Kya Valane

Kya Valane was an Admiral and a politician in the late 23rd and early 24th century. She is considered by many to be the founding member of House Valane

Early Life

Kya Valane was born in Houston, Texas in the USA in the year 2260. Her parents raised her with middle-class values and from an early age pushed her to excel.
Kya had a keen interest in flight and space-flight, hailing a school visit from a female helm-officer inspiring her to one day become a pilot. Kya did well at high school and then attended Duke, graduating with a BA in physics. She also qualified to pilot the DT-140 shuttle.
She joined the Confederate Navy, graduating from their academy in the year 2283 as the second highest rank student in her class. She then attended Navy flight-school in Kyiv.

Navy Career

As a young pilot-trainee, Kya developed a reputation as a ferocious pilot, known for her excellent reflexes, killer instinct and fearlessness. Her call-sign was "White Devil" and she was a hugely respected and feared pilot, winning sixteen confirmed victories during flight school, a record in her class.
She graduated top in her class and was granted the rank of Lieutenant in the Confederate Navy. She became a helm officer aboard the frigate "Havana" and served there for two years before being transferred to the cruiser "Tripoli".
She was named lead helm-officer on the Tripoli and promoted to the rank of Lt-Cmdr and served there for a further three years before returning to Earth to serve as a training officer.
Lt-Cmdr Valane's piloting and helm classes were highly lauded but she was considered a very tough lecturer and teacher and she was cautioned on more than one occasion for the stress she put her cadets through.
She then joined the 3rd Fleet Staff, serving one year as planning officer before transferring to the cruiser "Beijing" as Bridge Officer. She was confirmed to the rank of Commander and then promoted to Executive Officer. She took part in anti-pirate actions and took command of the Beijing after the CO was wounded, earning a commendation for bravery.
She was transferred back to the General Staff for a year as Training Officer and was promoted to the rank of Captain. She spent just one year in the staff before taking command of the cruiser "Hyperion" as the ship's CO.
She was later granted command over a task force and her promotion to Rear Admiral was finally agreed in 2304. She was considered one of the better combat officers in the Confederate Navy. She gave testimony to the chamber of Deputies in 2307 and spoke candidly of the need to increase the size and power of the Confederate Navy. This slowed her prospects of promotion but she was promoted to Vice Admiral in 2311 and given command of the 4th Fleet.
During the Karkouri invasion in 2318 she was aboard the cruiser Hyperion, which served as her flagship. She was lucky to survive the massacre that wiped out much of the Confederate Navy. She later claimed that she agreed to jump away on an instinctive basis, having never met Admiral Sati who had sent the order but something had just "felt wrong".
She served on the Hyperion during the resistance to the Karkouri and she was wounded when the Hyperion was badly damaged in 2320 during a Karkouri ambush. She was commended for bravery as she ensured her bridge staff were clear first.
She returned to active duty aboard the Hyperion in 2321 and was there for the final defeat of the Karkouri. She was mentioned as a possible choice for Secretary of Defence in the new government but declined the role.
She was transferred to command the new training school at League HQ on Mars but she retired from active duty in 2324.

Progression of Ranks

• Cadet -2283
• Lieutenant -2284
• Lieutenant-Commander -2287
• Commander -2293
• Captain -2299
• Rear Admiral -2304
• Vice Admiral -2311

Politics

Kya had never really shown much interest in politics and she was known for her cold, stand-offish nature and her tendency to be brusque and unfriendly. Still, with her war record, she was courted by many political affiliations but eventually agreed to get involved in politics.
She raised money for and campaigned for the centrist Wellfield Alliance, a pro military party that was involved in the early days of the League and the Federated States.
In 2330 Kya was elected as Governor of Mars, seeking the office as a member of Wellfield.  However, this was a period of intense political instability on Mars and she was defeated for re-election in 2335.
She was named Secretary of Defence in 2335 under President Kinnick and was a key member of the administration, overseeing the response to the nuclear attack in 2336.
In 2340 she was named Director of Federated States Intelligence (FSI) and became a champion for the intelligence agencies as well as an implacable opponent of OMDA and other terrorist movements.
Kya retired from front-line politics in 2444.

Later Life

Kya had done some lobbying for the defence industry as well as lecturing at Yale and VMI. She retired a millionaire but was considered to keep a low corporate profile.
Kya passed away in 2345 aged 85 after an illness. Her funeral was very widely attended, with three former Presidents in attendance.
The Federated States named a wing of its fleet academy after her.

Founder of the Valane Dynasty

Kya is often spoken of as the founder of the Valane political dynasty, though this is disputed by some historians. Kya's grand-parents had moved to the United States from India but little is recorded about them.
Kya was not known for her political ambition, which really began with her daughter Rebekkah Valane . Still, Kya was considered a key figure in establishing the Valane political name and cementing its deep connections with both the military and intelligence community.

Species

Human

Life

2260 2345 85 years old

Circumstances of Death

Illness

Family

Valane

Aligned Organization

Valane

Other Affiliations

• The Federated States