D'ndai of Calhoun

D'ndai of Calhoun was a Xenexian male in the 24th century. He was the leader of the people of Calhoun (addressed as "the Calhoun"), and a key leader during Xenex's war for independence against the Danteri. During that conflict, D'ndai solicited assistance from the Thallonian Empire, a move that helped force the Danteri to petition the United Federation of Planets to broker a peace deal, and also made D'ndai one of the most important leaders on Xenex in the post-war period. (NF novels: House of Cards, End Game)

Shortly after the war, D'ndai toured the Federation and Danter for six months. During the time he was off planet, Catrine, the widow of D'ndai's friend, An'dr, decided she wanted an heir. While the duty to impregnate her would normally have fallen to D'ndai as the clan leader, Catrine instead enlisted his younger brother, M'k'n'zy. D'ndai had himself been attracted to Catrine, and had hoped to marry her on his return to Xenex. D'ndai was angered by M'k'n'zy's actions; however, Catrine assured him that she did not wish to be wed to anyone. (NF novel: Martyr; short story: "A Lady of Xenex")

Upon returning to Xenex, D'ndai faced a political challenge from the Clan G'lyndr, when a match between Catrine and G'nard of G'lyndr, the heir to a rival clan, was proposed. A marriage would spread D'ndai's political clout to his rival, while rejecting the proposal would lead to a feud that would weaken Calhoun's power. D'ndai was able to put down this power play with the assistance of Warain, an agent of Danteri External Affairs, Danter's military intelligence branch. This lead to decades of cooperation between the Xenexian leader and his people's former enemies. (NF short story: "A Lady of Xenex"; novel: End Game)