Zafar

Zafar

Zafar is the Mechanic and Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Gemini in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Voiced by Kerem Erdinc, Zafar is described as the player's old friend and is the first companion recruited during gameplay, joining the crew during the beta mission on Pinkwater Station (Pinkwater 4). More measured than most of his crewmates, Zafar chooses his words carefully and occasionally surprises others with unexpectedly poetic observations.

Quick Reference

Personality and Background

Zafar stands out from the rest of the crew through his restraint. While other companions may be loud, impulsive, or snarky, Zafar is measured. He thinks before he speaks, and when he does speak, his words carry weight precisely because they are not wasted. This deliberate communication style reflects his engineering mindset: every component has a purpose, nothing is superfluous, and the system only works when everything is in its right place.

What makes Zafar particularly memorable is his occasional shift into unexpectedly poetic territory. A mechanic covered in grease and surrounded by machine parts might be the last person you would expect to articulate something beautiful about the nature of space travel or the bond between crew members, but Zafar does exactly that. These moments are all the more striking because of their rarity, surfacing only when Zafar feels something strongly enough to step outside his usual careful reserve.

Zafar's engineering background grounds him in practical, survival-oriented tech culture. He understands how systems work at a fundamental level, not just the digital systems that Aleesha specializes in, but the physical machinery that keeps a ship running, life support cycling, and weapons functioning. This practical knowledge makes him indispensable to the Gemini's operations beyond just his combat contributions.

Combat Role and Abilities

Zafar operates under the Malfunction exploit category, the same category as Teo. His specialty is wrecking and disabling electrical systems, degrading enemy equipment to the point where it becomes unreliable or nonfunctional.

In combat, Zafar's approach is methodical rather than aggressive. He deploys turrets and EMF (electromagnetic field) devices that create zones of equipment degradation on the battlefield. Enemies who enter these zones find their gear malfunctioning: weapons jamming, shields flickering, communications cutting out. This does not eliminate enemies directly, but it applies steady, inescapable pressure that weakens them over time.

Zafar's turrets serve as semi-autonomous assets that hold positions and provide sustained suppressive fire. Combined with his EMF devices, they create areas of the battlefield that are simply inhospitable for enemies relying on technology. This area-denial capability makes Zafar exceptionally valuable in defensive scenarios or when the squad needs to hold a position.

His combat philosophy mirrors his personality: patient, methodical, and focused on degrading the enemy's ability to fight rather than overwhelming them with raw firepower. Zafar does not need to be the one pulling the trigger on the killing shot. He just needs to ensure that by the time his allies engage, the enemy is fighting with broken tools.

Recruitment

Zafar is the first companion recruited during actual gameplay (as opposed to J, who is available from the very start as the player's twin). He joins the crew during the beta mission on Pinkwater Station, also known as Pinkwater 4. This early recruitment means players get to know Zafar's combat style and personality relatively quickly, and his turret-based abilities provide an early introduction to area-denial tactics.

The circumstances of his recruitment are tied to his pre-existing relationship with the player character. Zafar is described as the player's old friend, which means their reunion on Pinkwater Station carries emotional weight that most initial companion recruitment moments in RPGs lack. This is not a meeting between strangers; it is a reconnection between people who share history and trust.

His role as Chief Mechanic of the Gemini also gives his recruitment a practical dimension. The ship needs a competent engineer to function, and Zafar's presence fills a critical operational gap that would otherwise leave the crew vulnerable to mechanical failures during their travels across the solar system.

The Gemini's Chief Mechanic

Beyond his combat contributions, Zafar's role as Chief Mechanic means he is responsible for keeping the Gemini operational. This is not a trivial responsibility. The Gemini is a stolen Protogen vessel, which means its systems may not be fully documented, its maintenance protocols may be nonstandard, and replacement parts may be difficult to source through legitimate channels.

Zafar's engineering expertise and practical mindset make him uniquely suited for this challenge. He approaches the ship's maintenance the same way he approaches combat: methodically, patiently, and with a deep understanding of how each component contributes to the whole. Crew members who spend time in the Gemini's engineering bay will find Zafar there more often than not, quietly solving problems before anyone else even notices them.

Connection to Pinkwater Security

Zafar's recruitment on Pinkwater Station connects him to Pinkwater Security, one of the private military and security corporations operating in The Expanse universe. The details of his connection to Pinkwater, whether he was employed there, had dealings with them, or was simply present on the station for other reasons, are part of his story. However, the Pinkwater Station mission is both Zafar's introduction and an early look at how private security firms operate in the game's setting.

Relationships

Zafar's relationship with the player character is one of the warmest on the crew, rooted in a genuine friendship that predates the game's events. This pre-existing bond means Zafar trusts the protagonist from the moment he joins, and his loyalty does not need to be earned through missions or dialogue choices. It is simply there, built on shared experiences that the player gradually learns about.

Within the broader crew, Zafar's measured personality makes him a stabilizing presence. He is the person who calmly works through a problem when others are panicking, the one who offers a steady perspective during heated debates. His occasional poetic moments also create unexpected connections with crew members who might not otherwise engage with a mechanic, revealing depths that his quiet exterior does not immediately advertise.

Tactical Notes

• Zafar's turrets are excellent for holding positions. In defensive missions or holdout scenarios, deploy his turrets early to establish kill zones that enemies must pass through.

• His EMF devices degrade enemy equipment over time. Place them in chokepoints or near objectives to weaken enemies before they even reach your squad.

• Zafar and Teo share the Malfunction exploit category, but their applications differ. Teo disables equipment aggressively at close range, while Zafar applies methodical pressure from a distance. Choose based on the encounter's demands.

• Pair Zafar with aggressive companions like Michael. While Michael charges forward and destroys cover, Zafar's turrets and EMF devices can secure the flanks and prevent enemies from circling behind.

• Zafar is recruited early in the game during the Pinkwater Station mission. Take time to learn his turret placement mechanics during this introductory mission, as understanding optimal turret positioning pays dividends throughout the rest of the game.

• In prolonged engagements, Zafar's value increases over time as his EMF devices accumulate degradation on enemy equipment. The longer a fight goes, the more his area-denial tools tip the balance in your favor.

Closed Beta Role on Pinkwater Four Station

In the closed beta, Zafar is the second companion the player encounters, and the only non-twin companion featured in the playable slice. He is the first companion met outside of J, the player's sibling. The twins first run into Zafar shortly after docking at Pinkwater Four Station in the stolen vessel they took from the attackers that destroyed the Piranha. The meeting is brief: Zafar trades a quick briefing with the player in the station's corridors, makes sure the crew's status is understood, and then heads back to the Gemini to coordinate support from the ship while the player handles matters on foot. He remains in voice contact on comms throughout the rest of the mission.

That split placement, Zafar on the Gemini and the player on the station, is the defining wrinkle of his closed-beta playstyle. While J travels with the player character as an active squadmate, Zafar contributes from the ship's side rather than as a ground teammate. That frames everything else about how he plays and how his relationship meter ticks up or down.

Ship-Support Playstyle

Because Zafar stays aboard the Gemini during the beta, the player never takes direct ground control of him. Instead, Zafar plugs into the game's environmental exploit layer on top of standard combat. At scripted narrative beats and at certain Engage-style prompts the player can call in ship support from the Gemini, and the signature effect is Zafar opening up with the Gemini's PDCs against the station.

PDCs, or point-defense cannons, are ship-mounted ballistic defense weapons. In The Expanse's setting they exist mostly to intercept incoming torpedoes, but the Gemini turns them on the station itself in the beta, where they shred through cover, tear open station walls, and cut apart whole groups of enemies at once. The effect sits alongside the ground companions' environmental interactions in the Exploit System, and it functions as Zafar's signature battlefield contribution during the Pinkwater Four Station mission.

Two specific in-beta moments show the ship support. During the mid-level spacewalk, Zafar asks the twins to hold position while he maneuvers the Gemini past a Protogen scan sweep, then calls in clearance when the path opens. At the climactic endgame fight, the player cues Zafar again and the Gemini's PDCs chew through a section of the station on screen, glass and debris spraying outward as enemies are knocked off their feet and sent floating in vacuum. In both beats the player character is on the ground or in EVA; Zafar is a voice on comms and a fire-support button.

Environmental Exploit and Call-In Flow

Zafar's PDC strike behaves as a contextual environmental exploit rather than a gadget the player equips. Unlike ground companion gadgets, it cannot be used anywhere in an encounter. It keys off scripted cues and designated sightlines, which means the player learns when the Gemini has a firing angle and waits for the prompt to line up. Inside the closed beta the call-in plays back as an on-rails cinematic of the Gemini strafing the station's outer hull, with Zafar on voice over the radio.

Ground Engage commands still apply to J in the usual way during these sequences. The Gemini support layer is additive: J closes the ground gap while Zafar softens cover or obliterates clustered enemies from above. The implication for the full game is that the player's standard active loadout involves two ground companions plus Zafar's ship-based assistance where a map provides the sightlines to use it.

Approval and Relationship Dynamics

Zafar tracks the player's decisions in real time and reacts on comms rather than waiting for a later cutscene. The clearest example in the beta is the spacewalk airlock choice. When the crew is stuck outside the station, Zafar spots an enemy scan pattern and tells the player to hold while he repositions the Gemini to distract the ship above and open a safer airlock. There is also a nearer airlock that the player can rush straight into.

• Wait for Zafar's distraction. The Gemini maneuvers, the Protogen ship shifts off its scan line, and Zafar talks the player through the airlock he originally recommended. No alarm triggers, the approach stays clean, and Zafar's relationship meter stays warm.

• Rush the nearby airlock. The alarm fires, the player has to deactivate it under pressure, and Zafar gets openly frustrated over the radio. He voices disapproval on the spot and seeds a lasting grudge that the crew references later in dialogue.

That pattern, immediate vocal reaction plus a long-term relationship consequence, is how Zafar's approval system reads in the beta. He does not store resentment silently; he complains in the moment and then carries it forward.

Voice Performance and Tone

Zafar's line delivery drew consistent praise across previews of the closed beta. Among the supporting cast on Pinkwater Four Station, his reads landed as the weightiest and most organic: measured, deliberate, often metaphor-heavy, and keyed to the Expanse's grounded sci-fi tone rather than to genre exposition. When other characters quip or exposit, Zafar tends to slow the conversation down and reach for a more reflective line.

That tendency becomes a running crew joke. The closed-beta script contains an exchange in which the player comments, "Zafar and his metaphors," before Zafar concedes, "But you're right, the dark days are definitely upon us." It is a small beat, but it both acknowledges how he talks and establishes that the rest of the crew is fond of it rather than annoyed.

One direct quote from the spacewalk sequence captures the register. When the player asks for a way past a Protogen patrol, Zafar answers, "Right ahead about 50 meters, but getting there is suicide. Stand by. I'll figure something out," before taking the Gemini off to buy the crew an opening. The delivery is calm, practical, and unhurried, and it reinforces the engineering-minded personality the rest of the article describes.

Appearance and Belter Contrast

Zafar is noticeably shorter than a Belter player character. Walking next to him as a Belter protagonist, the height difference reads immediately on screen, because Belters in the Expanse tower over Inners as a consequence of growing up in low gravity. The beta uses that silhouette contrast as an ambient storytelling cue, letting origin-group differences register without dialogue having to explain them.

Playing as an Earther equalizes the framing somewhat, but even then Zafar reads as a compact, grounded presence next to the player's twin. The stark gap is between the Belter presets and the rest of the station's population, Zafar included.

Companion-Slot Implications

Zafar's ship-based role has knock-on consequences for how the player thinks about squad composition. The full game is built around taking two ground companions into a mission while Zafar contributes from the Gemini when a map allows. That makes his support additive rather than part of the two-slot roster, which in turn means the player never has to choose between, for example, Zafar's PDC strikes and a ground specialist; both come through, assuming the mission has a sightline for the ship.

Within the closed beta itself the active squad is limited to the player plus J, with Zafar checking in from the Gemini. That one-ground-companion pairing is not representative of the full game; it is a consequence of the beta exposing only the first two companions. The wider roster of seven is described in the companions article.

Tactical Notes From the Closed Beta

• Wait for Zafar's distraction prompt during the EVA stretch. Rushing the nearer airlock only trades a few seconds for a triggered alarm and a lasting hit to his approval.

• Save ship call-ins for cover-heavy choke points. The PDCs chew through destructible cover, so they pay off most when enemies are clustered behind walls the ship can punch through.

• Treat Zafar's radio chatter as a tell. His tone signals how the relationship track is shifting before the mission-end tally, which is useful when deciding whether to take the safer path or push an aggressive route through a scene in zero-gravity.

• In the endgame fight on the station, line the player's position up so the Gemini's PDC strike can sweep the long axis of the room rather than wasting fire on a single piece of cover.

• Remember that Zafar cannot be hurt by enemy ground fire in the beta, because he is not on the ground. That makes calling him in a zero-risk escalation when the opportunity appears, unlike committing a ground companion to a dangerous Engage.

Connections to Other Pinkwater Four Events

Zafar's arc during the beta runs alongside the other Pinkwater Four decisions rather than independently of them. The Eros incident is the reason the crew is on the run in the first place, and Zafar's job on the Gemini is to keep the ship in position while the twins handle their debrief with Oscar O'Connell and then escape Protogen. Whether the player persuades Oscar to resist Protogen or tells him to stand down shapes the ground layout during the later combat, but Zafar's support role on the Gemini continues regardless of which path is taken.

His voice on comms also ties the beta's set pieces together narratively. The player hears him before the airlock choice, during the spacewalk clearance, and at the endgame PDC strike, which gives the mission a single through-line even as the ground fight shifts between station interior, EVA exterior, and the final confrontation. That sustained presence is what makes Zafar feel like an active companion in the beta despite never stepping onto the station himself.