Unreal II: The Awakening/Characters
Marshall John Dalton
"He was in the Marines once before. They threw him out. Because he thought for himself. They called it "departing from established mission parameters." One time, this colonel ordered him to leave a wounded civilian behind. He told the colonel to shove it and dragged her out anyway. So he was court-martialled. Cashiered. Kicked out. He went on cop duty, patrolling the ass-end of space with the rest of us rejects. You can tell he hasn't changed, though. Pisses the hell out of Aida, but he still wades in with both fists and does what he thinks is right."—Isaak
Voiced by: Michael Mack
A former Marine sacked out because of "departing from established mission parameters", he was reassigned to the Terran Colonial Authority Marshall Patrol force, which he shares with Aida, Isaak and Ne'Ban. All of them follow orders from Sector Commander Hawkins.
In Unreal II, he's offered his reinstatement into the Marines corps by following a risky mission where he must collect several pieces of an unknown artifact.
Tropes related to him:
- Badass
- The Captain: Commands his own crew.
- Deadpan Snarker: Several instances. It's his own way to cope out with the problems he faces.
- After swimming through a bloodpool in a sewer during an early mission:
Dalton: You know how they say that blood is thicker than water? Its true.
- Exploring the laboratories in a frozen research center on a moon called "Hell":
Aida: "...go to hell, Dalton."
Dalton: "Already there, toots!"
- On the same level, when Aida tells him that the spider creatures he faces on the planet aren't native to the planet.
Dalton: Great. I'm fighting giant, killer Mutant spiders.
- After someone remarks they should have sent in marines:
Dalton: They're few! They're proud! AND THEY AIN'T HERE!
Scientist: ...stupid Jarhead...
Dalton: I heard that. And it's MARSHAL Stupid jarhead TO YOU!!
- The Hero:
- Anti-Hero: To some extent.
- Heroic Mime: Averted, he's quite vocal throughout the second game.
- Idiot Ball: If he had listened to Aida, he would have prevented the Tosc from evolving into Eldritch Abominations and also saved his own crew.
- Powered Armor: The XA/F armor allows Dalton to breathe underwater without risk of drowning, has rechargeable shields, and can scan for important objects or people.
- Scary Black Man
- A Space Marine Is You
- Yes-Man: Subverted.
Aida
"Aida was a child prodigy, a strategic genius. An international 3D-chess-master by the age of ten, and drafted by the Terran Military before she was out of braces. About ten years ago, at the height of the Strider Wars, things were going badly for us. We were outnumbered and outgunned. It seemed only a matter of time before we'd be wiped out. Aida turned it all around. On an out-of-the-way planet called Taiko, she created a sort of electronic Potemkin village -- a massive underground complex of transmitters and antennas. She made it seem as if the Terran military had concentrated their headquarters and most of their forces there. The Striders went for it. They landed in full force, right above the transmitters. Our ships had been hiding behind Taiko's moon. They came out and nuked the planet into oblivion. But it had a price. Taiko had hundreds of Terran colonists - innocents who couldn't be warned of Aida's plan. When she activated the transmitters, she signed their death warrant. But because they died, millions lived. She knows that. She made the choice, but she's never forgiven herself. As she grew older, she rebelled. She thinks the military made her a monster, and now she doesn't trust 'em -- or anyone else."—John Dalton, about her.
Voiced by: Jacqueline Underwood
Tropes related to her:
- Action Girl: Averted. She was one, before the events of the game. She's on Mission Control now, aboard the TCA Atlantis.
- The Atoner: She was responsible for the death of hundreds during the Strider Wars, and thinks the authorities made her a monster. He works with John to atone for this.
- Bare Your Midriff: Has a Spycatsuit set with the mid section discovered.
- The Chick
- Companion Cube: Her pistol, Grace. She gives it to John.
- I Call It Vera: Her pistol is called Grace.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Despite having done the impossible by turning a seemingly Hopeless War, she still felt bad for killing hundreds of innocents, and thinks the government made her a monster.
- Killed Off for Real: Perished alongside Isaak and Ne'Ban while being chased by Hawkins' flagship.
- Knight in Sour Armor
- The Lancer
- Little Miss Snarker
- Stripperiffic: She wears a uniform that consists of a black spandex bikini. It's actually a very jarring contrast to her actual character, a bitter cynic with a deep, husky voice that sounds like a younger version of Lunch Lady Doris.
- Survivors Guilt: Isn't exactly proud of what she had to do in order to end the Strider Wars and save the humanity.
Isaak
Voiced by: Jeff Baker
Tropes related to him:
- The Alcoholic/Drowning My Sorrows: After accidentally killing three, he became a booze addict in order to cope with the guilt. Aida tries to use this to get John to eject him from the ship.
- The Engineer: Is in charge of maintaining the TCA Atlantis and John's arsenal.
- Fingerless Gloves
- Killed Off for Real: Perished alongside Aida and Ne'Ban while being chased by Hawkins' flagship.
- Mr. Fixit
- Off the Wagon: Averted. He was once deep into the bottle, and manages to hold throughout the series... despite, as the main character points out, having numerous opportunities to smuggle in some booze.
- The Smart Guy
- Survivors Guilt: Feels quite the guilt for accidentally killing three of Aida's best friends.
Ne'Ban
"I am one of fifty princes, not even in line for throne."
Voiced by: Grant Roberts
Tropes related to him:
- The Ace
- Aliens Speaking English: He can speak english words, but still had to understand contexts and meanings.
- Eloquent in My Native Tongue: Apparently, he mixes up words because he learned over fifty languages.
- Killed Off for Real: Perished alongside Aida and Isaak while being chased by Hawkins' flagship.
- Non-Human Sidekick
- Rebellious Princess/Royals Who Actually Do Something: As he states, he is a member of a very large royal family. He lied about this for fear of being treated as special, wanting to see the world and do something meaningful with his life.
- Starfish Aliens: He's some sort of glowing, jelly-like... thingy that wears a humanoid robotic suit to operate in human environments. Word of God states that Ne'ban's species are intelligent parasites that use the glowing, jelly-like thingies as host bodies.
- Token Non-Human: The only non-human member of Dalton's crew.
Sector Commander Hawkins
Voiced by: Michael Kramer
Tropes related to him:
- Bald of Evil
- Big Bad: Responsible for the events of the game, to say the least.
- Cutscene Boss: Dalton executes him in person near the end of the game in a cutscene.
- Mission Control: He directs the team throughout the game.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Aside of sending the ship towards the sun in the ending, almost every death and mess can be traced back to him.
- Taking You with Me: He directed the ship to the nearest star in hopes to finish "the Tosc menace".
- Team Dad: Subverted.
- Treacherous Advisor
- We Can Rule Together: To Dalton.