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This fanfiction article, Ashok Raymond, was written by Sev40. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
| Ashok Raymond | |
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| Biographical Information | |
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ALIAS |
Ashok Maksimilian Raymond |
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DATE OF BIRTH |
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DATE OF DEATH |
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HOMEWORLD |
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| Physical Information | |
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GENDER |
Male |
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HEIGHT |
1.681 metres (5ft 6in) |
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WEIGHT |
78 kilograms (171lb) |
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HAIR COLOR |
Black |
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EYE COLOR |
Brown |
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CYBERNETICS |
Standard-issue neural interface |
| Political/Military Information | |
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RANK |
Rear Admiral |
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SERVICE NUMBER |
75424-57541-AR |
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BRANCH |
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UNIT |
114th Rapid Strike Group |
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AFFILIATION |
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- "I couldn't care less how many they'll throw at me, much less the odds stacked against me. All I want to know is how many people will be saved after each engagement - there's no better motivator for me."
- ―Ashok Raymond.
Rear Admiral Ashok Raymond was a high-ranking UNSC naval officer who took part in the Insurrection and the first decade of the Human-Covenant War. The grandfather of Tyler-A319, Raymond would be raised in obscurity on the Outer Colony world of Gilgamesh. Enlisting into the maritime branch of the UNSC Navy at the age of twenty-two, Raymond would serve proudly until his talents were noticed and he was reassigned into the UNSC Navy proper. He rose swiftly through the ranks, eventually being given his own command on board the Hades-class heavy cruiser UNSC Executor. Participating in the Falkirian War for Independence and Operation: CHARLEMAGNE, Raymond would be a valuable asset against the Insurrection until he retired in 2521.
Forced back out of retirement to help defend humanity against the alien menace, Raymond would take command of his old flagship to lead the 114th Rapid Strike Group. Fighting at the Battle of Harvest, he would be continuously pushed back with minor successes until he lost the Executor at the Fall of Hollow Point. Falling back to Chi Rho, he would lead the UNSC forces one final time, when he perished in battle.
Career Service Vitae[]
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Biography[]
Early Life[]
The boy that would be known as Ashok Maksimilian Raymond was born on Gilgamesh on August 17th, 2473. His father, Manish, was a supervisor of an automobile workshop. His mother, Zakiyya, was a retired soldier of the Colonial Military Administration who now works as a farmer. As a result of this, Ashok was always interested in the logistical aspects of the military ships they served on, always curious about how they worked. This was in contrast to his brothers, who wished to become officers in either the local military or the UNSC, and his sisters who were encouraged to take up labouring jobs in the town.
While the Raymond family lived in the wealth of the upper-middle class, Ashok chose to work and play in the slums. He was brought as his father's apprentice, who while difficult to learn from because of his arrogance and perfectionist attitude, still taught his son a great deal. In school, he fell in with a group of sporty athletes, earning some popularity in his year. It was through them that he began a serious interest in modifying his cars, racing them through the streets of downtown Nineveh. While he rarely won these illegal street races, his creations did - he often agreed to upgrade the vehicles of his more skilled friends.
Enlistment[]
Human-Covenant War[]
First Battle of Drawn[]
- "Almost two thousand lives, gone..."
- ―Raymond, after the first engagement.
Now undermanned from recent engagements, the two wounded ships of the 114th Rapid Strike Squadron quickly made their way to the frontier world of Drawn to meet up to await for reinforcements and conduct a personnel transfer with Battlegroup Morocco. Although he and his crew were permitted shore leave, Ashok was recalled to participate an emergency meeting with the local UNSC leadership of the system to discuss some troubling news. A small Covenant armada was detected on a heading towards the colony, destroying his reinforcements in the process. In light of the imminent attack, Ashok was ordered by Morocco's Vice Admiral Sarah Hill to lead a detachment of her frigates to face the invaders in an open-field battle. Two other detachments were created: one that would hide in a nearby moon's atmosphere in order to outflank them, and a rearguard unit led by Hill herself. While he vocally disagreed with their plans, he was given total independence in how he organised and prepared his force and was able to acquire two companies from the 108th ODST Regiment for his purposes.
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| The temporarily-strengthened 114th Rapid Strike Squadron takes position moments before engaging the Covenant. |
Having used a test of the Executor's repairs to survey and prepare the battlefield, the combined task force engaged the Covenant's Task Force of Lawful Fortitude on May 8th, 2532. Using the cover of pre-deployed debris and calculations provided by Hills' AI, the temporarily-strengthened 114th Squadron were able to get the first shots off on their opponents. Despite his initial successes during the defence, Raymond knew that his task force's only purpose was to distract the Covenant and drop their shields, and so prioritised ships with defensive barriers. With pressure from casualties mounting, he made his first big mistake in the engagement when he preemptively executed his trap. Dozens of pelicans stuffed full of ODSTs dislodged themselves from the debris and attempted to board an enemy ship. Despite cover from the fleet's fighters and missiles, more than half of the unit loaned to him were destroyed, while those that made it aboard one of the corvettes were forced off within minutes. This had the unintended consequence of alerting the Covenant armada, which saw the assault carrier Ascendence taking point and confronting Raymond's forces alone. This left it in the prime position to directly engage the flanking forces, obliterating them within seconds of joining the fight. Left in a difficult dilemma, the Rear Admiral ordered his ship to meet the carrier's challenge while the fleet evacuated. Trading blows, it became quickly apparent that his cruiser was woefully outmatched as the random salvoes took out his MACs, fighter bays, and ignited his port-side's Archer pods. He was only saved when Hill's rear-guard suddenly rushed in, launching enough ordnance to force the Ascendence to back off. Unfortunately, they were unable to stop a single SDV-class corvette from breaching their defences and reaching a staging area in the Lithis desert. The Executor was towed back to drydock for immediate repairs, and the Rear Admiral anticipated a reprimand based on his poor performance in the battle.
Such a briefing never came, and in follow-up meetings Hill was more concerned with brainstorming more effective defensive measures, managing casualty replacements and readying her fleet. With time on his hands, Raymond took command of the UNSC destroyer Endeavour and returned to the battlefield for a search-and-rescue operation. He would be interrupted when he received a priority message from the fleet informing him to return, as the Covenant armada had returned in force to make another push. Arriving too late to safely transfer to his flagship, and recognising that he would become a vulnerable target if he directly engaged, he ordered the Endeavour to remain in low atmosphere of the planet to stay out of the fight while he used its limited facilities to coordinate the fleet. Once he learned of a Covenant corvette beginning to reach Drawn's atmosphere, despite efforts by the damaged Paris-class frigate UNSC Titan’s Bane to stop it, he authorised the Endeavour to directly intercept it. What followed was an intense pursuit where the destroyer chased the corvette towards their planetside base, and was suddenly fired upon from multiple anti-aircraft towers and a second corvette. It was at this point that he took direct command of the ship and proceeded to strategically dismember his opponent's weapon emplacements, steadily turning what should have been a difficult threat to a threat into a more even challenge.
- "Do you know any who may have the skills for managing a squadron? Perhaps a captain you feel is ripe for a promotion, however temporary?"
- "Hell as it is, the only ones that seemed ready were killed in one of the two attacks."
- "... I see."
- ―Raymond and Hill, discussing potential advisors.
Battle of Hollow Point[]
WARNING
THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS CANON ONLY TO THE 'ZENITH OF THE DISMANTLED' EXPANDED UNIVERSE.
Siege of Chi Rho[]
Fall of Alluvion[]
With two massive losses taken right after each other, Raymond voluntarily submitted himself to HIGHCOM to answer for his failings. Raymond's confidence in his ability to continually lead his forces was shattered, leading to him appealing to drop his rank by two grades down to captain; he was only convinced to keep fighting in the UNSC by his friend Mawikizi. Accepting the demotion, he was made the captain of Mawikizi's new flagship, the Valiant-class large cruiser UNSC Kilimanjaro. The two formed an excellent partnership; Mawikizi coordinated Strike Group Kilamanjaro and kept it's morale as high as he could, while Raymond kept the ship running tightly and carefully for fear of losing another friend to the Covenant.
Raymond was on the ship when Strike Group Kilamanjaro was secretly recalled to Alluvion in an attempt to win an easy yet strategic victory over the Covenant. Hiding behind the moon of Fallow, Raymond was among the members of the fleet who felt like everything was setting up too well, and privately held beliefs that the current invasion was just an advanced force for a much larger fleet - a belief that Mawikizi shot down to maintain morale in the fleet.Physical Attributes[]
Appearance[]
Personality[]
Skills[]
Vehicles[]
| Name | Time used | Description | Status |
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Part of the infamous Hades line of attack cruisers, the UNSC Executor was the butt of many a joke about it's poor living conditions, often being called the "Executioner of backs, legs and personal space." Nevertheless, it became a home-away-from-home for Raymond and his crew, so much so that he refused to be reassigned and even requested that he command from the old ship. The cruiser served in nearly as many battles as Raymond did, but would unfortunately be destroyed during the Battle of Hollow Point. | ||
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Now the flagship of Vice Admiral Jean Mawikizi, Raymond was transferred over to the cruiser as a captain after his horrendous loss at both Chi Rho and Hollow Point. Like it's sister-ship the UNSC Everest, the Kilamanjaro was modified to act as a command ship, sporting a much more expansive bridge on an independent tower, more extensive internal plating and improved weapon systems. Raymond served on the Kilamanjaro as late as the Fall of Alluvion in 2542. |
Remarks[]
List of Appearances[]
- RP:Light of the Abyss (Mentioned only)
- RP:Legends of Drawn