Sonja Gustov Kerensky - Printable Version

Sonja Gustov Kerensky - Printable Version

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Sonja Gustov Kerensky - Sonja - 04-16-2016

Hello dear reader. My name is Sonja Gustov Kerensky, and this document is to inform you of the events that have shaped my life and brought me into the service of Agency 404. As required under the terms of my service, it will be as exhaustive as possible. Please be prepared for multiple sessions with this document, if you wish to know Sirius from my eyes. It goes without saying that this is a confidential document. Unauthorised disclosure of any information recorded here outside of Agency 404 personnel is not permitted under any circumstances.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-16-2016

I was born on Cape Verde Station in Omega 52. Quite the bombshell start for somebody who now finds themselves residing at the epicentre of modern capitalism. My parents, whose names I have been given permission to omit from this record, also gave birth to my older brother two years earlier. His name is, was, and may continue to be Gustov Kerensky, the same first name as my middle name. I am pretty sure that he is dead now though.

From as early as I can remember, my life was a strict, barren existence of discipline, rationing and constant reminders of the blue menace. The vast majority of my life before I joined the Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army Academy, the only one at the time, was spent orbiting the frozen wasteland below. I suppose you could argue it was an existence characterised by the colour grey; grey walls, grey food and grey people. The only colour to be had was that of the red banner, and the deep brown of coagulated blood coating whichever enclosures were used for executions.

My parents both worked as labourers on the planet which Cape Verde station was orbiting, planet Praia. I only ever saw their workplace from through reinforced glass or perspex. People came and went through the station towards the planet, as at the time, the Coalition did not have nearly enough resources to even consider construction of a planetary docking ring. In fact, at this time, the SCRA bartered with the owners and operators of Cape Verde, the Zoner Guard, for ships, weaponry and basic supplies such as food. For the rest of Sirius, I suppose it is shocking that the Zoners would facilitate such a seemly brutal and aggressive regime, but from their point of view, I suspect they saw a business opportunity; much like they have with the rest of the residents out in the Edge. This kind of austerity marked all of my days in the Coalition.

I am natural born descendant of the Bolshevik movement, with traceable lineage back to the original socialist uprising on Earth, in the early 20th century Russian Empire. As such, there was never any question of my future. I had two paths laid out in front of me. The first was to contribute to the glorious revolution by joining her industrial labour force on the frosty Planet Praia, working her mines, furnaces or any other industry to which I would be assigned. The second was to join up with the small military force, the aforementioned Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army (abbreviated to the SCRA) and serve on the front line of the fight against fascism, corruption and all the other ills of capitalist society that the Alliance had brought with them to Sirius. I am unsuited to manual labour, so I chose the latter.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-16-2016

At this point, it may be helpful for me to explain my focus on the past. As the Coalition was, at the time of my upbringing, very much in its infancy when measuring its industrial capacity and available manpower, the emphasis was placed upon her glorious roots. There was huge attention paid to the past as a means of diverting attention away from a dangerous, unfulfilling existence. We were all taught of the origins of socialism. Such names as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Tsar Nicholas Romanov II and even my namesake, Alexander Kerensky, were, and maybe still are, core parts of the historical curriculum. As a result, never did I question the historical legitimacy and righteousness of our cause, or the cruel manner in which our birthright had been stripped from us by capitalist conspiracy. Our hardship was your fault. Our struggle was only necessary due to your existence. You were to blame, and we were to make you pay.

It was with this education, and final grades judged suitable for entry to the officer corps by the examination committee, that I was thrust into the life of a soldier. My first day at the academy was scheduled one 24 hour cycle after my fourteenth birthday. To show you just what life was like at the time, it may be helpful for me to tell you that my birthday present was a new, rather than used, military uniform and a single use ration card for the procurement of any food item below the weight of 350 grams and with no more than a 12% sugar content. In your language, that is the equivalent of a birthday cake voucher. In reality however, its equivalent here in the Republic of Liberty is more like one of your cupcakes that you can purchase from a coffee shop. Of course, that did not stop me from being overjoyed at receiving both items, and more importantly, to be taking on the part of a hero and true revolutionary, just like my ancestors over a millennium ago.

Before I left home for my new life, my parents gave me some parting advice. They told me that it was best never to show any emotion if I could help it, except for enthusiasm. They told me to arrive early and smartly, carry out my orders with the greatest expediency and most importantly, respect my superiors in the strongest possible terms. I spent the night of my birthday in my brand new uniform, practising my salute. At the time, I had no doubt that I was going in the right direction. The Coalition was righteous, the Zoner Guard a temporary necessity and the rest of Sirius was ours for the taking.

My first day at the Army academy, which was on planet Praia, did nothing but reinforce my belief in the Coalition. Unlike my tidy by poorly maintained home in orbit, or the choking dust and heat of industrial accommodation elsewhere on Praia, the academy was spotlessly clean and more modern than I had ever imagined any installation could be. Even the rations were more generous and of higher quality. As an army marches on its stomach, it was quite obvious to me that the Revolution’s main priority was to spread socialism by fire and brimstone if it could not by peaceful means. From the outset, we were dropped into the deep end, studying military history relentlessly and applying those lessons. As young cadets, we were quickly divided into class groups encompassing demonstrated specialisations. This included operational planning, logistical planning, infiltration, the fleet air arm, munitions design and the commissariat. Without going into detail for each of these, I was considered suitable for the fleet air arm and the commissariat, and was given the choice of which to pursue as my scores made me eligible for both. I ended up choosing the fleet air arm, a decision which has likely led me to being able to write this now.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-16-2016

Upon inception into the fleet air arm, we were shown a recorded presentation of socialism’s greatest moments in history, the victories of the Soviet over the vile and reprehensible. Everything from the flag of the Soviet Union flying over the Reichstag in Berlin to the decisive victory of the Coalition at the Alliance Moon Fortress in the Sea of Tranquillity was shown. Somehow, there was even footage of Alliance installations vapourising in the conflagration following the ignition of the Kraken Sea on Titan, Saturn's largest satellite. Afterwards, a recorded speech was shown from the two most senior figures at the time, High Chancellor Aeon and Grand Admiral McIntosh, which was aimed at instilling with us a sense of all the things you might expect fresh cadets to be motivated by.

Barring a few bad apples, my class studied dutifully and almost all of us achieved graduation into the fleet air arm. Those who did not study, did not try or did not perform, also did not return to class. We thought nothing of it at the time. Actually, we were thankful that they were taken out of our class, as our end-of-year unit statistics would increase. As these were recorded in an historic league table, they were a point of pride for us, so we were happy when troublemakers were removed. Now that I think back to that time, I wonder if they were reassigned to other classes, forced into a labour role at our heavy industry installations or simply executed? Suffice it to say, we did not lose much sleep over their departure and their fate does not make me lose much now either. Of note here is that, during my education at the fleet air arm, High Chancellor Aeon was succeeded by, or usurped by, Grand Admiral McIntosh, who took full control of all military affairs.

My time at the fleet air arm academy lasted three years, after which we were given our assignments and new uniforms indicating our status as serving officers. Before deployment, we all attended graduation. It was a good memory as memories go, but it was also the last time I saw my parents in person. I will never forget how happy they were to see their daughter as a pilot. The expression on their faces and the glittering of their eyes shone right through their weathered features, more telling of long hours of difficult and dangerous work than their true age. I was proud to stand through the fanfare of our sending-off to active service, although inwardly a little apprehensive of what would await me in the void. Nevertheless, I would soon be joined by my brother, Gustov. He had previously graduated from infiltration academy, and was therefore already serving somewhere in Sirius, on one of many covert operations for which there are no records. I was happy that I knew Gustov lived, and the news got better when he secured a transfer to the space-bourne SCRA shortly after my graduation. Somehow he managed to complete covert operations while standing out like a sore thumb, being physically blessed with tall height and thick-set build.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-17-2016

Geographically, my quarters didn’t move very far. I went from a life in the residential district on Cape Verde station to my very own, and very small young officer’s quarters in the military district. Somehow, it was an even more Spartan existence than the one I had led before, with all of the bulkheads and none of the mementos and trappings of my family home. To be honest, I was overjoyed that I finally had my own place I could call home. Even though it was little more than a partition of a container space, it was mine, and it was not a dormitory. It even had a shower cubicle, although I had a limited water allocation per day.

Because of my new role at the front line of the Coalition’s efforts, both militarily and for the purposes of publicity, we were allowed certain privileges that the other services were not in order for us to be seen in a more favourable light by the rest of the proletariat. As an example, for the first time ever, I was allowed to grow my hair out longer than three inches and to any length I liked. We were provided with some luxuries as well. These ranged from a couple of basic skincare products and real soap to access to dry-cleaning facilities and even first pick of new equipment over other areas of the Coalition machine. Of course, there was still an internal hierarchy, but as the front line combat force, the Revolutionary Army was priority one for everything. And it was to this hierarchy that my first official communication as a fully fledged Lieutenant was made.

(07-26-2007, 12:55 PM)Sonja Wrote: Transmit to: SCRA

From: Graduate and Lieutenant Sonja Kerensky

I see that I was too late in my graduation to participate in the thorough hiding of the enemy a few days ago. My apologies, I would have endorsed the chance of trail by fire.

So here I am, after many years spent training in the academy for this day. I feel so proud to fight alongside my betters on the field of battle.

Commander Dieter Zehn, I have heard many great things about your achievements on the field of battle. If only I could have been present for what I assume was demonstrations on the helpless forces of the Alliance, as you smash them down time and again with the red fist!

Admiral Viktor Britanov, I hear also your great achievements on the field of battle, and your particular skills in cruiser commanding. I look forward to fighting alongside you.

Grand Admiral Mcintosh, many rumors of your prominence as a fearless leader have been spread through the training camp, and I will be pleased to satisfy those still in the camp with frequent letters writing of your tactical supremacy on the battlefield.

I cannot enclose the words needed to express my admiration for the other members of the SCRA, who i have heard countless items of news about while in training at the academy.

Overall, I am extremely excited to by joining the army, and I will fight to the last drop of my blood to defend it and slaughter the petty Alliance!

Transmission Ends

As you can see, I was demonstrably as green as broccoli flavoured synth paste, but I did my best to mix in formalities and enthusiasm with a bit of brown-nosing. Nothing advances a career like paying your respects to those who feel like they deserve respects paid. I should mention here that I laid it on very thick as time went by, which caused certain rumours about my conduct with senior officers to spread. These were never more than rumours however, and my record in space quickly reduced the volume of these rumours to an inaudible murmur. Nevertheless, I have to state for the record that not once did I have sex to advance my career. Anything else than that will have to be left to your imagination.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-17-2016

Moving swiftly on, I was issued with two ships. The first was the well-known and reliable Eagle Very Heavy Fighter, and the legendary but now obsolete Taiidan Bomber. As a graduate of the fleet air arm, I was well versed in both of these ships. The Eagle was known well enough by reputation, and the fact that it was easily serviceable made it a favourite basic issue to new pilots of the SCRA like me. On the other hand, the Taiidan bomber, along with the intelligence we had on the Rheinland Bomber thanks to a revolution pilot we only knew as Totenkopf, were both experimental ships based upon small agile chassis, with a massive power core taxing that chassis to the limit. I was surprised to receive one, but this was an investment decision extended across the entire army by our commanders, and I was not going to complain.

It did not take long to become accustomed to both vehicles as weapons of war, and discovered to my benefit that performing maintenance and upgrades on my ships was my responsibility. Each squadron had a technical team placed at its disposal, but for the most precise changes, my own hand was required. At first, the other graduates and I relied heavily on the services offered by the junior officer technical team. As I became more experienced in combat and began to understand the finer details of what I wanted from my strike craft, I took on more of this work personally.

In addition, combat readiness guidelines stated that we could never have more than one ship out of action undergoing maintenance, upgrades or refitting, although battle damage was another matter. As a point of pride for me, I was never forced to requisition a third ship because of battle damage to my two original issues. However, I did decide to try out a couple of new Very Heavy Fighters while with the SCRA, the two most notable examples being the Ravens Talon and the Viper Mk I.

At this point began a relatively short but glittering military career. It turned out that I was actually a very gifted pilot, with not just the lightning reflexes and precision required, but the tactical decision-making ability as well. That is not to say that I was without faults, but we will come to that later. I quickly established myself as a pilot of extreme skill, and developed a healthy rivalry with Nikolai Varnava and Ivan Voronov, both initially Lieutenants when we first met. At this time, my direct superior officers were Commander Dieter Zehn and Lieutenant Commander Ares. Dieter Zehn was a few years my senior and by all accounts ambitious and conniving in equal measure. Ares, as you may well have guessed, was a code name; Ares was actually a Corsair by birth and a great believer in the Revolution. He fulfilled the role of a bridge between the SCRA and the Corsairs at the time, and would eventually choose his convictions over his heritage. I will come on to the issue of the Corsairs later, too.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-18-2016

My time with the flying corps was perhaps the most whirlwind ride of my life, as one might say. Almost every day involved killing; preparing to, cleaning up after or actually killing somebody was my life for six months and I got very, very good at it. Of course, it is one thing to kill in a fighter and quite another to kill with a blade. The latter is something I have never done, but the kill count I left behind in space over a period of just six months was astronomical. Operations took place predominantly in Bretonia and Rheinland, but we made occasional incursions into both Liberty and Kusari as well. Almost all of these were sterling successes, although the distances involved regarding the latter made any hope of strategic victories very distant. Those particular operations were to simply remind people that we were real, very dangerous and deserving of their fear. The following is an excerpt from a very successful incursion into Bretonia. As you can see, even the Hellfire Legion showed up.

There were one or two failures, such as an ill-advised jump from Sigma 13 to New Berlin which ended quickly in a rare use of my ejector seat, but these were overshadowed by my success, and the success of the Coalition. It might interest you to know that during this particular failure, the now Lieutenant Commander Ivan Voronov rescued me and sustained much heavier injuries than I while attempting to escape. Thanks to me, he had to have a shoulder blade replaced and titanium plates fitted to what remained of his left arm.

There were many other people involved at the time, but the names mentioned so far are the ones that most left an impression upon me, for reasons both good and bad. I expect this trend to continue until the end of my writing here.

By the time I had parted ways with the SCRA, I had been awarded with a few prestigious accolades. I still possess these as part of my personal belongings, and despite the fact that I am no longer with the Coalition, they continue to mean a great deal to me. I have not appeared in parade uniform since my time with the Revolutionary Army, but if I were to again, I would wear both accolades with pride and, perhaps, a great deal of irony as well.

(12-13-2007, 08:58 AM)bluntpencil2001 Wrote: To: SCRA

Comm. ID: Captain Ares

Message Begins//

It has come to my attention that some pilots are in need of recognition for their achievements. We do not overlook you in the SCRA... we're just too busy crushing the alliance sometimes to pause and praise those that deserve it.

Firstly, Commander Nikolai Varnava is to receive the Golden Halo decoration for his very consistent dedication, tenacity and skill in small-unit engagements. He shall also receive Blood-Stripes for his uniform, to reflect his consistent success as the up-until-now unofficial Operations Officer of our fighter wings.

Secondly, months late, we know, Lieutenant Sonja Kerensky is to be promoted from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander. I guess that will leave herself and Ivan arguing over who gets to be on top, but I digress as I come to another point... For actions in the past for which she has not yet been decorated, she shall receive our highest ranking medal for valour in combat, the Star of Terra. For one particular engagement, this shall be accompanied by a very prestigious accolade, the 'Victorious Heroine of the Coalition' award.

Anyway, feel free to rob my drinks cabinet and my fridge for the party, troops. You deserve it and I wish I could do more. I've left Ivan the key. I'm sure he'd like that more than a medal at any rate.

-Ares out

//Message Ends

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-18-2016

Before I start talking about the relationship between the Coalition and the Corsairs during my time as an officer in the former, you may be tempted to ask whether this is an autobiography or a historical point of view. Please bear with me, as it is important that I put pen to paper on these matters. My actions don’t really mean much, or make any sense, without context behind them.

By the time I started active service, the Revolution actually had quite a cordial relationship with the Corsairs. To those of you in the know about current diplomacy in that part of the sector, this information may come as a surprise due to the SCRA now sharing its bed with the bitterest enemy of the Corsairs, the Red Hessians. However, the Corsair relationship seemed expedient, as they were the main major power in the area able to provide the Revolution with arms and ships that it could not obtain elsewhere.

The best examples of our cooperation were the prolific use of Corsair weapons on our fighters, as well as the use of the crude but very effective Corsair gunboat. At that time, there were only four EMP weapons in existence in the whole sector, the Tizona Del Cid, Colada Del Cid, the Outcast Inferno and the Advanced Debilitator. As the first two had vastly greater output and were also constructed in a more durable manner, any faction who could get their hands on them could maintain a qualitative edge over their enemies. Before you write off the Coalition for sacrificing their moral beliefs in favour of combat expediency, factions such as the Union of Gold, a molly faction, as well as other enemies of the Corsairs also made use of these weapons whenever they could be found in serviceable condition.

The Coalition’s relationship with the Corsairs was mutually beneficial in my opinion. They provided us with armaments and additional bases from which to stage our operations, and in return we provided a small but high quality professional military force to aid them in the defence of their installations. To put it into context, the Corsairs had plenty of pilots at the time, but discipline outside of the Benitez Family and the Brotherhood was non-existent, with their pilots shooting pretty much everything that moved, including us. This was already causing some strain in bilateral relations between us and Corsairs.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-19-2016

As time went by, there were political upheavals among the Corsairs. A new faction, called the Omega Pirates Guild, OPG, emerged. They were corsairs by name but putting greed and piracy at the forefront, rather than business or open warfare as the Benitez and Brotherhood respectively. As a result of this third wheel appearing in the Corsair sphere, not a great deal of time passed before an internal power struggle took place within their hierarchy. This destabilisation caused numerous military incidents between the SCRA and all three of them, which drove a wedge between us.

By now, the Revolutionary Army was weaning itself off of the dependency on Corsair equipment. My understanding is that we had not managed to replicate their technology, but we had developed ways to maintain their equipment long past its serviceable lifetime. As a result, the Coalition began stockpiling Del Cid weaponry in her armouries. I’m not sure if they are still in use now, however, due to the appearance of the Improved Debilitator and other EMP weapons since then.

As the relationship between the Coalition and the Corsairs deteriorated, many of us were forced to make a choice. Some of us had grown close to the Corsairs and felt a loyalty to them as much as a loyalty to the SCRA. There was a general feeling of unease in the officer corps as the Coalition moved to cut ties completely and go it alone. At this time, I was not aware of any developments regarding the Red Hessians or any other faction; my opinion is that developments after the split were unrelated to the event itself.

When push came to shove, Ivan Voronov, Nikolai Varnava and I, along with some other individuals from units who were based on Crete and other Corsair bases, chose to stay with the Corsairs. On the other hand, some Corsairs chose to go over to the Coalition, especially those who felt common purpose with the ideals of socialism. A notable example of this was the transfer of the Brotherhood Osiris Battleship Velasco, her commanding Elder and most of her crew, to Cape Verde in Omega 52. I believe this battleship may have been re-christened as the Havanna, although I’m not totally sure if it continues to exist.

RE: Sonja Kerensky - Sonja - 04-20-2016

Even with these tensions, the resulting split was not hostile. There were farewells both sides and it was outwardly amicable enough. Both sides had quite a lot to lose were this not the case, as they were heavily integrated with each other in terms of men and materiel. The Corsairs had a civil war to wage, so any difficulty with the removal of Coalition assets could have upset the delicate internal balance of power. For the Revolution, significant resources had been invested on semi-permanent installations as well as the integration of services and military assets, so their loss would have been a significant blow.

In the end, both sides came away with what they wanted. The Brotherhood lost a battleship, but retained its edge in the upcoming internal hostilities by not having to divert further resources to a potential struggle with the Coalition. The SCRA lost three of her best officers at the time (Nikolai, Ivan and myself) and my view is that their short term combat efficiently suffered greatly as a result. On the other hand, they gained a massive military vessel without there being any other available equivalent at the time, and retained most of the technical edge they had gleaned from the Corsairs during their cooperation. I think it is safe to assume that the Revolutionary Army benefited in the long term from these measures, presumably much more than they suffered initially.

At the time of this split, I was seventeen. I thought I knew it all, and for some reason I thought that loyalty towards a person and my heart was more important than towards my cause, my family and my head. Let me take a few more moments of your time to step back and talk about one particularly important individual in my life.