Gregorious Sebastev
Gregorious Sebatev was a Colonel of the Vostroyan Firstborn, and the first lowborn Vostroyan to both gain a field commission as well as survive long enough to return to Vostroya.[3] He rose to prominence during the campaign on Danik's World, when he was promoted to captain of the 5th Company of the Vostroyan Firstborn 68th Regiment.[1a]
History
Sebastev was not part of Vostroya's noble class, and as such regarded as unfit for an officer position. He thus started as humble Guardsman.[3] For two years, Sebastev's regiment was posted in the trench works north-east of the city of Korris on Danik's World, originally deployed against a rebel insurgent force, but ending up fighting Orks, due to a lack of tactical information.[1b] When his friend and mentor, Major Dubrin, died in combat, Sebastev was promoted to captain.[1a]
When the expected rebels did appear, attacking Imperial positions on other parts of Dannik's World, the rest of the 68th was called away, with the 5th Company left to fight a desperate rearguard action against the orks. Rather than let themselves be annihilated, 5th Company rigged Korris's power plant to explode and then retreated, reaping a fearsome tally on the pursuing Orks who were caught in the explosion.[1c] After fighting their way out of Korris, the 5th Company followed several days behind the rest of the regiment. As they drew closer to their fellows, they saw signs of a battle ahead, and came across a wounded Vostroyan, who related in his final moments that the rest of the Regiment had been attacked and destroyed by rebels mere hours before.[1d]
Falling on the rebels from behind, 5th Company utterly destroyed them, except for a member of the rebels internal security force, who seemed to have valuable information. Sebastev played a major part in this battle, scouting ahead and sabotaging rebel armour and taking the Danikkin prisoner.[1e] Finding a vox-relay, the 5th Company were ordered by HQ to bring the Danikkin prisoner to the loyalists' base, Seddisvarr, at all costs.[1f] Driving for many miles, the Guardsmen came to the city of Grazzen, besieged by tens of thousands of Orks. 5th Company, in a desperate attempt to reach Imperial lines before the city's only bridge was blown, charged the Orks' rear. At first it seemed as though all was lost as the beasts encircled the last survivors of the Sixty-Eighth Regiment, however they were saved by Daridh Ahl Karif, the company commissar. Karif had entered the city through the sewer, and enlisted the help of a tank platoon.[1g]
Upon their return to Imperial lines, the survivors of the company, a mere twenty-eight men were billeted within the city. Sebastev was arrested, on charges of valuing the lives of his men above the success of his ordered mission. At the end of his trial, however, the charges were overturned by the Inquisition, to whom Sebastev and the remains of his company were seconded to.[1h] He and his men later attended the funeral of their revered commanding officer, Colonel Maksim Kabanov[2], who had given his life in a final suicidal charge against the Orks in Grazzen.[1g]
Ultimately, Sebastev proved himself a skilled tactician and received further promotions, rising to Colonel despite his lowly background. Even more unusually, he survived the war on Danik's World and returned to Vostroya, where his rise in the ranks inspired other lowborn guardsmen to strive for promotions. Ultimately this led to a gradual increase in the number of lowborn officers in the Vostroyan Firstborn.[3]
Sources
- 1: Rebel Winter (Novel) by Steve Parker
- 2: The Citadel (Short Story)
- 3: The Firstborn Daughter (Short Story)
