# Captain Nerado — Triplanetary character guide

> Captain Nerado in Triplanetary by E. E. Smith.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Nerado

**First appearance:** 0021-xi-nevian-strife

## Snapshot

The Nevian commander who fishes humans out of space for study, Nerado is a patient, curious captor whose scientific detachment keeps his prisoners alive and guessing.

## Who they are

Nerado runs his vessel with the calm efficiency of an officer who has never needed to explain himself to his specimens, feeding Costigan and Clio from hexagonal tables and watching them the way a naturalist watches something rare. His curiosity is genuine and his mercy is conditional, which makes him far more unsettling than a straightforward enemy. As the first Nevian the reader meets, he sets the tone for a species that is neither villain nor ally, and his uneasy custody of the humans drives the early arc of capture, escape, and reluctant diplomacy.

## Relationships

### [Conway Costigan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/conway_costigan)

_rivalry_

Captain Nerado and Conway Costigan are antagonists, with Nerado representing an alien threat opposing Costigan.

### [Conway Costigan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/conway_costigan)

_rivalry_

Captain Nerado and Conway Costigan are antagonists, with Nerado representing an alien threat opposing Costigan.

## In the story

### [Fleet Against Planetoid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/ix-fleet-against-planetoid)

Commander of the Nevian vessel that arrives at the end of the chapter, seeking an ultra-precious substance and threatening both fleets.

### [X: Within the Red Veil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/x-within-the-red-veil)

Commands the Nevian cruiser, absorbs the planetoid's iron, and captures the Terrestrials, intending to bring them to Nevia for study.

### [Nevian Strife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xi-nevian-strife)

Commands the Nevian spaceship, delivers allotropic iron to the Third City, and leads the attack against the deep-sea fish fortresses.

### [Worm, Submarine, and Freedom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xii-worm-submarine-and-freedom)

Intervenes to rescue the lifeboat by attacking the submarine, allowing the escape.

### [XV: Specimens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xv-specimens)

Nevian commander; treats the humans as specimens for study, coldly denying their freedom.

### [XVIII: The Specimens Escape](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xviii-the-specimens-escape)

Pursues the escapees in his interstellar cruiser; mentioned as a 'square shooter' by Costigan.

### [Giants Meet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xix-giants-meet)

Leads the Nevian vessel, signs the treaty, and stalls for time to strengthen Nevia's defenses.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/captain_nerado
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters