Kobus

Kobus is the young Candidate of Loyalty. They are around 15 at the start of COUNTER/Weight and around 19 or 20 by the end.

Appearance

Their Candidate flightsuit looks like onesie pajamas.

In "A Splintered Branch, A Ringing Bell Pt. 1" they use a Keyfield suit to fight and wear a loose-fitting tunic that can stretch and cover their body as the drone suit transforms. During the gala they wear a "sick Victorian jacket".

Personality

Kobus is initially rather naive and mild-mannered. In the finale, Kobus is described as "headstrong, principled, and endearing".^[1]

History and Involvement

Kobus is introduced as a very young and naive Candidate whose Divine and their faction, the Lux Vox Data Research Center, is being manipulated by the September Institute through Voice. They are more suspicious of Voice's arguments than Loyalty is, but trust in their Divine. They inadvertently slip information back to Voice on at least one occasion.^[2]

Despite this manipulation, Loyalty and Kobus still have their own plans, such as directing Lux Vox in mercenary action against the Diasporatic Department of Material Resources: Slate Division on Slate.^[2]

Kobus serves as the mediator for Ibex, Righteousness, Vicuna and Grace when they parley to band together against Rigour.^[3]

This section contains spoilers for the COUNTER/Weight finale.
Click here to reveal.

After the September Incident, Kobus makes the nearly-unpredecented move of retiring as a Candidate, believing they've failed to protect Grace and warn of the dangers of September and Rigour. They remain part of Grace's retinue, acting to ease over tension among everyday Diasporans about Grace's behavior.

In disguise, they attempt to track down Mako Trig on Kesh, getting into a chase with the clones. When they finally find the head Mako, they give him the info that Grace will be attending the upcoming gala and auction, in the hopes that he can hack into her and figure out what's causing her erratic behavior. Kobus opens the bidding for the Hands of Grace at the auction. They also dance briefly with Cass, who insults them for still having a little too much loyalty.^[4]

By the time that Rigour arrives, Kobus has lost all trust in Grace. They engage in the first skirmish against Liberty and Rigour, during which Liberty escapes into Kobus' Keyfield suit. After losing a debate with Orth regarding what to do about Grace, Kobus decides to use Liberty against her.^[1]

Relationships

Ibex

Ibex is described as spending years raising Kobus after becoming a hero on Vox at the end of the Golden War, and Austin says Ibex's voice calms Kobus "more than it should".^[5] Dre calls him Kobus's "adoptive older brother".^[6]

Loyalty

Loyalty is Kobus' "surrogate parent" and the two are "codependent" to the point that Kobus sleeps inside Loyalty.^[2] Their relationship is less obviously controlling or violent than other Candidate-Divine pairs, yet "there is something unsettling about how pristine the relationship between Loyalty and Kobus is".^[3] Kobus is very tuned into their Divine at all times.^[3]

Vicuna

Dre calls Vicuna their "adoptive older sister".^[6]

This section contains spoilers for the COUNTER/Weight finale.
Click here to reveal.

When Kobus retires as a Candidate, they cite their failure to protect Grace as part of their reasoning. They remain in Grace's larger retinue, but are no longer advising Grace or Vicuna.

Trivia

Kobus is a genus of African antelope.

Appears in

References

[:4-1] 1.0 ^1.1 COUNTER/Weight 42: A Splintered Branch, A Ringing Bell Pt. 2

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 COUNTER/Weight 09: This Month of Ours

[:2-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 COUNTER/Weight 36: Everything is Temporary

[4] COUNTER/Weight 41: A Splintered Branch, A Ringing Bell Pt. 1

[5] COUNTER/Weight 22: The Broken Branch

[:1-6] 6.0 ^6.1 COUNTER/Weight 43: A Splintered Branch, A Ringing Bell Pt. 3

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