RANGER

RANGER is a physical manifestation of the Coalition of Independent Settlements' (CIS) computational identity. Created by Doctor Janis Kubrick during the "First Recession", an event that plagued the Coalition and it's allies, RANGER was originally meant to serve as the operator of their trade routes. He would direct trade vessels to nearby space stations and planets to drop off their cargo or refuel. Eventually, RANGER was repurposed and was placed in charge of military ground operations during the Coalition Civil War. He proved himself to be quite the competent leader, responsible winning multiple battles for those still loyal to the CIS and ending the Keystone Campaign. After the defection of Allen Strand, Vice Admiral of the Third Fleet, to the Reformists, RANGER was given another new job. He would not only be responsible for directing all CIS ground forces, but would also command the Third Fleet and the First Aerial Assault Division. After the Coalition's defeat at Ascension, RANGER and the third fleet went quiet. Although believed to have been destroyed by Reformist forces, RANGER had fled to the Espilo System with his fleet.
He would later make an appearance at the Battle of Tares, where they jumped to the planet during the latter half of the battle. Their arrival gave the CIS a chance to succeed, but these plans were later cut short when the CIS Dahl was shot down by Reformist AA guns. This killed one of RANGER's units, but not the AI himself. RANGER, when in combat, operates through the use of several modified WAUs (Working Autonomous Units). This allows him to operate in the field without being in any sort of danger. The only instance when he did not make use of a WAU was when CIS' headquarters on Hephaestus was attacked by Reformists. All WAU units were rendered inoperable due to the usage of an anti-WAU grenade, originally developed to exterminate combat-based WAUs. RANGER luckily survived the battle despite Hephaestus sustaining extreme amounts of damage, but now exists inside of the CIS Alliance. He is now commanding the 1st Fully Automated Fleet alongside his fellow AIs, SEEKER, LEECH, LORD, and KNIGHT. 
== Biography ==
=== The First Recession ===
In the 24th century, the Coalition of Independent Settlements was going through a huge economic depression known as the First Recession. All known members of the CIS Trade & Economical Bureau (TEB) had either been fired or had deserted their posts. Doctor Janis Kubrick, the commander of the Artificial Intelligence Research Division (AIR Division), decided to create an AI to end the recession. This was the Coalition's only hope, as only a year ago their previous AI, CARE, needed to be terminated after suffering from a series of extreme malfunctions. And so, RANGER was born. Kubrick assigned this newly created AI to manage trade routes. This helped the Coalition, finally allowing it to make a stable income from exports after the abandonment of the TEB. RANGER was paraded as the "Savior of the Coalition", and was the first AI to be awarded the Medal of Conservation by the CIS' President John Camber. He would maintain this position for twelve more years and would constantly be awarded medals from his service. At the end of this timespan, he would be awarded every single CIS medal possible, ending with his receival of the Prolonged Service Award.
After a few more years, the First Recession ended and RANGER was placed on the Coalition's Executive Council.
=== The Gap ===
The time period between the First Recession's end and the Coalition Civil War is known as "The Gap". Despite the fact that the Coalition was regaining everything it had lost during the recession, tensions within the government were rising. Many people were skeptical of RANGER's purpose after the recession was, and why they couldn't just rehire those who lost their jobs in the TEB. Head of Employment Jack Sherman had given them an unsatisfactory answer, that they wouldn't remove RANGER due to his effectiveness at his job. A large unpeaceful protest on Hephaestus occurred, leading to the Executive Council removing RANGER's ability to direct cargo ships and refused to allow him to attend council meetings. He would now be simply managing communications, just like the AI before him. RANGER, although being unable to display emotions, showed a slight sense of disappointment.
Just after RANGER was demoted, several council officials resigned and formed their new, reformed council. They promised to bring back the Coalition to it's former glory and to remove the tyrannical James Friel from office. This caused the beginning of the "Great Divide", in which the council was split into two. RANGER's leadership role was reinstated, taking the place of former Vice Head of Council Robert Smith. This marked the beginning of the Coalition Civil War.
=== Coalition Civil War ===
The capital ship of the Coalition, the CIS Sentinel was destroyed by "Reformist" troopers when it was passing Tares. This was the first attack on the Coalition and the first shots fired during the civil war. The Coalition, now panicking about the destruction of their capital ship, decided to reassign RANGER to command military ground operations. His knowledge of routing and tactics made him the perfect candidate for this job. Now operating a WAU unit (hereafter known as RANGER-1), he was able to successfully repel Reformist forces from Volga City during the invasion of Archimedes. He would then go on to win the Battle of Sere and end the Keystone Campaign, which resulted in Coalition victory. However, this victory did not come without it's losses. All soldiers, on both sides, were killed when Keystone's main power source (the Keystone Energy Harvester) was detonated on the orders of RANGER after the Reformists were able to commandeer pelicans and were trying to access the Third Fleet's flagship, the CIS Dahl. RANGER overrode Vice Admiral Allen Strand's evacuation orders and ordered the fleet to jump away from the planet.
Shortly after this incident, Strand defected to the Reformists and RANGER was put in charge of the Third Fleet and the First Aerial Assault Division. He served only one battle before being presumed to be terminated, the Battle of Ascension. This battle put the fate of the entire Coalition in the hands of the AI, as without Ascension's trade ports being active, the Coalition would be deprived of any type of supplies. The CIS Dahl arrived, several Raven-class fighters tailing behind it, and tried to defend the trade ports. RANGER, lacking any sort of ethical values, decided once again to evacuate the area, believing the planet to be lost to enemy forces. He jumped to the nearby Espilo System, the last surviving bastion of the Coalition's government. Now believing their most valuable asset to be destroyed, the CIS was very close to surrendering. Peace talks were already underway between both sides. The Reformists would gain control of Sere, Keystone, and Ascension, but the Coalition would still control Hephaestus, Dionysus, and Legate. The rest of the planets would remain independent of control from any factopm.
To everyone's surprise, RANGER arrived during one of the final battles of the war, the Battle of Tares. He was able to successfully provide assistance to the soldiers on the ground and was able to prevent the Reformist's capital ship, the RIS Gould, from deploying ground forces. The Dahl was then destroyed by a
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