When Words Fail characters

Also known as Reverend Pelletier

Appears from the start

A staff sergeant in First Heavy Infantry and the senior enlisted leader of Third Platoon. As an IBHU Marine, he fights through an integrated weapon system and an embedded AI. He leads the Brahma Loka reconnaissance patrol against unusually strong opponents whose armor appears integrated with their bodies.

Appears from the start

Rev's integrated IBHU weapon unit, providing the augmented Marine with heavy combat capability during the patrol on Brahma Loka. Poshu is part of Rev's body and fighting system rather than a conventional weapon carried separately, and works in coordination with both Rev and Punch.

Appears from the start

Rev's embedded AI battle companion. Punch assists with tactical information and combat decisions during the Brahma Loka patrol, operating alongside Rev and Poshu as part of the IBHU system while the team searches for the enemy's main force.

Appears from the start

A corporal, longtime friend of Rev, and leader of the observation team on Brahma Loka. He serves in the concealed reconnaissance patrol sent to locate the main enemy force without initiating contact, amid difficult navigation and enemy interference.

Also known as Miko

First appears in chapter 3

Rev's partner, with whom he plans to spend his expected leave after returning from Brahma Loka.

First appears in chapter 3

A Third Platoon Marine and one of Rev's senior enlisted colleagues. During the return from Brahma Loka, Yancey considers conventional explanations for the enemy's unusual strength rather than immediately accepting Rev's belief that the attackers were not Centaurs.

First appears in chapter 4

An intelligence officer who privately examines Rev's doubts about the apparent Centaur attackers. Major Singal treats his field observations as corroboration for a scientific concern and moves quickly to secure the tissue sample Rev recovered on Brahma Loka.

First appears in chapter 6

A civilian close-combat specialist assigned to teach Rev how to use Poshu's experimental blade. The instructor identifies the weapon's limited articulation, defeats Rev's reckless jumping attack, and begins shaping a method suited to an IBHU Marine's unusual physical advantages.

First appears in chapter 8

Rev's longtime friend and the newly assigned commander of Third Platoon. Bundy arrives during the rapid military buildup as a captain-select, restoring a trusted working relationship just as the unit prepares for a major operation against the new alien threat.

First appears in chapter 8

A friend of Rev recalled from inactive reserve status during the expansion prompted by the alien threat. Rev tells Udu about the newly confirmed humanoid attackers while the military draws experienced personnel back into service.

First appears in chapter 8

A Marine and associate of Rev who is placed on standby for recall during the emergency force buildup. Cricket's status is distinct from Udu's immediate return to active service as personnel are repositioned for an operation that remains undisclosed to the troops.

First appears in chapter 12

An IBHU Marine who serves as the point fighter while Third Platoon clears the confined mine passages on Waring.

First appears in chapter 13

A hyper-augmented service member who fought Rev from the opposing side at Kinshasa. At a classified conference on augmented personnel, the former adversary regards that earlier encounter as a fair fight and reaches a guarded understanding with Rev.

First appears in chapter 15

An armed representative of the invading species who reaches Titan without permission and addresses human leadership in fluent Standard. The envoy rejects relations between equals and delivers a public demand that humanity submit or face destruction.

First appears in chapter 16

A newly augmented IBHU lance corporal who arrives ahead of schedule while still only partly ready for combat. Hawk calls his integrated weapon system Scorpion and represents the program's accelerated wartime expansion.

First appears in chapter 26

A Marine in Rev's platoon. During the fighting on Mistworld, Strap stays behind to help defend an IBHU Marine who cannot walk and wounded personnel nearby.