The knowledge that he was not Lynn McKenna's first or even second choice as saKhan is a cancer that eats away at saKhan Cooper's psyche. He attained the post only recently following the death in a Trial of Position of Richard McTiernan, McKenna's second choice. He regards McKenna's first choice, Loremaster Klaus Harper, as a mortal enemy. Believing that the Loremaster intends to usurp his postion, Cooper has spent much of the time since his election plotting to discredit and remove Harper. So far, he has met with little success, but his actions have come to the attention of Khan McKenna. She is considering a motion within the Clan Council to remove the saKhan should his apparent mental instability worsen.

The Khan has so far tolerated Cooper despite his oddities because of his extraordinary tactical and administrative abilites, which make him a natural to command the Raven Fleet Command Star. A pilot who specialized in space-superiority missions, Bryn Cooper was a ristar whos ability to pluck victory from the jaws of defeat earned him promotion after promotion. He attained command of the Twenty-second Tactical Air Wing, attached to the Storm Crow Naval Pursuit Star, at the young age of Twenty-five. Transferred to the Fleet Command Star on the orders of saKhan Joseph Crow, he rose to the rank of Star Admiral and commanded the fleet air wing, becoming the entire fleet's de facto third in command. Never one to hide his ambition, Cooper's attitude earned him numerous enemies, many of whom sought to block his rise. The need to counter their power plays became second nature, and Cooper developed a distrust of his peers that often borders on paranoia.