Jason Bondarevsky
| Jason Bondarevsky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Callsign | Bear |
| Place of birth | Razin, Alpha Centauri |
| Allegiance | Free Republic of the Landreich/Terran Confederation |
| Service/branch | Navy/Space Forces |
| Years of service | Confed Space Forces - 2657 - 2667, Confed Navy 2667 - 2669, FRLN 2668, 2670- |
| Rank | Rear Admiral - FRLN, Commodore - Confleet |
| Commands | Wing Commander - TCS Tarawa (2667), Captain - TCS Tarawa (2667-68), Commander - DesRon 57 [Flag on the TCS Coventry] (2668-69), Wing Commander - FRLS Mjollnir (2670), Commander - FRLN CVE Fleet (2671-72) |
| Battles/wars | Gettysburg Mutiny (2667), Invasion of Vukar Tag (2667), Kilrah Raid (2667), 6th Battle of Munro (2668), Free Corps (2668), 2nd Battle of Hell Hole (2668), Battle of Terra (2668), Battle of Loki (2669), Battle of Baka Kar (2671), FRL-Confed Conflict of 2671-72 |
| Awards | Confederation Medal of Honor Free Republic of the Landreich Order of Nova with Diamonds Golden Sun |
Jason Bondarevsky was a pilot for the Terran Confederation. His name appears in the context of many noteworthy events during the late 27th century. He is best remembered for his role in Operation Backlash in 2667, being the commanding officer on the TCS Tarawa when she returned from her part of the operation in the Kilrah system. He won the Confederation Medal of Honor for his actions in that campaign. He would also become the youngest captain of an escort carrier during the war, a distinction that he well deserved following the debriefing after the raid. His actions in the Kilrah system have become legendary at the Academy. Besting Crown Prince Thrakhath in his home system was but one of many of his accomplishments. The rest of his combat record is no less compelling starting with his role in the mutiny aboard the TCS Gettysburg as a young pilot in 2667 to his retirement from the Free Republic of the Landreich Navy (FRLN) in the late 27th century.
Enlistment and the Academy
Jason "Bear" Bondarevsky was born in the Russian Colony on Razin, Alpha Centauri. His father was Russian, his mother (maiden name Houston) was Australian. Jason had a single older sibling, Joshua Bondarevsky who joined the Confederation Marines and later died during the defense of Khosan in 2661. His contact with his father was limited as a result of the war as his father was a pilot with Confleet. His father was killed in combat in 2657 when Jason was only 16. Enraged by this, Jason stole a birth certificate from his local clerk's office and doctored it so that he could enlist with Confleet.
He was a second class flight deck mate on his first cruise. Two years later he went on to the Academy, where he met Janice Parker and Svetlana Ivanova, whom he would spark a romantic relationship with that would carry consequences later on in his life. Unfortunately, she failed her “Advanced Spaceflight and Jump Point Physics” course exam and washed out of the Academy. Having a chip on her shoulder from the death of her father, much like Jason, Svetlana would transfer to the Confederation Marines where she would serve with the 1st Marine Commando as the space-to-ground coordinator because of her prior experience at the Academy.
Early Career
Upon graduating, Bondarevsky was assigned to the Waterloo class cruiser TCS Gettysburg. Bondarevsky's placement on this ship would be the start of his famous career. It would also be during a mission flown off of the Gettysburg in 2664 that Bondarevsky would meet Captain Grierson of the destroyer TCS Intrepid for the first time. Having been forced to eject during combat, Bondarevsky was tractored in by Grierson while having several Kilrathi destroyers in hot pursuit. This initial meeting between the two men would pay off later during the events of Operation Backlash as both would be major actors in Strike Force Valkyrie.
On 2667.072, after encountering unarmed Kilrathi civilian transports in the N'Tanya system, Commander Cain, commanding officer of the Gettysburg, ordered his pilots to destroy the transports. The pilots refused and trigged a mutiny that would successfully remove Cain from command. However, soon after the crew split into two divergent groups. One group under Colonel Ransom wanted to continue a career of terrorism and piracy and forget about returning to the fleet. The other group was led by Lt. Colonel Poelma and Lt. Bondarevsky and they sought to rejoin Confleet as quickly as possible.
As the debate on what to do waged on the Gettysburg jumped from N'Tanya system to Rigel where they then staged a raid on the Rigel Supply Depot. The raid was led by Colonel Ransom and was successful in capturing the depot intact, however during the raid a prisoner attempted to escape and what followed has been described as a massacre of the Kilrathi by the Colonel's team. This event caused the opposition group to leave Ransom's team on the depot, who would turn it into a temporary headquarters until he could retake the Gettysburg.
The Gettysburg crew then sent out a signal to the TCS Concordia informing them they were willing to negotiate. Bondarevsky was selected to fly out and meet a representative from the Concordia. He was met by Colonel Christopher Blair who then escorted him back to the Concordia for debriefing. Upon arrival he was interned in the brig because of the nature of the situation. During that time, Bondarevsky met Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn an encounter that will have long lasting effects on Bondarevsky. Colonel Blair then rendezvoused with the Gettysburg and informed the crew they have been given a full pardon for their actions. Bondarevsky was eventually released and transferred aboard the Concordia where he would spend a little over a year before being promoted and transferred to the TCS Tarawa as its new Wing Commander.
