Natalia Deshyanov

Natalia Raisa Deshyanov was an engineer for the Concordance Extraction Corporation stationed on the Aegis VII Colony, where she worked on the tram line that connected the colony to the site of Marker 3A. Though she had no ties to Unitology, she fell under the artifact's influence and was among the colonists whose minds it unraveled during the Second Aegis VII Incident, ending her own life at the edge of the planet crack.

Early life and career#

Natalia Deshyanov was born in Earth's North Asia sector into a large extended family of engineers and laborers stretching back generations. She spent her childhood stargazing and acting out fantasies of living on Mars with her cousins, and unlike most children her fascination with the stars never faded. While serving out her apprenticeship as an engineer she repeatedly applied for spacebound work, and the Mars Capita riots finally granted her wish, as the fledgling city-state needed skilled engineers to repair and rebuild its infrastructure. Forty eight relatives turned out to see her off as she boarded the shuttle at Baikonur, and she never looked back.

As the rebuilding of Mars neared completion and her job grew redundant, Natalia moved on before she could be let go, finding new work in the planet's orbiting shipyards through a CEC subsidiary. She soon earned a position within the Concordance Extraction Corporation itself as a supervisor. Having lived and worked her whole life among engineers and laborers, she was at ease in a predominantly male trade, gave as good as she got, and could drink half her own team under the table.

The Second Aegis VII Incident#

On Aegis VII, Natalia was part of a small team sent to construct a tram between the Aegis VII Colony and the site of Marker 3A after its discovery. The assignment came about through the clumsiness of one of her co-workers, who tore a door open in one of the colony's shuttle bays. Though she was not a Unitologist, Natalia quickly became infatuated with the Marker, taken with the view it gave her as the team worked on the line. When her team was afterward assigned to protect the artifact, she was thrilled. The discovery of a recorded video of the Marker, possibly made by Natalia or one of her co-workers, led to the whole team being reassigned and arrested. By then her obsession had taken hold, and she attacked and killed one of the security personnel sent to detain her before she was subdued.

Natalia was placed under observation in the care of Doctor Sciarello. During her confinement she developed a habit of compulsive scrawling and suffered severe mood swings, which turned violent when she attacked Sciarello during one of his visits. Beaten down by a security officer, she begged him to end her life. Days later she was no longer judged dangerous, though her instability persisted. Visits from Abraham Neumann found her cheerful at first and then, on a later visit, distressed and fearful, with little memory of having met him before.

Death at the planet crack#

When the colony went dark and the Necromorphs attacked, the deranged Natalia escaped her cell and made her way to the rover bay. She commandeered one of the vehicles, drew the Marker's shape in blood on its window, and drove it to the site of the planet crack. Standing at the edge of the crater the crack had left, she looked into it and witnessed a sight that drew from her the words "Oh, my God." She then said, "I'm ready. Make me whole," and threw herself into the pit to her death.