Boris Koslin

Boris Vasilyevich Koslin (Russian: Борис Васильевич Кослин; 19 August 2474 - 1 March 2526) was a human Admiral, military leader, and deep space 
explorer who served in the UNSC Navy and fought in both the Insurrection from 2498-2525 and the Human-Covenant War. During the Battle of Harvest, he served as the commander of the Second Fleet - later known as Koslin's Raiders - and became recognized as one of the most courageous military leaders of the time due to his selfless acts during the latter parts of the battle. His ship, the UNSC Standart, served as the flagship of the Second Fleet. 
For over a year, Koslin served as one of the most distinguished naval commanders in the UNSC. Despite all of this, Koslin's alcoholism and refusal to cooperate with fellow Admiral Preston Cole would eventually bring about his demise, as he desperately attempted to ram a Covenant warship only to be destroyed after several other warships opened fire upon the Standart. A memorial for Koslin and his crew has been constructed in Koslin's birthplace of Perm, Russia.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life and Career ===
Boris Koslin was born in Perm in 2474 to a family of Belarusian origins. Both of his parents were from Minsk. His father, Vasily was the retired police chief in Perm and his mother, Tanya, was a freelance journalist. Koslin was educated for a military, more specifically naval, career and graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps in 2495 and joining the 21st Naval Battalion. He would be transferred to the Siberian UNSC Docking Site in Chita, where he would serve as a communications officer. He would once again return to Perm and was based in the Perm Naval Base, joining the Russian deep space exploration onboard the UNSC Lucullus as an engineer. 
After a meteor slammed into the side of the Lucullus and a significant portion of the ship was left inoperable due to the ship's shields failing, Koslin headed the rescue efforts of those trapped, saving one-hundred and twenty out of the two-hundred. For this, he was nicknamed "Koslin Spasitel'" ("Koslin the Saviour"). For his heroism, he was awarded the Cross of Valour by the UNSC Navy.
In 2498, Koslin was en route to Perm to marry his fiancée, Valeria Sakalova, when he was ordered to report to the Perm Naval Base immediately. He quickly held a hastily-made wedding just outside of Perm after inviting his bride and her father, then heading to the base. In the early stages of his service in the Insurrection, Koslin served as a communications officer just as he had done back in Chita, He would later command the destroyer Kolchak. He would often focus on patrolling around Jupiter and its moons, eventually destroying an Insurrectionist-converted civilian vessel that was attempting to land on Europa. He was awarded the Defense Superior Service Ribbon for this, which he would often consider the award he was most proud of. He would be taken prisoner and mercilessly beaten after the crew mutinied aboard the Kolchak a few months later, citing pro-Insurrectionist ideals to be the main reason, where he would remain onboard for six months. After Koslin was rescued and the Kolchak rendered unusable. He would be awarded a Prisoner of War Medallion for his time imprisoned, which he would document in his novel Rebellion Amongst the Loyalest: Mutiny on the Kolchak.
Returning to Perm in 2499, Koslin was promoted to lieutenant commander and played an instrumental role in rebuilding the Second Fleet, which had almost been completely obliterated during an attack by Insurrectionist ships disguised as civilian vessels just above Epsilon Eridani II, dubbed "The Epsilon Incident. He would also help develop new shipbuilding plans, training plans, and defense plans.
In 2503, he was officially assigned to the Deep Space Fleet.
=== Human-Covenant War ===
The onset of the Human-Covenant War found Koslin aboard the flagship Standart, where Koslin oversaw the laying of mines and commanded the naval forces in and around Epsilon Eridani II. His commander, Admiral Montgomery W. Gates, was not very satisfied with remaining on the defensive and ordered Koslin to prepare for an offensive operation, which he did so. He oversaw dangerous covert missions, which included deliberately rigging meteors to explode and planning ambushes. None of these would really prove useful, but Koslin was promoted to Vice Admiral in late 2525 nonetheless, replacing Vice Admiral Fauster in the process.
From then until the Battle of Harvest, the rest of his career was relatively uneventful. He, however, would come into contact with a Covenant cruiser which he engaged until both were forced to retreat in January of 2526. When the Battle of Harvest began, Koslin was called to assist in the battle. Within the few hours that the battle lasted, Koslin proved himself to be quite selfless and had, at multiple times, attempted risky maneuvers to try to save other ships. In the last hour of his life, Koslin was promoted to Admiral and he did a considerable amount of damage on a Covenant ship, forcing it to retreat farther away. That same ship, the Inquisitor of Eternal Knowledge, would be the same to fire the final blow into the Standart as it tried to ram into the side of the Inquisitor. With Koslin dead, his protege Vincent D'Ambrosia would be placed in charge of commanding the fleet.
Category:Military
Category:UNSC Naval Personnel
Category:Males
Category:Characters