Kentan Sondeheim
Kentan Sondeheim was a political figure from the 25th and 26th centuries. He served on the Imperial Council at the end of the The Terran Empire and was the 6th Lord-Governor of Furnace during the The State of Chaos. He also served as the first Arbiter of the Antares Federation.
Early Life
Born in 2460 in Cydonia, Mars to Archer Sondeheim, heir apparent of House Sondeheim and to the Lord Governorship of Furnace. Kentan spent his early life at the knee of his father, who was a brilliant and well liked officer in the Imperial navy. Father and son were very close in Kentan's early years. Kentan was a quiet and solemn child, growing into a straight backed and somewhat formal man, as opposed to his outgoing sister. This was further compounded by the events at the battle of Mars when his fathers ship was lost with all hands. Many said of Kentan that he rarely spoke and was prone to lashing out after this event. This changed with Kentan's introduction to the Grumman children in 2478 at a social event. He quickly became fast friends with Gael Grumman, establishing himself in the inner circle of the charismatic young Grumman, a relationship which would define his life in the Empire.Now in the care of his grandfather, the formidable Lord Prager and heir apparent of House Sondeheim after the death of his father, Kentan enrolled in Cydonia College, studying military history with a desire to become an officer and one day a captain in the Imperial Navy. After his graduation, following the abdication of Lord Prager, he became Lord Sondeheim in 2480. His uncle Reid became regent as Kentan pursued a military career.
Kentan was introduced to Lord Grummans daughter, Arabella and they got on well. They were married in a private ceremony in 2481 with the birth of their son Elbar in 2484 and their daughter Catherine in 2485. Since the fall of the Empire the two had a distant relationship due to their distance and unwillingness to compromise on the planet to call home as Kentan would not leave Furnace for extended periods and Arabella did the same for New Berlin.
The couple had two children together
- Elbar Sondeheim (born 2484)
- Catherine Sondeheim (born 2485)
Military Career
Enrolling in 2481, Kentan was assigned as a tactical officer to the Newport and was a replacement officer after Z-10. He was promoted to Leuitenant in 2484. Kentan was given a staff assignment on Earth as part of the general staff, allowing him to get to know the court and check in regularly with Lord Reid Sondeheim in addition to keeping to date on court politics. Kentan served in the general staff under Admiral Casteveil and was a key part of her staff. Kentan was promoted to Lt-Commander in 2493 and then again to Commander in 2495.Imperial Council
Having served in Admiral Casteveil's staff for 10 years he decided to join the council as Lord Sondeheim, his uncle becoming Lt Governor of Furnace following Hutton Sondeheim's retirement. Initially seeking the Chancellorship he yielded to Lord Valane, instead becoming Minister of Intelligence. Noting the posturing of the Karkouri he took steps to delay their advance and attempted to take out their military leadership after the assassination of admiral Kalqvist, believing it to be a Karkouri move. After talks with the Gannid failed concerning Elyon Maquessa, he sent agents after him as he fled to the Gannid with military secrets as they refused to extradite him. The agents failed and relations were furthered soured with the Maquessas and the Gannid. Diversions set up by the traitor Collingwood distracted the young Lord for his brief time as Minister of State Intelligence, memos from the Imperial offices state that the Intelligence Minister picked up on Red Mars and Burning Path but missed the true intentions of Collingwood. Kentan was in Dhaka during the Battle of Vanheim, being one of the council members who advocated surrender at the complete loss of their fleet and voted to overturn Emperor Krane's veto. After seeing the Karkouri's plans to divide Terran space after surrender, Kentan called his family from Furnace and resigned himself to living in exile, fearing reprisals from Decius Collingwood in the St. Lawrence Compact for his opposition in the council.Retaking Furnace
Living on Mars with his family his first action was to spend A$1 billion to avoid a famine occurring on Furnace. After hearing about the abuses that the citizenry suffered at the hands of those who had taken advantage of the power vacuum, he decided to send a small private army in 2504. At the last moment he decided to join the transport, leaving behind his family. Taking a transport he initially was turned away by a PMC frigate on the employ of the SLC. After asking for a Martian frigate the two ships set off. Engaging with the PMC frigate a fluke shot rendered the frigate dead in the water. Using the opportunity that the engagement brought him Kentan ordered the transport to land. Upon landing as the most heavily armed man on the planet by a long way, a bloodless coup ensued. Putting Furnace under Sondeheim control once more. Kentan declared independence from the SLC and announced his intention to join the Republic. St. Lawrence dispatched a PMC group to retake the planet but the Black Dragon turned it back.Furnace in the Republic
Almost immediately from when Furnace joined the Republic the Karkouri took notice. Unable to reach a peaceful accord with the Republic, the Karkouri dispatched military assets to the area of Terran space know as the St. Lawrence Compact in 2507. The PMC company known as VAIL took St. Lawrence while salborians landed on Furnace. Unwilling to surrender, Kentan instructed his forces to resist and engaged in a long, bloody guerrilla war that would claim approximately half of the marine corps' lives and leave a further quarter crippled over the eight years. Due to the superior weapons and training as well as resupplies from orbit, Furnace's marines were unable to cover a large amount of ground. Due to this, Kentan ordered New Cairo along with Oasis to be evacuated to Luxor, to better protect the citizens. Along with this, a militia was started with approximately 10,000 volunteers, among whom Kentan's heir Elbar was one. To bolster the defence Kentan took the controversial decision to pardon any smugglers in the deep deserts to aid the troops as they clashed with the Salborians. The planet was further blockaded by 12 Karkouri ships, only allowing Hansa shipping through, effectively severing the planet from the Republic. Fearing an orbital attack, a series of bunkers were constructed before the siege which could house 250,000 people in the event of bombardment. Following the cessation of hostilities, these were partially converted into large scale hydroponics bays. During this time, Kentan endorsed Dahlia Avander-Slade to the Republic presidency in an effort to bring more light to Furnace's struggle. Kentan joined the Destiny Party and assisted Ms. Slade's campaign in a limited capacity. However their relationship soon became hostile when it came to matters of the siege and Furnace's place in the Republic. Sources would remark that correspondence between the two became vitriolic at times with Kentan remarking to his legislature after one meeting with his sister-in-law.That woman [Dahlia] is not only delusional and arrogant but blind to the realities of governance. She cares not but for herself and her petty wants, whims and desires.In mid 2515, Kentan was forced to surrender by the population and legislature. The large scale relief effort dispatched by President Slade to Nova Terra in the wake of the Burning Coup was the last straw for the population, who saw the Republic as weak, ineffective and have no interest in the planet, leaving them to their "fate". Letter of Surrender
As of effective immediately, Furnace and its peoples declare independence from the Terran Republic and surrender to the
St. Lawrence Compact and Coordinator Buckingham.
The Republic has fallen short of their promises to Furnace and its people. They touted relief and aid but all they provided
were empty promises and hollow words for the duration of the conflict. The situation and response to Nova Terra makes its
clear what the Republic thinks of Furnace to its people.
As it has been, this conflict has brought Furnace to its knees. Our bodies broken by the Karkouri and our spirits by the
Republic.
Actions speak louder then words, and Furnace fought alone for eight years while the Republic watched.
For the good of the Terran People
Lord Kentan Sondeheim
Lord-Governor of Furnace
Post Republic
Following the writ of surrender, Kentan led Furnace as an independent free world, however as part of the surrender, Furnace must have a garrison of 5000 VAIL PMCs. This caused friction as a small portion of the population, impersonating the widely praised organisation Sword of Liberty, instigated a series of small scale attacks at these PMCs. This started with small arms fire at their landing shuttle. There is some speculation to this day at what their actual goal was. Kentan spent this time working on the planets military with his son to bring the remnants of the military forces up in skill and numbers following the siege.Free Worlds Pact
In 2520 Furnace was admitted to the The Free Worlds Protection Pact as a full member following Kentan's application. In 2522 Kentan was part of a coalition of planetary leaders who were part of the FWP who struck a deal for VAIL to "liberate" the SLC. This also had a knock on effect that the PMC force left Furnace and the small rebel activity ceased.Federation Era
In the 2530 Earth Planetary election, Kentan was instrumental in helping his sisters campaign to become the Governor of Earth. Kentan then enters into talks with Governor Kirkfell Brahms and Governor Nova Valane-Tancredo to create the Federation. Kentan became the first Arbiter of the Federation in 2530 until his death in 2534. 100,000 troops from Furnace were committed by Lord Kentan that saw action on Whitworth and Vanheim.Later years and death
Lord Kentan was a solitary figure in his later life. His close circle of friends from his military days dying mostly in the Battle of Vanheim and the few that remained died without replacement. He mostly confided in Nova Valane, his long time friend with whom he formed a friendship in the first few years following the collapse of the Empire and with whom he enjoyed close correspondence with until the end of his life. Following the disgraced exit of Ms. Slade, her son and Kentan's nephew, Malik Grumman sought out his uncle for advice. The two shared a close mentor-mentee relationship with Kentan almost seeing Grumman as another son at times. On the 28th December 2534 Kentan died at his desk in Luxor aged 74. He had suffered a sudden heart attack in the night. This wasn't entirely unexpected, he frequently worked late and rose early and had become stressed with the current crisis. Despite the difficult circumstances, Lord Kentan's funeral was very widely attended, with many notable figures across the political spectrum attending.Legacy
Lord Kentan spent most of the time in his later life attempting to form bonds across the fragmented Terran worlds and maneuvering his family into high places. His daughter Catherine Sondeheim became a member of the Martian Legislature and his sister Lacey Sondeheim became Governor of Earth in his lifetime. His wise decisions on the ruling of Furnace took the planets population and economy to what many experts consider very close to the maximum extent of the planets output pre-terrarforming. The planets population were happy under his rule and enjoyed the influence he gained for the planet, which punched well above it's weight during his Lordship. He was a founding member of the Federation and aided in the liberation of the Hassall League as Arbiter and with his comparatively small troop numbers. Kentan was the last individual who was still ruling as a Lord Governor who ruled in the time of Empire, giving him claim as the last Imperial Lord Governor. In 2536 the Furnace Legislature voted 76-3 to put aside funding to construct a statue to commemorate the life and rule of Lord Kentan Sondeheim. A local artist was hired to make the statue out of local stone.Relationships
Lord Kentan aged 68 in 2528
Species
Life
2460
2534
74 years old
Circumstances of Death
Heart attack
Birthplace
Cydonia, Mars
Place of Death
Luxor, Furnace
Family
Spouses
Arrabella Grumman
(Wife)
Siblings
Children
Aligned Organization
Comments