Jungle World characters

Also known as McGill

Appears from the start

A Legion Varus centurion on extended leave at his family home. When Graves insists on entering a concealed bunker on the property, McGill must weigh loyalty to his superior against the danger that the bunker secret poses to his family.

Appears from the start

McGill's daughter, whose childhood discovery of the concealed bunker connects the family to the secret hidden beneath their land.

Also known as Primus Graves

Appears from the start

McGill's long-standing superior in Legion Varus and a keeper of the bunker secret. He arrives without warning, directs McGill to uncover the entrance, and insists on inspecting the lower level.

Also known as Veteran Sargon

First appears in chapter 3

A trusted senior veteran in McGill's unit. McGill recommends him for an open adjunct post, but his promotion requires command approval.

Also known as Tribune Winslade

First appears in chapter 4

The tribune commanding Legion Varus. He assigns the legion to invade 31 Orionis even though the evidence does not yet establish whether Rigel is responsible for the attacks on frontier worlds.

Also known as Galina

First appears in chapter 4

An imperator involved in the coming operation and a former intimate partner of McGill. Although absent from the first mission briefing, she remains tied to both his personal life and Legion Varus's command structure.

Also known as Primus Collins

First appears in chapter 4

A Legion Varus primus who briefs the unit on the unexplained impacts. She has a strained personal history with McGill and handles intelligence relevant to the new mission.

First appears in chapter 5

One of McGill's adjuncts. He resents the unequal issue of stardust armor but remains responsible for organizing stragglers during the rushed deployment.

Also known as Adjunct Leeson

First appears in chapter 5

One of McGill’s adjuncts. He receives the unit’s only adjunct-sized suit of stardust armor, a scarce issue that provokes resentment among the troops.

First appears in chapter 6

An anti-boarding officer transferred from Fleet Marines to become McGill's third adjunct. McGill obtains the transfer by trading away Leeson's armor, giving the newcomer command experience and an uneasy entry into Legion Varus.

First appears in chapter 7

A technical specialist in Legion Varus who assists McGill with reconnaissance by attempting to access the lifter's external cameras during the trip to Scorpio.

First appears in chapter 7

A technical specialist in Legion Varus who works with Kivi to access the lifter's external cameras during the trip to Scorpio.

Also known as Carlos, Specialist Ortiz

First appears in chapter 8

A specialist in McGill's unit with strong tactical instincts. During Legion Varus's lethal arrival exercise, he briefly evades the prepared ambush and turns on its organizer before being shot.

First appears in chapter 11

A Claver representative who demands a covert meeting with McGill and Galina Turov aboard Scorpio. She warns that attacking 31 Orionis could leave Earth exposed to a greater unidentified enemy.

Also known as Captain Merton

First appears in chapter 11

Scorpio's captain. He has already dealt with Abigail Claver by the time her covert warning reaches McGill and Galina Turov.

First appears in chapter 13

A recruit who fights with determination when two others attack her during Scorpio's individual live-fire exercise. Wounded in the encounter, she defeats both attackers before McGill reaches her.

Also known as Consul Drusus

First appears in chapter 4

Earth’s consul, whose earlier order led to the destruction of Legion Varus’s former transport.

First appears in chapter 22

The centurion leading Legion Varus's biospecialists. She covertly examines a dead Jungle World local, recognizes evidence of an organized culture, and has a complicated prior history with McGill.

First appears in chapter 25

A trusted fellow centurion of McGill. He recognizes McGill's likely responsibility for the shrine incident, accepts payment to remain silent, and reports another patrol's failed attempt to contact local villagers.

First appears in chapter 47

A ruling-council member and Galina Turov's father. He secures unanimous support to offer her the consulship after Drusus is removed, then orders Drusus arrested when he objects to renewed war with Rigel.

First appears in chapter 48

The Investigator's wife on Dust World. She warns McGill that a self-declared revolutionary has won the settlers' loyalty and gained influence over her husband.

First appears in chapter 48

A Dust World researcher operating an expanded and illegal facility for growing human bodies. Armed settlers guard the operation when McGill arrives seeking his view of Earth's political crisis.

Also known as former bunker brain, self-styled revolutionary

First appears in chapter 48

The sole preserved rebel leader McGill previously removed from the family bunker. Restored to a body on Dust World, she identifies herself as a revolutionary and now commands the settlers' allegiance.

First appears in chapter 45

A newly promoted regular who transfers out of McGill's unit after the Jungle World battle, ending the command restriction on a possible relationship between them.