Captain of the Clear Air Turbulence, a ragtag free-company mercenary ship operating on the fringes of the Idiran-Culture war. Vain and self-serving, not nearly as competent as he believes himself to be.

A crew member aboard the Clear Air Turbulence and Horza's closest ally on the ship. Tough, pragmatic, and one of the few crew members Horza genuinely trusts.

A Changer – a member of a near-extinct humanoid species capable of altering their physical appearance to perfectly mimic others. Working as an agent for the Idirans in their war against the Culture, Horza is driven by a deep philosophical opposition to machine-led civilisation, believing the Culture's AI Minds represent a fundamental threat to biological life.