Editing Aleksey Dolgorukiy

Most members of the Imperial Order originate from the martial aristocracy families of the Polaris Empire; these generals form the Empire's core leadership. Still, some leaders began as soldiers, and Alexey Dolgorukiy is one such commander.

Dolgorukiy was born on the border planet of Tsargrad. Such worlds have a reputation for being frequently harried by the out-Empire barbarians of various sorts - descendants of Old Earth colonists, ex-imperial renegades, and ex-imperial genetic experiment failures known as nightstalkers; toughened by constant skirmishes, border planet populations serve as a natural source of recruits for the elite drop units.<br />
Dolgorukiy's career began 45 years before the First Wave; in the 12th Light Battalion of the 8th Drop Regiment, where he was a soldier. During the assault on the planet of Nightmare, the informal capital of outer reach barbarians, his battalion's commander was killed in action; Dolgorukiy took command and brought his fellow soldiers through the encirclement with minimal losses. Following getting a field promotion shortly after, he led his battalion until the end of the punitive campaign.

After that, his career skyrocketed. He graduated from the Imperial Military College in absentia, becoming one of the few Imperial Army colonels not of noble birth. During the First Wave, Dolgorukiy did not participate in the actual invasion, as he unexpectedly found himself involved in a civil war within the Empire itself.

Taking advantage of the fact that most loyal regiments were busy fighting outside the metropolitan territory, a circle of high-ranking nobles attempted a coup; several regiments stationed on Polaris Prime, the capital planet, rebelled and marched towards the Imperial Palace. Despite the strength of the Emperor's personal guard, his life was in danger.<br />
It was by fate alone that colonel Dolgorukiy, his regiment on its way to receive reinforcements, happened to be on Polaris Prime, completely disregarded by the unknowing plotters. As a result, it was his soldiers who played the decisive role in the suppression of the uprising; the Ribbon of the Imperial Order and the Emperor's own gratitude were his rewards.

During the Second Wave, Dolgorukiy fought at the spearhead of the assault on Protectorate worlds and proved himself to be an excellent frontline commander. While the most conservative lords of the Imperial Order claimed that such a low-born man cannot lead troops in full-scale warfare, Dolgorukiy broke the stereotype down - and simultaneously made many enemies among the generals; between the Second and Third waves, he survived several assassination attempts.

Dolgorukiy is acknowledged as a renowned specialist in the field of fighting numerically superior forces. He achieved that experience commanding patrol units in the outer reaches, repeatedly facing situations where his troops had to hold their positions against numerous foes, waiting for the reinforcements to arrive.<br />
Dolgorukiy's most recognized success is the defense of the imperial base on the planet of Sera; in addition to that, prior to the assault on Velian, Aleksey Dolgorukiy and his subordinate troops held their ground against the innumerable hordes of Protectorate scythemen and mercenaries for seven weeks.

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