Line #201 Characters/HonorHarringtonSolarianLeagueMesaAndOthers


1	Characters/HonorHarringtonManticore \| Characters/HonorHarringtonManticoranAllies \| Characters/HonorHarringtonHaven \| '''Honor Harrington - Solarian League, Mesa, and Others''' \| [[Characters/HonorHarrington Return to Overview]]
2	----
3
4	[[foldercontrol]]
5
6	[[folder: Solarians]]
7	!![[AC: Governor Oravil Barregos]]
8
9	A Maya Sector governor under the Office of Frontier Security (at least on paper), Oravil Barregos is a major player in the ''Wages of Sin'' spinoff series. An extremely shrewd and ambitious politician, he is totally dissatisfied with the way OFS runs its pocket fiefdoms, and, seeing ahead to the [[EnemyCivilWar inevitable outcome for the League]], does his best to prepare himself and his sector for it. He's not above personal gain, though: the best way, as he saw it, was to carve out the Maya Sector as his own personal little kingdom.
10	----
11	* AntiHero: Is Barregos building a political lifeboat to save the entire population of the Maya Sector from the impending collapse of the Solarian League? Yes. Does he stand to make an enormous personal fortune and live like any other corrupt Oligarch while ruling Maya when his plan comes to fruition? Double yes. Does he sleep soundly at night knowing he's plotting treason and has murdered several people who have gotten in his way? Triple yes.
12	* TheChessmaster: A careful and patient planner. After multiple books setting up the Maya Sector, [[spoiler: Barregos is able to secede from the League by making the Maya Sector vote on its own government, then he pulls a PR coup that ensures he will essentially be elected PresidentForLife.]]
13	* TheStrategist: The brains behind a very promising separatist movement. Barregos is able to secure himself against Manticore, Haven, and the Solarian League by offering guarantees of protection to Torch and political cover to Erewhon. Torch keeps Manticore and Haven from sniffing around in his backyard. And Erewhon gets him a brand new fleet full of that sweet, sweet cutting edge Manticoran technology that can fly faster, shoot better, and last longer than the newest Solarian vessel in service.
14	* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: ''Both'' successful assassinations in the ''Crown of Slaves'' were done on his orders.
15	* WellIntentionedExtremist: His ultimate goal is to spare the Maya Sector from the shockwave of the crumbling League, but he's not above some, ahem, ''questionable'' means. Including outright assassinations.
16
17	!![[AC: Rear Admiral Luiz Rozsak]]
18
19	The main associate of Governor Barregos and the military man in the duo that rules Maya Sector, he is the iron hand in Barregos' velvet glove. A commander of the Frontier Fleet detachment tasked with local protection, he provides the means to turn the governor's schemes into reality, as well as devising schemes of his own. He's just as ambitious as Barregos, and no less willing to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what he has to do]]. As it is, Luis comes across as a rather ambivalent character: he's extremely ambitious and ruthless and not above some dirty tricks, but at the same time is responsible and noble, having moral standards and being willing to fight for his convictions.
20	----
21	* AntiHero: After a round of CharacterDevelopment.
22	* TheBrigadier: One of the few genuinely competent Solly officers in the series. He's one of the few Solarians to trade blows with [[TheRemnant "modern" Havenite ships]], survive, and realize how hopelessly far behind the invincible Solarian Navy is when compared to ''pirates'' from the People's Republic.
23	* TheCaptain: He was, until not so long ago.
24	* TheCavalry: Riding to the rescue of Torch.
25	* CharacterDevelopment: From somewhat less than savory, if likable, secondary character, to the genuine (if still somewhat less than savory) hero.
26	* TheChessmaster: The military fist behind Barregos' political handshake. Loyal to his direct superior and the plan, Roszak prefers careful and deliberate planning over rash action. If Rozsak says it can't be done, Barregos knows to listen.
27	* TheDeterminator: As it happened, to the Harrington level, no less.
28	* FourStarBadass: In a series where half the main characters could qualify for this trope without lifting a finger, Rozsak stands out for being able to do more with less, developing a sector navy that goes from being delusional about their inherent superiority, to curb-stomped by Havenite ''pirates'', to one that could (theoretically) fight off the Solarian Juggernaught even before [[spoiler: Honor decapitates their navy at Jupiter]].
29	* RealMenWearPink: His main hobby is... cooking. And he's very good at it. Barregos actually has sensitive, top secret political conversations over dinners cooked by Roszak.
30	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is written as "Luis Roszak" throughout ''A Rising Thunder''.
31	* WarIsHell: Which he realizes after the conclusion of his very first naval battle, against [[TheRemnant The People's Navy In Exile.]]
32	* WellIntentionedExtremist: And we ''really'' mean "well intentioned" here, because he even got to prove his intentions.
33
34	!![[AC: Admiral Josef Byng]]
35
36	A Battle Fleet commander introduced in ''Storm from the Shadows'' to provide insight into how the Solarian Navy operates...and just how messed up it is.
37	----
38	* BadBoss: Goes after a subordinate for just suggesting that the Manticorans might be more superior technologically than the Solarians, and tries to arrest his own flag captain so the evidence that he destroyed Manticoran warships on a false provocation can be erased. Of course, he believes that said flag captain is trying to use that evidence to destroy his career instead of preventing a diplomatic incident BYNG HIMSELF caused from escalating into an all-out war.
39	* BerserkButton: Manticorans. As a Captain, he once impounded three Manticoran freighters on false smuggling charges and imprisoned their crews without trial. However, he was caught doing so, and reprimanded by his superiors, even being pushed down on the promotions list. As such, he has such an irrational hatred for the Star Kingdom that he is willing to destroy three Manticoran destroyers in cold blood during the New Tuscany Incident.
40	* NeverMyFault: Constantly believes that the Manticorans are behind every setback and problem he has, even taking ludicrous leaps of logic to try and spin things so he never gets blamed for his bigotry and hair-trigger temper.
41	* UnwittingPawn: Is put in charge of a Frontier Fleet task group for the sole purpose of starting a diplomatic incident, and only questions the events he has been caught up in once...to quickly ascribe blame to the Manticorans for them.
42
43	!![[AC: Captain Daud ibn Mamoun al-Fanudahi]]
44
45	A Battle Fleet officer assigned to the Office of Operational Analysis. One of the few who has taken Manticore's technological advances seriously.
46	----
47	* CassandraTruth: One of the few Solly officers who realizes that the SLN is badly behind the times. Of course, almost no one believes him.
48	* ProperlyParanoid: He's one of the first non-suborned Solarians to realize the Mesan Alignment is manipulating the League into its conflict with Manticore. Anyone he explains his reasoning to quickly finds himself or herself wishing for a large helping of BrainBleach.
49	--> ''[[ThisIsGonnaSuck "You are]] '''[[ThisIsGonnaSuck so]]''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck going to get all of us killed."]]''
50	* TheSmartGuy: Basically, the brain behind the small, tightly knit conspiracy brewing [[OnlySaneMan within the ranks of the Solarian staff officers]]. Everyone there is pretty smart, but he's the one with the most details and insight about the big picture.
51	* SurroundedByIdiots: Most of the people he works with got their positions based on patronage rather than ability, and it shows in the quality of their work.
52	* ZeroApprovalGambit: al-Fanudahi ''knows'' that his constant pointing out of Manticore's greater capabilities is going to inevitably cost him his career. Especially as the Solarian Navy suffers more defeats and he's in prime "I told you so" position. But by the time that happens, all the information will be out there and his successor will be better placed to help strategize based on it.
53
54	!![[AC: [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard Permanent Senior Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs]] Innokentiy Kolokoltsov]]
55
56	Officially, he is a high-level bureaucrat who works for the Secretary for Foreign Affairs. In reality, the arrangement is actually [[TheManBehindTheMan the other way around,]] and his "boss" does well to keep that in mind. While he considers himself something of a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], he freely admits that he lacks any expertise in military or economic matters. As a result of this, he only begins to grasp the depth of the situation involving the Solarian League and the Manticoran Empire after things have begun to spin badly out of control. He harbors a theory that the so-called "Mesan Alignment" is just a conspiracy theory cooked up by the Republic of Haven to get the Manties to shoot at someone else for a change.
57	----
58	* AlmightyJanitor: While he is admittedly a ''high ranking'' bureaucrat on paper, his actual power and authority vastly outstrips that of any of his superiors in the government, and this is essentially an open secret even amongst other governments such as the Star Empire of Manticore. Of course, none of his power is supported by the League's ''Constitution'', but most people stopped paying attention to that centuries ago.
59	* BreakTheHaughty: He and the other Mandarins suffer this badly by the end of ''Uncompromising Honor'', seeing their government defeated by a power they looked down on for so long, and then being arrested for war crimes.
60	* CorruptBureaucrat: Amusingly, he's not — by the League standards, anyway — and genuinely tries to do the right thing as he sees it. He's just rather inept at this.
61	* EmbarrassingNickname: He is not amused when he and his fellow Permanent Senior Undersecretaries are dubbed "The Five Mandarins" in [[IntrepidReporter Audrey O'Hanrahan's]] investigative news reports.
62	* EveryoneHasStandards: Constantly appalled by reports he's getting from the front (and by his colleagues Abruzzi and [=McArtney's=] utter ruthlessness and complacency).
63	* EvilChancellor: Though only a junior minister, he effectively controls the government, with the responsible cabinet official serving mostly as a figurehead.
64	* GotMeDoingIt: He later catches himself using the "Mandarins" moniker in his own internal monologues, much to his chagrin.
65	* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: Is on the receiving end of this trope. If Kolokoltsov continues to prosecute the war with Manticore, millions will die and the League will bleed funds and ships until the military is destroyed and the government toppled. If he makes peace, the myth of inevitable League invincibility will be shattered and the galaxy will be hit with such a case of BalkanizeMe that Manticore and Haven could snatch up any systems they want unopposed- and no one could stop them.
66	* IronicName: His given name a Russian variant of the late-Latin name "Innocent", which means exactly what it seems.
67	** Under a certain angle he might indeed been viewed as innocent — a proverbial babe in the woods, used by Alignment as their unwitting pawn.
68	* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Goes from trying to stop a war that a renegade Solarian captain started, to trying to blame Manticore for that war (while still trying to limit casualties), to authorizing or implicitly condoning increasingly vicious and criminal behaviors by Solarian League Naval commanders. He's helplessly aware of this, and unhappy about it, but [[SlaveToPR not enough to stop]]. At one point, he looks over an operations proposal and wonders if his fellow Mandarins will be as sickened by it as he is, and then wonders whether they'll also vote to authorize it anyway.
69	* TheManBehindTheMan: By the end of ''A Rising Thunder'', any of the men who he is officially behind are blatantly ignored by pretty much everyone.
70	* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Falls under the President Scheming, as while on paper he's a mere bureaucrat, with the way League's actually working, he's effectively its acting Prime Minister, and his default working mode is [[TheChessmaster to plot and to pull the strings]] — like, in fact, everyone in the League who wants ''anything'' done.
71	* [[PuppetKing President Puppet]]: [[spoiler: Is guided by the [[AncientConspiracy Alignment]] by the tip of his nose for the whole time he's onscreen, but still fails to notice that.]]
72	* SlaveToPR: Once the hostilities with the Grand Alliance broke out, he is forced to stick [[CurbStompBattle to the losing game]], because in his opinion once he does the sensible thing and as much as ''listens'' to them (with the precarious state the League's unity is in), it will cause the PR catastrophe so huge that it would pretty much ensure the League's breakup.
73	* UnwittingPawn: Has thus far failed to realize that he is just another pawn in the Mesan Alignment's chess game.
74
75	!![[AC: Audrey O'Hanrahan]]
76
77	One of the few honest investigative reporters in the Solarian League, O'Hanrahan also happens to be one of the only one of those who has a very large audience in the League, and as such, she has become quite the thorn in the side of the Mandarins during the political and military crisis between the Solarian League and the Star Empire of Manticore. Also, she is a high-placed deep-cover agent in the Mesan Alignment.
78	----
79	* GoingForTheBigScoop: Just when it looks like things are turning up Aces for the Grand Alliance, the Alignment decides to use Audrey's public credibility to give the Alliance a black eye. She's packed up and sent to Mesa to cover the Ballroom Terrorism Campaign gripping the system and make it look like the Alliance is allied to a bunch of lunatic terrorists killing tens-of-thousands of innocent people. Never mind that the bombs are an Alignment operation to cover up ''Houdini'', but she doesn't need to know that...
80	* IntrepidReporter: Famously so. She is one of the few widely-viewed reporters in the League who tries to cover both sides in the League's disputes with the Manticorans. A Mesan agent takes advantage of this to leak information to her that will lead to further decay in the relations between the Manties and Sollies.
81	* TheMole: See above.
82	* SheepInSheepsClothing: Downplayed. Audrey is an IntrepidReporter with a good reputation who turns out to be part of the evil Mesan Alignment. However, ''To End in Fire'' establishes that she doesn't know about most of the conspiracy's worst actions and loathes the perpetrators.
83	* SpannerInTheWorks: For the Solarian League's more sinister plots, due to her willingness to dig up and reveal secrets about what they are secretly up to.
84
85	!![[AC: Commissioner Lorcan Verrochio]]
86
87	The OFS commissioner in charge of the Madras sector, adjacent to the Talbott Quadrant.
88	----
89	* CorruptPolitician: Par for the course in the OFS, although less vile in his practices than most.
90	* UnwittingPawn: On several levels, even. Not only does his vice commissioner manipulate him, he is also a pawn of The Alignment.
91
92	!![[AC: Vice Commissioner Junyan Hongbo]]
93
94	Second-in-command to Lorcan Verrochio and distinctly more competent than his immediate superior.
95	----
96	* CorruptPolitician: See Verrochio, above.
97	* TheManBehindTheMan: Has based his career on subtly (or not-so-subtly) 'managing' his superiors, most recently Lorcan Verrochio.
98	* UnwittingPawn: Of The Alignment, although he is starting to suspect what's going on.
99
100	!![[AC: Commodore Francis Thurgood]]
101
102	The senior Frontier Fleet officer in the Madras Sector.
103	----
104	* CassandraTruth: Tries to warn his superiors and the [[TooDumbToLive Battle Fleet officers]] passing through his sector of the Manties' technological advantage...and is consistently ignored.
105	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When Admiral Gold Peak comes calling to Meyers he immediately races for the hyper limit. He almost makes it, too.
106	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: One of a rare few among the Madras/Talbott-area Solarians.
107
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder: Mesans]]
111
112	!![[AC: Albrecht Detweiler]]
113
114	Albrecht Detweiler is the current [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO of Manpower Incorporated,]] which just happens to be the galaxy largest supplier of genetically engineered slaves. He was [[DesignerBabies genetically engineered]] and trained from birth to lead the corporation ''and'' the entire planet of Mesa. He is also the de facto leader of the Solarian League (or at least a fairly large chunk of it); not to mention he probably has his hands in the domestic and foreign affairs of several other star nations. Unbeknownst to most people, Manpower and the slave trade are only a cover for Detweiler's real plans of galactic domination.
115	----
116	* AffablyEvil: Judging from his appearances so far, Detweiler appears to be a genuinely caring husband and father when he isn't plotting galactic domination.
117	** Probably best shown by his final scene in ''Shadow of Victory.'' If one didn't know that Albrecht was responsible for ordering ''millions'' of deaths across Mesa alone, his conversation with his wife as they sit on a beach and lament their ultimate fates and love for each other could be genuinely touching and emotional. [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled Then he pushes the button and detonates a nuke on the beach.]] [[TakeThat Along with multiple other bombs in orbit around Mesa, making it look like the Alliance shot defenseless people out of the sky.]]
118	* BigBad: Although the extent of his badness was revealed only recently.
119	* TheChessmaster: Born from a long line of Chessmasters and likely specifically engineered for chessmastery. His family's carefully-laid plans span ''centuries''.
120	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Which sounds almost as the ArsonMurderAndJaywalking compared to everything else he did.
121	* CrazyPrepared: Even to the occasion that he wouldn't be able to evacuate himself during Houdini. [[spoiler: What eventually happens for real.]]
122	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: A very loving family man. He takes it rather personally when one of his sons is almost killed in the Green Pines attack.
123	* EvilCounterpart: Mesa is this to Beowulf. In many respect he's Honor's counterpart as the scion of their star line of designer babies and geneticists while Honor is the scion of the Beowulf line of geneticists.
124	* DesignerBabies: Even more so than most high-ranking Mesans, he's the product of a long and thorough eugenics project.
125	* GalacticConqueror: This is what he wants to be real bad.
126	* GenerationXerox: Combined with DesignerBabies above. To what extent, you ask? '''A'''lbrecht's sons don't merely fill the next several ranks below him before you get to a high ranking Mesan NOT named Detweiler. The don't just happen to "coincidentally" look exactly like him. What's really impressive is that their names are '''B'''enjamin, '''C'''ollin, '''D'''aniel, '''E'''verett, '''F'''ranklin, and '''G'''ervais. Subtle...
127	* GreaterScopeVillain: Detweiler and his ancestors are directly or indirectly responsible for many of the wars, villains, and disasters driving the series.
128	* HappilyMarried: Even though their marriage was [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage arranged]], they truly love one another.
129	* ManipulativeBastard: Actually, the ''modus operandi'' for the [[AncientConspiracy Alignment]] as a whole.
130	* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: [[spoiler: Gets killed in the Houdini's [[StuffBlowingUp Final Flourish]] due to Mike Henke arriving before he could evacuate]], but [[CrazyPrepared being prepared to just that opportunity]] he has detailed plans and instructions and enough deputies that the Alignment would continue to function as intended.
131	** When you see the extent of what the Darius system is at the end of ''Shadow of Victory'' it becomes clear the Alignment was playing with kid gloves up to that point. [[spoiler: Detweiler has established an entire star system hidden from everyone outside the Alignment ''and'' most people ''inside'' of it. The people saved by Houdini ''don't know where they are.'' It's nothing less than [[PuttingOnTheReich a planet of four billion Alignment clones believing in their inherent genetic superiority, all acutely aware of the mission of the Alignment to conquer the galaxy, all working to develop the resources of the system to build an army and armada large enough to conquer the remnants of the League and potentially destroy the Grand Alliance in a stand up fight.]] And not even Cachat and Zilwicki have a ''clue'' that it exists.]]
132	* TheManBehindTheMan: Detweiler has had a hand in just about every major event in the books.
133	* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: In the Mesan Alignment, matches are made based primarily on genetic potential, which does occasionally result in two people who hate each other. This is definitely not the case for Albrecht and Eveline Detweiler, who are genuinely HappilyMarried to one another.
134	* PetTheDog: He is a ''very'' loving family man, and very much appears to be AFatherToHisMen. Which serves to further highlight what he is the rest of the time.
135	* TranquilFury: Whenever he tips back his chair and relaxes, that's a sign that he's "quietly, icily, ''dangerously'' furious about something."
136	* WellIntentionedExtremist: The stated goal of the Detweiler family, leading back to Leonard Detweiler, the founder of Mesa, is to share Mesa's advances in human genetic engineering with the rest of humanity whether they like it or not. Their methods leave something to be desired, however.
137	** AmbiguousStartOfDarkness Between propaganda targeted toward the general public (Mesan and otherwise), propaganda designed to manipulate multiple "outer layer" conspiracies with different goals, information being provided to even relatively central figures on a need-to-know basis, and some definite suggestions that even the information passed down from one head of the conspiracy to his immediate successor may not always be 100% accurate, it's pretty much guaranteed that by this point, ''no one'', not even Albrecht himself, is able to know for certain to what extent Leonard Detweiler would approve of and/or be horrified by the current state of the [[spoiler: "outer" Mesan Alignment]], the [[spoiler: innermost layers of the "onion"]], and/or Mesan society in general. (It's hard to imagine a version of Leonard Detweiler that's compatible with things we can be reasonably certain are true who would not qualify as ''some flavor'' of well-intentioned extremist, but both how well-intentioned and how extreme are far from clear.)
138	*** Similarly, if it happens to be the case that the current policies and agenda of Albrecht and his closest associates are ''not'' in line with Leonard's original instructions, it's highly unlikely that even the complete knowledge of Leonard and Albrecht combined would be sufficient to determine ''when'' or ''by whom'' the relevant changes were made.
139	* YouHaveFailedMe: Subverted. Pretty much any encounter with him from an underling's perspective has them very, ''very'' afraid of displeasing him for this reason. This is odd because he always acts as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, who doesn't punish people for failures that were beyond their control.
140
141	!![[AC: Aldona Anisimovna]]
142
143	A member of the Manpower Incorporated Board of Directors and one of Detweiler's operatives. She has been behind the multiple attempts by Mesa to destabilize Manticore's annexation of the Talbott Cluster. This has included supplying arms to militant groups opposing the annexation, trying to get the star nation of Monica to start a war with Manticore over the annexation, and generally trying to create a situation where the Office of Frontier Security could move in and seize control of Talbott.
144	----
145	* AmbiguouslyGay: She checks out a beautiful young secretary during her stay on New Tuscany in ''Storm from the Shadows'', even thinking said secretary would be great as one of Manpower's pleasure models. Of course, as she had been brought into ''the Onion'' by that time she might have only been appreciating her genes more than anything else.
146	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: A must for any Mesan worth her salt.
147	* TheChessmaster: Par for the course for Mesan agents.
148	* EnsignNewbie: In a way. She's fairly big in the outwardly visible Mesan hierarchy, but was fully brought into ''the Onion'' only recently.
149	* ForeignCultureFetish: And, surprizingly to everyone, it's ''Manticoran'' culture.
150	* TheManBehindTheMan: Most of Manticore's enemies in the Talbott Cluster were taking orders from her, or at least receiving assistance from her.
151	* WickedCultured: To a minor extent. She's a huge fan of Manticoran classical music.
152
153	!![[AC: Isabel Bardasano]]
154
155	Another scion of Mesan star genetic lines, Bardasano was up-and-rising member of the Alignment and one of its senior security specialists. In fact, she was responsible for much of the Mesan espionage and behind-the-scene operations, where she was usually partnered with Aldona Anisimovna, another senior Mesan executive. But where Anisimovna was a [[TheChessmaster planner]] and [[TheManBehindTheMan manipulator]], Bardasano was an enforcer, and she rather [[PsychoForHire loved her job]]. In the end, however, she tasted [[TheKillerBecomesTheKilled enough of her own medicine]] when one of her senior subordinates decided that he's got enough and did a HeelFaceTurn.
156	----
157	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: See above.
158	* EvenEvilHasStandards: The whole story with Dr. Simões, if only from a purely practical standpoint.
159	* KarmicDeath: Got locked in the elevator when Jack [=McBryde=] triggered the Scorched Earth.
160	* PsychoForHire: Loves to 'play the game'.
161	* TattooedCrook: Subverted. She's heavily tattooed and pierced, which is common for members of Mesa's "young lodges." However, this is a deliberately flamboyant blind intended to convince the rest of the galaxy that Mesa is populated entirely by hedonists and useless drones.
162	* TechnicolorEyes: Silver.
163	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: There is no way in hell she is ever coming back from that elevator ride.
164
165	!![[AC: Jack [=McBryde=]]]
166
167	A mid-level Mesan security operative, who was coming from a less-tweaked genetic lines (but still an Alpha). He was, however, high enough on the ladder and effective enough to be fully brought into [[AncientConspiracy the Alignment]]'s plans, and one of Bardasano's henchmen. He was a chief of security in the scientific center where Dr. Simões worked, and, after hearing the man's story and becoming his friend, did a HeelFaceTurn, ensuring his escape to Manticore.
168	----
169	* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: Justified, since he isn't a counsellor and was actually told that if he couldn't handle Simões' case then he should bring a counsellor in. This, however, would've mean an end of Simões' career, which would only further devastate the man [=McBryde=] by now counted as his friend, so he tried to stick with his game... and we all know [[HeelRealisation where it went]] in the end.
170	* EvenEvilHasStandards: His reaction upon hearing Herlander Simões' story.
171	* HeelFaceTurn: One of the greatest dangers for any self-respecting security man is ''to start thinking''. He started to think about Mesan policy, and didn't like the results.
172	* HeelRealisation: See above.
173	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: He found that he couldn't make it to the getaway vehicle so he stayed behind to ensure that everyone got out. And then initiated [[StuffBlowingUp Scorched Earth]] to cover their escape.
174	* TakingYouWithMe: Isabelle Bardasano. In the elevator. [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill With a tactical nuclear warhead.]]
175	* WorthyOpponent: A rare Mesan example. At least until his HeelFaceTurn.
176
177	!![[AC: (Dr.) Zack [=McBryde=]]]
178
179	Brother of the above and one of the more prominent Mesan scientists, [[spoiler:deemed important enough for the Alignment to be included in ''Houdini'']]. Originally introduced in ''Torch of Freedom'' [[{{Foil}} to complement]] his older brother, one of the storylines in ''Cauldron of Ghosts'' centers more on him, [[spoiler: his evacuation from Mesa, the reasons why he did ''not'' like it in the slightest, further proofs of the LRPB being too clever for their own good, and the start of his inevitable HeelRealisation too]].
180	----
181	* {{Foil}}: To his brother.
182	* GuileHero: He managed to hide his disillusionment with the Alignment [[spoiler: and a couple of bodies coming from it]] pretty well.
183	* HeelRealisation: Once he himself felt the true methods of the Alignment security apparatus, he understood his brother's disillusionment pretty quickly.
184	* IndyPloy: The guy thinks pretty fast on his feet, which isn't a trait frequently seen in theoretical physicists.
185	* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Well, he didn't commit any true betrayal so far, but he [[HeelRealisation lost his faith in the Alignment]] and its goals pretty much completely, so it is only a matter of time.
186
187	!![[AC: Dr. Herlander Simões]]
188
189	Mesan hyperphysicist introduced in the ''Torch Of Freedom''. A supremely talented scientist, he was perfectly content with his research and his family, until this nice little world was shattered by the outside force. Namely, a decision of Long Range Planning Board, the supreme Mesan policy-making authority, to cull his daughter as a failed experiment.[[note]]Star-line Mesans don't have the kids the normal way, but are essentially surrogate parents to the custom-made DesignerBabies. And the baby-makers like to experiment. Sometimes unsuccessfully.[[/note]] This started a downward spiral leading to him having a nervous breakdown, HeelRealization and finally deciding to defect.
190	----
191	* DefectorFromDecadence: Decided to defect to Manticore to somewhat make up for serving the Alignment.
192	* HappilyMarried: He ''was'' until his daughter was selected for culling, but his crusade against the LRPB and his unending grief finally cost him his marriage.
193	* HeelRealisation: He didn't like what he saw around, when he finally looked.
194	* PapaWolf: When he knew that his daughter is to be taken from him he did everything he could to get her back. Unfortunately, with the rather predictable results.
195	* TheProfessor: A near-textbook example.
196	** It was mainly Simões who came up with the streak-drive -- the new-gen hyperdrive that allowed speeds almost twice as great as any other design. And now he works for The Haven-Manticore Alliance.
197	* ThereAreNoTherapists: There are, but he just knows too much to let anyone of them even to his general vicinity.
198
199	!![[AC: Damien "Firebrand" ''Plays with Fire'' Harahap]]
200
201	The Alignment agent in the general Talbott area, including also nearby Solarian controlled systems in the Madras sector, who is tasked with causing the general unrest and bringing Manticore and the League in conflict. An ex-Solarian Gendarme, he's a personable, but incredibly cynical guy who is explicitly said to [[WildCard follow "the best game in town"]]. [[spoiler: Later, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard after his operation blows into his face]], [[HeelFaceTurn he defects]] to the Grand Alliance and gets adopted by the treecat named Clean Killer/Fire Watch — who, in turn, gives him his treecat name of [[MeaningfulName Plays with Fire]].]]
202	----
203	* TheAce: In fact, he was said by Honor to inhabit the same rarified sphere of high-level spookery as the likes of Anton Zilwicky, Victor Cachat, Kevin Usher and Jacques Benton-Ramirez y Chou.
204	* AffablyEvil: Firebrand is a genuinely affable guy who is actually averse to antagonizing his marks because this would upset [[AgentProvocateur his job]].
205	* AgentProvocateur: ...whose task is to throw the Solarian League and Star Empire of Manticore into war. He eventually succeeds, though largely because by that time both sides already were all for it. Subverted in that he never expected Manticorans to ''[[SureLetsGoWithThat really]]'' [[SureLetsGoWithThat support those rebellions]] in the Madras sector that he fomented in their name.
206	* AntiVillain: Firebrand isn't the evil man as such, and essentially was ''forced'' into serving the evil side. [[spoiler: It's the fact that he does work ''equally well'' for both the bad and the good guys what makes him a truly ambiguous person.]]
207	* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: After switching the sides he does what he may to correct what he did before.]]
208	* DefectorFromDecadence: Firebrand has never much liked either of his employers, [[spoiler: and once the chance presented itself was only delighted [[HeelFaceTurn to switch for the good side]].]]
209	* EvenEvilHasStandards: When Agnes Nordbrandt stepped up her terrorism campaign he ''was'' disturbed.
210	* HeelRealisation: [[spoiler: One of the main reasons for him switching sides was that he just got tired of justifying what he does for a living to ''himself''.]]
211	* HeKnowsTooMuch: Which is why he's been implanted with the Alignment's suicide nanotech, presumably similar to their "Rat Poison" compulsion one, which would activate once it doesn't receive the reset command. [[spoiler: It turns out, however, that he ''wasn't'' — which probably happened due to all the confusion after the [[StuffBlowingUp Green Pines incident]]: he apparently was scheduled for this, but both the plans and the records were among the ones destroyed by Jack [=McBryde=]. This is what allowed his HeelFaceTurn.]]
212	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Gets trapped on a planet when the revolution he was fomenting gets accidentally kicked off early and then the Manticorian support he lied about actually shows up]].
213	* LovableRogue: Whatever can be said about the guy, he has a ''hell'' of the charisma and tends to get liked by ''everyone''.
214	* MoralityChain: [[spoiler:Clean Killer acts as one for him. As Honor points out, there are few better guarantees of good behavior than an adoption bond with a treecat.]]
215	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: When Mike Henke decided to really give the Manticoran support to various Madras sector resistance groups that he advertised. Which in several cases turned into the textbook examples of TheCavalry.
216	* TheNondescript: Actually described as such once, which only helps in his line of work.
217	* NotInThisForYourRevolution: He was thoroughly indifferent to the goals of both the League and [[AncientConspiracy the Alignment]], [[spoiler: and is only distantly engaged to the Alliance cause]]. In fact, he was stated to genuinely hate the League even despite rising to the officer rank in the OFS's Gendarmerie — it simply was the best way to escape the oppression in the Protectorates. Actually, he genuinely ''likes'' to be a spook, [[spoiler: and mainly switched to the Alliance side because [[HeelFaceTurn working for the good guys]] was [[EvenEvilHasStandards easier on his consciousness]]]].
218	* OhCrap: Damien has a colossal "Oh Crap" moment when a three-way coup happens on the planet Seraphim and he finds out about it at a Pad Thai restaurant. The System President dies while making a PR tour aboard an [[AllegedCar old, locally-built starship that mysteriously explodes.]] The Vice President, the System Military, and the local StateSec all think the others pulled an assassination, or they recognize the ship was a flying deathtrap and just plan to use the crisis to seize power. Systemwide communications are shut down, all interstellar vessels are grounded, and Damien Harahap has just made his first delivery of military grade weapons to the local rebel faction which they plan to immediately put to use- along with his promise Manticoran naval support.
219	** He’s also the subject of his own OhCrap moment when [[spoiler: Clean Killer adopts him]], as at that point nobody thought for a second that [[spoiler: the treecat brought in to [[LivingLieDetector verify his trustworthiness]], who was part of the clan that was killed by the first overt Mesan strike, would actually adopt him]].
220	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: His main motivation. [[spoiler: In fact, main reason that he now works for the Alliance is [[NotInThisForYourRevolution not because he buys into their goals]], but because it's simply [[DefectorFromDecadence easier on his conscience]].]]
221	* PunchClockVillain: Doesn't bear his targets any malice whatsoever. To him it's all just another job.
222	* SadisticChoice: What (he thinks) he presents to the Manties in the ''Shadow of Freedom'': if they don't support all those rebellions he promised aid in their name, they'd lose all credibility among the smaller nations around, and could also be blamed for the death and destruction. If they ''do'' support those rebellions, that would be an act of war against the League, which he assumed Manticore would want to avoid, or, at least, has no chance of winning — or so he (and his Alignment handlers) thinks. Unfortunately to him, by that point the Manties didn't give a good goddamn about the latter.
223	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: After the Manticorans actually show up to bail out the Seraphim revolutionaries, one com call lets the revolutionaries know they've been played by Damien. They bring him to the spaceport and he's greeted by a platoon of Seraphim soldiers and a pair of Manticoran Intelligence officers who'd like to have a chat with him about all the promises of naval support he's been making on the Queen's behalf. To his credit, Harahap just surrenders.
224	* WildCard: If Firebrand could be said to be on anyone's side, that'd be his own.
225
226	!![[AC: Rufino Chernyshev]]
227
228	A senior Alignment security operative and Firebrand's handler. After the Green Pines debacle he gets pulled from the field to step into Bardasano's shoes, which finally gives him the opportunity to see the bigger picture of the case he served so fathfully — and he doesn't seem to like it very much.
229	----
230	* AffablyEvil: Similar to Firebrand, he's a truly affable and decent person, led astray by his cynicism and [[MyCountryRightOrWrong loyalty to a less than decent case]].
231	* EvenEvilHasStandards: As with most other Mesans who start to have second thoughts. He derives a bit of personal and professional satisfaction from being the one to order Janice Marinescu's death after she did such a bang up job killing ''millions'' of people to cover up Houdini.
232	* HeelRealisation: He's actually okay with the Alignment's atrocities while he commits them, or at least seems to think that [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans they are necessary]], but once he has to ''order'' them — he starts to have qualms.
233	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: What he usually uses to convince himself in the Detweiler Phylosophy, but it starts to wear thin, especially after the accelerated Houdini and [[AMillionIsAStatistic whatever it, and its imaginatively called "Final Flourish" entailed]].
234	[[/folder]]
235

Context Characters / HonorHarringtonSolarianLeagueMesaAndOthers