Jan Kotouč

Jan Kotouč was a Manticoran citizen and an officer of the Royal Manticoran Navy.
== Biography ==
Holding the rank of Rear Admiral in 1922 PD, he was put in command of Task Group 110.2, flying his flag aboard the Nike-class battlecruiser HMS Phantom. His understrength force was ordered to the Hypatia System when it became apparent the Hypatians would secede from the Solarian League following a public referendum.
After arriving slightly before the referendum's conclusion, Kotouč placed his ships in the Alexandria Belt to wait for the final result. Shortly thereafter, the Solarian League Navy's Task Force 1030 arrived, trying to force the Hypatian president to renounce the results of the referendum; he refused. The Solarian commander, Admiral Hajdu Gyôzô, then gave him limited time to evacuate the system's orbital infrastructure before the SLN would destroy it as part of Operation Buccaneer.
Unwilling to let this violation of the Eridani Edict stand, Rear Admiral Kotouč ordered the destroyer HMS Arngrim to the hyper limit to brief any incoming reinforcements and then took his other four ships to engage the Solarians. The resulting Battle of Hypatia was a costly one. Kotouč's ships were destroyed with only sixty overall survivors, but only after inflicting devastating damage on their enemy; Arngrim eventually returned to strike at the battered Solarians even more, ultimately bluffing them into retreat.
A few hours after the battle, Rear Admiral Kotouč's life pod was picked up by the Hypatian vessel Asteria. He eventually returned to Manticore with the other survivors, and underwent regeneration therapy at Bassingford Medical Center. ()
== Service Record == 
=== Promotions ===
* Midshipman - 1892 PD
* Rear Admiral - 1922 PD or earlier
=== Posts ===
*Commanding Officer, Task Group 110.2Battlecruiser squadron designated commanding officer.
==References ==
Kotouč, Jan
Kotouč, Jan
Kotouč, Jan
Kotouč, Jan
Kotouč, Jan