndicate leaders when Geary attacks their home system.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She's introduced as being very supportive of Geary at a time a lot of the council distrusts him, but is willing to give consideration to using the hypernet gates as weapons of mass destruction, grows a bit unfriendlier after seeing Geary retain more independence than she'd like, and was a major force behind the creation of the dark ships.
* DeadpanSnarker: Often.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Always quick to call for an aggressive, risky approach to things, yet reluctant to take any risks herself during incidents like the battle with Tavistorevas, and the Europa rescue mission (not that she doesn't try to take credit for them afterwards).
* PetTheDog: For all of her difficult nature, she does have a fairly large amount of these. She is moved to tears by the the Dancers' compassionate act of [[spoiler: bringing a body of an early space explorer back to his hometown on Earth]], expresses condolences for the loss of Michael Geary and instantly agrees that the ''Dauntless'' should try to rescue Lieutenants Yuon and Castries from Europa.
* WarHawk: Especially in ''Beyond the Frontier''.

[[folder: Senator Suva]]
A somewhat pacifistic senator.
* ActualPacifist: To an extent, being very uncomfortable with any battle, although she did vote to approve the dark ships, due to feeling they'd provide security.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Suva generally makes decisions that are both humane and beneficial to the survival of the Alliance ad objectives of the fleet (although not always eagerly), with a few regrettable exceptions, such as the dark ships.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Doesn't get along well with Costa, who is her ideological opposite. Any time they find something to agree on is a cause for either alarm (e.g. approving the dark ships, and trying to keep the mission to the Sol System classified) or celebration (e.g. how moved they are by the Dancers returning a body to Earth).
* StrawCivilian: How many of the fleet see her, and not without justification. That being said, [[HiddenDepths her attitude appears to be somewhat conflicted, rather than simply haughty and unyielding]].
--> "We're... Not like you," Senator Suva said, her voice tinged with what sounded like regret. "Are you sure of that?" Geary asked. The senators looked back at him as if they had never considered that question before.
* TookALevelInKindness: Grows a little more warmer and understanding over the journey to and from Earth, coign to interact more with the crew on a personal level, although it isn't a perfect transition and is damaged by seeing their willingness to be ruthless during the Europa rescue.

[[folder: Senator Sakai]]
A senator from Desjani's homeworld of Kosatka.
* KnightInSourArmor: Sakai is burned out by the endless machinations of the Alliance Senate [[TheCynic and believes that the government's collapse is inevitable]]. Nonetheless, he works to maintain sanity in the Senate as long as it's still functioning.
--> '''Sakai:''' Perhaps my efforts are doomed to failure, but that will not be because I ceased trying.
* OnlySaneMan: When he's next to Costa and Suva, Sakai tends to be the most far-sighted and cooperative of the three.
* TheQuietOne: Rarely speaks except when spoken to, or to offer political insight (which he's careful about giving). When he is assigned to participate in the mission to force the Syndicate government to surrender Geary can't even remember what, if anything, he said when Geary addressed the grand council earlier in the book.
* SleazyPolitician: He isn't one himself, from what we see, but he bitterly notes that politicians who tell the voters the truth (especially in the Alliance, given the ForeverWar) are the ones who tend to get voted out of office.
* TheStoic: Very guarded about showing emotion in public.
--> Even his voice only ''might'' have carried a cutting edge.

[[folder: Senator Unruh]]
A younger senator apparently elected (or at least promoted to the Grand Council) during the TimeSkip between series.
-----
* BlackBossLady: Technically not ''the'' boss, but one of the bosses (albeit possibly the youngest of them) after her appointment to the Grand Council.
* DeadpanSnarker: Isn't afraid to display some of this towards her more obstructive colleagues.
--> '''Senator Unruh:''' Could we break from long-standing precedent and actually learn something about a subject before we make statements about it?
* IWasNeverHere: Timbale takes Geary to a secure conference room on Ambaru Station and tells him that there is no one in the room, but that he might want to have a look around. Unruh is there to give Geary a key to access Unity Alternate's hypernet gate and explain that they're moving against the hidden factions in the Alliance government which have been hiding the dark ships and attempting to undermine the Senate and the fleet. She then reminds him that she was never there and that their conversation never happened.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: In a sense, she's visibly touched when, after a discussion about defeating the dark ships and punishing those bending them, Geary tells her their conversation has reminded him of why he has faith in the Alliance.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: A supporter of Navarro, who Geary develops a quick appreciation for.
* WhyDidntIThinkOfThat: Is left very thoughtful by a speech Geary makes about how the "cost" of the fleet budget should instead be considered an "investment" given how the former term creates an image of money being thrown away because the Senate has no choice, while the later signifies relying on people who make a real difference in effectiveness and efficiency.

[[folder: Senator Wilkes]]
A hostile member of the Grand Council who first appears in ''Beyond the Frontier''.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: After just one meeting with the man, Geary flat out distrusts him and is willing to speculate that Wilkes is one of the figures behind the dark ships. It's unclear whether or not this is true, but he's definitely a jerk.
* FantasticRacism: Shows plenty towards the Dancers, being openly disgusted by their appearance and questioning why Geary allied with them.
* {{Jerkass}}: Possibly the biggest in the Senate.
* IRejectYourReality: Wilkes refuses to acknowledge Geary’s ample evidence about the Dark Ships disaster and calls him a liar, although it’s unclear if he really can't accept the magnitude of the disaster or is trying to avoid punishment for his role in the fiasco.
* InsistentTerminology: He thinks the nickname "Kick" is insulting and wants to call the species the bov-ursoids.
* TheNapoleon: A short man who is belligerent and demeaning towards Geary, a man considered to be the Alliance's greatest hero.
* StrawCivilian: One of the biggest examples, blaming the fleet for everything that goes wrong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Senator Nakamura]]
A descendant of Lochlan Nakamura, a main character from ''Literature/TheGenesisFleet,'' and Desjani's godmother.

* BitchInSheepsClothing; She’s introduced greeting Geary warmly and having an insightful discussion about art while mentioning her ties to his wife. Then she starts shrilly accusing him of being a threat to the Alliance while possibly trying to hide her own suspected ties to the Defender Fleet.
* BlueBlood: Nakamura is descended from one of Kosatka’s most prestigious families and is very proud of that fact.

[[folder:Senator Dara]]
A Senator seen in ''Boundless.''

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Dara feels nothing but confusion and disgust about the utilization of the dark ships and the paranoia that motivated their creation.

[[folder:Senator Kim]]
Another senator who appears in ''Boundless.''

* GoodOldWays: Kim questions Geary about the past beliefs and policies of the Alliance with clear curiosity, respect, and nostalgia.

!! Other Alliance Characters

[[folder: General Hyser Charban]]
An emissary of the Alliance government sent with the fleet on its mission to enigma space.

* FireForgedFriends: Nobody in the fleet trusts him when he first joins them in ''Dreadnaught'', but by the end of ''Leviathan'' he's become a trusted advisor and friend to Geary, and Desjani outright says she thinks the Alliance would be fortunate to have him as a politician.
* FrontlineGeneral: Charban led from the front in many battles during the ForeverWar with the Syndics. This has had a negative effect on him.
* GivingTheSwordToANoob: He becomes the first person the Dancers develop a liking to and start communicating with, to the surprise and sometimes jealousy of the academic experts sent with the fleet.
* NiceGuy: He's polite, humble, helpful, and isn't above smiling at InterserviceRivalry jokes.
* OldSoldier: He survived the war long enough to retire, and he freely admits to having seen too much combat and death for his liking.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: He resigned his commission after a battle in which half his division was slaughtered taking a worthless moon from the Syndics, only for it to be abandoned two weeks later. As he tells Geary, he couldn't lie to himself any longer about the war effort.
* SheepInSheepsClothing: Introduced as a respectful and fairly competent advisor/observer, but is also a stranger to the fleet, and a soldier with political aspirations who joins the fleet at a time Geary is suspicious of political forces within the Alliance. He ultimately proves to be a man with noble goals whom Geary is able to understand and sympathize with.
* SpannerInTheWorks: In ''Guardian'', he tells Geary that he believes this is why he was sent with the fleet, since he's has no background in politics and had no way of knowing what they'd encounter. Fortunately for the fleet, he knows his limitations, lets Rione take the lead when she needs to, and proves to be more adept at communicating with the Dancers than anyone else except for Lieutenant Iger.
* SurvivorGuilt: He is clearly grappling with this, wondering why he survived the war when so many others didn't.

[[folder:Ambassador Rycerz]]

The lead diplomat attached to Geary's fleet in ''Boundless''.

* BadassBureaucrat: Ambassador Rycerz shows a resourceful streak regarding fruitful negotiation strategies and handling the civilian officials who give her a hard time.
--> '''Admiral Rycerz:''' Once we leave there, heading for Dancer space, Macadams won't have any means of of communicating with his backers except through me or you approving any message he wants to send on your ships. At that point, Dr. Macadams is login to find his responsibilities redefined in ways that effectively sideline him so the other specialists can actually try to do their jobs.
--> '''Geary:''' What if Macadams refuses to accept that?
--> '''Rycerz:''' Don't you have jails on your fleet ships? What do they call them?
--> '''Geary:''' Brigs? You'll want me to arrest Macadams and throw him in the brig?
--> '''Rycerz:''' ''grinning)'' Tell me you don't already like the idea.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: Rycerz has to handle many complicated and sometimes unreasonable orders while dealing with lots of strong-willed people with varying agendas and concerns that can seem unreasonable or risky. She's often suffering from a headache. However, she's also a bit of a BadassBureaucrat.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Downplayed, but Rycerz shows up to provide a political presence in the fleet who can both support Geary and argue with his decisions [[spoiler:one book after Rione's death.]]

[[folder: Doctor Setin]]
An expert on the study of extraterrestrials, who is sent with the fleet in ''Beyond the Frontier''.

* CynicismCatalyst: It's not too overt, but he grows a bit more withdrawn after Geary's battle with the Kicks at Honor, and when the Dancers choose to communicate with Charban instead of him.
* MeaningfulName: Setin, as in [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI_Institute SETI, the scientific organization dedicated to seeking out the origins of life in the universe, and which is an acronym for "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence".]]
* WideEyedIdealist: Hopeful of peaceful contact with the aliens.

[[folder: Dr. Shwartz]]
One of Setin's team.

* HypercompetentSidekick: More insightful than Setin, and communicates more easily with the military.
* OneSteveLimit: Geary meets a General Shwartz in Adriana Star System. She doesn't believe they're related.
* ShoutOut: She works at the [[Franchise/StarTrek University of Vulcan]].

[[folder: Colonel Galland]]
The aerospace forces commander for the Adriana Star System.
----
* AcePilot: Commands the local star fighters.
* DeterminedDefeatist: She says that her fighters could take on a battleship, but that it would be a SuicideMission with low odds of success. She also adds that she is fully prepared to engage the battleship if there's no other way.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Galland is quick to help Geary and advise the best official way to communicate with the local authorities.
* ShoutOut: She is named for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Galland Adolf Galland]], a Luftwaffe fighter ace from WWII.

[[folder: Lieutenant Nadia "Night Witch" Popova]]
One of Galland's pilots.
* AcePilot: She's a formidable aerial combatant and doesn't mind showing off fancy maneuvers.
* TheRedBaron: Night Witch.
* ShoutOut: Her name and callsign are references to the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches 588th Night Bomber Regiment]], an all-female unit of the Red Army during WWII. Her namesake, Nadezhda Popova, was named a Hero of the Soviet Union for flying over 700 sorties during the war.

[[folder: General Sissons]]
Commander of Adriana's ground forces.

* TheNeidermeyer: He communicates with his subordinates exclusively by yelling and threatening, and he even tries to push Geary around.
* NeverMyFault: Stubbornly refuses to admit having made any mistakes in weakening the system's defenses and not telling the civil authorities.
* SkewedPriorities: He cares more about keeping his career intact and ducking official blame than helping with Adriana's defenses or solving the refugee crisis.
* TokenEvilTeammate: He's the only Adriana leader to obstruct Geary and show more concern for saving his own skin than the system, even deliberately assigning Geary a unit that is suffering from high rates of PTSD for the mission.

[[folder: President Astrida]]
The governor of Adriana Star System.

* IronLady: She can be quite stern and decisive, particularly towards Sissons.
* OhCrap: Upon finding out so many defense systems have been abandoned and an ex-Syndicate warlord is threatening their borders, although she quickly moves on to discussing solutions.

[[folder: Major Problem]]
An Alliance officer stationed at Ambaru station.
* UnfortunateName: Unsurprisingly. Her subordinates comment that she should really try to get promoted or demoted to colonel or captain.

[[folder: Colonel Kim]]
The commander of the Adriana System's garrison.
* MilitaryBrat: Her mother was a military logistics officer.
* PerpetualSmiler: Always cheerful, even in cramped and stressful conditions.
* SoldiersAtTheRear: While relatively senior, she hasn't seen much combat, openly acknowledges this and does her best to observe and learn.

[[folder: Colonel Voston]]
One of Sissons's subordinates.
* CannonFodder: Sissons views him and the men assigned to help Geary with him as doomed and worthless. Voston is determined to prove him wrong.
* ShellShockedVeteran: He was on the frontlines of some costly, and failed, attempts to push into Syndicate space and has the look of a man who has seen too much war.
* SpannerInTheWorks: He tells Geary that he believes this is why General Sissons selected his unit to accompany Geary's task force on the repatriation mission. He explains that his troops have been pushed too hard for too long, and some of them are marginal enough that they might start shooting with little to no provocation. This would reflect badly on Geary and ruin his goal of a peaceful repatriation. Fortunately for everyone involved, this doesn't happen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dr. Jasmine Cresida]]
Commander Cresida's estranged sister and a scientist specializing in hypernet technology.

* DefrostingTheIceQueen: Jasmine is initially rude, aloof, and disrespectful of her sister's memory (feeling she wasted her potential by joining the military and betrayed their ethics by studying the military potential of the gates). She gradually warms up, especially after finding out Jaylen’s actions were meant to save people from being killed by nova explosions.
* ScienceHero: She is sent to get around Syndic efforts to block the hypernet gates. She succeeds, and also thwarts an attempt to blow up Midway's hypernet gate and kill everyone in the system.

[[folder:Dr. Kottur]]

The head of the scientific mission into Dancer space, and a hypernet expert.

* AffablyEvil: Kottur is a remarkably pleasant man with a monstrous agenda. He's a closet xenophobe who is utterly convinced that the Dancers must be evil aliens plotting against humanity, causing him to attempt to destroy the Midway hypernet gate and kill everyone in the star system to stop an expedition into Dancer territory. While preparing for this, he tries to avoid meeting the people he plans to kill. Right after triggering his (unsuccessful) plan, Kottur tries to poison himself and leaves behind a recording laying out his motives and apologizing for their deaths. He also begins his recording with a line out of a detective novel, and pauses to add that he always wanted to say that.
* TheAllegedExpert: Dr. Kottur is the head of a high-profile mission to link the Alliance and Phoenix Stars Hypernet gates, but he knows more about the big picture principles than the technical workings of the devices.
--> '''Jasmine Cressida:''' Kottur wasn't that good at coding. His scientific skills were mostly in the area of academic politics.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Kottur wholeheartedly (yet incorrectly) believes that killing a couple of billion people is the only way to prevent a genocidal alien invasion.

[[folder:Dr. Ken Bron]]
A member of Dr. Kottur's science team.
----
* IgnoranceIsBliss: When Dr. Bron realizes that any warnings about the potential hypernet gate collapse won't give the people of Midway or the Alliance fleet time to evacuate, he despairingly wonders if they should even bother broadcasting a warning and filling everyone's last few minutes with terror.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Normally, kicking a longtime colleague who's just poisoned himself and opposing resuscitating him would be pretty cold. However, said colleague has just attempted to commit an act of mass murder out of xenophobia. He'd also left behind a recorded confession so he could feel better about himself that would have made Bron and several others spend the last minutes of their lives in desperate fear if the plan had succeeded. 
* OhCrap: Bron is terrified by Kotter's recording describing his plan to destroy the Midway system.
--> '''Dr. Bron:''' Oh my ancestors, we're doomed.

[[folder:Captain Holmes]]
A Marine captain stationed at Unity.
----
* ConsummateProfessional: He saves Geary’s life during an attack by xenophobic terrorists and then bothers to apologize for yelling "Get down, you fool!" at a superior officer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Colonel Webb]]
The commander of a ceremonial honor guard (really disguised special forces bodyguards) assigned to a diplomatic mission in ''Outlands.''
----
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Webb is rumored to have been involved in some very high risk and shady covert operations.
* KnightInSourArmor: Webb virulently dislikes the Syndics, hates the idea of peacefully retiring, views Geary through cynical lenses, and shows some distaste for the Alliance’s alien allies. However, he does show respect for a comrade who wants to retire peacefully, and genuinely cares about keeping everyone on the mission safe.

[[folder:Dr. Macadams]]
A scientist sent to accompany a mission to Dancer space.
----
* TheAllegedExpert: Dr. Macadams presents himself as the galaxy's leading expert on extraterrestrial studies, but has a horrible case of ConfirmationBias and ignores any contributions (no matter how valuable) from people he considers to be his intellectual inferiors. He only got his current job due to his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections high-level connections]] and his HatesEveryoneEqually attitude making him appear unbiased.
* HatedByAll: Macadams constantly throws his weight around even after the limits of his authority are spelled out to him. He also uses condescending InsistentTerminology, insults the suggestions of his more competent subordinates, and falsely accuses Geary and his men of making stupid mistakes. Everyone in the fleet hates him, and Geary expresses hope that he'll eventually be able to put Macadams in the brig on bread and water rations.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: Macadams gets his position largely because most of the other candidates are too heavily biased toward or against the Dancers.
--> '''Ambassador Rycerz:''' Macadams, on the other hand, is hostile to every form of life in the universe, so he couldn't be accused of being particularly biased against the Dancers one way or the other.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Council President Kennedy]]
The head-of-state of Geary’s homeworld, Glenylon.
----
* NiceGuy: During Geary’s homecoming, he comes across as welcoming and complimentary without being sycophantic. He also wants to believe the best about the various alien races Geary has encountered (although like so many others, he’s a bit put off by the Dancers' appearances) and quickly agrees that Geary is better informed about that than he is.

[[folder:Colonel Duncan]]
A veteran on Glenlyon.

* AmbiguouslyRelated: Duncan shares a surname with one of the Glenlyon Marines from ''Literature/TheGenesisFleet.''
* CoolOldGuy: Duncan is a RetiredBadass who is charming and friendly when he meets Geary at a banquet, while also expressing appreciation about how his home world's greatest hero resisted the temptation to become a dictator.
--> '''Duncan:''' The military has enough trouble trying to march and talk at the same time. It'd make an awful mess of trying to run the Alliance, wouldn't it?
* RuggedScar: Duncan has a battle scar on his neck that not even futuristic cosmetic surgery has been able to fix.

[[folder:General Wallach]]
A ground force general stationed at Unity.

* InterServiceRivalry: Wallach discusses the traditional army-navy rivalry and amusedly notes that it kept the ground forces from getting involved in the dark fleet fiasco that got many naval officers arrested.

!! Alliance members from before the main series

[[folder: Founders: Rob Geary, Carmen Oocha, Lochan Nakamura, Mele Darcy, President Chisholm etc.]]
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheGenesisFleet

[[folder: Lieutenant Commander Cara Decala]]
Geary's [[PosthumousCharacter long-dead]] XO aboard the ''Merlon''.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: During the first book, when Geary briefly reminisces about his executive officer, he thinks of a man named Patros (although it's possible that Patros was his executive officer before Decala, given that Geary's memories of him are "several weeks old").
* MarriedToTheJob: Loved venturing into space, which caused strains on her marriage, as her husband wasn't in the fleet and wanted her to stay closer to home.
* NumberTwo: She's Geary's loyal pre-war executive officer.
* SacrificialLamb: She died about a decade into the ForeverWar.
* UndyingLoyalty: She wanted to stay on the ship at Geary's side during his LastStand and took a lot of coaxing to leave.

[[folder: Geary's Shore Patrol: Demore, Alvarez, Chadra and Riley]]
Four sailors who serve on a Shore Patrol with Geary, eleven years before the ForeverWar, when he was a young Ensign, during the short story ''Shore Patrol''.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Chadra and Riley really don't get along or work well together for most of the story, then Geary walks in on them making out.
* TheDitz: Alvarez isn't the brightest bulb in the drawer and is infamous for screwing up simple jobs, but she is somewhat earnest.
* TheHedonist: Demore is a partier who likes to raise hell on normal shore leaves.
* HiddenDepths: Alvarez and Chadra show interest in visiting Earth someday, and Chadra at least seems to consider working harder to get a transfer to a ship likely to be sent back for a ceremonial visit.
* ImplausibleDeniability: Demore denies having gotten drunk himself while observing which of their crewmates were drinking to excess. He would have been a lot more convincing if he wasn't visibly struggling to keep his words from slurring.
* TheSlacker: Chadra and Riley are described as having decided they'd made a mistake within hours of enlisting in the navy, something their various superiors tend to agree with. Geary does wonder if part of Chadra's problem is having a PointyHairedBoss though.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: On their own, none of them are too competent or inspiring, but they do manage to accomplish some stuff together.
* RugbyIsSlaughter: A couple of the sailors they encounter on the patrol were hurt as a result of a rowdy rugby game.
* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: When Alvarez has to use the bathroom, she deputizes another crew member from the ''Redoubt'' to fill in for her until she gets back. The guy is heavily drunk and nearly uses the (secretly unloaded) taser she left with him on another sailor who tried to steal his drink.

[[folder: Chief Gunner's Mate Diana "Gundeck" Magoro]]
A gunner aboard the ''Merlon'' who is the protagonist of the short story ''Ishigaki'' set during the ForeverWar.
* ChekhovsSkill: Some of her tinkering with guns ultimately lets the ship score a victory when its damaged and in danger.
* EmbarrassingNickname: No one calls her Gundeck anymore, which she is grateful for.
* MilitaryMaverick: Was demoted while serving on ''Merlon'' for unauthorized tinkering with the guns, although she's tried to put this behind her since.
* MyGreatestSecondChance: Decala recommended sending her before a court martial for experimenting with the guns but Geary chose to simply demote her and give her a second chance, something she works hard to prove herself worthy of in the years after his disappearance.
* SergeantRock: Her immediate superior is a green ensign in awe of anyone who was on the ''Merlon'', who defers to her on a lot.

[[folder: Commander Weiss]]
An ensign aboard the ''Merlon'' and Magoro's division officer, who later becomes Magoro's commanding officer after being given his own ship.
----
* OvershadowedByAwesome: He tries to avoid talking about serving under Geary partially due to how large Geary's legend looms, and partially because his subordinates are often disappointed when he describes Geary in relatable, human terms.
* RankUp: He's gone from an ensign to a commander in six years, and feels concerned about what that indicates about the fleet and the war.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He has a few lingering doubts about Magoro, due to her MilitaryMaverick past, but is accommodating towards her and appreciates results.
* ToAbsentFriends: He and Magoro talk about how so many of their crewmates from the ''Merlon'' have died in the war, and wonder if Geary would feel happy about that after he (apparently) died trying to save them.

[[folder: Master Chief Milam]]
A former crewmate of Desjani. He is first mentioned in ''Guardian'', the third ''Beyond the Frontier'' book, where his daughter makes a brief appearance. He then appears in person in the prequel short story ''Fleche''.
----
* TheEngineer: He served in the engineering department and was the highest-ranking survivor left after the initial battering their ship took.
* NervesOfSteel: He remains even more collected than Desjani throughout the incident.
* NumberTwo: He becomes Desjani's second-in-command after she realizes that YouAreInCommandNow.
* TakingYouWithMe: After boarding the Syndicate ship, he sets the power core to blow with the few men who had it there with him, blowing up the Syndicate soldiers and themselves while Desjani and the other surviving members of their boarding party retreat back to the ''Flèche''.

[[folder: Seaman Jasmin Holaran]]
A gunner who served in the same battery as Magoro onboard ''Merlon'', who lived long enough to retire.
----
* BadassFamily: Her children would also enlist in the fleet.
* CoolOldLady: Enjoyed entertaining neighborhood children (one of whom would later become a POW before being liberated by Geary and the fleet) with stories about having served under Black Jack Geary during her retirement.
* MilitaryMaverick: Described by Geary as an "occasional hell-raiser", but a capable sailor who received a commendation for her gunnery unit's performance during a fleet wide exercise.
* PosthumousCharacter: Is long dead by the main series and never appears in person during any of the stories taking place earlier.

[[folder: Captain Spruance]]
Geary's commanding officer onboard the ''Redoubt'', eleven years before the war.
* IWasNeverHere: Chooses to accept a lot of statements to this effect from the shore leave troublemakers in order to cut Geary more slack.
* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: She is named for [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_A._Spruance Admiral Raymond Spruance]], one of the chief commanders of the American fleet in the Pacific theater of WWII and widely acknowledged as one of the best flag officers the US Navy has ever produced.
* TheNicknamer: She was the one who gave Geary the "Black Jack" nickname, in a moment of jest.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Even though Geary couldn't completely keep the peace, she recognizes that he made a good effort, and was undermined by internal factors, cutting him plenty of slack.

[[folder: Lieutenant Sam Booth]]
An officer onboard Geary's ship ''Redoubt'' eleven years before the war, and a character in ''Shore Patrol''.
* TheNeidermeyer: He gives Geary lousy duty with no advance warning or sympathy in order to spare one of his cronies some work, and is stated as looking down on the enlisted men.
* OneSteveLimit: It's unclear if he's related to Captain Erabus Booth, an ObstructiveBureaucrat from fleet headquarters whose digital avatar briefly appears during ''Grendel.''
* ProfessionalButtKisser: His InSeriesNickname is "Suck-Up" Sam.

[[folder: Ensign Daria Rosen]]
A friend of Geary's aboard the ''Redoubt''
* AFriendInNeed: When she hears Geary is being given the shore patrol duties at the last minute she scrambles to get him a few things that he'll need.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Only appears in two brief scenes but is implied to have been the one who spread Geary's "Ensign Black Jack" nickname after overhearing Spruance use it.

[[folder: Seaman Bandera]]
One of Magoro's subordinates aboard the ''Ishigaki''.
* ConstantlyCurious: About ways to make the guns work better, with Magoro providing him some cautionary advice about the potential dangers of it.
* {{Determinator}}: Wounded during the battle but leaves the sick bay to continue helping.
* NewMeat: He's a low-ranking, recently enlisted sailor who asks a lot of questions.

[[folder: Ensign Rodriguez]]
Magoro's division officer aboard the ''Ishigaki''.
* EnsignNewbie: Painfully young looking, with limited training and somewhat reliant upon her senior personal. She's also keen on regulations and nervous at the idea of them being broken.
* HeroWorshipper: An early example of an officer who literally worships Black Jack Geary.
* KilledOffscreen: She is killed by a Syndic hit during the battle in another section of the ship than Magoro (the nov character).

[[folder: Commander Lagemann]]
Commander of the ''Pommel'', one of Geary's escort ships during the Battle of Grendel.
* BringHelpBack: She is ordered to spread word about the battle so by Geary despite his own desire to stay and help Geary.

[[folder: Chiefs Vlad Drakar and Kantor]]
Magoro's fellow chiefs aboard the ''Ishigaki''.
* TheEngineer: Drakar keeps the ship's engines working.
* HeroWorshipper: Drakar is deeply in awe of Geary.
* ProperlyParanoid: Kantor fully believes rumors that the Syndics have started shooting prisoners, noting how, historically, the longer a war goes on, the worse it it gets. And the war does get a ''lot'' worse and go on a ''lot'' longer.

[[folder: Petty Officer Cahalan]]
One of Desjani's cremates aboard the ''Flèche'' and a member of her boarding party.
* HoldTheLine: Guards the boarding tubes with eleven others in order to fight against the Syndics who'd charged onto their ship right as the Alliance forces charged onto theirs. He fully acknowledges that this is going to be a HeroicSacrifice, and numbly tells Desjani that he and his men will die with honor. They do.

!! The Syndicate Worlds

[[folder: The Executive Council]]
* BadBoss: Both councils tend to order executions, SuicideMission's and other indignities at the drop of a hat. The first council was willing to destroy their own capital system and its people in order to wipe out the Alliance fleet and avoid suffering a humiliating defeat on their home turf. This did not go over well with the crews of their escape ships (whose families they were leaving behind to die with everyone else) once they found out.
* BigBad: They run the Syndicate Worlds and are responsible for its ruthless, shortsighted, and cold-blooded policies.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Bribes, kickbacks, assassinations, and general backstabbing are all part of the package for becoming a senior CEO in the Syndicate Worlds.
* CuttingCorners: ''Literature/TheLostStars'' reveals that they're so cheap that they don't even allow the budget for their ships to have enough escape pods to evacuate everyone, reasoning that whenever it's time to abandon ship, either enough of the crew will already be dead that they won't need that many escape pods, or the crew deserves to be punished for abandoning ship when they could still fight.
* LaserGuidedKarma: The original Executive Council gets caught in a MeleeATrois where everyone wants them dead.
* RedeemingReplacement: Subverted, as Rione notes, the second Executive Council is likely to be just as self-interested and ruthless, given their high ranks, and the sequel series confirms that they are ruthlessly clinging to their power but they are willing to agree to a truce with the Alliance and show limited personal bravery in the face of a potential hypernet gate collapse.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: The second Council only has one brief scene in the whole series, [[TheGhost the first council never physically appears at all]], and anyone who was on the Council at the start of the war is long dead, but their actions drive quite a bit of the story, in an almost exclusively negative fashion.
* WeHaveReserves: Both Councils are willing to sacrifice whole fleets in attempts to crush those who stand in their way.

[[folder: CEO First Rank Shalin]]
* NoNameGiven: Until ''Victorious'', he was just described as the commander who led the ambush.
* PromotionNotPunishment: Even though he let Geary's fleet escape, he was promoted to maintain the illusion that he'd defeated them, although Rione suspects he suffered quite a bit of punishment behind the scenes.
* SmugSnake: He revels in his apparent victory in the first book, but is easily outmaneuvered by Geary. He hasn't lost any of his smugness by the time he reappears in ''Victorious''.
* TheSociopath: A cruel man who seems to lack an understanding of decency.
* TheStarscream: As soon as it occurs to Shalin that he has control of the only remaining fleet in the Syndicate Worlds, he immediately starts gunning for the Executive Council in an effort to seize power for himself.

[[folder: Executive Destina Aragon]]
A Syndicate defector who allies with Michael Geary during the events of the ''Corsair'' comic series.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Already filled with doubts about the Syndicate Worlds' leadership, she and her soldiers revolt upon finding out that they were about to [[SuicideMission be sent]] against [[BadassArmy General Drakon and his rebellious ground force troops in Midway]].
* FieryRedhead: She is a fierce and sharp-tongued combat veteran with bright red hair.
* FireForgedFriends: With Michael and his people.
* FrontlineGeneral: An effective commando leader.
* ScarsAreForever: She has a large X-shaped scar on one cheek.
* WorkingClassHero: She and her brother rose up from workers to reach Executive Status.

[[folder: Sub-Executive Alark Harbin]]
Aragon's second in command, and fellow defector.
* BeneathNotice: He and his whole family have spent years working on this to avoid falling victim to Syndicate purges.
* BigDamnHeroes: Takes out an ISS soldier about to shoot Aragon in the back.
* TheCynic: Downplayed, but he's described as being a bit fatalistic after so many years of having nearly all of his men killed while the [=CEOs=] responsible got promoted.
* TheCreon: States that he prefers to be second in command when Aragon jokes that [[YouAreInCommandNow he would have been left in charge]] if he hadn't saved her.
* FacialHorror: Has a metal plate over the left side of his face as the result of battle injuries that he wasn't authorized to have fixed, due to the belief that he'd get killed soon enough anyway.
* NumberTwo: To Aragon.
* RedOniBlueOni: He's the blue to Nedele's red, being a silent, supportive figure who approves of mediation and is willing to make an effort to work things out with the Alliance soldiers.
* UndyingLoyalty: Towards Aragon. He appreciates her leadership and saves her life even when he could have let her die and then taken over the unit himself.

[[folder: Sub-Executive Kat Nedele]]

Aragon's other aide.
* TheDogBitesBack: Has clearly experienced resentment and/or suffering at the hands of the Snakes and relishes any chance to kill them.
* FieryRedhead: Repeatedly advocates shooting one of the Alliance soldiers as an example to the other, and clashes with them in the corridors sometimes. She also enjoys fighting [[StateSec the Snakes]].
* RedOniBlueOni: She's the red to Harbin's blue, being a brave and competent soldier, but one who hasn't yet shaken off the ruthless Syndicate mentality.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Works very tensely with the Alliance POWS.

[[folder: Naxos and Araya]]
A pair of Syndicate refugee leaders who appear in ''Beyond the Frontier''.
* AHouseDivided: They fell victim to this. They were part of the rebel forces who drove out the Syndicate government of Batara, but didn't have enough common goals with their new leaders, and were kicked off the planet.
* AlmightyJanitor: Naxos has spent his entire career as a line worker, albeit one who advanced just enough that people around him follow his lead.
* BenevolentBoss: Araya describes herself as having tried to listen to the input of her workers, [[TookALevelInCynic although she displays concern about whether or not she'd ever stopped doing so and not even noticed]].
* CoolOldGuy: Naxos. Even the Syndic-wary Alliance soldiers who spend enough time around him start calling him by his first name.
* EnsignNewbie: Araya is described as being too young to have fully been beaten into submission by life under the Syndicate system.
* TheExile: When they're introduced, although Geary sends them back to Batara and ensures a change in government (as well as putting a stop to the threat their more trigger-happy rival neighboring system poses to the Alliance system of Adrianna).
* LaResistance: They helped rise up against the old Syndicate government [[FullCircleRevolution before being exiled by the new one]].
* LargeAndInCharge: Naxos is described as a man of heavy build, and even Araya shows him some deference.
* NoodleIncident: Araya was blackballed by a CEO to never receive any future promotions while stuck at the lowest level possible above worker but it's never explained why (although standing up to SexualExtortion or displaying some sign of humanity in front of a GeneralRipper are likely options).
* TheParanoiac: Araya is described as "looking at me like she expects me to cut her throat during the next sleep period." This is entirely justified, considering what kind of place the Syndicate Worlds was.
* RedOniBlueOni: Have a bit of this, with Naxos being more thoughtful and deliberate than Araya, who is easily frustrated by the circumstances they're in.
* ReluctantRuler: Ruler is a strong word, but Naxos is described as being a bit surprised by the deference he gets from his fellow refugees and uncomfortable with it at first, although he quickly gets better.
* SinsOfOurFathers: Feel a little of this upon being informed by Geary that, contrary to what they'd grown up hearing, it was the Syndicate Worlds who started the war.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Araya has a moment of this, according to one of the Alliance officers accompanying Geary's mission after finding out that their former government has allied with a more militaristic, authoritarian neighboring system.
--> '''Colonel Kim''': The refugee leader Araya is certain from the transmissions we're been picking up that what she calls the "damned cowardly greedy revolution-betraying traitors-to-the-people" who've been running Batara have sold out to Tiyannak.

[[folder: CEO Gawzi]]
The leader of the Simur Star System.
* CannonFodder: The Syndics are prepared to sacrifice her and her entire planet to try and hurt the Alliance fleet.
* GuiltRiddenAccomplice: Shows heavy unease and terror about what she is being used to do, and then stops appearing in communications (with the Syndic internal security forces trying to fool Geary with an avatar of her) leading to speculation that she either suffered a nervous breakdown or was executed for trying to stop the snakes.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: She's a CEO, but she's in charge of an expendable, unproductive star system, and Geary notes that her uniform looks like it should have been replaced a while ago, but she probably couldn't afford that luxury.

[[folder: CEO Yamada]]
Head of the Indras star system.
* DecapitationStrike: He apparently falls victim to one. The second time Geary visit Indras (just days after the first time they went through), its under attack by the dark ships, vital targets all over the system have been destroyed and the angry and frightened CEO who contacts them and is running things is not Yamada.
* FatBastard: A smug man with a wide girth who is abetting efforts to illegally continue the war.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Protests the Alliance passing through his system as a sign of aggression even as he allows all kinds of covert activity aimed at the Alliance to go on in Indras.
* SoldiersAtTheRear: The Indras Star system is deep enough in Syndicate space that it has never had to worry about an Alliance attack before.

[[folder: CEO Niko Cafiro]]
A captured officer in the flotilla Geary battles at Cavalos.
* AntiVillain: He's a CEO, but one who accepts that the war is being lost and is willing to give Geary tacit advice on how to end it (especially once he thinks there may be something in it for him).
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: His first appearance ends with the implication that he might be a tenuous ally to the Alliance in the future, but he never appears again afterwards.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He argued for the CEO defending Lakota to be told about what destroying a hypernet gate might mean. He was overruled, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, died as a result in the collapse, something which clearly distresses him.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Although he lacks an official capacity to enact policy decisions, he does acknowledge that the war is lost, and show some interest in negotiating with Geary, once the current executive council is gone.
* NumberTwo: He was the second in command of the task force, and its highest ranking survivor.
* OhCrap: He's not exactly smug and confident in the first place, but does seem to have some sense of hope that Geary's fleet can be stopped until Geary describes just how easy it will be for him to get home from there.
* RageBreakingPoint: Flies into a brief rant when Geary reminds him of how the attempt to trap the Alliance fleet at Prime failed. Cafiro protests that it wasn't his plan, but Geary counters that he would have certainly seen it as a sure thing and gotten onboard with it.
* SecretKeeper: He has some knowledge of the enigma race, but knows to keep his mouth shut about it around both the Alliance and presumably his own people. It's also implied that he knew about the reserve flotilla that shows up in the next book.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Somewhat reluctantly, Geary implies that the Alliance might be willing to support him in a position of leadership if he stirs up discontent in the Syndicate Worlds, an offer which intrigues Cafiro.
* WeHaveReserves: While he never actually ''says'' anything to this effect, Geary notes that he never once asks about the fate of his captured subordinates, and holds some resentment towards him for it.

[[folder: General Service Sailor Rank Seven Gyal Barada]]
A captured Syndicate sailor interrogated by Geary after the battle of Sancere.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Played with. She initially seems to be a true believer in the Syndicate system, but Geary starts to wonder if she's just mechanically repeating the Syndic propaganda as a SurvivalMantra, given how easy it is to wind up in a labor camp or on the wrong end of a gun in the Syndicate Worlds.
* OhCrap: Already rattled, she shows sheer terror about finding out that she's being questioned by Black Jack Geary.
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: Her official title is a long one, although unusually this signifies a low rank rather than a high one.

[[folder: Reynad Ybarra]]
A Syndicate merchant captured and questioned by Geary while passing through Baldur Star System.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: His brother and sister both died in the war against the Alliance.
* InnocentBystander: Although he survives, he ends up a brief prisoner just due to having been about to jump out of Baldur at the same time the Alliance fleet happened to jump into it.

[[folder: The CEO of Cavalos]]
One of the first [=CEOs=] to receive a sympathetic portrayal, and the sister of a mining town mayor from a neighboring system.
* CoolOldLady: An older woman who's very disenchanted with the war and the Syndicate government and is willing to display the proper gratitude for the life of her brother.
* NoNameGiven: Her actual name is unmentioned.
* RealMenLoveJesus: She believes in the living stars, despite their ban under the Syndicate government, and admits to thinking that maybe they really did send Geary to save her family from death, and her system from tyranny.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: She provides covert aid to the fleet in exchange for having saved her brother and his family from Wendig.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: A corporation within the Syndicate Worlds government abandoned her brother and his family on a mining town that ran out of resources simply because they deemed it too expensive to relocate them elsewhere (while telling their families that they'd died), and they would have eventually died if Geary's fleet hadn't given them a lift into Cavalos. When she finds out, she is not happy and sends the fleet information which will benefit their trip home out of gratitude, and to get revenge.

[[folder: CEO Third Rank Frederika Nalis]]
The commander of the Syndic forces during the battle of Grendel.
* BlatantLies: Claims to be on a diplomatic mission authorized by the Alliance government upon first being spotted by Geary.
* GeneralFailure: She gets most, if not all of her force destroyed or badly damaged by a single heavy cruiser before even making it to the system she was trying to attack. Granted, she was going up against Geary, but that was at a time when the tactical skills of the average commander on both sides hadn't deteriorated yet.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Her actions lead to Geary becoming a HumanPopsicle, and emerging to win the war a century later.
* TechnicallyASmile: Geary describes her as having "the usual perfectly done hair, perfectly fitted uniform, and perfectly insincere smile" for a Syndic CEO.
* UncertainDoom: Right before abandoning the ''Merlon'' via escape pod, Geary tries to destroy Nalis and her surviving ships by rigging his power core to overload as her ships approach, but it is unclear as to whether he succeeded or not. Either way, she would be dead of ''something'' by the time of the main series.