Key Figures On Dante

The High Commander Of SLA On Dante - Julia Van Braun

The highest rank on Dante is that of Supreme Commander and those few who have ever been able to achieve this much vaunted position find themselves only answerable to Mr. Slayer himself in matters concerning the ongoing conflict and the command of the war torn planet. They also find themselves in charge of the single, largest, military force within the World of Progress, as well as being responsible for running a war on a planet that's out of control and one that the company isn't trying particularly hard to win. The Supreme Commander has the unenviable task of appearing to succeed in a conflict that has been deadlocked for the last 800 years, so that the troops in the field and the vid viewer on other worlds believe that SLA is doing everything it can to take back Dante for the good of the company and don't lose moral. There have only been five Supreme Commanders assigned to Dante since the start of the war, with each ones term in office lasting approximately 150-200 years.

The current Supreme Commander is Julia Van Braun who was promoted to the post in the year 876 after the death of the previous Commander Karl Vincent Black while leading a vital Marine raid against a Thresher strong point. As with the three Commanders who went before him Black for filled the destiny of Dante Commanders to be doomed to die in combat rather than retiring from their posts.

There is much mystique attached to the command of SLA's most notorious War World, especially by the troops who serve there, not least that connected to the suit of black and silver powered armour and its accompanying Power Claymore which represents the Supreme Commanders badges of office. Built to an ancient design that predates the formation of the World of Progress, there is only ever one of the suits in existence at any one time and nothing similar is currently known to exist. Although the commanders of the other major War World's, such as Charlie's Points, Katatrina Reinhart have equally distinctive sets of armour.

When a Commander dies his or her suit is recovered no matter what the cost, to be returned to Mort where it is melted down and used as the basis of the new Commanders armour. These exquisite hand built suits follow no current designs and appear to offer protection, strength argumentation and maneuverability far beyond their relatively small size and compact bodysuit configuration. Often being capable of performance well beyond that of much bulkier heavy assault units such as the MAL Shock or Dogeybone. Those troops who have witnessed the power of one of these unique suits used in combat speaking in awe of their ability to repel high velocity 17mm rifle rounds and even heavier attacks while taking only minor damage and of their blinding speed and massive strength enhancement.

Each set of the armour is custom fitted to its owner, appearing almost like a second skin, with many who have seen Julia Van Braun's suit comparing it too the way that an Ebon Deathsuit molds itself to its user. Only in this case of the Dante Commanders suit is formed from flawless deep matte black metal, decorated with fine scrolling designs in silver. Once a Commander dons their suit they will never appear in public without it, apart from the helmet, till the end of their term in office seeming to lend credibility to the rumor that the suits are something more than armour and have some form of symbiotic relationship with their owners.

The suits matching Power Claymore is also carried at all times by the Commander and this too appears to be unique with no other similar designs in existence. The sword, like the armour accompanies, has also had its own particular set of legends and superstitions attached to it by generations of military personnel. Many long serving Dante troops believe that if the sword is lost or destroyed the war on Dante will be lost, where this comes from is unknown although it's unwise for new recruits to scoff at this belief, especially in any of the bars frequented by long timers. This 1.3 Meter double edged blade, with a two handed grip, is the same one carried by Dante's first Commander and rumored to have been issued to him by Mr. Slayer himself when he took command of the planet. Its black blade shows the scars of nearly 800 years of continuous battles with nicks and scratches marring the intricate silver decorations that run its length. Like the armour it accompanies, when a Commander dies his sword is always brought back no matter what the cost.

This was proved all too tragically in 476 when Commander Xavier Cadman was killed while inspecting a forward command base that was suddenly overrun by a surprise Thresher Strike Squad of 200 troopers in Sarge Suits. Despite personally killing over thirty of the attackers single handed, Cadman was seen to go down under a mass of enemy troops, an attack even his armour couldn't repel. As the intruders were beaten back one of the surviving attackers took the sword from the dead Commanders hand and attempted to returned with it to the Thresher lines. The remains of Cadman's honor guard and around 30 of the posts personnel gave chase to retrieve it only to run into a hastily planned Thresher ambush from which they suffered over 90% casualties. Despite this during the bitter fighting the sword was recaptured by a Marine Sergeant and two Company Militia who were to carry it back to the SLA position despite their many wounds.

All of the Supreme Commanders, bar one, have been drawn from the ranks of the Marines and a special relationship appears to exist between theses elite troops and the holder of Dante's highest position. The Marines form the honor guard and protection unit for the Commander and six of their highest ranking officers accompanies her where ever she goes outside of her private quarters. If the Commander goes into battle or visits the front-line she always does so with a squad of twenty Marines as her Honor Guard all of whom are hand picked and instantly recognizable by their black and blue camouflage Hellstorm custom armoured suits decorated with inlaid silver badges of officer. These highly advanced sets of powered armour are specially manufactured for the Corps by MAL and issued to no other units on Dante or any other Worlds Of Progress apart from the Marines on Cross and Charlie's Point. This favoritism appearing to be by some form of special agreement between the Supreme Commander and Mr. Slayer himself.

Julia Van Braun like all other Commanders had an extremely distinguish carrier as both a Marine officer and for a period a D.S.O Agent, before her eventual promotion to Dante's highest position. Joining the Dante Militia as an infantryman in 805 she was to quickly rise to the rank of lieutenant, helped no doubt by several acts of extreme courage while serving in the field, both at the New Hamilton front lines and as part of a deep desert patrol unit.

In 816 Van Braun was to be offered a position in the Marine Corps and transferred there to serve for five years in their elite D.S.O combat unit. Again throughout this period she was to continue to have a flawless record highlighted by several acts of bravery, most notable of which was the destruction of a crucial DarkNight fuel dump and repair yard several hundred miles behind enemy line by the then Captain Van Braun and two of her D.S.O lieutenants. One man was killed during the raid and the other critically injured, but despite this Van Braun was to return on foot to the SLA lines 60 days later still carrying her wounded junior officer in spite of having had her own left arm almost completely smashed by two enemy 14mm bullets during their escape and suffering from sever malnutrition and exposure.

On completion of her service in the D.S.O Julia Van Braun was to return to standard Marine service with a promotion to Major and from then on she was to conduct an unmatched rise to Dante's highest position. Going from command to prestigious command, including a tour on the staff of Kodachi base under General Andre Draken, her rise through the ranks was to be far faster than any of her predecessors.

Throughout this period she was to show a flare for unorthodox tactics and an unnatural ability to snatch victories from seemingly impossible situations. It was also at this time that she picked up the nickname of 'The War Witch Of Dante' due to her almost magical ability to command and win. This name remains with her even today and is commonly used by troops in the field. This rapid rise up the ranks was finally completed in 876 after a total service on Dante of 71 years. Ironically she was second in command on the raid that was to take Supreme Commander Blacks life, returning with the survivors of her unit to be instantly dispatched along with her former superiors body and his armour to Mort, where she would be presented with her new rank by the head of the company, Mr. Slayer himself.

Today Command Van Braun appears to perfectly match her nickname of the War Witch of the planet. Tall and slender with a mane of blonde, almost white, hair, her classic good looks and high cheekbones are set in a face that looks no older than twenty. Only her eyes betray her true age, two steel hard chips of storm grey, which bore into and through anyone they look at and which have been known to severely unnerve those meeting the War Witch for the first time. This gaze is possibly why the media have given up, to a large extent, using her image for propaganda purposes and turned to more acceptable icons such as Amity Takaya.

"Jeez, I saw the Supreme Commander, you know, the War Witch, today. She came through our sector on an inspection, striding along with twenty of those Marines in their blue/black armour, you know her honor guard. Is she scary or what? She'd got a huge old great coat on, but you could still see her suit, you know, that black powered armour she wears. Looks kinda fluid, not like a normal suit at all, like it aint mechanical, like it's something else. And those eyes, I never saw anything that cold when I did six months at the Zodiac. I'm just glad she's on our side, cos Thresher aint got anything nearly as scary as her... "

Defense Grid Operator - Lieutenant Faith Devrol
Archangel Base
Copyright CMG

General Andrea Draken

Officially second in command on Dante and current head of Kodachi base, General Draken is probably one of the most experienced Commanders currently serving on the planet. Many also had Draken marked for the position of Supreme Commander when Karl Vincent Black was killed. Although it is thought that it was his dedication to his men at the Black Rose and history of questioning or disregarding orders by the High Command, that resulted in him being passed over of this post.

Andrea Draken started his employment with SLA Industries as an Operative on Mort and after a distinguished career serving on the streets he put in a transfer to the Dante Military at the age of 28. Originally a lieutenant on patrol in the Wastelands for five years, Draken's toughness and exceptional leadership ability soon gained him a series of promotions and an invitation to join the Marine Corps. Ruthlessly efficient and dedicated to his unit he was to lead a series of successful raids behind rival company lines and was responsible for the assassination of DarkNight's then Commander in chief on Dante, Mitchell Steele, in 785. It was soon after this that a position became open on the command staff of Kodachi base and Draken was to apply and be accepted for the post.

Well suited to the tough conditions and somewhat anarchic attitude of the personnel of the Black Rose, Draken was soon to rise through the final SCL levels to take command of Kodachi in 817, a position he has remained in for the last 83 years making him the longest serving Commander in the bases history. Dedicated to his men and the preservation of the traditions of the base, Draken is the personification of all previous Commanders at the Black Rose and is more than willing to disobey orders from the High Command at the Ebony Spire, especially when they threaten the existence of his command.

Many in the Company frown on these actions, but they are willing to turn a blind eye to them due to Andrea Draken's immense military skill and his ability to continue to hold back rivals company forces from the most precarious position on the War World. Even so Draken has been investigated several times by Internal Affairs and is known to be one of the few people to survive such probing with their position and SCL rating intact. Despite various differences of opinion General Draken and Commander Van Braun are known to be good friends and even served together for a short period in the Marine Corps.

Dr. Karl Trenchard

Head of Dante weapons research and development, Dr. Trenchard has held this position for several hundred years and was the first chief advocate of the use of the War World as a testing ground for new concepts and designs.

In 213 Trenchard was heading up a design team at FEN's infantry weapons development facility on Mort and was already highly placed on the SCL ladder for a researcher of his age. It was during this time that he saw the need for the weapons he was working on to be tested under the severest conditions possible in order to allow him to produce the best possible designs. The only feasible solution he saw to this problem was to take them to the most deadly planet in the Worlds Of Progress and see how they faired in the harshest environmental and combat conditions imaginable. After voicing his opinions at several high level meetings he was to get the backing he needed from FEN's board of directors to petition Mr. Slayer himself for the right to set up a research and development department on Dante and also to allow the use of military personnel in the testing of products. This permission was duly given and in early 214 Dr. Trenchard and his small team of assistants left Mort on a military foldship for the hazards of Dante.

Their first project was the development of the, then new, Warmonger Infantry SMG and the valuable data gained by its Dante field testing and use by troops under actual combat conditions allowed them to come up with an unbeatable design which was quickly accepted by the High Command for large scale standard issue. This was despite the losses of over 50% of Trenchard's teams who accompanied troops during trials. Their success with the Warmonger project was quick to convince others in the company of Dante's importance as a test center and soon the number of labs at Slayers Fist and other bases was growing daily. In the next hundred years Trenchard's determination and first hand experience were to raise him to the position of chief coordinator for all SLA companies operating on the War World not just FEN.

Trenchard has remained on Dante ever since and now controls the vast numbers of SLA Industries labs, research establishments and testing facilities on the planet, while also acting as a liaison between the various company heads and the military Commanders. A sometimes difficult job, as the two groups rarely get on. A born diplomat Trenchard is well respect by both military and researchers alike and few dare to challenge his high standing and long record. He is also known to have the ear of Mr. Slayer on many matters and this alone is enough to make many fear him.

Commander Darius Wolf

The head of the Thresher forces on Dante, Darius Wolf is a shadowy figure little seen outside of the Grey Keep. This is possibly due to the high number of attempts on his life that have been made by SLA's D.S.O and special forces units. Few photographs exist on SLA's files, but those that do show a tall hawk faced man with a mane of graying hair and a steel gaze, perfectly fitting his image as a ruthless and dispassionate leader of the war against SLA. Little is known about his career within the company before his assignment to Dante, but to be offered such a prestigious post means that he is highly regarded by Threshers Commanders. SLA investigations place him in command of Mort operations prior to his transfer and he is suspected of being the instigator of numerous raids against the planet throughout 860 to 870.

What is know is that under Wolf's command there has been a marked increase in Threshers aggression over the last year or so, with an large numbers of commando raids and assaults on SLA's outlying bases, as well as more concerted attacks on the front lines. Many at SLA High Command suspect that Darius Wolf has been brought in to give his companies forces on the planet a shake up and attempt to break them out of the deadlock that currently exists.

Commander Kia Gibson

Commander of Thresher's forces at the High Tower, their main arctic base, Gibson gained the post in late 887 when its former Commander was killed by an SLA Marine assault team close to the front lines. Previous to this transfer SLA sources place Gibson as one of Darius Wolfs most trusted advisors at the Grey Keep and it is suspected that due to her apparently high tactical ability and strategic skill she has been being groomed for command for several years. Certainly since she took over control of the High Tower, Thresher has become much bolder and cunning in the tactics it uses, even to the point of mounting several large scale raids from the base in the last year, something no other Commander before had tried before. With most simply being content to hold the position against SLA.

SLA Industries realizes the danger that Gibson could present in the future and is actively trying to secure her assassination or the destruction of her command. Numerous attempts have already been known to have failed, falling foul of the tight security of the Tower and its now vastly improved defenses. As Gibson has escalated her activities from the Tower, so SLA Industries have been forced to greatly expand their blockade of the island by the Hiroshi Garrison.

Gundancer Claw

Head of Ebon Affairs on Dante, Mr. Claw is responsible for the small numbers of Ebons, Brain Wasters and Necronthropes who serve with the military. This includes their security and well being as well as the policing of Ebon activities. Claw's department is small, since far fewer Ebons join the war on Dante than any other race, but it is known to operate its own internal investigation and security unit consisting of several high level Necronthropes known as the 'Grey Dagger'. Although in mundane matters of minor Ebon crimes they tend to rely on the military S.I.D or MPs due to the departments shortage of personnel.

The secondary purpose of the Ebon Affairs Department is the investigation of Ebon renegades among rival company forces. Numbers of these are not large, but throughout the wars history several of these traitors to SLA have been captured or killed by combat units in the field. Gundancer Claw is most emphatic about the need to capture these renegades alive, for questioning, where possible and a large bonus and SCL increase is perpetually on offer to all active military personnel who manage to do this. The High Command have lodged several complains about this to Head Office as they feel it encourages bounty hunting among their troops, but these have been rejected by both Mr. Slayer and Preceptor Teeth.

Brenten Nash

Brenten Nash is the twenty year head of Company Security and Internal Affairs on Dante and he and his department are known to be both extremely ruthless and persistent in its pursuit of those who betray the company. Nash's job is to watch the watchers and his division has authority over the Militaries S.I.D as well as powers to investigate anyone below the level of the Supreme Commander and her staff without prior authorization from Company head office or permission from the High Command.

Julia Van Braun's dislike of the activities of Internal Affairs is well known and within the tight security and rigid structure of the Dante military she has managed to limit the size of the department so that it has remained much smaller than those on other worlds. By all accounts the feelings of dislike are mutual and Nash's distaste at the traditions and intense loyalty that exists in such units as the Marine Corps is widely known. He has expressed the view several times that such things are a danger to the stability of the company and breeds subversion of its ideals.

Previously Brenten Nash held a post in Mort's widely feared Cloak division under Alexander Xavia before his transfer and promotion to head of IA at Archangel and it is widely believed that he was chosen for this position due to his lack of links to the military and the dispassionate view of it he holds. He tends to run his department very much along the lines of Cloak Division operations using direct brutal methods to rooted out subversives and makes significantly less use of undercover agents and spies outside of SLA's military bases. This is possibly to reduce the number of losses of highly trained Operatives as combat casualties. Officially all of the Dante Internal Affairs Department are Operatives and non hold military ranks unless they are undercover.

Admiral Constantine Lewis

Commander of the Coral Sea complex and head of SLA's Naval operations, Admiral Constantine Lewis has direct control of the Companies fleet on Dante. Joining the SLA military as an Operative in 793 Lewis immediately applied and was granted permission to undergo naval training from which he went onto serve on the SNV (SLA Naval Vehicle) 'Skaffen' as a weapons officer. A series of SCL increases saw him become captain of the Dreadnought in 836 and started his thirty year period as one of the most charismatic and skilled Commanders in the fleet.

The high point of his career came when he led the amphibious assault on the, then recently discovered, Thresher submarine complex, code named 'Red Dusk', on the south eastern seaboard jointly with the Dreadnoughts 'Lady Sharrow' and 'Staberinde'. Lewis was to direct the SNV 'Skaffen' against the rival companies shore batteries as cover to allow hovercraft born troops to breach the lower gun emplacements and gain entry to the base. Despite taking excessive damage to his ship in the first few minutes of the engagement Lewis was to remain on station and continue to attack the Thresher guns for over fifty more minutes allowing the 'Lady Sharrow' and 'Staberinde' valuable time to safely disembark their assault teams. The successful destruction of the base earned Lewis a commendation and direct promotion from head office placing him high on the SCL ladder for someone still on active duty.

Reluctantly in 876 he gave up command of the 'Skaffen' to take a shore posting at Coral Sea and from there was to complete his rise to head of naval operations in the next ten years. Many suspect that a certain amount of pressure by the Dante High Command needed to be applied to make him take and retain this post and that given the chance he would return to active duty in the Dreadnought fleet. It is also believed that giving Lewis a desk job, is Julia Van Braun's way of keeping him under control and preventing his successes at sea becoming too great and tipping the delicate balance of the Dante conflict

"Give me the entire Dreadnought fleet operating together and stop using them as a glorified taxi service and freight company and I'll go out and goddamn well sink every other vessel that floats on Dante's oceans before the years out."

Admiral Lewis Year- 891

Commander Amity Takaya

The recently promoted Commander of air operations on Dante, Amity Takaya is another former Militia private who's career rise SLA is keen to promote for media and recruiting purposes. Born on resource world 34567 'New Yen' in 780 she signed up for the Militia as soon as she was able seeing it as the only way to escape the poverty her family had endured.

After surviving her initial tour in 796 her superb reflexes and determination earned her a place at the Archangel flight training school from where she was to join one of the many fighter squadrons providing air cover to convoy on Route 66. The addition of further Karma implants subsequently enhanced her performance and she soon became an ace with over forty enemy kills in her first year. Her exceptional skill with all types of attack aircraft and her willingness to undertake hazardous duty missions quickly raised her SCL and soon saw her promoted to captain, followed by her heading up her own command out of one of SLA's smaller bases.

During this time Commander Takaya is credited with leading one of the most successful air raids ever against the Thresher complex at Thunder Pass, when she and two of her wing men dropped six 1000kg 'Bunker Buster' laser guided bombs on the central command complex.

It was also around this time that SLA Industries began to realize her potential as a media star and there are numerous Third Eye News CMG reports from this period detailing her exploits. Her success in this role was no doubt helped to no small extent to by her exceptional good looks and personality. Now seen as a valuable commodity, in 845 the then Major Takaya was recalled to Archangel to act as a senior officer and training instructor, although from there despite the objections of the High Command she continued to fly numerous missions against Thresher and DarkNight targets.

Seen by many at Third Eye as a much better image for the military than the 'War Witch', there was little surprise when in 892 she was given the job of Commander of the Dante's air arm and with her high skill and long service record few could object. Charismatic and extremely photogenic Commander Takaya has appeared on numerous recruiting posters telling the masses of the Worlds Of Progress that 'Dante Wants Them' and of the rich rewards SLA has to offer. Commander Takaya's is the ultimate rags to riches story and because of it many have been convinced by SLA's slick PR to signed up for the War World's. Despite her high media profile Amity Takaya still insists on flying in combat when she can and her willingness to lead from the front has only helped to enhance her image and keep the respect of those she commands.

Commander Brodorick Matthews

Commander of DarkNight forces on Dante, the slick image of Matthews is widely recognized and despised by the front-line SLA troops subjected to the companies attempts at propaganda. Matthews appears regularly on channel 'Free Dante' an infrequent pirate broadcast that is infiltrated into the SLA military com nets by a heavily modified version of the Vent Virus. These short bursts of information are most common in the front line areas and usually revolve around attempts to get SLA troops to turn against their company and join DarkNight's cause. This new approach to the war and use of terrorist style tactics seems to suggest Matthews background in the company is in their covert rather than military wing. Virtually nothing is known about this new Commander apart from that he gained the post in 895 after the death of the previous head of DarkNight forces. What is known is that since his installment DarkNight have been trying a wide variety of new and different tactics in an attempt to break out of their deadlock with SLA and gain some desperately needed territory in the front line areas.

"Matthews, what a joke..! Came over the com nets last night appealing to us to 'Join The Cause'. Couldn't have had much success though cos by this morning those DarkNight bastards were back to dropping 175mm's on us from their forward batteries. Here's hoping the General goes and blows his head off like he did that other guy."

Corporal - Lee Grice
Forward Command Post 073 - Kodachi Base

Admiral Alexander Hood

Head of space operations for the Dante system, Alexander Hood is one of the few high ranking Commanders assigned to the War World not to serve on the planets surface at some time in his career. Hood began his life in SLA Industries in the companies space fleet in 765. Initially he serving a thirty year period on the heavy battle cruiser 'Retribution' as a tactician before returning once again to Mort. Here he joined the training staff at Orange Crush teaching and developing space based fighter and ship to ship tactics for the Companies fleets. On numerous occasions he was to test these theories under actual combat and served for short periods on active duty as an advisor with SLA's various fleets. Respected by many in the space navy for his great strategic skills and hard nosed approach to problems, he was seen as an ideal choice for Commander of the fleet operating in the Dante system and managing the unorthodox problems of the constant stream of foldship transports coming in system.

Despite his great skill and success at commanding the systems fleet, Hood is known to have fallen out several times with the High Command during his duty in the Dante system over the uses he's made of the fighter wings on New Hope and Black Dawn. These disputes center on his lack of willingness to allow his ships to be used for atmospheric escorts, insisting instead that the Foldships are more important than military dropships and freighters.

Professor Susan DeVerr

Head of Karma research at Zodiac Nine, Professor DeVerr was transferred from Artery in 719 where she had severed under Doctor Strand for over fifty years. She was brought in to head up the companies division on Dante after the former head of the department was killed in a tragic field testing accident in 718. Susan DeVerr is an extremely competent and ambitious biotechnology designer who appears to thrive in the Dante environment and was one of the key instigators of the D-966 Stormer project for use on the planet. Unlike many of her staff she is credited with a five year period as a Mort Operative prior to her work at Karma and has a good if undistinguished record for working the streets. The driving force behind many of Karma's current lines of research on Dante, much of the extremely tight security that exists at the base is at DeVerr's request and she was responsible for the shipping in of Artery type security Stormers to act as guards in sensitive areas. Something which seems to suggest that another large project is underway at the base. Unlike many of the other researchers on the planet DeVerr is known to be on good terms with the Military High Command and to be one of Commander Van Braun's few close friends, this relationship might account for the great number of Karma products now being fitted to Marine Corps personnel allowing them to outperform all other types of troops.