Carlos

Biodata

Background / History

Raid on Research Institute No. 37

Carlos led an attack on a human research institute after receiving intelligence that an unnamed target intended to escape into human territory among trafficked Zerg. The institute was destroyed, but the target was not found. Hill mocked Carlos for being deceived again, prompting Carlos to remind him that pursuing the target fell outside his assignment 4 5.

During cleanup, Carlos exposed Black Thorn soldiers concealing an alloy storage container as unreported spoils. Inside, he discovered the severely injured Su Lin, whom he identified as an underdeveloped Zerg larva. Carlos initially intended to abandon him as unlikely to survive, but stopped when the unconscious Su Lin caught his ankle and shed a bloodstained tear 5 6.

Protecting Su Lin

Carlos brought Su Lin aboard the warship and provided a healing sac. He initially accepted the explanation that Su Lin was an inferior larva expelled by his colony, but intervened when Hill tried to recruit him as a “honey bug.” Placing Su Lin behind himself, Carlos invoked military rules protecting wounded individuals and promised him temporary protection until the ship returned to base 7 8.

That protection did not prevent Black Thorn soldiers from attacking Su Lin while Carlos was occupied with command duties. Carlos learned of the incident only afterward, when Su Lin explained that Hill had rescued him. The revelation left Carlos furious with Black Thorn 10 17.

Carlos later found Hill crowding Su Lin and attacked after Hill deliberately implied that he had forced himself on the larva. Although Carlos recognized from Su Lin’s scent that Hill’s claim was false, he remained unable to tolerate leaving Su Lin beside him. He subdued Hill, then took Su Lin away for the Security Committee’s bloodline screening 14 15 16.

Bloodline Screening and Medises’s Claim

When Su Lin confessed that he remembered neither his origins nor a colony, Carlos attributed the memory loss to human brainwashing. He confidently judged Su Lin’s scent free of human cells, unaware that Su Lin was a human–Broodmother hybrid 9 17 18.

Before the examination, Carlos injected Su Lin with a small amount of pheromone fluid. He hoped the Security Committee would mistake Su Lin for his honey bug and subject him to less scrutiny. This was Carlos’s first use of the specialized mouthpart used for such injections 18.

The screening instead identified Su Lin as Dew Nest, a servant colony belonging to Blood Wing. Medises claimed him, overriding Carlos’s protection. Carlos challenged the transfer as an abduction of a larva under his jurisdiction, then admitted that Su Lin was not actually his honey bug but remained his responsibility 21 22 25.

Seeking Su Lin’s Return

Carlos offered Medises three kilograms of benzoin spice in exchange for Su Lin, but Medises refused. He also warned Carlos that an approaching selection of a new lord made his own survival a more pressing concern. Afterward, Carlos’s distress became severe enough to disrupt his mental power and prevent him from maintaining a fully humanoid form 26.

Hill’s warning that Blood Wings could drain Dew Nest larvae for their honey drove Carlos to contact Ariel through a highly private channel. Carlos offered his life for help retrieving Su Lin. Ariel agreed, asking instead that Carlos soften his first attack if he were ever ordered to hunt Ariel 26 27.

Later, Carlos followed Medises and Su Lin aboard the Security Committee’s ship. Seeing Su Lin marked with servant bands and carrying Medises’s pheromones renewed his anger. Trusting that Medises could not defy Ariel, Carlos resolved that Su Lin would return—and that he would not subject him to coercion, shackles, or humiliation 41.

Appearance

Carlos’s humanoid mimicry is exceptionally handsome by human standards, with slender antennae providing the clearest visible sign that he is not human 4.

• Hair and eyes: Jet black; his eyes can change into black compound eyes during combat 4 14.
• Build: Lean in his initial appearance; later described as muscular 4 25.
• Clothing: A jet-black military uniform 4.
• Combat traits: Sharp claws, black insect limbs, and long, chainsaw-like forelimbs appear during partial transformation 14 15.

Personality

Carlos is normally reserved, orderly, and highly self-controlled. His speech is formal and precise, and he dislikes Hill’s predatory habits. Nevertheless, he initially shares his society’s contempt for weakness: he considers the injured Su Lin disposable and struggles to explain why he rescued him at all 5 7 8 25.

His growing attachment to Su Lin exposes emotions he has difficulty acknowledging. He mistakes Su Lin’s fear of screening for reluctance to leave Hill, becomes jealous, and later tries to explain his hostility toward Medises as wounded dignity rather than affection 16 41.

Carlos expresses concern through practical protection, treatment, and warnings, but is awkward at reassurance. He allows Su Lin to use his name without an honorific and takes his promise of protection seriously enough to seek Ariel’s help at the cost of his own life 16 17 27.

Abilities & Skills

Transformation and Flight

Carlos can shift between humanoid mimicry and insectoid features 5 14 15.

• Uses wings to swoop rapidly toward targets 5.
• Can manifest compound eyes, claws, and insect limbs without fully abandoning his human form 14 15.
• Severe mental instability can disrupt his control over mimicry 26.

Strength and Close Combat

Carlos possesses superior strength and combat skill to Hill 15.

• Incapacitates a squad of soldiers before observers can see how he struck 5.
• Crumbles an alloy container that had survived a heavy turbo electron cannon attack 5.
• Uses fast, precise attacks and ultimately restrains Hill by the throat 14 15.
• Avoids striking Su Lin during their destructive fight 15.

Pheromone Detection

Carlos uses his antennae and sense of smell to analyze other Zerg 5 7.

• Detects Su Lin’s fear and distinctive sweetness 8 15.
• Recognizes that Hill has not sexually involved himself with Su Lin despite his claims 15.
• Identifies Su Lin’s scent mingled with Medises’s pheromones 26.
• Limit: His confidence in Su Lin’s apparently pure Zerg scent fails to reveal Su Lin’s human component 9 18.

Pheromone Injection

A retractable, needle-like mouthpart allows Carlos to inject pheromone fluid 18.

• The fluid can induce dizziness and pleasure 18.
• Uses a small injection to mark Su Lin temporarily with his scent before screening 18.
• Explains that the injected fluid will soon be metabolized without sexual involvement 18.

Equipment / Items

• Military coat — Draped over Su Lin to cover his newly sprouted wings; later cut apart during Medises’s examination 16 21.
• Healing resources — Provides Su Lin’s initial healing sac and offers to reimburse Hill for a Class A healing pod 8 16.
• Private communication channel — Uses its highest privacy setting to contact Ariel about retrieving Su Lin 27.

Relationships

• Su Lin — Rescued larva and the focus of Carlos’s developing affection. Su Lin initially regards Carlos as the only person he can rely on, while Carlos insists that rescuing him makes his welfare a personal responsibility 16 25.
• Hill — Subordinate, colleague, and rival over Su Lin. Carlos disapproves of his behavior and defeats him in combat, though Hill’s warning about Dew Nest honey helps spur the rescue effort 7 15 26.
• Medises Blood Wing — Rival claimant to Su Lin. Their dispute escalates from a jurisdictional objection into intense personal hostility 25 26 41.
• Ariel — High-ranking figure whom Carlos addresses as “Your Highness” and instinctively treats with profound deference. Ariel agrees to help recover Su Lin 27.
• Black Thorn Colony — A newly incorporated colony on poor terms with Pale Calamity. Its soldiers target Su Lin to provoke Carlos, deepening his hostility toward them 10 17.

Notable Quotes

“You can just call me Carlos. There's no need to add ‘Lord.’” 17

“I... He really isn't my honey bug. But he's still my responsibility.” 25

“I once made that larva a promise, and I want to keep my word.” 27