Frederick Santanocheev
Rear-Admiral Frederick Santanocheev, Count Fornice
Frederick Santanocheev is a career naval officer who
has enjoyed rapid promotion. Some say this was more
due to the fact he had the favour of Duchess Delphine
of Mora than has talent; his wife is the sister of the
Duke of Lunion, a staunch Mora Foremost supporter.
Be that as it may, Santanocheev is in an unenviable
position. There is no official sector admiral at present,
with several candidates put forward then sidelined
or vigorously opposed by some of the sector’s great
nobles. Amid this turbulent time, Santanocheev is the
favoured candidate of the Mora Foremost faction.
Although only a rear-admiral, and outranked by most other candidates, Santanocheev is seen by most as the inevitable holder of the sector admiral’s office. This would inspire resentment at any time, but Santanocheev has staunch enemies, among them Imperial Naval Intelligence. Some years ago Santanocheev acted upon poor information provided by Imperial Naval Intelligence and whilst both parties acted in good faith he bears a bitter grudge. Ever since his appointment became obvious he has made trouble for the intelligence community, even going so far as to set up a parallel and rival service called the Office of Naval Information. Once formally installed, he will most likely wreck careers and discredit Imperial Naval Intelligence. Opposing him is said by some to be the new priority mission for the intelligence sector.
Santanocheev has enemies and detractors among the fighting admirals and captains as well, but a great many supporters. He has already stalled a scheduled redeployment of sector fleet assets which was disapproved of by Mora Foremost, and the propaganda blitz that accompanied the action has painted Santanocheev as a wise and sensible leader. He came out of the fraught wrangle with increased support and a more solid position as sector admiral-apparent.
Critics disapprove of the dispersal of the fleet under Santanocheev’s leadership. He has approved a number of squadron and task force deployments to individual worlds and announced that some subsector fleets are to receive capital ship squadrons. This is painted as a ‘wall of deterrence’ and ‘long-overdue security measures’ but there are many who consider the move to be a political one. Several recipients and promised recipients of the redeployed squadrons have now pledged their support to Mora Foremost.
Despite reservations about his competence or the wisdom of putting internal politics ahead of strategic issues – if that is indeed what Santanocheev was doing – at the outbreak of war he was the obvious candidate for command in the Spinward Marches. Anyone else would have to be brought up to speed and might need to relocate from another base, whereas Santanocheev was at Macene with the flag fleet and could commence operations immediately. In fact, he did so, not waiting for confirmation that he was in command. This was undoubtedly the correct decision under the circumstances, though the situation was far from ideal. Resentment and division caused command and control problems, as did Santanocheev’s urgent command reshuffle to put someone he trusted in a key position instead of a rival.
Once the news of the war reached Mora, Duchess Delphine immediately and unilaterally promoted Santanocheev to sector admiral. She did not follow protocol in this, but the action was not opposed by her rivals. At that point, someone had to be put in charge and Santanocheev was already there. The war came at just the right time for Frederick Santanocheev, allowing him to leapfrog into the position he had been making long-term preparations for. A unified command with internal difficulties was better than no command at all. In the early months of the war Santanocheev seemed effective as a commander, though that was more due to plans he had been about to change than his own efforts.
Although only a rear-admiral, and outranked by most other candidates, Santanocheev is seen by most as the inevitable holder of the sector admiral’s office. This would inspire resentment at any time, but Santanocheev has staunch enemies, among them Imperial Naval Intelligence. Some years ago Santanocheev acted upon poor information provided by Imperial Naval Intelligence and whilst both parties acted in good faith he bears a bitter grudge. Ever since his appointment became obvious he has made trouble for the intelligence community, even going so far as to set up a parallel and rival service called the Office of Naval Information. Once formally installed, he will most likely wreck careers and discredit Imperial Naval Intelligence. Opposing him is said by some to be the new priority mission for the intelligence sector.
Santanocheev has enemies and detractors among the fighting admirals and captains as well, but a great many supporters. He has already stalled a scheduled redeployment of sector fleet assets which was disapproved of by Mora Foremost, and the propaganda blitz that accompanied the action has painted Santanocheev as a wise and sensible leader. He came out of the fraught wrangle with increased support and a more solid position as sector admiral-apparent.
Critics disapprove of the dispersal of the fleet under Santanocheev’s leadership. He has approved a number of squadron and task force deployments to individual worlds and announced that some subsector fleets are to receive capital ship squadrons. This is painted as a ‘wall of deterrence’ and ‘long-overdue security measures’ but there are many who consider the move to be a political one. Several recipients and promised recipients of the redeployed squadrons have now pledged their support to Mora Foremost.
Despite reservations about his competence or the wisdom of putting internal politics ahead of strategic issues – if that is indeed what Santanocheev was doing – at the outbreak of war he was the obvious candidate for command in the Spinward Marches. Anyone else would have to be brought up to speed and might need to relocate from another base, whereas Santanocheev was at Macene with the flag fleet and could commence operations immediately. In fact, he did so, not waiting for confirmation that he was in command. This was undoubtedly the correct decision under the circumstances, though the situation was far from ideal. Resentment and division caused command and control problems, as did Santanocheev’s urgent command reshuffle to put someone he trusted in a key position instead of a rival.
Once the news of the war reached Mora, Duchess Delphine immediately and unilaterally promoted Santanocheev to sector admiral. She did not follow protocol in this, but the action was not opposed by her rivals. At that point, someone had to be put in charge and Santanocheev was already there. The war came at just the right time for Frederick Santanocheev, allowing him to leapfrog into the position he had been making long-term preparations for. A unified command with internal difficulties was better than no command at all. In the early months of the war Santanocheev seemed effective as a commander, though that was more due to plans he had been about to change than his own efforts.
Children
Gender
Male
Traits:
| Str | Dex | End | Int | Edu | Soc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
Skills:
- Admin 2
- Astrogation 1
- Carouse 2
- Diplomat 1
- Gun Combat 0
- Language (Vilani) 1
- Leadership 2
- Melee (Blade) 2
- Pilot (Starship) 3
- Profession (Naval Officer) 6
- Profession (Imperial Noble) 3
- Tactics (Naval) 2
- Vacc Suit 1
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