Natalya Ataryk

Natalya Iliyana Ataryk
Наталя Илияна Атарик
Ataryk's Standard
Gender	Female
Born	January 19th 9283
Affiliation	Great Brazak, rogue
Height	171 cm
Weight	59 kg
Hair Colour	Black
Eye Colour	Red
Ethnicity	Svalic-Valyan

Natalya Iliyana Ataryk (Наталя Илияна Атарик) is an ex-Line Captain of Great Brazak and revolutionary of the Liberation War. Although her whereabouts have been unknown for nearly ten years, she maintains popularity in the culture of Brazak West and is attributed as a legendary figure of both the Great Nezzu War and the fight against Ganzabi occupation. Her ship, the Rhiannon, has become a symbol of her fiery temperament and tactical cunning.

Background

Ataryk's early family history is not well documented, other than she was reputedly part Valyan. She was an underachiever in her school years, recieving disciplinaries on more than one occasion during her military training. Despite poor performance scores she was assigned second in command of the GBC Novy Dantis, mostly due to lack of fresh officers, shortly before Ganzabar's big offensive of 9299.

The Great Nezzu War Years (9299-9306)

Ataryk stifled for a while as first mate under the particularly pedestrian starshiy of the Novy Dantis, Zannis Westov, chosen purposefully to keep her behaviour in check. In one engagement, starshiy Westov was mortally wounded and Ataryk assumed temporary command, going on to bring the battle to an unexpected favourable conclusion. Impressed and under pressure, the Admiralty granted her command of a light escort.

Ataryk quickly achieved great success as an escort, soon earning promotion to a Fast Destroyer. She was highly irregular in her approach and enjoyed much greater success against the Ganzabi than her contemporaries, many of whom were slow to adjust to Ganzabar's inventive tactics. Once the effectiveness of her battlefield sense became apparent, her past was forgotten and she quickly rose through the ranks to become a Captain. She was given command of the GBC Rhiannon, a ship she would stick with from then on. Incidentally, on a later promotion to Line-Captain, she was encouraged to take command of a cruiser or other larger ship. She refused, stating her preference for the fast destroyer in her tactics.

An oft-embellished story tells of one engagement in 9305 where Ataryk, facing the main invasion force of Ganzabar's latest effort, managed to lure a large proportion of the fleet into flying below the understorm. The damage was not particularly devastating, but the ploy had a massive effect on morale, and her greatly outmatched fleet were able to rout their enemies.

Protesting the Occupation

Ataryk's prowess was widely recognised but, unfortunately for Great Brazak, it was not enough to restore confidence. Bribed with money and positions of great standing in the new order, the Brazakker political elite crumbled and Great Brazak as a political entity effectively surrendered in 9306. By 9307, the country was under occupation, with a vote to transfer executive authority to Zaropolis. Feeling her efforts thrown away, Ataryk had stormed into parliament, leading to her arrest. She is said to have scratched off the "GBC" prefix on the Rhiannon's prow in declaration of her bitter contempt. To her first officer, Luan Marquette, she reportedly said: "Those worms mean nothing to me now; Great Brazak means nothing to me now."

Role in the Liberation War

See: Liberation War

Ataryk remained a political prisoner for some years. Her breakout, by political dissidents inciting rebellion, was denied by the authorities. Unable to prove her still alive, rumour sparked of execution; a rumour that would ignite the Liberation War itself. Ataryk remained a key figure during the rebellion years, resuming command on the exiled Rhiannon and leading the largest faction of the rebels in countless operations against their Ganzabi and puppet Brazakker rulers.

Brazak West finally declared independence in 9317 and the rebels reinstated a new government. They requested Ataryk take a political role, but she declined. Shortly afterward, she and the Rhiannon disappeared. Her whereabouts since have been the subject of much legend, but nothing is known for certain.

A Modern legend

After the Liberation War, Ataryk had gone to Azrune, seeking out the Proctor in her search for greater purpose. Finding the Azrunites far more receptive and interested than she'd expected, she agreed to work for the Proctor as a free agent, along with her two small escort ships. The Rhiannon was upgraded with Gold Age technology, becoming a ship of legendary capabilities. This proved to be pivotal when the Proctor called for her aid in her old home of Brazak West, at the Battle of Laronor.