Stefano Belinski

Stefano "Bethlehem" Belinski (c.1940 – January 2002 GHC) was a Kikikan overwatch soldier during the Gamian War and eventual vice commander of the UKM. While acting as vice commander, he defected to the BBA in a bid for power, double-crossing Kalubian operatives sent to eliminate Marko Marachkii Whiksi. This treachery would result in his death at the hands of Joseph Reece Rodenski. Belinski's assassination would be the cause of the appropriately-dubbed "Belinski Crisis" which threatened war between Kikikoa and the Reformist Alliance of Kalubio.

## Life

### Early Life and Gamian War (c. 1940-1974)

Little is known of Belinski's life prior to the Gamian War. He was born to mixed parents, one being Sovietese and the other being Frãco, though it not stated which is which. It is revealed that he briefly served in the same fireteam as Connor Felidow and California Reikovra, though he was promoted following the end of the war and reassigned after military relations were severed as a result of the 1975 Kalubian Revolution.

### Further Involvement with the UKM (1974-2001)

Belinski would rise through the ranks quickly, and became a popular advisor to UKM high commander Rajana Antonovna. He would go on to become a distinguished combattant and skilled tactician. He was eventually promoted to the rank of vice commander, the second-highest rank in the UKM hierarchy. As part of a special op with Antonovna's personal approval, Belinski went undercover along with two other UKM operatives to infiltrate La Bãd'ãferr, a notorious crime syndicate.

### Defection to BBA and Death (2001, 2002)

As early as the beginning of the Kalubian Civil War in 1988 GHC, Belinski began establishing plans to expand Kikikan influence in the northeast. He made under-the-hand deals with Luvvar loyalists who had fled Kalubio to Kikikoa before KFAF Alfa had even arrived. After helping them eliminate Whiksi, Belinski intended to expose them and have the Reformists deposed, subsequently filling the power vacuum himself. With all other major Kalubian figures dead or disavowed (excluding The Equalwi Throne) and Kikikan involvement, he was a prime candidate to oversee their activity in the area. These plans became personal when his niece Mareine was captured and later killed during the Kalubian Civil War (believed by him to be due to the Kalu-bloods, but actually by the BBA during their classified Supersoldat experiments).

Ultimately, Belinski's plan failed when the Kalubians escaped his prison compound and hunted him down to Monquetunn, a Frãco-dominant city not far from the Kikikan capital of Nuvobokur. While preparing to board a UKM escort flight to the capital, he was intercepted and killed by Joseph Rodenski. Following his death, Joseph was found guilty of conspiracy and murder by a Kikikan military tribunal and sentenced to death. The debacle became known as the "Belinski Crisis" (see separate article here), and nearly caused a war between Kalubio and Kikikoa. Joseph was only spared after KFAF operative Hamlin Zoller intervened and exposed Belinksi's plot to the region.

## Appearance

Stefano's mixed race gave him brown hair and fur, with pale-brown skin (almost Arabic or Italian) and jade eyes. His hair was generally combed or slicked backwards. He has a lean build, typical for an active Kajin soldier. While not common for most Kajin, he has facial hair in the form of sideburns down to his cheeks. He is mostly shown wearing either a KIkikan military uniform, or dark street clothes while undercover with La Bã'd-aferr, such as a dark hoodie and denim or PVC pants.

## Equipment

Stefano uses a CS-6 spotter rifle with a holographic laser targeter and low-zoom M415 scope as his primary weapon (a standard build for a Kikikoa overwatch spotter). His secondary weapon varies, either a G-422 submachine gun or a KS-23 KV shotgun. His sidearm is a standard Ceska-75 semiautomatic pistol.

## Personality

Several distinct sides to Belinski's personality are displayed. While a no-nonsense soldier who takes orders well, and expects his own to be followed similarly, he is shown to be more laid back and casual with his allies when off duty. He is revealed to revile the Reformist Alliance and much of Kalu kind for their actions in the Skarred Crisis and Kalubian Civil War (the latter of which claimed the life of his niece).