Anderson Dawes (TV)

This page is about the TV character. For the books incarnation, see Anderson Dawes (Books).

Books character	TV character

“	We are fighting for something precious here.	„
	— Anderson Dawes

Anderson Dawes was a Belter from Ceres who led the insurgent OPA faction on that station.

Biography[]

Background[]

Dawes came from a family of rock hoppers and grew up incredibly poor. He is named after the company his parents worked for, the owner and namesake of the notorious Anderson Station.

Responsibility was thrust upon him at a very young age, as he became the head of his family, with his four sisters under his protection. One of his sisters, Athena, had an undisclosed sickness that made her bones fragile, and eventually made her so sick she couldn't travel anymore. Having three other sisters under his care, and with their family unable to shoulder the financial responsibility of Athena's sickness, Dawes reluctantly killed her and buried her in a beautiful asteroid mine that they had discovered together. The event scarred him heavily, as he told Miller that he cried so hard that his tears turned to blood, but also largely shaped his outlook as a leader; no matter how much he cares for an individual, he always places the collective first.

As a Belter, the world of politics has never been open to him, but as the Ceres liaison for the Outer Planets Alliance and leader of its most prominent OPA faction, he works tirelessly behind the scenes to rally the laborers and other less legitimate elements behind the cause.

He recruited many famous figures of Belter politics into the OPA, including Camina Drummer, Klaes Ashford, and former UNN Colonel Frederick Lucius Johnson.

Throughout the series[]

"Remember the Cant"[]

Ceres station is still reeling over the news of the Canterbury's destruction and the evidence revealed by James Holden points directly at Mars. Josephus Miller breaks up a fight between workers at the Ceres docks caused by the Belters turning against a Martian who needed water for his community. Miller tries to help the Martian, but the workers don't care and the argument escalates until Miller pulls his gun out. The tense moment is defused by the arrival of Dawes, who orders the Belters to return the Martian's water and says that Belters have a right to be angry, but they are not animals, and acting like such justifies the belief that they are. After the people scatter, Dawes approaches Miller and shakes his hand. He asks the detective what he wants, and Miller shows him a picture of Julie Mao, explaining that he has been tasked with finding her. Dawes claims to not recognize her, but does identify her relation to Jules-Pierre Mao. He asks Miller how much money it would take to get him to switch sides, and when Miller responds with indifference, Dawes reminds him that, even though he works for an Earth corp, he's lived in Ceres his whole life, adding that under Miller's "ridiculous hat" is a Belter yearning to find his way home. Miller dismisses him as overly sentimental and angrily accuses Dawes of brainwashing Julie, whom he views as a young naive rich girl with daddy issues. Dawes calmly interrupts him and echoes Miller's words back at him, telling him that his view of Julie is overly sentimental, and asks him why he cares about her if it's not the money, noting that he didn't know her. Miller agrees that he didn't, but is convinced that Dawes did. Dawes agrees to ask around about her for Miller, and thanks him for preventing the bloodshed, stating that Ceres will need men like him in the days to come.

"Back to the Butcher"[]

Anderson Dawes sits next to Miller at a bar and orders the same drink as him, forcing him to put aside his investigation into Julie and Neville Bosch. They talk about the OPA's extremism, though Dawes protests that street thugs and radicals are not true OPA despite their tattooing it on their skin. He apologizes for the attack on Havelock, calling it an injustice and assuring Miller that Filat Kothari is not affiliated with the OPA. In fact, Dawes tricked him into going to an OPA safe house. Dawes urges Miller to open his eyes and try to see what he sees: A Ceres for Belters, run by Belters. Miller asks if that means a Ceres run by Dawes, to which he replies that yes, if he lives that long. He expresses the opinion that, while Belters live without gravity or clean air, Earthers get a free atmosphere, they get to walk into the light, under a beautiful blue sky, and instead of appreciating it, they look beyond their blue sky, up at the stars, and want them for themselves. Miller asks him to say what he means, and Dawes explains that Earthers have a home, so it is time that Belters had one too, and they must ensure they don't get distracted from that goal. He then produces a terminal and shows it to Miller, explaining to him that there is a single contact in the terminal, and calling it will get him Kothari's location. Miller assumes that Dawes wants something in return, and Dawes tells Miller than Julie Mao was indeed an OPA agent, and he wants to find out what happened to her just as much as Miller does. Before leaving, Dawes encourages Miller to get his justice, and "make it pretty".

"Rock Bottom"[]

Miller is abducted by Lida and Kaipo, and they bring him to a storage room where they begin beating him. Dawes shows up and stops them, helping Miller up as the henchpeople step aside, and complains that he had to let Kothari leave since Miller didn't take care of him. Taking off his jacket, he tells the detective that they will need to have a long talk, and how long it is depends on Miller. Dawes asks Miller about the places he went and what he found during his investigation into Julie's disappearance. Miller jokes that he found some third rate porn and, when he says that he really likes Julie's shower, Dawes allows Lida to taze him a little bit. He asks why Miller is so obsessed with this case, and he says it's cause he takes his job seriously, to which Dawes replies that Miller is the joke of the station. He is disappointed as they should be celebrating and buying each other rounds instead of doing this, and insists the OPA are fighting for their independence, something precious and important, though Miller thinks he is causing chaos on purpose to swoop in like a savior and get power for himself. Dawes is frustrated that Miller keeps missing the point, until he finds the photo of Julie in his possession and realizes that Miller is in love with Julie Mao. Miller tries to attack Dawes, but he is tazed into unconsciousness again. As Miller returns to consciosness, Dawes sits down with him to talk about Julie. Miller still believes Julie was an innocent kid who Dawes forced to do his dirty work, while Dawes says that Julie believed in their cause and explains that she knew what she was doing, as she was the one who approached Dawes because she was willing to make a sacrifice for other people. Miller bemoans that Julie trusted him and put herself in Dawes' hands because she couldn't see the blood on them, and compares it to what happened to Dawes' sister, who he says Dawes left out to die in the Belt when she was 15, which visibly leaves Dawes on edge. When Miller says that everyone knows the story, Dawes doubts that and offers to tell the real story, which Miller expects will be one of many lies. Dawes shares that his sister Athena was smart and beautiful, but her bones were very fragile due to a lifetime without gravity, and the financial strain was impossible to bear for a dirt poor family of rock hoppers. And when she became too sick to even travel, Dawes had three other starving sisters to worry about. Dawes confesses that he killed her, which makes him a monster, and buried her in a beautiful mine that they had discovered together, asking Miller if he knew it was possible to cry so hard that your tears turn to blood. He then expresses the sentiment that he has millions of brothers and sisters in the Belt, and he counts the Earther Julie among them, and even Miller. Miller asks if that means that everyone dies for the cause, except for Dawes. He replies that if Julie was here right now, she would spit in Miller's face, because he is everything she despised: A Belter who preys on his own kind, a welwala. Dawes returns Miller's hat, and tells him to die as he lived, before leaving Miller to Kaipo and Lida.

"Windmills"[]

After getting fired by Shaddid, who he discovered was in Dawes' pocket all along, Miller enters a bar on Ceres and begins a fight with Thierry, challenging all the bar patrons to fight him, but the scene is broken up by Dawes' arrival. He remarks that Miller used to work for Earth, but now he is just one of them, telling the barkeep to put Miller's drinks on his tab. Dawes pours a drink for Miller, telling him it's a good day to start over, but Miller is angry and doesn't think anything is over. Dawes reminds Miller that he once called Dawes the "Patron Saint of lost causes", adding that he might have found a new one in Miller, who retorts by asking Dawes if he thinks he has won. Dawes says "not yet, but we are getting closer" and claims he was never fighting against Miller, but for him. Miller sarcastically says that he was thinking about that when Dawes' goons almost killed him, and Dawes jokes that he is honered Miller was thinking of him in what was shaping up to be his last moments. He says that when a man has lost everything, he sees what matters to him most, but Miller insists he already sees everything he needs to see, to which Dawes replies that maybe that means Miller hasn't lost everything yet. When he does, he will know his way home, and it will welcome him. Dawes takes his drink and leaves Miller alone, who frustratedly spills the drink that Dawes gifted him.

"The Seventh Man"[]

As the Roci crew help Tycho volunteers with providing aid to the refugees from Ganymede, Dawes emerges from the crowd, stating that all Belters are welcome on Ceres and causing an uproar of support as he tosses packaged food at the people gathered. Naomi looks at Dawes with a look of admiration, while Holden bitterly reminisces about the money they had to pay him on the Canterbury every time they parked on Ceres, which Naomi calls a Belter tax and Holden calls a shakedown. Naomi explains that Belters love Dawes because he put all the money from those bribes back into Belter neighborhoods, which Holden points out has left him practically running Ceres, something that Naomi feels was time a Belter did. Noticing them staring at him, Dawes salutes Holden from across the crowd, and Naomi jokes that the two of them are already friends.

Later, Fred Johnson holds a conclave between the OPA factions, asserting that they are all gathered not as separate groups but as united Belters, and that they have a historic opportunity with the upcoming peace talks as the OPA just saved Earth and they have their missiles as a bargaining chip. They can send a representative, but they have to pick someone who represents all of the Belt. Some Belters distrust Fred, due to him being from Earth, but Fred clarifies that he means to nominate Anderson Dawes. At this point, Dawes emerges from the crowd and jokes about the look on the Inner's faces when they see him sitting across the table. He cordially joins Fred, but turns against him when he says that, though a dream of peace between all the nations is nice, it sounds too much like an Earther's dream; though he doesn't doubt Fred's heart or allegiance to the Belt, he worries that, if Earth and Mars find peace, they will return to ostracizing the Belt. He says that Inners are not like Belters, because Inners cannot look at a thing without wondering who it belongs to and wanting to possess it, while Belters say that "the more you share, the more your bowl will be plentiful". The gathered Belters get riled up by Dawes' speech, as he states that Inners see Belters as possessions, animals to test their new weapons on, and declares they must protect themselves and find out what happened on Eros.

Fred speaks up and, though he agrees they need to know the whole truth about Eros, he believes that the protomolecule is destroyed, and its madman creator is dead. He reasons that, as Earth almost lost their planet as a result of the Eros Incident, they will not want it to happen again. Dawes starts to turn the passionate Belters against Fred, when Holden speaks up. He takes Fred's side, assuring the Belters that the protomolecule and its creators are gone and that they need to pursue peace, while Naomi looks on in discomfort.

Dawes shakes Holden's hand and calls him beratna, celebrating that the best Earthers are all joining the OPA's fight, and causing the crowd to cheer and clap. He then adds that Holden is an idealist, which is something only the Inners can afford. He does, however, agree that they should return the missiles. At this, Staz speaks up and says they should divide the missiles among the factions, causing an uproar in the crowd, but Dawes regains control and explains that whether they keep or use the missiles against the Inners, it will be an act of war that will cause the end of the Belt, so Holden and Fred's plan to return them is correct.

As the crowd devolves into low conversations, Fred looks over at a serious-looking Drummer, while Dawes walks to the opposite end of the room and stands next to Naomi. Noting that she was also on Eros, he asks her if she believes it is truly over. Naomi holds his gaze for a moment, and then says that she hopes it is.

Later, Dawes enters the Roci, but gets a rather cold welcome from a suspicious Holden. They enter the command deck, where they find Naomi. Dawes thanks Holden for his words earlier and says that he's inspired the Belt more than he knows, to which Holden repeats that they are all in this together, something Dawes finds to be a pretty story, though Holden insists it is the truth.

Dawes looks over at Naomi, saying that the truth is never what you expect it to be, and Holden criticizes him for insinuating that all Belters are trustworthy and all Earthers aren't in his political speeches, which Dawes argues isn't the whole truth, but just the useful part. After Holden starts losing his patience, Dawes finally asks what he came to find out: the part he suspects that Holden and Fred have left out. Naomi assures that they have told him everything they saw and learned, but Dawes finds it hard to believe that in their entire journey, they didn't find anything that could help the Belt protect itself. Naomi says there wasn't time, but Dawes easily sees through the lie.

Holden intervenes and tells Dawes that, if he wants to make him out as the bad guy just cause he is from Earth, he can do it freely. Dawes tells Holden not to get distracted by concepts like good and bad: Good men do bad things, like Fred Johnson, and bad men do things believing it is for the good of mankind, which he addresses to Naomi and tells her it's how he knows that the protomolecule situation isn't over. He keeps trying to talk to Naomi, but Holden walks between the two of them and tells Dawes that he's had enough.

Dawes backs away and reasons that, even if he believed them, he knows that Fred is a tactical mind and that he wouldn't offer the Earth's missiles back, unless he had another card to play. Holden insists they know nothing and threatens Dawes to leave. After a couple moments of hesitation, Dawes relents, chuckling as he says that Holden reminds him of someone, though missing the heart. As he walks out, he looks at Naomi and reasons that Fred will never fully integrate into the Belt, will never be taken back by Earth, and after the scandal with the Nauvoo, his days on Tycho are numbered, so any weapon in his possession is vulnerable.

Dawes walks through Tycho and playfully approaches Drummer, insinuating they have a very personal past together and trying to get her to tell him about Fred's "secret weapon". Though Drummer rebuffs his advances, she does agree to go out for drinks with him.

Later, Diogo walks into his room to find Dawes waiting for him. He builds up Diogo's confidence by mentioning his floating in space for days after his uncle Mateo dropped him out before his death, and also Diogo fighting side by side with Miller, in the meantime confirming that Diogo has seen both Eros and Thoth. He says that the raid on Thoth must have been great, but Diogo informs him that Fred just wanted the scientists.

Dawes then shares that he and Diogo grew up in the same area of Ceres, the Rosse Burt, asking how old Diogo is. Diogo is unsure, but thinks it is around 19 Earth years, prompting Dawes to ponder that Belters even take their sense of time from Earthers; on Jupiter, it would be Diogo's first birthday. Dawes says that out there in space, it is hard to believe that they matter, or that they can make a difference. Diogo enthusiastically shakes his head.

That night, Holden goes to Cortázar's cell, intending to assassinate him, but finds it empty. In the docks, Dawes leads a contingent of OPA soldiers, including Diogo, as they take Cortázar away from Tycho, despite Fred, Drummer and the Roci crew's efforts, leaving a defiant Diogo behind to be arrested in his place.

"Pyre"[]

Diogo remains cavalier and uncooperative, taunting Fred that Dawes got away with Cortázar, causing him to be imprisoned on Tycho. Dawes sends a message to Fred, where he says that he and Fred have travelled far together, but they must now part ways. He reminisces about finding Fred broken, looking for redemption in the Belter cause, and says that he tried to teach Fred the Belter way of life, but states that he failed. Fred told the other factions of the OPA that he destroyed Protogen's research and all their secrets, and that there was nothing left to fear. But instead, he kept Cortazar a secret, hoping that the day would come when Fred, and Fred alone, would decide to use his knowledge to defend the Belt. Dawes believes Fred has the Belt in his heart and that they are brothers, but Fred's actions betray the Earther within him. Dawes declares that Belters do not want to live under anyone's boot, not even a friendly one, knowing that if they disobey they will be killed, and states that he stole Fred's secret, so he can give it to the Belt.

"Fight or Flight"[]

Fred sends Dawes a message, angrily noting that he could remind him that they have a debt to settle, but that it would be playing yesterday's game. Now there's no time for that, because the Belt is in a position to become equal with the Inners, as Fred has their weapon and Dawes has Cortázar, the key to harnessing it. He finishes with the Belter proverb "the more you share, the more your bowl will be plentiful".

Template:Ep7[]

To counterbalance the influence of Fred Johnson's faction after Drummer secures the Behemoth, and ensure the two factions work together in tandem, Dawes sends Klaes Ashford to become her second in command, and has Diogo released to assist him.

"New Terra"[]

The OPA has achieved a truce with the UN and MCR after the Slow Zone Incident, largely under the joint leadership of Fred and Dawes. However, dissidents are starting to show up as some Belters reject the notion of peace with the inner planets and, by extension, Dawes' leadership.

"Jetsam"[]

When Drummer and Ashford begin to suspect Marco Inaros is behind the attack on the Sojourner, and fearing he might be assembling allies among the other OPA factions, they contanct Fred and Dawes for help dealing with him.

"Retrograde"[]

The OPA factions hold a trial against Marco Inaros after his capture by a bounty hunter. Ashford represents Dawes in the trial, and votes for him to be killed along with the representative of Matar Kubileya. Black Sky and Golden Bough decide to free him, and, much to Ashford's surprise, Drummer votes to let Marco live, as she fears a war starting among the factions if she openly defied them.

"Cibola Burn"[]

When Marco puts Ashford in the airlock to execute him, Ashford gets him talking about his plans with the stealth asteroids, hypothesizing he might use them to attack Ceres as a way to retaliate against Dawes. Marco, however, replies he is thinking too small, before spacing him, unaware that Ashford recorded the conversation.

"Exodus"[]

Holden is approached by Monica Stuart while eating out on Tycho, who pesters him for information until eventually revealing she knows someone is doing protomolecule research in a secure facility in the Belt. Holden is enraged, realizing that Fred and Dawes are using Cortázar to keep working on the protomolecule, and tries to dissuade them by showing Fred a simulation of the unknown aggressors sent to him by Dr. Elvi Okoye. Though Holden feels Dawes and Fred's research is too dangerous for many reasons, Fred is nonchalant and tells Holden to enjoy his life and stop trying to save the world as, believe it or not, it will go on without him.

"Strange Dogs"[]

Nico Sanjrani, while trying to persuade Marco Inaros and Rosenfeld to shift their resources towards feeding the people of Ceres, mentions Dawes. Marco cuts them off, however, and reveals he had Dawes killed for his resistance against Marco's movement, claiming that Dawes and Fred Johnson have been left behind by history, and the Belter people should do the same, though Sanjrani doesn't seem to share his sentiment.

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Personality[]

Dawes is proud, practical, and charismatic. Combining charm with patriotism, he has emerged as one of the most prominent political figures in the Belt. He sees himself as a father figure to all Belters, who are all his siblings in his eyes, and has intentionally cultivated a political image for himself as a paternal, populist leader whose main concern is championing the Belt and its common people. Behind the scenes, however, his approach is much more utilitarian and less principled than he lets on; heavily affected by his life as a rock hopper, and the difficult choices he had to make to keep his family alive, Dawes sees the "forest" as more important than the "trees" and has no hesitation threatening, hurting, or even killing individual Belters, if in doing so he will protect the Belt as a whole (such as how he abandoned Julie to a slow, agonizing death even though she believed in him and the promises he made her, or how he tried to have Miller killed to stop his investigation into the protomolecule).

He is also not above using his social talents, which he is very effective at, lying and making promises he doesn't intend to keep to advance his goals, and zeroing in on people's weak points to manipulate them (such as how he bolstered Diogo's pride and sweet-talked him into revealing critical information and joining the OPA, turning him from a regular teenager into a pompous fanatic a few years later).

Despite all this, Dawes manages to strike a balance between anarchy and radicalization, and cooperation and compromise; ultimately, his efforts have the goal of legitimizing the OPA into a government equal to the UN and MCR, despite all his talk against assimilating with the Inner Planets. It is difficult to know to what extent he seeks personal glory, and characters like Miller, Naomi, Drummer, Fred and Ashford have vastly contrasting opinions of him, but if one thing is clear, it is that he is dedicated to the Belt above all else.