Orthophone

Orthophone (Grc. Ὀρθοφωνή Orthophōně, pronounced in English as /ɔɹˈθoʊ̯.fəˌni/ or /ɔɹˈθɒ.fəˌni/) is the current Ambassador-General of the Empire of Mechyrdia, serving as a representative of Mechyrdia to every other foreign country. Previously a Senator representing Olympia in the Mechyrdian Relmitah, Orthophone's harsh demeanor earned her a place in government intimidating foreign nations.

Early life

Orthophone was born in 221 UC (2861 AD) on Mundus Caesaris Divi to her parents Atreus and Theodosia. From an early age, she displayed great talents in games such as chess or poker, but nowhere did she excel as much as she did in Diplomacy, where she combined her strategic acumen with her skill in manipulation. She focused her choices of coursework in grammar school on military strategy, statistics, and psychology.

In her youth, Orthophone also showed a proclivity for violence against her peers, which earned her many disciplinary actions during her time in literary school. As she grew, she took advantage of her reputation in order to frighten others without needing to throw a single punch.

Order of Bellona

At the age of 16, after graduating from grammar school, Orthophone joined the Order of Bellona, a women's organization sanctioned by the Olympian sector government to combat its enemies: ranging from petty street gangs such as the Uncouth Foxes or the Blooded Hands to organized crime syndicates such as the Res Nostra or Felinae Felices, even up to Diadochi marauder tribes such as the Diaboli or the Viperae. As part of joining the Order, Orthophone was genetically modified to have the same lupine traits as the other warriors of Bellona, a tradition maintained out of reverence to the wolf that nursed the infants Romulus and Remus.

Siege of Gamma Ohionis II

Orthophone distinguished herself for the first time, at the Siege of Gamma Ohionis II in 244 UC (2884 AD) against the Vulgus Haterianum, when she broke rank and led some of her compatriots through a weak point in the mobsters' fortification. After reaching the control room, she fiddled with the automated defenses' IFF computer to invert detection of allies and enemies, turning the slog into an easy victory for the Olympian forces. Her centurion, Gaius Terentius Turno Sessor wanted her executed for disobedience, but the legion prefect, after reviewing everyone's after-action reports, found that Turno completely bungled the siege, which would have resulted in a humiliating defeat were it not for the actions of Orthophone.

Orthophone ended up being promoted to decanus of her contubernium, replacing Tertia Cloelia who was promoted to Turno's former position as centurion. Turno himself was dishonorably discharged and sent back to his home in Arsenalis Avitorum.

Battle of Dar al-Lhunor

In 249 UC (2889 AD), Orthophone's superior officer Centurion Gnaeus Cadius Ursio received a secure message from a then-unknown source within the Felinae Felices, giving information on the whereabouts and vulnerabilities of Res Nostra ground forces in the Ferthlon sector. After having sent out a squadron of star escorts to scout out and verify the information he received, Ursio dispatched his centuria to attack the mafia organization's holdings in the Dar al-Lhunor system. Named after the warlord Lhunor who conquered Anatolia during the fall of the American Empire, Dar al-Lhunor was home to an Egyptian colony that, during the Ilkhan War, became a hotbed of mafia activity.

During the fighting, Orthophone, having been isolated from her contubernium, was shot through both of her knees, and had to walk back to Centurion Ursio's encampment on her laser-burnt stumps in order to receive the urgent medical attention she needed. Within two hours, however, the battle ended in a resounding victory for the Olympians, who took the remaining mafiosi as prisoners. A few weeks later, Orthophone was awarded the Kardía Basilikě personally by Ursio during his triumph in Roma Nova, and received her honorable discharge from service the next day.

Senatorial career

Orthophone waged a campaign for the Mechyrdian Senate as representative of Olympia, ousting the retiring incumbent Lucius Terentius Strapho of the Whig Party. In 250 UC (2890 AD), Orthophone, representing the Freedom Party, won in a landslide against her opponent Tarcona Psilnora Carvilia of the Democratic Union. This victory was largely owed to the fact that Orthophone not only had the backing of Olympia's old patrician aristocracy, but also emphasized sector-level populist issues and portrayed Carvilia as a pawn of the astropolitan mercantile class.

Monokyrian ideology

During her time in the Senate, Orthophone espoused an ideology that became popular among the more radical members of the Freedom Party. Her ideology, known as monokyrianism or (less often) monodominance, believes that the interests of the Mechyrdian people should come first, not only for their own government, but for every government in the galaxy, and that any nation which does not submit to the Empire as a subject is an enemy to be subjugated.

The rise of monokyrian ideology alarmed the Niska and Ilkhan republics, whose journalists and media organizations began to publish hit pieces about Marc Adlerówič Basileiów and the friends he keeps in the Freedom Party. Foreign fears, among other factors, energized Basileiów's voter base, who had become disdainful of Mechyrdia's allies, and helped to propel him into the Mechyrdian Chancellory in 252 UC (2892 AD).

Ambassador-General of Mechyrdia

A few months into his term as Chancellor, Basileiów offered Orthophone the office of Ambassador-General, in order to make better use of her talents than intimidating her fellow Mechyrdians. Orthophone, seeing little future in her Senate career, accepted the Chancellor's offer. As Ambassador-General, Orthophone represents the Empire of Mechyrdia to every foreign nation, and ranks above ambassadors to individual foreign nations in the Mechyrdian diplomatic apparatus.

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