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Brian Andrew Kessar was born in June 2637 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; his father was a Commodore in the Imperial Navy riverine force, and his mother managed a local hardware store in their hometown of Bethlehem, Penn. His father died in 2640, after an accident at the Philadelphia Naval Yard; his mother fell into a deep depression and lost her job, living on a widow's pension for over a year, remarrying in May 2641 to their neighbor Philip Vox. She had a second son, Xander Vox, though it was increasingly apparent that Xander was not Phil's son; they divorced in 2648 after several incidents of mutual domestic violence. She displaced her anger towards the younger son, blaming her divorce and later abusive relationships on him, which Brian often argued with her about. This tense home life was a major factor for his leaving to join the Imperial Army when he turned 18.
After training, he was noted for his commanding presence, and he was recommended for Army OCS. He was commissioned a Lieutenant and served in an infantry platoon in the 8th Cavalry Division, fighting rebels in the Outer Colonies. He was tapped by Army Special Forces in 2660, and went through rigorous training in order to lead a special forces battalion. He led his unit through several covert actions, but resigned his commission at the end of 2663 after a botched air assault that he blamed himself for.
After some months taking odd-jobs and bounty hunting, he began a career as a mercenary, selling his skills to the highest bidder. He felt it was the only way to be responsible for only himself, and not involve others in his mistakes. He took on the moniker "Gravefiller" and amassed a considerable reputation in several colonial conflicts; planetary governors, especially hereditary noble ones, often brought in mercenaries and private armies to quell riots and fight insurrectionaries when military forces were not readily able to respond to minor incidents, which only increased during the Great War and the redeployment of most reserve units to the front lines.
In 2665, he reconnected with his brother Xander, who had also become a mercenary fighter for the Tempest Free Company. They went into business together, and in mid-2668 signed on with the Imperial government to "advise" a special operations unit, the 71st Studies and Observations Group, better known as Beaumont's Raiders. They were crucial in foiling an aristocratic plot against the state; while Xander ingratiated himself with the new Emperor Maximilian, Brian remained aloof. He took other contracts in-between his work with the Raiders, usually pursuing opportunities to strike at the criminal Dragon Syndicate. Near the end of 2670, he took part in a raid of the syndicate's Orionese headquarters, butchering their leadership; the cumulative bloodbaths he engaged in gradually wore him down, and he lost hope of ever becoming an honorable warrior, and being anything other than a tool for tyrants.
In 2671, he reluctantly joined the new Imperial State Security Department, being appointed a Standardier (Colonel) in the Strategic Intelligence Agency under the command of Director William McGrady. His brother became a leading figure in a rival agency within the ISSD, but there appeared to be no animosity between the siblings. Kessar led the special forces training program, and was also appointed Chief of Staff to the Director. He resumed field command as a Questor (Major General) near the end of the Great War, heading the elite 9th (Air Assault) Legion, which became the première unit of the Strategic Security Forces; over time, he held operational command over several legions grouped under the 6th Armored Strategic Security Corps, nicknamed
Panzerkorps Kessar, which gained him a promotion to Prefect (Lieutenant General).
He spearheaded the State Sec contingent in Operation
Crassus, the military response to the 2679 Far Rim Revolt, which earned him numerous decorations for command and bravery; nevertheless, he felt them to be hollow honors, and saw nothing glorious in crushing an already-defeated people. In the middle of the conflict, he was diverted to planet Keystone in the Outer Colonies in August 2680, as the colony world was subjected to a nuclear terrorist bombing. Kessar's troops were instrumental in restoring order to the planet, and setting up an interim government, which gained him a promotion to Legate (Colonel General). In late 2684, he was responsible for hunting down privateer fleets in the Pirate War. However, he disappeared in January 2685 and was presumed dead after an attack by wildlife on the remote planet Chios; a torchlit empty-casket funeral was held in Philadelphia, and he was honored with statues and monuments. A few years later, the planet was designated the Brian Kessar Memorial Park, and protected from colonization.
Kessar was noted as an avid hunter, conservationist, lover of animals, and motor vehicle enthusiast, owning a hunting lodge in East Prussia and an estate in Virginia with extensive preserved woodland. He had a turbulent long-term relationship with Irene Stavros from 2669 to 2681, with whom he had an illegitimate son, Matthias (b. 2670).
The three rows show him at his three main phases of his life: as a soldier in the Imperial Army from 2654 to 2663, as a mercenary from 2664 to 2671, and as a commander in State Security from 2671 to 2685.