Name: Tedessa Dasarius
Species: Human
Birthplace: Etrusca
Birthdate: 342 IE
Bio:
Tessa Dasarius is the powerful and enigmatic CEO of Dasarius Interstellar, one of the Compact’s most influential megacorporations. She is also the ex-wife of Admiral Quentin Austin. Though she does not appear in person during The Children of Amargosa, her impact is felt deeply—particularly by her son, JT Austin.
After JT became stranded off-world, Tessa made the calculated decision to leave him on the agricultural colony of Amargosa rather than immediately retrieve him. Her rationale was likely shaped by a mix of discipline, detachment, and a belief that hardship might mature him. JT, however, sees it as abandonment, and this decision becomes a major source of resentment for him throughout the story.
To the other Children of Amargosa—Davra, Lizzy, Eric, and the others—Tessa is little more than a distant public figure, known primarily from media coverage and corporate influence. Her status as a high-powered executive places her in sharp contrast with the working-class and rural upbringing of most of the others.
While her motives remain ambiguous in the early part of the series, Tessa Dasarius’s presence in the Compact’s elite circles—and her complicated relationship with JT—set the stage for deeper conflicts and revelations in the later arcs of the Compact Universe.
Author’s Notes:
A deleted, unpublished scene depicts the moment she learns she is pregnant with JT. She warns her fellow executive and one-time guardian not to interfere with Quentin Austin’s career as he doesn’t deserve that sort of meddling.
A second scene depicts Tessa as distraught when she learns Amargosa has fallen with JT still on the planet.
JT, in a later story, relates how people who worked for his mother and were fired for cause–unless it was something truly egregious–find themselves under her company’s protection and patronage despite the negative parting. She also has a low tolerance for abusive contractors and suppliers, as evidenced indirectly in Breaking Liberty.
Tessa later reveals to JT she envied him for running away and rejecting his inheritance, as much as it hurt her. She was saddled with responsibility at the age of 10 when her father was removed as CEO.
Appearances: Gimme Shelter