Dark World characters

Also known as McGill

Appears from the start

A veteran officer of Legion Varus.

Appears from the start

An imperator whose prior relationship with James McGill complicates their professional connection.

Appears from the start

A senior Imperial officer and commander of Legion Varus.

Appears from the start

An Earth officer and senior political patron of James McGill.

Also known as Thompson

Appears from the start

A Legion Varus bio specialist and a former lover of James McGill.

Appears from the start

A senior officer of Legion Varus.

Also known as Graves

Appears from the start

A senior field officer of Legion Varus.

Also known as Veteran Harris

First appears in chapter 8

A veteran Legion Varus officer included in the classified briefing for the legion's factory mission.

First appears in chapter 8

A Varus adjunct trusted with the legion's secret deployment objective. He serves among the experienced officers preparing for the covert seizure of an alien-built industrial station.

First appears in chapter 6

A Central employee and former lover of McGill who has studied a recovered book believed lost in an earlier bombing. An intruder kills her while McGill is visiting.

First appears in chapter 6

An unnamed Saurian who enters Florimel's home, kills her, and attacks McGill. McGill kills him during the struggle.

First appears in chapter 6

A concealed operator known to be seeking The Eaters of Lotus.

First appears in chapter 9

A new Legion Varus recruit signed by Winslade after previously mocking McGill.

First appears in chapter 10

An adjunct in Legion Varus detained on suspicion of spying or inciting disloyalty when secret mission information escapes. The arrest prevents her from deploying.

First appears in chapter 9

McGill's underage daughter. Technically capable enough to falsify recruitment identity and age controls, she attempts to enlist in Legion Varus and resists her father's effort to determine her future.

First appears in chapter 11

Alien heavy infantry assigned to reinforce Legion Varus. They fight in closely bonded littermate groups under Harris, adding foreign troops to the human formation.

First appears in chapter 11

A cephalopod non-com assigned to direct two related groups of Blood World heavy troops. The troops respond to the controller's gestures during their integration into Legion Varus.

First appears in chapter 17

A technical specialist and alien-systems analyst in McGill's factory force. She begins decoding the station's colored signage and traces an anomalous transmission as the depleted unit explores the unfamiliar complex.

First appears in chapter 17

A bio specialist and medic assigned to McGill's factory force. He gathers biological evidence inside the station and warns that an unexplained transmission may be intended to lure the search party into danger.

First appears in chapter 18

An unidentified human woman whose remains and tapper are found in a locked factory cell. Her tapper lacks a valid Earth identity, and her recorded distress signal led the search team to the detention area.

First appears in chapter 19

An armored weapons specialist who survives the failed initial drop and joins McGill's immediate command group. His heavy equipment and combat role add needed force to a depleted unit defending the captured factory.

First appears in chapter 23

A Gold Deck security guard assigned to Galina Turov's private area. He tries to prevent McGill from entering while Turov is absent.

First appears in chapter 29

Etta's mother and McGill's former partner. After learning of their underage daughter's enlistment attempt, she confronts McGill and joins him in trying to delay Etta's entry into legion service.

First appears in chapter 34

McGill's sole technical specialist during the renewed station assault. She monitors detection readings that may have been compromised.

First appears in chapter 34

A capable light trooper in McGill's platoon. She has advanced from an earlier recruit status to become a regular, though a past disciplinary incident still bars her from armored or specialist training.

First appears in chapter 40

A cephalopod sub-veteran who commands the Blood World heavy troops attached to McGill's mixed force during the assault on the hive.

Also known as Mahler

First appears in chapter 41

A Varus veteran serving in McGill's underground hive force. McGill leaves him in temporary command of the surviving troops while searching the tunnels for scouts who have failed to return.

First appears in chapter 47

A hostile alien official with authority over the defenders that confront the surviving human force after the hive queen's death. The official uses a metallic translation device to address McGill.

First appears in chapter 7

A revived military-police investigator who arrests McGill while investigating McGill's earlier attack on him.

First appears in chapter 48

An unnamed Blood World officer commanding the troops at the Earth-side gate. The officer becomes stranded with McGill after entering the faulty route and later carries escape instructions back toward the Dark World survivors.