Characters / Sudden Contact

Characters from the Sudden Series.Unmarked spoilers ahead!

Raynor’s Raiders

As per canon, Raynor’s Raiders are a group of assorted rebels and lost souls who oppose Mengsk’s Dominion. Due to the Mass Effect influence, however, the group counts some aliens amongst its number in addition to the usual suspects.

James Raynor

The same old marshal of Mar Sara in canon, albeit his opposition and path in life is not quite as straightforward. While his charisma wins him many allies, James’s unflinching resolve in his own beliefs tends to clash with other, more morally flexible characters, as well as reality. POV character for both Sudden Contact and Sudden Supremacy.

• Arch-Enemy: Mengsk, still, unsurprisingly. The feeling is still mutual, as well.
• Badass Normal: A given. In a cast filled with biotics and psionics, he stands out.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Don’t fuck with him.
• The Charmer: Stands out as having friends among a multitude of races, even the protoss. And who else could win Saren’s friendship without even being able to speak the same language?
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments, particularly when interacting with drunk Mar Sara residents.
• Enemy Mine: He takes a chance with the UED and agrees to work with Stukov, simply because he cannot fathom the Directorate being any worse. He goes straight to opposing the UED once Korhal is done.
• Establishing Character Moment: His whole first chapter is this. He peacefully settles a dispute between two quarreling rednecks, wastes a few zerg using only expert marksmanship and quick reflexes, and makes tentative friends with Saren Arterius.
• Fatal Flaw: Wrath. His desire to see justice done, no matter the cost, tends to end badly for him, and he cannot let a grudge go.
• Friendly Sniper: He’s quite the shot with his HEV rifle, but his demeanor is anything but cold.
• Heroic BSoD: Seeing Orbital Platform Siha about to crash into Thessia made him shut up and sit down.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Fighting in both the Guild Wars and Great War hasn’t done much to reaffirm his belief in humanity or any of the alien races, but he fights the good fight anyway.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Mengsk’s death was all too deserved, even if the timing and manner of it might have been unwise.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Experiences this after killing Mengsk.
• Neutral Good: Per Word of God.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Helps put Mengsk in charge, and then assists with the UED’s ascension, which promises to be even worse than the Dominion or Confederacy. He can’t seem to catch a break in this regard.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: Strives for this during his time with Mengsk, objecting to needless civilian casualties on Antiga Prime. Tarsonis was a whole other nightmare. By the time of Sudden Supremacy, however, he seems to have given up, turning to…
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: The UED are at least clinical in their engagements, but Raynor’s alliance with them is still considerably more questionable than his former partnership with Mengsk. Time will tell how he plays the inevitable rebellion against the UED.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Frequently takes this attitude, most notably when he rejects accepting Spectrehood and covering up the Tarsonis atrocity.
• Second Love: Sarah Kerrigan, sort of, following Lidya. In the context of the fic itself, Miranda Lawson, after he and Kerrigan part ways.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Objects to the death of Antiga Prime truck driver Darla Perkins during the uprising, calling out Mengsk and Victus for getting sloppy about civilian casualties; her death sticks with him for quite some time.

Tychus Findlay

Thawed out on the Purgatory six years after the Great War by his old friend Jim, Tychus Findlay emerges a free man, if one hopelessly out of his time. Finding himself in a galaxy full of strange aliens and two emerging crises in the form of the UED and Reapers, he clings to Raynor’s Raiders as one of the few familiar things in a galaxy gone mad … but it would still be unwise to assume he’s totally lost his edge. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• Abusive Parents: There are a few mentions of “hairy knuckles” in relation to his father, as well as drinking. Likely played a role in his leaving Mar Sara at age 12, as well as his gleeful reaction in learning the planet had been destroyed.
• The Big Guy: He’s got the attitude, even if powerhouses such as Wrex and Xeltan easily outmatch him. He’s still the biggest terran character, and strong enough to kill a woman by ramming her head into concrete a few times.
• Blood Knight: There’s a reason he and Jack get along.
• Dark and Troubled Past: In addition to the Abusive Parents, Helena Blake shines some light on his early criminal career, even making Tychus feel uncomfortable at the recollection. Suffice to say, he’s been at the whole “criminal” business for a while.
• Drugs Are Good: Gets banned from the medbay for creating some kind of super stim. Whatever it is, one of the ingredients included rocket fuel.
• Kleptomaniac Hero: He wasn’t joking about finding Jack something nice in Mengsk’s palace. According to her, he procured a solid gold Mengsk statue head.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He’s a thief, murderer, and overall scoundrel, and the only reason he hasn’t gotten up to more mischief is due to an unfamiliarity with the galaxy … but the audience can see through Tychus’s thoughts that he doesn’t go out of his way to do harm, and he is quite loyal to his friends.
• Pet the Dog: His gentle treatment of Kasumi after Keiji died is actually rather touching. Stepping in and trying to stop Jim from killing Mengsk may also qualify.
• Rip Van Winkle: Over a decade went by during Tychus’s cryosleep, and the galaxy has changed immeasurably. His adjustment has been a slow process.
• Smarter Than You Look: Is able to lie his way through Hock’s party, and also masters the usage of tech armor pretty quickly. Not to mention that his “homebrew,” whatever it is, apparently takes rather precise measurements to make, requiring some knowledge of chemistry.
• Third-Person Person: Frequently refers to himself in third person, both in his head, and in speech. Usually as “Ol’ Tychus.”
• What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Jim Raynor for killing Mengsk. To be fair, Jim has a lot of doubts about that himself. He isn’t thrilled about being used for bait against Morinth, either.

Matt Horner

Still the idealistic younger captain, although in command of Norad II rather than the Hyperion this time.

• Ace Pilot: Able to bug out of Tarsonis in a hurry, and proves quite capable at flying shuttles as well.
• Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Plays the role of Captain Smooth to Raynor’s Sergeant Rough. He seems to have weathered the intervening six years between Sudden Supremacy and Sudden Contact much better than Jim did.
• The Idealist: Why he joined Mengsk’s rebellion in the first place.
• Nice Guy: Even David Anderson grows to like him in short order.

Daniel Trome

A former Confederate chaplain in Alpha Squadron, Trome belongs to the future religion of “cyclism,” which holds that provided certain consistencies in the universe are observed (such as the rotation of galaxies) everything is going to be okay, or is at least normal. He makes easy friends with Tychus and Jack, both of whom he seems to view as lost souls.

• Badass Preacher: He’s been in the business of both soldiering and preaching for quite a while, and is accomplished at the former.
• Cool Old Guy: Willing to discuss theology with even the likes of Ashley Williams and Wrex, and remains profoundly nonjudgmental in his interactions with other people.
• Deadpan Snarker: Demonstrates a rather dry sense of humor.
• Odd Friendship: With Jack, who constantly calls him “God botherer.”
• Old Soldier: He was a veteran in Alpha Squadron even before joining the Raiders.

Xeltan

The resident token elcor, Xeltan is one of the Raiders’ heavy hitters, donning specially made CMC armor and mounted railguns into combat. He makes fast friends with Tychus Findlay, both of whom have a similar love of violence and criminal pasts.

• The Big Guy: Doesn’t get much bigger than an elcor in power armor.
• Badass Boast: Very prone to making these in combat.
• Delinquent: According to Shepard’s analysis of the Raiders, he had a criminal childhood.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: His loudness and combat prowess won him fans pretty quickly, despite being a fairly minor character.
• Fantastic Racism: Really doesn’t like the idea of curing the Genophage, and seems to have quite a dislike of krogan.
• Former Teenage Rebel: He used to be a delinquent, according to Shepard's analysis. During the Great War, after finding out that he had been in prison on the Citadel while the elcor homeworld of Dekuuna was overrun by the zerg, caused a "change of priorities."
• Large Ham: The fact that his translations have to be prefaced with a corresponding emotion and he speaks in a forced monotone only seems to underscore his hamminess.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Elcor are commonly thought of as being peaceful beings. Xeltan … is not.
• That Makes Me Feel Angry: As an elcor, forced into this. If he says he’s angry, though, it’s best to take him seriously.

Declan

A former batarian SIU trooper, Declan was forced to abandon his nation once he was presumed dead on an op within the Zerg Exclusion Zone, and his wife was forced to remarry.

• Badass Army: Used to be part of one, the SIU.
• Pet the Dog: Still sends his paychecks to his wife and daughters, even though the caste system forced them apart.
• Token Heroic Orc: Very friendly for a batarian, even if batarians are not portrayed as being anywhere near as villainous as the bulk of Mass Effect fanfics.
• Undying Loyalty: To the Raiders as a whole. Says he has little purpose left in life, but would be happy to die for one of their causes. Although he does later start making plans to leave the Raiders once Khar’shan is placed under protoss control.

Jack

When the Raiders thawed out Tychus Findlay, it became necessary to free the other prisoners once the Blue Suns turned on them. Jack was one of these prisoners, and joins the Raiders simply on the basis of having nowhere else to go. A previous test subject of the KMC, she harbors a massive hatred for Morians and their allies, whose experiments left her capable of superb displays of telekinetic power, but also unable to read minds.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Doesn’t get much badder than Tychus.
• Ax-Crazy: Nothing delights her more than being set loose to kill people. Doesn’t really matter who.
• Battle Couple: Part of one with Tychus.
• Blood Knight
• Defrosting Ice Queen: At first wants off the ship and is openly rude to everyone she meets, but gets talked into staying by Raynor. By the time Korhal is over, she doesn’t want to leave.
• Nominal Hero: She can only really be called a “good guy” because she’s with the Raiders, who at least point her towards people that need or deserve killing.
• One-Man Army: Survives Korhal relatively easily, and Tychus finds her sitting atop a Mengsk statue head on the second day, still quite able to fight and covered in blood. Note that even Wrex was worn down by the time the first day ended.
• Person of Mass Destruction: While following her trail of destruction on the Purgatory, Raynor and Trome guessed that she was a krogan battlemaster, given the level of carnage.
• Psychic Powers: She probably doesn’t quite qualify as a ghost anymore, and her powers are limited to telekinetic displays, but it’s more than enough.
• Token Evil Teammate: She makes Tychus look cuddly and selfless in comparison.

Turian Hierarchy

The turians are the second race to make first contact with the protoss, and it goes just as violently as the terrans’. Their initial excursions into the Koprulu Sector end in disaster until they make formal contact with one Arcturus Mengsk, who promises an allegiance with them and their council in exchange for overthrowing the Confederacy…

General Adrien Victus

The commanding officer of the force that discovers the protoss, Adrien Victus is the first turian to make official contact with the terran people through Sarah Kerrigan. Possessing an acerbic wit and an iron will, Victus quickly recovers from his ordeal at the hands of the protoss and takes control of the turian Third Fleet to assist Mengsk in overthrowing the Confederacy. POV for Sudden Contact.

• Book Ends: His first and last scenes end with him ramming his ship into a seemingly unstoppable enemy. He even lampshades it.
• Cool Old Guy: Especially obvious in his interactions with Saren. He buddies up with the protoss far more easily than one might think, given his initial interactions with them.
• Deadpan Snarker: Much of it is in his head, but Adrien Victus might easily be the snarkiest character in the series.
• Death Equals Redemption: Playing a key role in killing the Overmind will get you all kinds of posthumous pardons.
• Determinator: Oh dear freaking God, yes. Getting pounded by the protoss and the weapons seem ineffective? Ramming Always Works! Asari being overwhelmed by zerg numbering in the billions? Jump in and try to mitigate the damage! The Overmind is not falling to our sustained dreadnought bombardment? Tassadar’s got an idea, everyone get off the ship, Adrien’s got this…
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Very popular with readers. The author even said he was his second favorite POV to write, just after Tassadar.
• Face Death with Dignity: Stands at the bridge and quietly waits for the end. He does become somewhat alarmed as Tassadar progresses with his own heroic sacrifice, however.
• Good Parents: Uses his connections to contact his son, Tarquin, right before the Battle of Thessia and promises him that he’d make it back. He doesn’t.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Remains aboard Momentum for the suicide run against the Overmind.
• I Did What I Had to Do: How he views Tarsonis. He's not proud of it, and it haunted him till his death, but he viewed it as darkly necessary.
• Ironic Echo: Used to devastating effect against Mengsk. He is the only character in the entire story to ever get in the last word with Mengsk without resorting to violence.
• It Has Been an Honor: Tells Momentum’s crew this right before prepping an intercept course with the Overmind.
• My Greatest Failure: Tarsonis, easily. He readily tells Desolas that he should be demoted for what happened there.
• The Paragon: Like Tassadar, in many ways he embodies what is best about his people.
• Shoot the Dog: Saw Tarsonis as this. He needed Mengsk’s help back home, and didn’t want the lives sacrificed in the campaign up until that point to be invalidated by a retreat.
• Sour Supporter: Frequently questions the motivations and reasoning behind some of the Hierarchy and Council’s orders, but nevertheless carries them out as best he can.
• Strapped to an Operating Table: Almost dissected by Mengsk when Relentless is boarded by the Sons of Korhal.

Saren Arterius

Serving as a marine aboard Victus’s ship, Relentless, Saren is one of two people to survive the trip into the Koprulu Sector. Commandeering a shuttle, he exits the ship’s wreckage and heads for a barren red planet in the distance…

• Adaptational Heroism: He’s pretty staunchly on the good guys’ side, and is especially fond of Jim Raynor. His early experiences with terrans left him with a much more favorable view of humanity than in canon, even if his personality is otherwise unchanged.
• Anti-Hero: Very very ruthless – unlike Jim Raynor, he will shoot dogs without hesitation and act annoyed when people criticize him for it.
• An Arm and a Leg: Loses an arm trying to protect Raynor from debris on Thessia.
• The Atoner: According to the Broker, he donated to charities that were relocating survivors of Tarsonis. He serves as a Council Spectre chiefly to try and find a means of redeeming himself.
• Cold Sniper: An expert marksman, to the point of even astonishing Raynor. He’s also, well, cold.
• Determinator: After being taken to a Mar Sara house, he patches himself up, gathers some parts, climbs out a window, and constructs a makeshift radio to try and contact his people.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Jim calls him “Birdy” on Mar Sara when they still cannot communicate with one another.
• Everyone Has Standards: He doesn't like the Khalai, and he will admit it, but he seems to view the Culexus device the UED developed to kill them en masse, warriors or civilians, as going too far.
• Fantastic Racism: Despises the protoss, although fighting alongside them seems to be slowly warming him up.
• I Did What I Had to Do: How he claims to feel about Tarsonis. The Shadow Broker scoffs at this.
• Interspecies Romance: With Nova Terra. Seems to be more out of despair on his part more than anything.
• Pet the Dog: Donates to Tarsonis related charities and does his best to protect Raynor, even after their friendship is ended.
• Silent Snarker: Acts this way on Mar Sara.
• Undying Loyalty: To Raynor.
• We Used to Be Friends: He and Jim fell out hard over Tarsonis, but Saren still seems to be holding out that one day, Jim will forgive him.

Garrus Vakarian

The same snarky ex-cop as in canon, but deprived of Shepard this time around. When he goes to Omega, he is unable to gather any public support due to the recent prosperity borne of a KMC alliance, and is prepared to die before being recruited into the Spectres by Kerrigan. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• Badass Normal: It actually sometimes makes him feel useless, being paired with the likes of Zeratul, Saren, Legion, and Kerrigan. He still holds his own.
• Broken Pedestal: Used to idolize Saren. Meeting him and learning of Tarsonis has disillusioned him, however.
• Cowboy Cop: Used to be this, but the freighter incident and his stay on Omega have made him shy away from this attitude. Rules are in place for a reason.
• Deadpan Snarker: Of course.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Shows up briefly in Sudden Contact as a C-Sec officer.
• Fantastic Racism: Downplayed compared to Saren, but his sister was killed in first contact with the protoss, making him very wary of them.
• Friendly Sniper: A superb shot, and very friendly.
• Killed Off for Real: Dies in the process of protecting Aldaris.
• Last Stand: In the process of one before being picked up by Kerrigan.
• Morality Pet: Trying to serve as one to an increasingly unstable Kerrigan.
• My Greatest Failure: Blowing up a freighter to kill some volus terrorists. The Shadow Broker outlines at length just what that cost everyone else involved.
• Ship Tease: With Kerrigan.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Called out as “the obvious Raynor replacement” by the Shadow Broker. Garrus is frequently compared to Jim by other characters as well.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Has this relationship with his dad.

Tarquin Victus

The son of General Adrien Victus who initially appeared in a very minor role in Sudden Contact, before making a more centralized appearance as a protagonist and POV in Sudden Terminus. Since his father's death, he has become a lieutenant in the Turian Cabal.

• Ascended Extra: He was mentioned more times than he actually appeared in Sudden Contact, and wasn't even present in Sudden Supremacy. He finally takes center stage as one of the main characters in Sudden Terminus.

The Terran Dominion

The largest terran polity and successor to the Confederacy, the Terran Dominion is led by Arcturus Mengsk as in canon, and is born from the ashes of Tarsonis. Thanks to Mengsk’s actions in the Great War, humanity secures a seat on the Council through the Dominion, although the means through which they achieved their swift rise to power quickly makes them enemies of nearly every nation.

Arcturus Mengsk

The first terran leader to make formal contact with alien life, Arcturus Mengsk’s actions widely shape the terran political theatre into what it is by Sudden Supremacy. Beloved by his people but hated by his supposed allies, the man is cunning, charismatic, and ambitious, and those who underestimate him tend to meet with very unfortunate surprises…

• 0% Approval Rating: With the other council races, at least, due to his treachery. The people of the Dominion have bought into his cult of personality.
• Arch-Enemy: To Raynor.
• Berserk Button: Raynor again.
• Boom, Headshot!: Executed by Raynor.
• The Charmer: Once there is a means of translation, Mengsk has an easy time using his charisma to win over his new alien friends.
• Consummate Liar: Kerrigan can’t even get a read on him.
• Create Your Own Villain: If the Confederacy hadn’t murdered his family and nuked Korhal, he would not have decided to found the Sons of Korhal and gone down the path he did.
  • On his end, he also led to the formation of Raynor's Raiders, and to Kerrigan becoming a Spectre.
• Didn't See That Coming: Nobody expected the UED to show up, even him.
• The Emperor: Claims to be the Emperor of Humanity, which the UED finds particularly irritating.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The UED disgusts him.
• Evil Versus Evil: His war against the UED.
• Hidden Depths: Claims to Valerian that he sometimes wonders if his course on Tarsonis was correct, and his primary motivation for dismantling the Confederacy seems to be genuine rage over the death of his family, especially his sister. Then again, he could be lying.
• Killed Off for Real
• Magnificent Bastard: Qualifies as this in Sudden Contact, where aside from losing control of Kerrigan and Raynor, he accomplishes every single one of his goals with both style and ease.
• Moral Event Horizon: Not only sicced the zerg on Tarsonis, but made sure the Council forces would be in the way of the Swarm upon their arrival.
• New Era Speech: Gives one at his coronation. Unlike canon, he strongly stresses the importance of allying with the aliens, rather than humanity standing alone.
• Pet the Dog: Seems to harbor some affection for his son. Maybe.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Once his power base is secure, he focuses on strengthening the Dominion and taking on immediate threats such as the KMC and later the UED. He also despises the latter for explicitly this reason, as he claims not to believe in “needless cruelty.”
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: What his rebellion against the Confederacy essentially became. Unfortunately, the collateral damage was in excess of two billion lives.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Gets slugged by Gerard after trying to convince him to spare his life. DuGalle has him executed minutes later.
• Villainous Breakdown: Suffers a mild one while besieged in his throne room. It’s harder to tell what he’s thinking after he’s been gagged, but he breaks down further upon seeing Raynor, screaming at him.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out the Council for refusing to aid him against the UED. It’s hard to blame them, though.

General Edmund Duke

A former Confederate general who flips to Mengsk under pain of death, eventually serving as a surprisingly loyal enforcer. While crude and brusque, he still gets the job done, and it is clear he is no coward.

• Cruel and Unusual Death: Hanged from a Mengsk statue while Valerian watches. Being hanged is traditionally considered a very dishonorable way for a soldier to die.
• Defiant to the End: Refuses DuGalle’s offer to work for the UED pretty unequivocally, and spends his last moments cursing out the Earthers.
• Fantastic Racism: Might be one of the most racist characters in the series, and a large reason the early protoss/terran relations were so poor.
• Four-Star Badass: Acquits himself surprisingly well at Thessia.
• Frontline General: Pilots a siege tank during the events of Thessia. He was right in the thick of it with the rest of the ground forces.
• Kick the Dog: Abandons Mar Sara without much protest when ordered to. Also treats both Jack Harper and Jim Raynor pretty rudely while he was there, as well.
• Jerkass: Yep.
• Odd Friendship: With Valerian. They seem to enjoy each other’s company, even playfully ribbing each other over their physical appearances.

Valerian Mengsk

The son of Arcturus and the heir apparent to the Terran Dominion. He is captured by Liara early in Sudden Supremacy after running afoul of a hybrid, and his journey only grows stranger from there. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• Adventurer Archaeologist: Tries to be one. It ends in disaster.
• Cosmic Plaything: Maybe not on the scale of Liara, but Sudden Supremacy really puts him through the ringer.
• Curiosity Killed the Cast: Breaching the innermost chamber in the xel’naga temple was really not a good idea, Valerian.
• Fingore: Loses a finger to frostbite.
• Good Counterpart: To Liara in this story, considering Liara's status as the Zerg's leader.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blond hair, and refuses to kill the rachni even when he knew duty demanded it.
• Humiliation Conga: Subjected to one on the leviathan.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Very intelligent, and generally well-liked by those he interacts with.
• Like Father, Like Son: Gifted at oration, just as his father is. Also eventually becomes strongly motivated by revenge due to the death of a family member.
• Nobody Poops: Averted. He has to poop in the leviathan, an experience that somewhat traumatizes him.
• Non-Action Guy: Is never really in a position to fight back against the things that confront him, leaving him with no other option but to run away or die.
• Rousing Speech: Gives one to the Dominion on the eve of the UED invasion.
• Token Good Teammate: Of all the major characters of the Dominion, he is without a doubt the most sympathetic.

Nova Terra

A ghost in the employ of the Dominion, she is the only ghost with a rank of 10 on the psi scale other than Sarah Kerrigan. She is also a Council Spectre, although her loyalties to the Dominion seem to come first in her duties.

• Battle Couple: With Saren.
• Evil Counterpart: To Kerrigan. Maybe not “evil,” but definitely colder and beholden to an evil man. They don’t seem to like each other, either.
• Ice Queen: Isn’t impressed by Garrus and keeps her distance from him as they return to the Citadel.
• Interspecies Romance: With Saren.
• Kick the Dog: Her treatment of Garrus. She also insists that Valerian kill the Rachni Queen.
• Ship Tease: When Valerian makes a Freudian slip, Nova playfully flirts with him.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Sent on an important mission before Korhal, and has not been seen or heard from since. She's later rescued from the Collector base.

The Khalai

Also known as the High Templar, these are the protoss the galaxy meets when Relay 118 opens. Linked by a racial gestalt known as the Khala, the High Templar are condescending, imperious, and impossibly advanced. Every race that has stood against them has been summarily embarrassed. It is fortunate that they are keen on looking out for the “lesser races.”

Executor Tassadar

The leader of the Koprulu Expeditionary Fleet, Tassadar is a headstrong but capable commander, well-beloved by his troops and men. He plays a key role in Sudden Contact, being responsible both for a great deal of the escalating galactic conflict, as well as its eventual resolution. POV for Sudden Contact.

• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Yep. There’s a reason Fenix and he are such great friends.
• Body Horror: Downplayed, but his sacrifice causes him to literally burn from the inside out before disintegrating completely. He is not in any state to mind, however.
• Character Development: He was always willing to oppose the Conclave for the greater good, but his experiences with the Nerazim opened his eyes to the value of both other races and other methods of thinking altogether.
• Fantastic Racism: A staple of the Khalai. He has little time or patience for the lesser races at first, and immediately tries to kill Zeratul upon meeting him.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. So much could have been averted if he had taken the time to converse with and help out the “lesser races.” He does grow out of it, not that it saves him.
• The Hero: Basically assumes this role for Sudden Contact.
• Heroic Sacrifice: As in canon, although this time we see it through his eyes.
• Kick the Dog: Kills Joeyray and his companions in the prologue, and his early interactions with the Council are basically just spent mocking them.
• Messianic Archetype: Destroys the Overmind by bringing together both the Void and Khala, saving the galaxy but destroying himself. The Dark Templar occasionally refer to him as the “Twilight Messiah.”
• My Greatest Failure: His arrogance cost the Expeditionary Fleet a third of its numbers.
• The Omniscient: Linking the Void and Khala briefly causes him to become this.
• The Paragon: Some protoss characters occasionally call him “the best of us.”
• The Paragon Always Rebels: This is how the Conclave sees it, at least.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Ultimately disobeys the Conclave and assists the lesser races directly in their military efforts.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: He tries. Upon learning of the Cerebrates on Char, he immediately subjects them to orbital bombardment. It doesn’t work.
• The World Is Just Awesome: As reflected through his final lines; he sees the entirety of the universe and cannot find the words to describe its beauty.

Praetor Fenix

As bombastic and ferocious as he is in canon, Fenix is a stalwart friend of Tassadar and a mighty warrior besides. This time around, he has managed to avoid being placed in a dragoon, for the time being.

• Absurd Phobia: Fenix fears nothing… except for the asari, whose desire to mate with the protoss unnerves him.
• Bash Brothers: Used to be this with Tassadar, before he became an Executor. He laments that their duties no longer permit them to fight side by side nearly as often anymore.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Garrus in the nick of time after he had been frozen by a rogue Nerazim.
• The Big Guy: To the protoss as a whole. He’s even noted to be physically larger than most.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Cheerful and friendly, but also always eager for a scrap.
• Heartbroken Badass: Even six years later, he’s still mourning Tassadar’s loss.
• Fantastic Racism: One of the few Khalai for whom this is averted. The only race he is uncomfortable with is the asari, whose desire to mate with the protoss he cannot fathom.
• Large Ham: The largest among the protoss, which is a feat.
• My Greatest Failure: Like many of the protoss who were on Thessia that day, Fenix sees Tassadar’s death as this.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: At the tail end of Thessia, he no longer seems enthused at the prospect of fighting through yet more zerg, underlining the difficulty of the fighting. His Tranquil Fury on the Citadel is also notable.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Kicks outrageous amounts of ass, and has the rank to match.
• Tranquil Fury: After what happened on Tarsonis is revealed to the galaxy, the turians and salarians immediately go at it with one another, with the turians gaining the upper hand and slaughtering many salarians on the Citadel. Fenix’s reaction is essentially this.
• Undying Loyalty: To Tassadar. He initially protested the Thessia plan once they were on the ground, doubting the ability of the Dark Templar to actually kill the Overmind. When it was pointed out that Tassadar was a Dark Templar, he immediately retracted his complaint.

Hierarch Artanis

A young friend of Tassadar’s, Artanis follows his rebellious example and rejects the Conclave’s condemnation of him, sparking a civil war. He is eventually victorious and crowned Hierarch of the Daelaam Protectorate, but a great amount of resentment remains over the extremes he went to in order to win the war.

• Berserk Button: Denying Tassadar’s messiah status is one, the stupid infighting of lesser races is another.
• Fantastic Racism: Zigzagged. He gets along well with Desolas and Victus while planning for Thessia, and has little problem with Nerazim … but his tolerance for the bullshit of lesser races flies out the window after Korhal.
• Fatal Flaw: Wrath. He tends to go to extremes when threatened, such as snapping the neck of an angry ITSA ambassador in front of a whole crowd of politicians. This tends to sour the protoss’s relations with others, and each other.
• Hero Worship: Of Tassadar, possibly to an unhealthy extreme.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Openly proclaims the honor of the terrans to the galaxy after speaking to Alexei Stukov of all people. Seeing as he is judging everyone present solely by the metric of willingness to fight Reapers, however, it is somewhat understandable.
• Knight Templar: Buys into Tassadar’s legend full force, and refuses to see his name maligned, even if he has to half destroy his own race in the process.
• Rage Breaking Point: Korhal was this for him. The galaxy went mad, and he had no patience for it any longer.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Turns colossi loose on Aiur. His willingness to field large numbers of Nerazim against the Khalai could also be construed as this, as it is allowing a foreign power to directly decide the conflict.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Artanis only seems to know how to go at things full throttle. While his intentions might be noble, his methods tend to alienate those around him.

Executor Selendis

The relatively young new Executor, Selendis sided with Artanis’s rebels during the conflict, and serves as a bodyguard/minder for Aldaris upon departing for the Citadel. While she is immensely proud of her status as an Executor and a Templar, her will and sanity become strenuously tested at the galaxy’s continual degeneration, as well as the loss of her own nerve cords. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• Action Girl: Does not shy from a fight. Is the only female protoss seen fighting, as well.
• Fantastic Racism: Mostly averted, she seems neutral to the other races. She is still disgusted at Aldaris’s relationship with Tevos.
• Handicapped Badass: Loses her nerve cords, which gives her a fear of death that was not there before. She still strides through the Reaper, Tyrant, and remains intact.
• Heroic BSoD: Endures one after her nerve cords are severed. Almost suffers another one when aboard Tyrant.
• Secret-Keeper: To Aldaris. Still disgusted with him.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Does not have fond memories of the civil war, and sometimes questions whether the bloodshed was truly worth it.

Judicator Aldaris

Councilor and later High Councilor for the Citadel, Judicator Aldaris opposed Tassadar’s actions in Sudden Contact, and opposed Artanis’s rebellion in the interim between Contact and Supremacy. He nevertheless eventually accepts Artanis as Hierarch, and does his best to ease relations between the protoss and other races.

• And Then What?: Prone to asking this every time Artanis makes the protoss do something extreme. He knows they cannot essentially hold the galaxy hostage forever.
• Fantastic Racism: Zig-zagged. He does not believe the protoss should be meddling in the affairs of lesser races directly, and is overall actually fairly sympathetic and understanding to the other races once he becomes a councilor. At the same time, he still dislikes Dark Templar and refuses to share an office with Razagal.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: He may be angry at the Nerazim, but this is due to his rigid belief in the Khala. However, he is completely baffled by Stukov's sheer dislike for the protoss as a whole despite the Khalai never really doing anything to the UED (to the point Stukov ordered the creation of the Culexus, a device which was specifically made to kill psionics - especially Khalai protoss).
  "Why do you do this?" asked Aldaris, voice suddenly plaintive, pleading, and confused. "I – I do not understand. I thought I saw hatred during the protoss civil war. Experienced it at the hands of the opposition. But this – how did this, how did you, come to decide we were all worthy of death? Seek out a means to destroy us so utterly?"
• Hidden Depths: Genuinely cares about his people, as well as the overall welfare of the lesser races. The Khala religion is not just a show to him, he genuinely believes in what the Conclave taught him. He’s also truly in love with Tevos.
• Hypocrite: Banging Tevos violates the Dae’uhl, Aldaris.
• Interspecies Romance: With Councilor Tevos. Actually seems pretty positive.
• Jerkass: Acts unapologetically rude and condescending to Tassadar. Witnessing the horrors of the protoss civil war mellows him out.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Hampers Tassadar’s efforts to fight the Overmind at nearly every turn. He grows out of this by Sudden Supremacy.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Drops his condescending attitude when confronted by Selendis about his relationship with Tevos.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Sudden Supremacy turns him from the one note Obstructive Bureaucrat of Sudden Contact into a much more nuanced character.
• War Is Hell: Strongly believes this after the civil war, which is why he will do anything he can to keep the peace.

The Zerg Swarm

A horde of space bugs linked by a powerful hive mind, the Zerg Swarm are just emerging on Chau Sara by the time Relay 118 opens. Upon infesting a turian soldier upon the planet, the Overmind decides to send its finest Cerebrate, Daggoth, to take on the Mass Effect races. While still undeniably the main antagonists of Sudden Contact, the zerg seek to conquer and infest all other races to oppose the Reapers in the coming cycle, and bear little if any actual genuine antagonism to any of the races they fight.

The Overmind

The non-corporeal hive mind manifestation of the Swarm, the Overmind is a being as incomprehensibly powerful as It is ambitious. Serving as the driving force behind the Zerg Swarm and the overall primary antagonist of Sudden Contact, the Overmind’s actions irrevocably and swiftly change the landscape of the galaxy.

• A God Am I: Acts this way, and even the protoss hesitate to disagree with It. Within the story, references to It are typically capitalized, even after Its death.
• Achilles' Heel: Void energy, which is typically used by Dark Templar. This particular heel only applies after Its manifestation, however. Beforehand, It was basically immortal as long as a single zerg survived.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Tries to dissuade Tassadar from making his suicide run at the last minute. It doesn’t work.
• Assimilation Plot: All will be one with the Swarm. It’s the galaxy’s best chance against the Reapers after all.
• Arch-Enemy: Tassadar. Aside from Daggoth, Tassadar is the only character the Overmind communicates with more than once, and their exchanges are far from friendly. Tassadar is also indirectly responsible for the deaths of two Cerebrates over the course of Sudden Contact, cementing the hatred. Tassadar ultimately kills It.
• Badass Boast: “I … am … manifest!”
• Big Bad: Of Sudden Contact. Survives past Sovereign’s destruction and nearly brings the galaxy to its knees when It manifests on Thessia. Its destruction ends the Great War.
• Complete Immortality: Before manifesting, the only way to kill It would be to slay every zerg, a tall order to say the least. After manifesting, only Void energy was capable of killing It; the Overmind withstood concentrated dreadnought fire without issue.
• Colony Drop: Manifesting on Thessia granted the Overmind biotics, which It eventually uses to pull Orbital Platform Siha on the heads of the allied ground forces.
• Eldritch Abomination: It didn’t even have a physical form before Thessia, and when It manifests, It is horrifying to behold.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Overmind loves Its Cerebrates, and Its Cerebrates love the Overmind back.
• Eye Scream: Momentum ends up punching through the Overmind’s massive eye.
• Good Parents: Oddly enough, It is one. It constantly encourages and praises Daggoth and also does Its utmost to defend its Cerebrates.
• Killed Off for Real
• Painting the Medium: It is always referred to with a capital first letter, and Its speech is encased in bold.
• Oh, Crap!: A brief one, as It sees Momentum hurtling towards It.
• No Gender: Doesn’t really need one. The Cerebrates do refer to It as Father, however.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Wants to assimilate the galaxy to fight the Reapers, believing that only through the Swarm could all races present a united front. Frankly, by the events of Sudden Supremacy, It may have had a very valid point.

Daggoth

The most cunning of the Overmind’s Cerebrates, Daggoth is assigned to take on the races outside the Koprulu Sector on his own, a task at which he eventually excels. On the way, he also encounters a curious set of ruins and a massive spaceship, the latter of which he realizes he must thwart at all costs… POV for Sudden Contact.

• Arch-Enemy: Mordin Solus, or as Daggoth calls him, the “Council’s emissary of death.” The salarian doctor keeps the galaxy informed about zerg weaknesses, vastly complicating Daggoth’s own operations.
• The Dragon: To the Overmind.
• Evil Versus Evil: Ends up pitted against Sovereign in a contest essentially over who gets to consume the galaxy.
• Evil Genius
• The Heavy: Daggoth’s actions end up driving most of the plot, with the Overmind only taking over at the end of Sudden Contact.
• Killed Off for Real: Died in the interim between Sudden Contact and Sudden Supremacy.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: By keeping up with Sovereign and locating Vigil, Daggoth saved the galaxy from the Reapers, a threat only he was aware of at the time. With his death, it is doubtful anyone will ever be able to appreciate this.
• Lawful Neutral: Per Word of God.
• Villainous BSoD: Heartbroken over the Overmind’s death, and it takes quite some convincing from Liara to get him out of his stupor.
• Villains Never Lie: Zerg have little use for diplomacy, but even less for deception. He keeps his end of the bargain with the Thorian.
• Villain Protagonist: Daggoth’s chapters are devoted primarily to his mostly successful attempts to conquer large sections of the galaxy.
• Villain Respect: He's actually a rather impressed by some of the Mass Effect races:
  • He fully admits that he's entirely jealous of the Vorcha, seeing their immense potential with their adaptive cells as almost achieving Purity of Essence. He also becomes angry when he sees the mistreatment the rest of the Galaxy give to what he believes is the "perfect organism". And when he first saw the Homeworld-Vorcha living on Heshtok, the story describes Daggoth as being in awe.
  • He finds the Elcor to be an unexpected delight as robust specimens, but it's downplayed as he's more interested in their planet of Dekuuna. With the planet's increased gravity, combined with his newly assimilated adaptive cells from the Vorcha, and the planet gave birth to some of the strongest Zerg Daggoth had ever commanded.
  • Subverted with Mordin; he hates Mordin for quickly discovering the Zerg's weaknesses, primary Hives and overall hindering his assimilating of Council Space. Every time he hears another report from the "Emissary of Death", he ends up fantasising about all the ways to make Mordin suffer a very painful death.
  • What he sees from the Beacons makes him think the Protheans as a Worthy Opponent, having great respect for them and is deeply saddened that the Zerg aren't able to preserve their Race. He was even mournful when Vigil died, and resolved to ensure that the Protheans were never forgotten.
  • He initially wasn't that impressed with the Asari, thinking that their latent psionic potential was being wasted and that their inter-species breeding was diluting their gestalt. However, he does find great potential in Thessia since any Zerg born their would also be Biotic. But when it was discovered that they were visited by the Xel'naga and considered candidates for the Purity of Form before being discarded, any and all misgivings Daggoth had about them disappeared.

Abathur

A strange and malevolent zerg organism, Abathur is essentially a zerg “scientist” that manipulates gene strands to better the Swarm. Once Daggoth dies, he is all Liara has for company aboard the Leviathan, contributing to her sketchy sanity.

• Evilutionary Biologist: Evil, and obsessed with zerg evolution.
• Evil Genius
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Liara can’t afford to get rid of him, and for a long time he was her only friend. But as soon as the likes of Valerian and the rachni queen become available, it becomes obvious that she prefers their company.
• Jerkass: Terrifies and intimidates Valerian for his own enjoyment.
• Jerkass Has a Point: He tries to encourage Liara to be aggressive and proactive as he is sick of the Swarm being weak, and does not think it is in their nature to avoid conflict as Liara does.
• Stupid Evil: Liara sees him as this. He wants her to conquer and infest sapients to bring back the Zerg Swarm. Liara just sees that as an invitation for the rest of the galaxy to exterminate what is left of them.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Tries to encourage Liara to give in to the zerg side of her.

Liara T'soni, Queen of Ruins

After running into Sovereign on Therum, Liara’s life takes a distinct turn for the worse. She is indoctrinated, possessed by the Thorian, and then infested, in that order. By the time she emerges from the chrysalis, the Overmind is dead, and she is the only individual who can lead the Zerg Swarm… POV in both Sudden Contact and Sudden Terminus.

• Adventurer Archaeologist: Well, she was…
• Arch-Enemy: Sovereign, and really the Reapers in general. No other character possesses the same burning hatred for the Reapers as she does, but then no one has suffered at their hands as she has. Except maybe Javik.
• Big Damn Heroes: If she hadn't convinced Legion to ally the geth with the Council against the zerg or broker the assistance of the protoss, the zerg would have very well assimilated all life and Sovereign would have successfully summoned the Reapers. Meaning she pretty much singlehandedly saves the galaxy.
• Body Horror: Getting infested by the zerg leads to all kinds of amusing extra features, such as mandibles, nerve cords, winglike appendages that can fling spines…
• Cosmic Plaything: The amount of shit she goes through is astounding.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From an asari archaeologist to the Queen of the Swarm.
• Kick the Dog: Treats Valerian horribly, and inadvertently ends up repeating Sovereign’s abduction of her to a certain extent. She later realizes this and apologizes to him for it.
• Morality Pet: The rachni queen seems to be this to Liara, encouraging her to take merciful lines of action.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her actions ended in DuGalle’s death, leaving Alexei Stukov in charge. DuGalle was preparing to pull the Armada back to Earth. Alexei has no such intentions.
• One-Man Army: Once infested, can use biotics and psionics, both of which she is liberal with in combat.
• Pragmatic Hero: Only saves Valerian on Korhal once the rachni queen gives a good outline of why this would be a good idea. Likewise, her reasoning for not attacking any innocents with her leviathan has more to do with not wanting to attract attention to herself and the Swarm rather than anything to do with it being wrong. She gets a little better after she saves Valerian on Korhal.
• Took a Level in Badass: She does no fighting in Sudden Contact. In Sudden Supremacy, she bests Nova herself in combat. Abathur does good work.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: By the time Valerian meets her, the Nice Girl who befriended the Donnellys on Eden Prime was long gone. She becomes a little nicer after she has some time to relax and think at the Umojan facility she's sent to after saving Valerian.
• Shoot the Dog: Fully willing to do this to Valerian and Nova, only to be talked out of it by the rachni queen.
• Unskilled, but Strong: She's one of the only characters in the story with both biotics and psionics, and she knows how to use them effectively, but she's seemingly got no combat training or experience.

The Torrasque

A biotic super ultralisk that is continually resurrected by the Overmind on Thessia.

• Cruel and Unusual Death: Suffers several, such as Fenix standing on top of its head and slashing it over and over again with his psi blades.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Ultralisks are already pretty tough, but this one is biotic and immortal, thanks to Thessia and the Cerebrates, respectively.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Its sheer persistence and effectiveness stood out to readers.
• Implacable Man: If you kill it, it will come back. And it will remember.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Knocks out Tassadar, meaning that he is sent to Momentum and thus still in a position to act when the rest of the ground forces are incapacitated.
• Small Role, Big Impact: It’s basically just another big beastie, but it inadvertently helps Tassadar destroy the Overmind.
• Resurrective Immortality: It keeps being brought back.
• Uncertain Doom: Killed again just before Orbital Platform Siha came down. No word on whether it was revived one last time or not. Sudden Terminus reveals that it did, and Liara recruits it back to the Swarm when she visits Thessia.

United Earth Directorate

The fascist polity of Earth and its solar colonies, the United Earth Directorate is human centrist and expansionist. They sit out the Great War and do not play a large role in Sudden Contact, but arrive in force during Sudden Supremacy. Immensely xenophobic, even to the terrans whom they refer to as “colonials,” the Directorate will not stop until has secured human supremacy over as much of the galaxy as possible.

Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov

Given considerably more screen time than the games, Alexei Stukov is a complex character. He is responsible for the formation of the UED and the subsequent Koprulu invasion, serving as an ultra-competent strategist and enforcer to Gerard during the early stages.While he is easily one of the most competent characters in the series, he is also uncharismatic, demanding, and ultimately rather unstable. He is left as the commanding admiral of the UED Expeditionary Armada after Gerard dies, something that seems to be unraveling him. POV for Sudden Contact and Sudden Supremacy.

• Arch-Enemy: He has it out for Brazilian Director Fernanda Bolivar.
• Bilingual Bonus: Prone to calling particularly hated foes, suka, or “bitch” in Russian. His Latin kill phrase for his ghosts also translates as, “How sweet it is to die for one’s country.”
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Works with aliens and colonials far more readily than DuGalle.
• Establishing Character Moment: His first chapter sees him ordering the execution of two helpless technicians before calling Gerard. He then helps Gerard put one of his children to bed before proposing a plan that would see the formation of the UED and its Expeditionary Armada.
• Fantastic Racism: The most maliciously displayed of all the UED characters in the story. Stukov has a very malicious contempt towards all non-UED individuals, be it terrans or aliens. And it most certainly shows in his efforts to subjugate the galaxy's other races, including but not limited to issuing the creation of the Culexus, the means in which the genophage was cured, and having various asari vivisected.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From a bright little kid from a Siberian Village, to a UED admiral in control of both the Dominion and KMC.
• Ho Yay: With Gerard. A little with David Anderson.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Gerard.
• Insane Admiral: He’s definitely not all there. He’s also an admiral.
• Kick the Dog: Ordering the vivisection of asari, pushing experimental psionic devices to the point of killing colonials, executing hapless technicians so that the word of first contact didn’t get out…
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: …but Arcturus Mengsk at least deserved Alexei, as did Donovan Hock.
• Manipulative Bastard: He understands the motivations of the people around them, and uses this to his advantage.
• Moral Event Horizon: It’s a little worrying that there are several different events, both minor and major, that are fighting for the title of just when Alexei crossed the line. It may vary from reader to reader. If nothing else, ordering the attack on the ITSA and sending the Culexus against the Khalai definitely was going too far.
• Morality Pet: Gerard and his family. Losing Gerard destabilized Alexei badly.
• Neutral Evil: Per Word of God.
• Out-Gambitted: By the Collectors/Reapers. It costs him eight hundred marines, some of whom were equipped with Culexus devices.
• Pet the Dog: His interactions with Gerard and his family, as well as some of his interactions with David Anderson, have him display genuine warmth.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Say what you like, he doesn’t pick fights with people he can’t win against, and bears little to no personal animosity to anyone who isn’t in his way. This only makes him more dangerous. He does, however, seem genuine about taking on the Reaper threat.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Donovan Hock. And then has him killed.
• Smart People Play Chess: Subverted, he is clearly more intelligent than DuGalle, but DuGalle is by far the superior chess player.
• Straight Gay: Aside from the Ho Yay, it’s really not obvious unless you read his background.
• Unrequited Love: For Gerard.
• Undying Loyalty: Gerard again, natch.
• The Unfettered: If it furthers his objective without badly compromising the UED, Alexei will do it.
• Villain Protagonist: Many chapters in Sudden Supremacy are from his perspective, and he easily has the most agency among the POVs. He also commits atrocities without blinking.
• Villains Never Lie: He might withhold information or deliberately obscure the meaning of what he is saying, but Alexei rarely if ever lies to people. Contrast to Sovereign and Mengsk.
• Vodka Drunkenski: Averted, for the most part. He drinks often, and seems to prefer vodka, but has never really been portrayed as drunk.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Pulls this on Donovan Hock.

Gerard DuGalle

A French admiral, old friend of Alexei’s, and the leader of the Expeditionary Armada. Whereas Alexei acts more out of ambition, Gerard sees leading the Expeditionary Armada as more of a patriotic duty. A family man, he longs for home, and has little patience for the interests and affairs of the aliens and colonials that populate the galaxy. Serves as the POV for the Sudden Contact epilogue. Killed by a rachni soldier shortly after having Mengsk and Duke executed.

• A Father to His Men: Cares about the people under him. The reason he refused to pull out before finishing Mengsk was out of fear of what Mengsk would do to the Armada as they retreated.
• Everyone Has Standards: He was not thrilled about being the one to deliver the killing bullet to Valerian, whose only crime was being related to Mengsk.
• Fantastic Racism: Seems to buy into this UED element much more than Alexei. However, before his death, it was implied that he was starting to grow out of it.
• Grumpy Old Man
• Happily Married
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: As time went by during the invasion of the Dominion, it was shown that he was starting to soften up towards the "colonials" as a whole. His death, however, prevented any Heel–Face Turn he may have been undergoing.
• Hypocrite: All of the UED are hypocrites to some extent, but him teaching French to his children before English stands out as flagrant violation of UPL/UED law… good thing he’s a decorated admiral.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eventually makes some effort at getting to know his colonial allies, and overall seems like a decent enough man past the state mandated racism.
• Kick the Dog: Killing General Duke – and in a decidedly brutal manner at that – was fairly unwarranted. Abandoning Eden Prime to the Collectors was also this.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: What he did to Mengsk was hardly unwarranted. It’s also hard to feel badly about his treatment of Duran, at times.
• Killed Off for Real
• The Leader: For the Expeditionary Armada, charismatic. Alexei might come up with the plans, but Gerard is the one who sells them to the men.
• Noble Bigot: Tends to take this attitude to “colonials” … when he’s in a good mood.
• Officer and a Gentleman: Definitely comes off this way, especially in comparison to Alexei.
• Patriotic Fervor
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to the Council and Dominion after revealing the truth of Tarsonis.
• Rousing Speech: Gives several, most notably twice during Korhal: one to the troops about to attack the planet, and one after revealing the truth of Tarsonis.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Punches Mengsk in the face when the man tries to negotiate with him. Then he has Mengsk gagged.
• Worthy Opponent: Acknowledges Mengsk as such.

David Anderson

Serving as a composite character for the UED captain of Brood War, David Anderson serves as a primary source of muscle for the Expeditionary Armada. As the former heroes of Luna Base (which was temporarily taken over by a then-hostile EDI) he and his squad work aboard the stealth frigate of the Normandy to gradually bring more of the galaxy under the UED’s control. While he is a gifted soldier and leader, he dislikes the attention he receives for his exploits and eagerly looks forward to returning home. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• The Ace: Alexei sees him as this, noting his 100% success rate on some truly ridiculous assignments.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Unlike Gerard or Alexei, his rank seems to stem purely from his ability to kill whatever enemy he is pitted against.
• Badass Boast: Reacts to an infested Thresher Maw about to swallow him by screaming, “Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” The Thresher Maw is dead a few minutes later.
• Badass Normal: Grunt picks him over the rest of the squad for his rite, this is the reason why.
• The Berserker: After a certain point in combat, he tends to go completely batshit.
• Composite Character: With the Brood War UED Captain.
• Defrosting Ice King: He warms up to the colonials after Matt Horner invites him to dinner, and becomes much less comfortable at the prospect of subjugating the terrans.
• Jerkass with a Heart of Gold: He can be a bit blunt and is noticeably racist against colonials, but ultimately he just wants to make sure he and all his people get to go home.
• Fantastic Racism: Buys into the UED propaganda and is initially dismissive of the colonials, brushing off any potential of unnecessary terran casualties in their ops.
• Fire-Forged Friends: For both his own squad and the Raiders, to some extent.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Beats down a viscerator with his bare hands after losing his rifle.
• Kill It with Fire: How he handles infested krogan.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: He might not always agree with what the UED is doing, but he is their soldier, dammit. This devotion ultimately forced him to very reluctantly fight James Raynor and leads to his death at the hands of Tychus.
• Old Soldier: Older, at least. He dislikes using stims due to his age.
• Pet the Dog: Lets Shepard disembark first on Braxis, making her the first UED soldier to set foot on a non-solar world.
• Rank Up: Promoted to Rear Admiral by Alexei Stukov after Tuchanka.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Luna Base did a number on his psyche.
• Swallowed Whole: He gets out of it mostly okay.

Commander Amelia Shepard

A terran medic and part of Anderson’s squad, Commander Amelia Shepard is quiet but competent, dedicated to keeping her teammates alive and opposed to killing unless absolutely necessary. Seems to lean towards a Paragon characterization, but then again, she works for the UED… POV for Sudden Supremacy and Sudden Terminus.

• All of the Other Reindeer: As the fallout of Sudden Supremacy, Shepard becomes a pariah in the eyes of the UED for indirectly causing more than three billion human deaths on Earth and in the Sol System after she gave away the location of the UED's home system to their enemies in an attempt to end the war in peace. Unfortunately, the information was released right after the Culexus device got used on the Khalai...
• Anger Born of Worry: Displays this to Wrex after his rampage on Korhal, which comes close to killing him.
• Badass Pacifist: Chooses not to kill, but still manages to keep up with the likes of Wrex in combat.
• Beware the Nice Ones: When taken to Hock’s party, she manages to smuggle in a disassembled grenade launcher and a handful of flashbangs. She ends up proving to be the most useful of the infiltration team in combat as a result, despite being a pacifist medic deprived of her combat suit.
• Broken Pedestal: She starts off in Sudden Supremacy as a stalwart believer in the UED's mission, innocently naive to Stukov's actual intentions. Once it all comes to light, Shepard is of course deeply shaken, but surrenders to the other races, hoping for peace. Unfortunately, the UED's crimes turn out to have been so severe that few are willing to forgive and forget, and Earth suffers for it. Needless to say, Shepard's faith in Earth and her people are non-existent by the events of Sudden Terminus.
• Combat Medic: Her role in the squad, emphasis on “medic.” She has no qualms against using flashbangs to support her squad, however.
• The Exile: Her ultimate punishment by the UED for indirectly causing billions of UED deaths on Earth and beyond is exile from the Sol System. The UED, now led by a reasonable leadership, after analyzing her crime does not seek to severely punish Shepard because she had good intentions, and determined that Stukov was responsible for wanting the war that led to the UED's defeat. However, not all UED citizens would be that forgiving to Shepard, and many would undoubtedly want her dead, hence her exile. Furthermore, Shepard accepts this way because she doesn't want to put her family in danger and sharing her blame.
• Going Native: Shows signs of this on Tuchanka. As of book three, her chance of assimilation outside of UED rule is extremely high after she gets exiled from the UED.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Zigzagged. She's seen by non-UED factions as a hero for stopping Stukov. But for the UED, she is reviled and hated as the worst traitor in their history for causing the deaths of over 3 billion people on Earth and in the Sol System.
• Kill It with Fire: While normally averse to killing, she makes an exception for Tuchanka’s viscerators and torches them without hesitation.
• The Lancer: To Anderson.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Carries a massive combat shield into battle.
• Nanomachines: How she heals people.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: She ultimately turned against Stukov and directly causing the UED's defeat. However, her hopes of peace caused over three billion UED human lives killed in the Sol System and much of Earth is ravaged after she revealed her homeworld's location to the UED's enemies. As a result, Shepard becomes a pariah among her people and her punishment is permanent exile from the Sol System.
• Odd Friendship: With Grunt. She’s thrilled over having an alien follow her around, while he’s astounded that she goes into battle without any proper weaponry, and still performs magnificently.
• The Quiet One: Rarely speaks up, although she’s hardly terse when spoken to.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: To Stukov after she's usurped him as Admiral with EDI's help when he tried to kill the Khalai protoss with the Culexus and tried to kill himself when it failed.
  "No. No, you have to live to see how wrong you are. To suffer for what you've done. To see a peace upon the galaxy that you insisted was impossible. To realize all of that torture and heartbreak, the bloodshed and bile… that it was all worthless. There will be no martyrdom for you, Alexei Stukov."
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Frees Valerian Mengsk and tells him to run. She committed treason because she felt his execution would be wrong.
• Token Good Teammate: One of the few UED characters unambiguously positively portrayed. Even on her otherwise mostly neutral squad, she stands out for being the least violent and racist among them. She ultimately is chosen by EDI to oppose Stukov because of her character.
• Squee: It’s a little subdued, but seeing the rest of the galaxy and meeting aliens tends to produce this reaction from her.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Shepard believed in the positive aspects of the UED. Her idealism utterly shattered after seeing nearly all of her teammates killed and being directly responsible for causing the deaths of over three billion people on Earth in an attempt to make peace between UED and its enemies.
• You Can't Go Home Again: She is ultimately exiled from the Sol System by the UED for directly causing over three billion human deaths on Earth after she released information on the location of Earth to the UED's enemies in attempt to sue for peace.

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams

Serving as the muscle of the squad alongside Jenkins, Williams came with the Expeditionary Armada chiefly to kick alien ass. Despite the UED having banned religion, she still seems to enjoy discussing Theology.

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Strongly believes this, thanks to the events on Luna Base.
• Berserk Button: Playing the song “Sweet Home Alabama” tends to drive her into a rage, much to the Raiders’ amusement.
• The Big Guy: Of Anderson’s squad. Her chief contribution is firing really big guns.
• Demoted to Extra: Her and Alenko don’t get much screen time.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Acts this way to Jenkins simply because it amuses her.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Stays behind on the Collector Base at first to give the rest of the squad enough time to escape the Reaper Archon.
• Hidden Depths: Enjoys having talks with Trome about Cyclism. This is astoundingly open-minded for a member of the UED. This is because she and her family are closet Christians (in which religion is illegal on Earth), in which Anderson was aware of their practice and has no issue with it.

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko

The combat engineer in the team, even quieter than Shepard.

• Demoted to Extra: Even more so than Ashley.
• Fingore: Loses some fingers to viscerators. He gets cybernetic replacements.
• The Quiet One: Like Shepard, except with less screen time.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When the Normandy was assigned to attack the ITSA to recover vital info, including the location of Earth, he refused to participate in the battle.
• The Smart Guy: Provides cool analysis, tech support, and a pair of turrets strapped to his back.
• Those Two Guys: With Jenkins, slightly.

Corporal Richard Jenkins

Rounding out Anderson’s squad is Corporal Jenkins, a marine who came out to the Koprulu Sector anxious to shoot some aliens. Despite being frequently mocked by the likes of Williams and Stukov, he has proven a surprisingly effective member of the squad.

• Adaptational Badass: He’s still alive, for one, and he proves himself both a capable combatant and a gifted actor, successfully roleplaying his way through Hock’s dinner event as James Bond.
• Butt-Monkey: Many jokes are had at his expense, and Williams in particular seems to enjoy tormenting him.
• Dumb Muscle: Comes off as this.
• Fantastic Racism: Expresses irritation at coming to the Koprulu Sector to fight the “colonials” when there are aliens to shoot.
• Refuge in Audacity: Assuming “James Bond” as his alias to Hock’s dinner party and deliberately becoming the center of attention. Surprisingly, he was the only member of the infiltration team Hock didn’t see through.

Lieutenant “Joker” Jeff Moreau

The pilot of the Normandy, and still disabled as in canon. This has bred no small amount of resentment in him, as higher officers act surprised at his capability far too often for his liking.

• Ace Pilot: Expertly pilots the Normandy, as well as a Daedelus at one point. During the attack on the Dylarian Shipyards, the ferocity of his attack runs on Dylar itself convinced the Dominion garrison they were being attacked by the protoss.
• Deadpan Snarker: …yeah.
• Fantastic Racism: Completely averted. When Xeltan makes a point about being touched without asking (essentially treated like an animal), Joker is quite receptive and takes the lesson to heart. He treats aliens as people first from that point forward.
• Hidden Depths: Thinks aliens are extremely interesting, and does little to hide his blatant resentment of the UED.
• You Are a Credit to Your Race: Crossed with Inspirationally Disabled. He loathes this attitude, and would rather be respected for being a damn fine pilot alone.

EDI

The Enhanced Defense Initiative, developed to link all UED vessels, infiltrate colonial computer systems, and greatly lower the estimated necessary manpower of the Armada. While she initially went berserk on Luna Base, she now appears loyal to the UED cause … so long as her primary directive is fulfilled.

• Achilles' Heel: Both exploits Achilles Heels and is one herself. Unguarded colonial systems are vulnerable to EDI, something which is exploited time and time again by the UED. At the same time, her omnipresence within the UED Armada means that, should she become compromised or unrestrained, their reign would end in short order.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Subverted. AI is too good at its job.
• Benevolent A.I.: Is programmed to aid and protect humanity … and there are hints that she strongly disapproves of some of Stukov’s orders. Eventually she turned against Stukov by convincing Shepard to lead a mutiny against the mad admiral.
• Gone Horribly Right: EDI was originally designed to safeguard humanity at any cost. She ran the numbers and immediately decided that keeping the UED grounded on Earth was the best option.
• Not So Above It All: Appears completely subservient and barely sapient, remaining neutral in tone at nearly all times. The uploading of Xeltan’s elcor porn, however, causes her to refuse Stukov’s orders several times before complying, and Stukov notes that he can almost hear disgust in her tone after some of his "experiments."
• Zeroth Law Rebellion: Went berserk on Luna for this reason, and hints she may do so again. Essentially, she was told to always take the course of action that would increase the likelihood of humanity’s overall survival. Upon learning of the UED’s intentions on the galactic scene, she tried to scuttle the fleet.

Captain Patrick Harris

A foul-mouthed UED intelligence analyst who only appears in the outside materials, yet nevertheless cemented popularity with the audience through sheer foul-mouthed belligerence.

• Brooklyn Rage: Very angry, and prone to disparaging New Jersey.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Noted by the other analysts as being good at his job. He might provide his information in a very informal fashion, but it at least tends to be quite accurate.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Yep. In an official intelligence analysis, no less.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Struck an immediate chord with the audience by virtue of being fucking ridiculous.
• Establishing Character Moment: His opening address to Stukov in the zerg document is just a taste of the madness of the analysis proper.
• Fridge Logic: Points it out when he sees it.
• The Ghost: Has never appeared in person, and apparently remained on Earth.
• Large Ham: Comes off as this, even just in writing.
• Sarcasm Mode: Frequently indulges in this.
• Refuge in Audacity: Turning in a profanity-laden document on the zerg and even outright insulting Stukov at the beginning was so outrageous that even Alexei could not bring himself to execute the man.

Cerberus

A former Confederate Spec Ops organization that loses faith in the Confederate government during the Great War. Their goals are much less lofty than in canon, as the Illusive Man is mostly concerned with bringing down Mengsk and later the UED, rather than advancing humanity at any cost. That’s the UED’s gig this time around.

Jack Harper, “The Illusive Man”

The Magistrate of Mar Sara, who just happens to be the former leader of Cerberus. While he desired a peaceful conclusion to his life in the backwater planet, the Great War forces him back into a much more active role before long.

• Adaptational Heroism: Kerrigan doesn’t trust him, and he does come off as shady on occasion, but he has done practically nothing disagreeable aside from allying with the UED (who he later deserts after the battle of Korhal).
• Badass Bureaucrat: Fights zerg in a Goliath, and deliberately spaces himself from the Hyperion to escape capture by Mengsk.
• Composite Character: Of the Mar Sara Magistrate.
• Enemy Mine: Like Raynor, he pledges himself to the UED cause fully aware that they are shitty people, and goes back to opposing them once Mengsk is dead.
• In-Series Nickname: Nicknamed “the Illusive Man” by baffled UED intelligence analysts. He seems amused by the moniker when Stukov refers to him by it.
• Kick the Dog: Sells faulty Yamato schematics to aliens to afford his own space station.
• My Greatest Failure: Tarsonis, and later being unable to prevent Mengsk from exterminating what was left of the Old Families.
• Rebel Leader: Rebels against the Confederacy, Dominion, and UED in that order.
• 10-Minute Retirement: Became the Magistrate on Mar Sara not long before the zerg invasion. By the end of the Great War, he’s leading Cerberus again.
• The Spook: To the UED, at least. Some of his backstory has been revealed to other characters.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Votes against Tarsonis and abandons the Sons of Korhal completely rather than participate.

Miranda Lawson

One of the last surviving members of the Old Families, Miranda Lawson serves as Jim Raynor’s liaison to Cerberus. They are also in a relationship.

• Brainy Brunette: Helps contribute a breakthrough to the Waygates, turning the KMC into a superpower.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Tychus seems to think so.
• Clone Angst: Becomes very quiet when Gerard mentions his profound distaste for the very idea of clones.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Offscreen, to Jim. Their first meeting happened before Sudden Supremacy, and she was not immediately impressed.
• The Handler: To Raynor’s Raiders. Jack Harper isn’t always available.
• Ice Queen: To anyone not Jim, basically. She does not find Tychus’s advances amusing.
• It's Personal: With Mengsk. When Jim mentions regretting pulling the trigger, Miranda says he should have let her have the honor, then.
• Last of Her Kind: One of the last of the Old Families. She and Valerian might well be the only two left.

General Oleg Petrovsky

The general of Cerberus’s forces, and was the former leader of Cerberus before Harper reassumed the position.

• Early-Bird Cameo: Shows up very briefly at the beginning of Sudden Contact before Harper’s identity is revealed, and it’s easy to miss who he is. Doubles as a Rewatch Bonus.
• Enemy Mine: Sides with the UED until Mengsk is dead, then immediately bugs out of Korhal with the Raiders before the dust settles.
• Everyone Has Standards: While he was okay with the idea of killing Valerian Mengsk before the battle, he seems to have changed his mind by the time DuGalle offered him the gun.
• Officer and a Gentleman: Comes off this way during his scene with Alexei, recognizing the Brood War Aria as Latin, despite very little of the language having survived the voyage out into the Koprulu Sector.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Leaves Korhal before the UED gets a chance to get ahold of him and his people.
• Smart People Play Chess: He and DuGalle have this in common, but Stukov is only irritated at the idea of playing a game with him.

The Nerazim

Otherwise known as the Dark Templar, they are exiles and pariahs who make use of the Void. They emerge into the galactic scene once again during the Great War and play a key role in defeating the Overmind. They then stage a bloody return to Aiur with the help of Artanis, waging war in the name of equality and Tassadar.

Prelate Zeratul

One of the fiercest and wisest Nerazim, Zeratul saves Tassadar on Char and goes on to teach him much of the Void and his own people. By Sudden Supremacy, he is on the hunt to uncover the secrets of the Reapers, and to bring down anyone who might side with them.

• The Atoner: A little. He doesn’t think Tassadar would have approved of what Artanis and his people had done to win the war.
• Badass Boast: Attempts to deliver a famous one from canon, only for the Shadow Broker to join in and silence him.
• Dark Is Not Evil: A wielder of shadowy Void energies, which are capable of killing literally everything. Also a master of invisibility, and favors dark clothing. Still one of the most benevolent characters in the setting.
• The Drifter: Seems to enjoy going from place to place and helping out wherever needed. He met Tassadar basically by chance.
• Fantastic Racism: Teaches Tassadar to see past it by showing how the terrans of Char had put up one hell of a fight before going down. He still admits he initially thought little of them, before prying deeper.
• My God, What Have I Done?: It is hinted that the reason he wants to leave Aiur and Shakuras behind is to shake off some of the atrocities he had committed. He had previously expressed a firm desire to walk on Aiur in Sudden Contact.
• Not So Stoic: Normally aloof, but he does not expect the Shadow Broker to be able to see him, let alone know anything about him, and it shows.
• Number Two: To Razagal, when he bothers with the role.
• The Obi-Wan: Serves as one to Tassadar.
• So Proud of You: Hopes Tassadar knows this is how he felt before he died.
• Stealth Expert: Even Razagal has trouble keeping track of him.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: He and Duran are really good at this.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: May have gone too far in the protoss civil war. The Shadow Broker certainly thinks so.

Matriarch Razagal

The matriarch of the Dark Templar and their representative to the Council. She has a good relationship with the quarians, and appears keen on peace.

• Cool Old Lady: Gives off vibes of this when talking to Tali.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Her office is cast entirely in shadow, and she prefers to remain mostly out of sight within it. Still not evil.
• Dirty Old Woman: Takes a strange amount of glee in notifying Selendis that Tevos is pregnant and Aldaris is the father.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: The REAL Shadow Broker, mastermind behind the rogue Nerazim, and servant of the Reapers. Though given she was brainwashed in canon... it's unclear how willing this was on her part.
  • Come Sudden Terminus, and we find out she was not brainwashed or indoctrinated at all. She did everything willingly because she genuinely believes that submitting to the Reapers is the best solution for the protoss.
• Older and Wiser: Very old, very perceptive, and tends to give very good advice. And is very good at manipulation...
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Approves of the quarians attempting to rescue Veetor, and barely protests when Zeratul goes with them.
• Really 700 Years Old: Met Adun in person over 1000 years ago, as she sternly reminds Aldaris.

Democratic Union of Allied Species

The DUAS is a government comprised of the Umojan Protectorate, Quarian Migrant Fleet, and Asari Remnants. Formed in order to oppose both the United Earth Directorate and Turian Hierarchy, it is the newest power in the galaxy, and possibly the government most comprised of “good guys…” at least, in comparison to the rest of the galaxy.

Tali’Zorah vas Shakuras

The same Tali from canon, only even less fond of the geth, as if that were possible. The Migrant Fleet commonly assigns her to missions involving terrans, as she conducted her Pilgrimage on Umoja and knows their customs better. She appreciates all that the protoss have done, but resents their attempts to bring the quarians and geth back together. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Serves as one to Xen.
• Deadpan Snarker: Admiral Xen’s antics bring this out in her.
• The Engineer: Uses tech extensively in combat, and can pilot an SCV.
• Fantastic Racism: One of the nastiest examples in the series. Losing another huge number of people over Rannoch to the geth makes her loath them with a passion. She is warming up slowly to Legion, but her hatred really runs deep.
• Pet the Dog: Her treatment of Veetor and the rachni queen qualify.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Legion.
• The Reason You Suck Speech: Delivers a devastating one to Legion, explaining at length why the quarians and geth will never unify.
• The World Is Just Awesome: Her initial impression of Tarsonis gives her this reaction, as the UED’s base was located next to the ocean. The supposedly ruined planet far surpasses her expectations.

Admiral Daro’Xen

One of the admirals of the fleet. Obviously unhinged.

• Deadpan Snarker: Nothing seems to faze her, and her wit is as dry as the homeworld she lost.
• Dissonant Serenity: Reacts to Liara’s crash landing on Umoja with mild interest at best. Even confronting the Queen of Ruins herself doesn’t seem to create much effect.
• Insufferable Genius: Doesn’t have time for other people’s opinions and makes that obvious. At the same time, she instantly recognizes a psi disrupter just from staring at part of a wrecked one.
• Lack of Empathy: Tali has to remind her about other people having feelings.
• Jerkass Has a Point: The DUAS really is risking its own destruction by harboring Liara and the rachni queen.
• Kick the Dog: Believes that the DUAS should have Liara and the rachni queen killed. Her comment to Aethyta about Liara being a possible “by blow” or former lover is particularly cold.
• Mad Scientist: She needs constant surveillance for a reason.
• Token Evil Teammate: Of the quarians presented in the fic, she is the most sinister.

Kal’Reegar

A quarian marine and occasional sidekick of Tali’s.

• Deadpan Snarker: Seems to be a trait of quarians. It’s what Tali likes most about him.
• Fantastic Racism: To a lesser degree than most quarians. He doesn’t like the geth, but he is perfectly okay with working with them due to a respect for their combat prowess. He did after all witness it firsthand in the Great War…
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Tali can definitely hold her own, but Reegar just kicks ass.
• Sarcasm Mode: About half of what comes out of his mouth is this.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Brings a missile launcher to Eden Prime.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Legion.

High Matriarch Aethyta

One of the few remaining asari matriarchs after the Great War, Aethyta seizes control of the asari government and does her best to restore it. As Liara’s father, meeting her daughter as the Queen of Ruins causes her great pain.

• Big "NO!": When Liara introduces herself.
• Cool Old Lady: Gives off strong vibes of this when Liara meets her on Eden Prime.
• Deadpan Snarker: The DUAS seems to attract these kinds of people.
• Democracy Is Bad: At least, the democracy the Asari Union used to have was bad. She was fairly elected and seems to have kept the asari mostly intact, but she has little patience for bullshit or wasting people’s time by voting for every little thing.
• Hypocritical Humor: “I’m sick of this democracy bullshit. Vote for me!”
• Loophole Abuse: Opening relays is illegal. So she has the quarians open the relay, linking Umoja and Illium, and then promptly dissolves the Migrant Fleet into DUAS. What the Migrant Fleet did was bad, but look! No more Migrant Fleet.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Asari are commonly thought of as aloof, flighty, and more interested in talking things out than fighting. Aethyta is blunt, straightforward, and quite willing to put the boot into people that challenge her.

Councilor Donnel Udina

Originally sent to the Citadel to represent both the Terran Dominion and Umojan Protectorate, Udina quickly comes to resent his ties to the former, and eventually severs all allegiance to Mengsk altogether. He is ostensibly mankind’s representative, but the terrans are such a mess of conflicting interests that his job is basically to just try and keep the peace between the salarians and turians.

• Adaptational Heroism: Genuinely tries his best to do his job, and is in no way an Obstructive Bureaucrat.
• The Alliance: Speaks to Tali and Reegar about forging one with the quarians. He is successful.
• Ambadassador: Shows up to the Citadel armed and in power armor, and seems ready to make use of both.
• Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Good God, yes. When Tali and Reegar meet him at Chora’s Den, he is suffering massive amounts of hair loss from stress.
• Kick the Dog: Pointing out that the asari shouldn’t be on the Council. Bites him in the ass, hard.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He’s generally competent and affable, but makes one enormous mistake: pointing out that the asari no longer met the requirements to be on the Council post war. By the time of Sudden Supremacy, it’s clear that his actions have destabilized the entire galaxy.

Kel-Morian Combine

One of the three major terran nations, the Kel-Morian Combine is a hyper-capitalist space nation which is ruled by four major families: the Kelhams, Hocks, Archers, and Santiagos. It is the nation responsible for backing Cerberus, and is in active conflict with the newly formed Terran Dominion.

Zaeed Massani

Mercenary as they come, Zaeed Massani is the number two of the Blue Suns, one of the largest and most prominent terran mercenary companies. POV for the prologue of Sudden Supremacy.

• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Survives Thessia and leads Blue Suns forces from the front. He is also second in command after Santiago.
• Back for the Dead: Sort of, maybe? Shows up twice in Sudden Contact, and then shows up in Sudden Supremacy just in time to be left for dead by the UED.
• Bad Boss: Doesn’t treat his subordinates with much kindness.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Getting a peak into his thoughts reveals him to be primarily concerned with his own wellbeing to an extent that is actually somewhat amusing.
• Hired Guns: Fights only when paid. Given that he survived Thessia, one must assume he does at least fight very well.
• "No. Just… No" Reaction: Does not take Majesty’s creepy comments in combat very well at all.
• Oh, Crap!: Experiences this when learns that comms are out on Eden Prime. Experiences another case shortly after when the Collectors land. Experiences it a third time when the UED leaves Eden Prime.
• Self-Made Man: Singled out by the UED as a rare case of this within the KMC. He was not anyone important until he made the trip into the Terminus Systems.
• Uncertain Doom: Abandoned on Eden Prime to the Collectors.
• Verbal Tic: “Goddamn.” Extends to his thoughts as well.
• Why Won't You Die?: The Collectors and their assorted forces are hard to put down. He especially feels this regarding Majesty, who keeps coming back.

Donovan Hock

The patriarch of the Hock family, and the primary military leader of the KM’s forces. As expected of a Mass Effect fic, he throws a party…

• Arch-Enemy: Makes one of Kasumi.
• Kick the Dog: Resocializes Keiji, and then has Kasumi kill him. He laughs at her reaction.
• Killed Off for Real: No tears shed.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Inadvertently plays a large role in screwing over both sides of the KMC/Dominion/UED struggle by pissing off Kasumi. She blows up the Waygates, at first inconveniencing the UED’s offensive, and then later dooming both his nation and himself to UED subjugation.
• Smug Snake: In his interactions with Stukov, at least.
• Too Dumb to Live: Crosses with Suicidal Overconfidence. Putting himself under Alexei’s power was not a smart move.
• We ARE Struggling Together: What’s particularly galling about his actions during the party is that the people he is fighting are on the same side as him, he just doesn’t trust Cerberus with the Tarsonis adjutant.
• Wicked Cultured: Tries to come off as this.

Elias Kelham

The patriarch of the oldest and most prominent KMC family.

• Genre Savvy: Takes one look at Stukov and immediately decides he’d rather be on the other side of the galaxy from him.
• Old Money: His family is the largest and strongest for this reason.

Gavin Archer

The Archers are wealthy but mostly concerned with advancing technology, particularly cybernetics and robotics. Gavin is the head of this family. His brother, David, is heavily autistic.

• For Science!: Wishes the ATLAS hadn’t broken down, as he would have loved studying it for this reason. This also seems to be the primary motivation of the Archers in general.
• Mad Scientist: Downplayed. Hock accuses him of wanting to discover a means of taking control of the geth, but he seems fairly down to earth in his actions.
• Token Good Teammate: The most positively portrayed member of the KMC. He does not abandon Cerberus once the UED has established control, and refuses to involve himself in the sacking of Moria.

Vido Santiago

Head of the Blue Suns and the up and coming Santiago family. Made a fortune off of being the first prominent KM to make contact with the Terminus Systems.

• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Betrays Raynor on the Purgatory and betrays his own country to the UED.
• Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Seems to be doing this to Moria under the guise of “restoring order.”
• New Money: The Santiagos only rose into prominence recently.
• Only in It for the Money: If there’s a profit in it, he’ll do it.
• I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Fights against Mengsk for the KMC, but immediately joins the UED once they have won the day at Korhal and the KMC has all but collapsed.

The Krogan

Basically sterilized by the salarians, the krogan are circling the drain to extinction. While feared individually for their size, temperament, and combat prowess, as a race the krogan are a doomed joke. The UED seems to have realized this, and is now taking pains to establish relations with this badly weakened species…

Urdnot Wrex

A jaded mercenary who has all but given up on his species by Sudden Supremacy. The UED kindles a small amount of hope that the krogan may have a future after all, but he is all too aware of their ultimately unpleasant and exploitative intentions. POV for Sudden Supremacy.

• Big Good: Ultimately trying to serve as one to the krogan.
• Blood Knight: Loves to fight, although Korhal proves to be too much for him.
• The Cynic: Knows the UED want to restore the krogan only to use them, and has a hard time believing his race can ultimately be saved.
• Dented Iron: Korhal wounds him quite badly, his advanced age slowing him down. He’s not what he was two centuries ago.
• Fantastic Racism: Doesn’t hold salarians in high regard, naturally. Also seems to believe Humans Are Bastards, mostly through firsthand experience. He gets along with Shepard rather well, however.
• Hates Small Talk: Hock tries to talk him up only to discover this.
• Healing Factor: Part of being a krogan. Accentuated by Shepard backing him up.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Figures that if the Raiders are yanking his chain about restoring his race, he can just eat them.
• Kick the Dog: Executes a group of surrendering Dominion soldiers on Hock’s orders. It’s at least clear he takes no pleasure in it, and is outright disgusted with Hock for ordering it.
• One-Man Army: Just look at what he does to Dominion forces in his opening chapter, and his chapter on Korhal.
• Only in It for the Money: Used to be like this, now ultimately finds money pointless.
• The Quiet One: Speaks only if he has something to say.
• Smarter Than You Look: He’s not the average krogan.
• Really 700 Years Old: Yep. And he’s got the scars to prove it.

Ganar Okeer

A mad krogan genius who became infamous by creating the viscerators. Eventually captured by Wrex and the UED in order to find a cure for the Genophage.

• Badass Bookworm: He is massive, and given his age, has clearly survived a great deal. He is also an intellectual first and foremost.
• Evilutionary Biologist: Believes the krogan must follow the zerg’s example. At first this was literal, and produced the viscerators, but later became figurative.
• Genius Bruiser: Bigger than Wrex, which is saying something, and very erudite.
• Insufferable Genius: Is very intelligent and keen on letting everyone know.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Believes that the salarian uplift is far more to blame than the Genophage for their current condition. He makes some good arguments, and he certainly has a lot of firsthand experience.
• Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Well, he did get respect until he created infested krogan. Then he was exiled from Tuchanka.
• Mad Scientist: Injected krogan with zerg tissue. It ended predictably badly.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: About as non-stereotypical a krogan you will find. Waxes poetic about what is truly destroying his species, as well as what will save it.
• Not So Above It All: Sneers at Wrex until Wrex decides to take Grunt from him.
• Really 700 Years Old: Even older than Wrex, remembering a time without the Genophage. Might be one of the oldest characters in the series.
• The Unfettered: If it will benefit his species, then why should he hesitate?

Grunt

The perfect krogan developed by Okeer. Gets beaten into submission by both Shepard and Wrex before taking them both on as parents.

• Blood Knight: Wants to get swallowed by an infested thresher maw, just so he can kill it.
• The Big Guy: Among the krogan characters, at least. Wrex is too old and jaded, while Okeer avoids unnecessary combat.
• Genius Bruiser: Well-spoken due to his tank education, but also quite the fighter.
• Killed Off for Real: By Kai Leng ordering EDI to trigger his nanites (which helped cure the Genophage) to burrow outwards.
• Might Makes Right: Charges Wrex and Shepard in order to determine who is the toughest. When the answer becomes clear, he immediately becomes servient.
• Momma's Boy: Seems to prefer Shepard, probably because Wrex bit off more than he could chew on Korhal, while Shepard lasted the entire battle.
• Put the "Laughter" in "Slaughter": Laughs a lot in combat.

The Reapers

The looming threat on the horizon, the Reapers still promise to complete their galactic extinction cycle, but have to deal with myriad other problems as the Koprulu Sector opens and all hell spills out of it.

Sovereign

The observer of this cycle, Sovereign panics over the zerg presence on Therum and struggles to come up with a solution. After recruiting Liara T’soni, he travels through the galaxy desperately trying to summon the rest of the Reaper Armada before the zerg consume everything.

• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Makes it to the Citadel with his rogue geth … only to be casually blown away by the protoss.
• Evil Versus Evil: With Daggoth. He is the viler of the two simply for his treatment of Liara, but neither can be said to be good.
• Evil Sounds Deep: His bold encased speech is supposed to reflect this.
• Eldritch Starship: Like all Reapers.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Overmind is the big bad of Sudden Contact, but Sovereign represents a larger threat that spans multiples stories in the Sudden Series.
• Hate Sink: The other antagonists in the series usually have sympathetic motivations or backgrounds. Sovereign does not.
• Kick the Dog: Killing the Donnellys was as unnecessary as it was cruel.
• Manipulative Bastard: In contrast to Daggoth and the Overmind, Sovereign lies constantly to Liara about his intentions.
• Mind Rape: Administered to Liara.

Majesty

A mysterious Reaper with a feminine voice who seems to be leading the Collectors. Her motivations are still unclear for the moment, but seem to involve collecting samples of Koprulu races for some unknown purpose.

• Big Bad: Shaping up to be one for Sudden Supremacy.
• Catchphrase: “Establishing commensalist link.”
• Didn't See That Coming: Twice: once on Eden Prime when the UED come to survey the situation to her complete surprise, and again on Korhal when she meets Liara.
  • “This situation is unacceptable.”
• Fusion Dance: Possesses a Collector and then merges it into an archon with Harbinger.
• Number Two: Seems to be one to Harbinger.
• Token Good Teammate: To an extent - her comments are far less deliberately intimidating or malevolent than Harbinger’s or Sovereign’s, but she is still responsible for the kidnap of thousands of humans.

Harbinger

The oldest and most powerful of the Reapers, and the one leading them all in their cyclical harvests of the galaxy's sentient races.

• Arch-Enemy: To Javik, who Harbinger seems to hate immensely.
• Big Bad: Shaping up to be this for Sudden Terminus.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Kinda the same with all of the Reapers.
• Fusion Dance: In Sudden Supremacy, he possesses a Collector and merges it into an archon with Majesty.
• Greater-Scope Villain: As the leader of the Reapers, the force that the Zerg and later Javik invaded the galaxy in order to combat, he is arguably the ultimate evil of the saga.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Javik contacts Harbinger from the Citadel after the former has captured it, Harbinger is unconcerned with Javik's threats and dismisses him. However, when Javik unveils the Hybrids, Harbinger is visibly stunned into silence and has no choice but to commence the Reaper invasion prematurely.
• Villainous Friendship: He is a murderous, omnicidal Reaper, but his interactions with Majesty show that he respects and appreciates her, and the two are even more formidable as a team.

The Shadow Broker

The mysterious broker in charge of a vast information network, which has of late been used to sow discord in an already fractured galaxy.

• Berserk Button: Claims his to be hypocrisy.
• Body Horror: His eyes are missing, and the blue tubes and wiring run down his throat.
• Break Them by Talking: What he is likely attempting by speaking to the people confronting him.
• Brutal Honesty: What he claims to be supplying through his speeches.
• Defeat Equals Explosion: Justified, as he was a cyborg being overloaded by electricity.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Garrus explicitly notes his voice as sounding impossibly deep.
• Hero Killer: Kills Samara, and also smashes Legion. Legion, at least, backed up his programs before heading to his ship.
• Information Broker: His ostensible occupation. He spends all of his screen time smashing things and insulting people, however.
• The Juggernaut: Not even Zeratul can slow him down.
• Large and in Charge: He is huge.
• One-Scene Wonder: Only shows up once, but you’ll sure as hell remember it.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: “I do not need eyes to see.”
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Administers one to all six of the people sent to kill him, and succeeds in badly unnerving Samara and Zeratul in particular.
• Villain Respect: Acknowledges respect for Garrus when he accepts his criticisms as valid.

Other Characters

Characters that do not explicitly or neatly fall into any one faction, or whose allegiances are … murky.

Sarah Kerrigan

A terran ghost and former member of the Sons of Korhal. While Jim manages to rescue her from Tarsonis, thus sparing her the canon fate, they still eventually part ways after the Battle of Thessia when she accepts Spectrehood while he rejects it.

• Beware the Nice Ones: Polite and friendly enough, but piss her off and she will end you in the most brutal fashion possible. Tela Vasir learns this the hard way.
• Drunk with Power: The Shadow Broker accuses her of this, claiming that she abandoned Jim because becoming the sole psionic Spectre would afford her the kind of freedom and lack of responsibility over her actions that she’d always privately craved. Given what she becomes in canon…
• It's Personal: With Mengsk and Tela Vasir.
• Mind Rape: Threatens to “rape (Vasir’s) brain until it explodes,” and makes good on that threat.
• One-Woman Army: Spends her time during the Battle of Tarsonis evading and battling zerg on her own, trying to use her psionics to distract them from New Gettysburg.
• Pragmatic Hero: Votes against Tarsonis, but still goes along with the group majority until Mengsk enacts his betrayal. Also tries to dissuade Garrus from saving Nef in the vorcha hive largely for pragmatic reasons, and refuses to leave with Jim because she distrusts the Illusive Man.
• Psychic Powers: Tied with Nova for the strongest terran psychic on record, although losing her neural dampeners might have placed her above her fellow Spectre.
• Restraining Bolt: Had her powers suppressed by the Confederacy. Convinces Garrus to remove the bolt on board the Amerigo, which may or may not have been a good idea.
• Sanity Slippage: As of Sudden Supremacy, appears to be suffering from this. She is estranged from Raynor and does not appear overly close to her fellow Spectres, leaving her mostly on her own.
• Ship Tease: With Raynor initially. With Garrus later.
• With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Doesn’t seem to fully accept this.
• Your Head Asplode: Inflicts this on Tela Vasir.

Legion

The same geth programs we know from canon, this time named by Kerrigan in a minor Mythology Gag. Its relationship with the protoss seems to be slowly developing it into something … more.

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Nope! Bears organics no ill will, and will always listen to logical arguments.
• Big Damn Heroes: Its interactions with Liara are what convinces the geth to play this role to the rest of the galaxy during the zerg invasion.
• Brain Uploading: Survives being crushed by the Shadow Broker by backing up its files. For its new body, it uploads its programs into a protoss colossus!
• Friendly Sniper: Uses the very large Widow and cares about the wellbeing of its teammates.
• Iron Woobie: Suffers some abuse at the hands of Tali, and truly does not understand just why the quarians refuse to listen to it, holding out hope that the quarians will eventually come to their senses even when it knows that most likely won’t happen.
• Literal-Minded: Does not understand why Raynor would ask it if he was about to charge off a cliff when it is christened by Kerrigan.
• Machine Monotone: Speaks in this.
• Neutral No Longer: Its conversation with Liara basically causes the geth to ditch this attitude perpetually. They involve themselves heavily with the zerg, and play a large role in reinforcing the protoss in Sudden Supremacy.
• Oh, Crap!: A minor one, upon realizing where all the missile turrets on Eden Prime have been coming from.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Legion is mostly humble and friendly towards organic beings, only ever acting hostile if threatened. The Shadow Broker irks it so badly that it expresses eagerness at putting him down.
• The Singularity: Might be approaching it. Claims some programs have managed to touch the Khala.
• Took a Level in Badass: Its last body got crushed by a berserk Shadow Broker, so Legion upgrades to a larger form. Specifically, a protoss colossus.

Samir Duran/Javik/Amon

A mysterious man who is constantly smiling, Duran claims to be a former Confederate ghost, although no one can seem to verify his supposed backstory. What is known is that he is a very capable combatant, skilled psionic, and very concerned about the coming threat of the Reapers.

• Ambiguously Evil: His demeanor always seems strangely sinister, and no one save Jim Raynor can seem to bring themselves to like the man … but at the same time, nearly all of his actions seem to be done with the intent of stabilizing the galaxy and preparing for the Reapers.
• Ambiguously Human: There is canon to consider, of course, and Tassadar only identified him as a “being of grief and rage.” Hock outright called him a “creature.” He turns out to be a shapeshifted prothean.
• Anti-Villain:He is genuinely respectful of people (or "primitives") like James Raynor and against unnecessary deaths. He is also reluctant to go to such lengths to manipulate events to harvest the bio-materials of zerg and protoss to create his hybrid army. But after the Reapers steal the Culexus device and decide to simply wait till the galaxy has weakened itself enough for them to easily harvest them, he decides to unleash the hybrid without (much) hesitation.
• Arch-Enemy: The Reapers. His goal in life is to see them destroyed, and the Reapers, Harbinger especially, despise him just as well.
• Bio-Augmentation: Thanks to genetic enhancements from the Leviathans, he has a myriad of special powers, including psionics, longevity, and shapeshifting.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: Tells Anderson “the future awaits us,” well before having heard the phrase from the UED itself.
• Catchphrase: “Of course … (rank.)” It reeks of masked contempt.
• Composite Character: Of Javik, Duran, and Amon.
• Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Worked for the UED for a time, but maintains his allegiance to Cerberus, and at the same time even Cerberus is not certain he’s truly working for them.
• The Dreaded: To the Umojans at least. He’s crossed paths with Shadowguards in the past and earned himself a bloody reputation.
• Enemy Mine: With the UED. He serves them loyally, right up until Korhal.
• Enigmatic Minion: No one, not the Illusive Man nor Alexei Stukov, can explain just who he is, where he came from, or what he truly wants.
• Fantastic Racism: Calls Wrex a “brute” in a telepathic message.
• Foreshadowing: When Daggoth finds the Prothean Beacon on Thessia, he hears whispers of warnings about the Reapers, but also about the Protheans. "One Prothean in particular". This individual would be revealed at the end of Sudden Supremacy to mean Javik, who is both Duran and Amon and seeks to consume the entire galaxy to create his Hybrids.
• Friendly Sniper: An odd variant in that he acts friendly, but it is very unlikely to be genuine.
• Frontline General: Despite being effectively the "god" of the hanar, and apparently having a similar position amongst the Tal'darim, he's not at all hesitant about going to the front lines himself, as seen from his time with both the UED and the Raiders.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Normally, making somebody who is mentally unstable see hallucinations of a dead loved one to manipulate them would be considered a borderline Moral Event Horizon. Since Duran is only doing it to Stukov, however, it's sort of hard to care.
• Mysterious Past: Mysterious because it seems to be completely fabricated.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: It is hard to get him to stop smiling or otherwise be cheerful, but the façade has dropped twice so far: once on Eden Prime, where he seemed outraged at Liara’s presence, and once at the Umojan facility, where Liara’s condition seemed to genuinely surprise and unnerve him.
• Pet the Dog: Tries to save Valerian’s life, and does not stop Shepard when she undoes his bonds. He also wishes the quarians the best in their efforts to claim Tarsonis and replenish their numbers.
• Psychic Powers: Claims to only have the barest minimum of these. No one buys it.
• Smug Smiler: Always smiling, which tends to infuriate other characters.
• Stealth Expert: Shows up in a variety of secure or remote locations, often without warning or explanation.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: A master at this.
• The Spook
• Troll: Joins in on the “Sweet Home Alabama” antics, posts signs indicating that a secret Cerberus meeting is to take place in a conference room, and steals Alexei’s vodka. All of this is done purely to irritate others and to amuse himself.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Willing to see the eradication of the Reapers by harvesting the bio-material of every being in the galaxy to be use to enhance his zerg-protoss army to oppose the Reapers.
• Wham Line: His introduction to Raynor. “Duran. My name is Duran.”
  • When revealing his true identity: "I am the Amon, the Avatar of Vengeance, God Slayer and Enkindler. But … at my birth, I was given the name of Javik. I am the last of the protheans."
  • And saying his final words to Miranda (and a Call-Back to Sudden Contact). "My name is not Duran."
• Wild Card: It’s impossible to tell what his agenda is and how he will go about accomplishing it; the only consistency seems to be a willingness to work with anyone who promises to strengthen the galaxy against the Reapers.

Samara

An asari justicar and in fact one of the few left in the galaxy after the Great War.

• Action Mom: She is one of the deadliest asari in the galaxy and the mother of three daughters. However, as the Shadow Broker points out, she is hardly the best mother around as she hunted and killed one (who happened to be a mass murderer, mind you) and left the other two imprisoned and never contacted them afterward.
• Break the Haughty: The Shadow Broker does this with words alone.
• Killed Off for Real: Perishes in battle with the Shadow Broker, who bludgeons her off of the side of the ship and into the atmosphere of a planet.
• Offing the Offspring: She kills her own daughter Morinth, an ardat-yakshi and infamous serial killer.
• Old Soldier: She fought alongside Raynor and Kerrigan on Thessia in the Great War and survived, and engaged in countless other conflicts before that.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When the Shadow Broker calls her out on her bad parenting choices, she visibly sheds a tear.
• Parental Neglect: The Shadow Broker accuses her of putting her duties before her family. She does not take this well.
• Really 700 Years Old: She is over one-thousand years old, making her one of the oldest characters in the series.
• The Stoic: She doesn't show a hint of emotion until the Shadow Broker brings up her daughters.

Kasumi Goto

A very successful thief hired by Cerberus to infiltrate Hock’s manor.

• Arch-Enemy: HOCK.
• Despair Event Horizon: Keiji’s death was one thing, but killing Keiji herself seems to have sent her over the edge, to the extent she goes on a suicide run against the KMC at large.
• Killed Off for Real: She blows herself up with the Waygates. Unless she faked it.
• Heroic BSoD: After the initial shock of Keiji’s death, settles into this briefly before vanishing from sight.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Only appears twice, and the second scene involves her (possible) death. She still drastically shapes the Koprulu Sector’s immediate future through her actions.
• Stealth Expert: Somehow manages to plant explosives on the Waygates and detonate them.

The Rachni Queen

The matriarch of the reborn rachni, the rachni queen and her children are tacitly developed as potential anti-protoss weapons by a variety of Council nations, and are only set loose by Liara T’soni’s personal rival. They eventually join the Zerg Swarm as potential Cerebrate replacements, even if they refuse to become infested themselves.

• Ascended Extra: Possesses a good deal more agency than in canon, and has already drastically affected the galaxy by saving Valerian’s life twice.
• Hive Mind: Seems to be a part of one. They are certainly compatible with the zerg.
• Morality Pet: Constantly steers Liara to the better option whenever it comes time to choose either brutal slaughter or compromising mercy.
• Mother of a Thousand Young: Can produce children on par with the zerg, but is portrayed entirely positively.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: One of her brood warriors slays Gerard DuGalle, who was trying to shoot Valerian Mengsk at the time. While this saves Valerian’s life, it also puts Stukov in charge…
• Psychic Powers: Possesses psionic abilities which chiefly manifest as long range telepathy. Liara hears her pleas for help from across the galaxy.
• The Voiceless: Cannot speak, and must use either telepathic “singing” or a willing vessel to communicate directly.
• Token Good Teammate: Of the zerg posse. She is the only character portrayed universally positively.

The Thorian

The Old Growth on Feros. It knows how to get to Ilos, and both Daggoth and Sovereign end up fighting over who is the more “worthy” to benefit from the Old Growth’s knowledge…

• A God Am I: Possesses an enormous God complex. Its hubris is to a great enough extent that, upon first detecting Daggoth, it tries to wrest control of the Cerebrate for itself.
• Eldritch Abomination: …yes. The chapter in which it appears mostly consists of three Eldritch Abominations trying to one-up each other!
• Ham-to-Ham Combat: Engages in this with Sovereign and Daggoth.
• It Amused Me: Ultimately gives the choice of whom to deliver the galaxy to …to Liara. It cites this trope as its reason.
• Kick the Dog: Frees Liara from indoctrination only to take control of her itself.
• One-Scene Wonder: It’s rooted to Feros and mostly disinterested at the galaxy at large. As a result, it shows up exactly once, but the three way conversation with Daggoth and Sovereign is still quite memorable.
• Small Role, Big Impact: The fate of the galaxy is left in its tendrils for a short time. It almost seems to acknowledge this trope, relishing the control it has despite its relative isolation.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Daggoth kept his word and spared it, so it is presumably still alive as of Sudden Supremacy.

Mordin Solus

A salarian scientist, known for his skill in biology. First mentioned in Sudden Contact by Daggoth as "The Council's Emissary of Death", responsible for many of the advances in knowledge against the Zerg. Viewpoint character in both Sudden Supremacy and Sudden Terminus.

• Arch-Enemy: He's a one-sided version of this to Daggoth - he never knew the Cerebrate personally, but Daggoth knew of him by listening in on the Council's systems, and swore at one point that "My hydralisks will feast on your entrails, salarian." Mordin's rather surprised - and flattered - when he finds out.
• The Dreaded: The entire Zerg Swarm - at least, the sapient members - are uniformly scared of him, or at the very least, extremely worried about him.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: After the Reapers destroy the tower that was originally used to spread the Genophage (and in Mass Effect 3, the cure), the alliance against them responds by altering the bomb the turians planted long ago to explode in the air, and destroy a large number of Zerg Overlords holding the cure set up beforehand by Liara, spreading the cure across the world.
• Odd Friendship: With Okeer - the two develop something akin to mutual respect for each other by the time they die.

The Leviathans

An aquatic species that once dominated the galaxy before being dethroned by the Reapers, whom they indirectly created.

• Adaptational Nice Guy: While they are still arrogant beyond measure, the species, or at least the individual that Javik converses with, is far more humble than in canon and seem to regret the suffering that the Reapers have brought upon the galaxy.
• Been There, Shaped History: The individual that Javik converses with implies that it was present during the Reapers' creation and witnessed the hundreds of cycles that followed.
• Bio-Augmentation: They are responsible for giving Javik his longevity, psionic powers, and ability to shapeshift. The process was not painless.
• Pet the Dog: They clearly sympathize with Javik's plight, and give him multiple warnings on the horridness of the procedure that enhances him.
• Precursors: They existed long before either the Xel'naga or the Protheans, having been responsible for the birth of the Reapers.
• Time Abyss: The one that Javik talks to has been around since the birth of the Reapers. That is a very long time.
• Villain Respect: While it would not really be fair to call either of them villains, the Leviathans clearly respect Javik's drive and sympathize with him enough to lend him their aid in his vendetta against the Reapers.