Mensah

> *"It was starting to occur to me that Dr. Mensah might actually be an intrepid galactic explorer, even if she didn’t look like the ones on the entertainment feed."* (All Systems Red)
>
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**Dr. Ayda Mensah** is the planetary leader of Preservation Alliance, a Freehold polity outside the Corporation Rim. The laws in the Preservation Alliance require elected officials to continue their normal work during their term of office, so Mensah is participating in the planetary survey that contracts Murderbot. She is Murderbot's favorite human.

## Biography

Dr. Mensah lives on a farm outside the capital city, with two marital partners (Farai and Tano), her sister and brother and their three marital partners (including Thiago), and “a bunch of relatives and kids” (according to Ratthi in All Systems Red). Amena is her oldest child. Her time is split between her home on the planet and her quarters on Preservation Station, where she stays while serving as planetary leader.

First appearing in All Systems Red, Mensah is one of the members of the PreservationAux survey and acts as the team leader. After Murderbot saves Bharadwaj and Volescu from an unexpected attack from a giant local fauna, she and the team investigate the attack's cause. When Murderbot is ambushed by unexpected SecUnits as they sweep the DeltFall survey habitat, Mensah takes out its attackers with a mining drill and hauls it to safety.

Murderbot's hacked governor module is exposed by Gurathin, and Mensah keeps the team together, serving as a bridge between it and the others. When it becomes clear that they're being hunted by GrayCris and they're forced to run, Mensah teams up with Murderbot to distract GrayCris while the others trigger the enemy's emergency beacon. This signals to the Company that something is wrong, and leads to their rescue.

They're taken to Port FreeCommerce to sort through the fallout from this catastrophe, and Mensah purchases Murderbot before it can be wiped and settled back into inventory. Murderbot does not stay, leaving while the others are asleep, and Mensah runs damage control.

It turns out that Mensah's position is weaker than expected, and as she leaves a meeting with DeltFall representatives she is kidnapped and taken to TranRollinHyfa. Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin follow, but they're unable to do anything except brace themselves to pay her ransom. Murderbot's surprise reappearance forstalls this, and they perform a hectic rescue instead. Murderbot only just manages to get her to safety, but instead of fleeing she turns around and rescues Murderbot from Palisade's Combat Secunit with the other PreservationAux members, then talks Murderbot down from trying to single-handedly take on a full Company gunship.

Finally the excitement dies down, and they're all able to return to the Preservation Alliance. Mensah, shaken by her experiences, is slow to adjust, and has even more difficulty when GrayCris sends assassins after her. Murderbot intercepts them, and Mensah struggles to feel safe in the aftermath. Bharadwaj, Murderbot, and others recommend therapy, but she declines, at first. (Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory) Instead she focuses on helping Murderbot settle, and on the challenges of leading the planet in the wake of recent events. She only finally relents with the stipulation that Murderbot should accept Arada's offer of a security post on her upcoming survey.

When Murderbot and the remote PreservationAux survey team are kidnapped by ART, Mensah is left behind until ART's message buoy summons help at the end of Network Effect. Her response is immediate, and Mensah is part of the envoy sent to retrieve the team. Murderbot speaks with Mensah first on her arrival, and they exchange code phrases that jumpstart the situation's resolution.

## Personality

Dr. Mensah is highly capable, quick to make decisions, and incredibly calm in stressful situations. She is exceptionally smart, which Murderbot remarks upon often.

## Physical Appearance

   *She had dark brown skin and lighter brown hair, cut very short, and I’m guessing she wasn’t young or she wouldn’t be in charge.* (All Systems Red, Chapter 1)

After the survey, Murderbot notes that she's wearing her 'normal clothes', which are described as business clothes like Pin-Lee's. When Murderbot rescues her in Exit Strategy, she is wearing a long caftan over pants, rumpled and creased from her time as a captive. The PreservationAux survey team had a standard uniform, which was grey.

Martha Wells has said that her first choice to play Dr. Mensah would be Viola Davis.

## Official Art

The Murderbot Diaries has an illustration of a moment in Exit Strategy where Murderbot helps Mensah escape from captivity. Two of the most relevant quotes to this picture are, "*I could see via infrared and used my scan to create a physical map. Mensah couldn’t see at all. She grabbed my jacket and shifted behind me, letting me pull her forward.*", and "*We hit two changes in gravity, one gradual, and one not so gradual, when the wall to the right abruptly became the floor.*"

## Notes

* Her daughter Amena refers to her as 'second mom'.
* She's a really good commander.

## References

1. ↑ *Exclusive Interview: “All Systems Red” Author Martha Wells* , Paul Semel, PaulSemel.com, https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-systems-red-author-martha-wells/
2. ↑ "*We stepped out into a low-ceilinged space, and once the pod shut behind us it was completely dark. I could see via infrared and used my scan to create a physical map. Mensah couldn’t see at all. She grabbed my jacket and shifted behind me, letting me pull her forward. The air circulation and quality wasn’t great but at least there was air. I navigated a path through currently offline maintenance and hauler bots over to an open ramp that led down. We hit two changes in gravity, one gradual, and one not so gradual, when the wall to the right abruptly became the floor.*" Chapter 5, Exit Strategy.
3. ↑ All Systems Red, page 84.