Personal History

       To the Entente nations, the Union, situated behind the Iron Curtain, was a dangerous and enigmatic adversary. Crafting a specific image of the enemy in propaganda served two crucial purposes for the Entente: first, to familiarize the public and the rank-and-file troops with the foe, ensuring victory in the ultimate showdown; and second, to highlight the enemy's darkness and wickedness, thereby stoking the hostility needed to strike them down ruthlessly. Yet, these two seemingly contradictory objectives found a curious synthesis in the person of Natasha.

       Natasha’s real name was Norma. An outstanding officer in the multinational forces, she had grown up immersed in movies, television shows, and computer games that portrayed the Union as evil; she was utterly captivated by the charismatic villains within them, specifically, the beautiful yet deadly female agents and officers of the Union.

       Her unit, the 13th Armored Cavalry Regiment, was an "opposing force" (OPFOR) unit designed to mimic the Union military and serve as a "whetstone" to hone the skills of the multinational forces. They utilized Union weaponry, adopted Union tactics, consumed Union-style rations, and addressed one another as "Comrade."

       Under the license provided by her duties, Norma indulged her desires without restraint. She styled herself after her idealized image of a wicked Union female scout; she forced herself to down vodka despite having no head for heavy drinking and insisted that her subordinates call her "Natasha", a name taken from a dual-wielding Union hero in her favorite computer game, *Supreme Alert*.

       Although charismatic Union women were her greatest passion, Comrade Natasha possessed an expansive, affectionate nature. Playful, a bit of a "chuunibyou" (prone to adolescent delusions of grandeur), and a thrill-seeker who followed her impulses, she fully leveraged her own status as a young woman; whenever she encountered a girl who appealed to her tastes, she wanted to get close and cuddle. Once even slightly acquainted, she would brazenly call them "Wife", and consequently harbor intense hostility toward any male who dared to approach her "Wife." However, Natasha also possessed the mindset befitting the mistress of a harem; whenever she wanted to get close and cozy with the girls, she would display tremendous initiative, marshaling the absolute limits of her intellect and drive.

       The 13th Armored Cavalry Regiment was originally an elite unit deployed on the front lines of the Cold War. Had full-scale war erupted, the unit would have been crushed by the Union's massive war machine within twenty-four hours; they stood in constant readiness, aiming to delay their inevitable destruction to the seventy-two-hour mark. Beyond honing their combat skills, they had to conduct in-depth studies of the Union forces they were destined to face.

       Yet, that destruction never came; the dissolution of the Union and the subsequent outbreak of civil war left the unit without a mission. Logically, the vast but fractured former Union military no longer posed a credible threat to the Entente. However, the hegemonic power took the opposite approach, doubling down on the narrative of a military threat from former Union nations. Without a common enemy, the Entente risked falling apart; with the real adversary having collapsed, the hegemon needed to personally craft a powerful hypothetical enemy to serve as a substitute.

       And so, the 13th Armored Cavalry Regiment transformed from the vanguard against the Union into a unit of experts dedicated to role-playing as the Union. To suit this new function, the unit was packed with a multitude of highly skilled enthusiasts of all things Union.

Personal Report

       Natasha’s unit—the "Black Horse" Squadron of the 13th Armored Cavalry Regiment—is an OPFOR (Opposing Force) unit. Its members use Union weaponry, emulate Union tactics, consume Union-style rations, and address one another as "Comrade." Its function is to mimic the defunct Union armed forces, serving as a "whetstone" to hone the skills of multinational forces. However, Natasha’s enthusiasm for portraying an Union officer cannot be explained merely by a sense of duty.

       Natasha’s real name is Norma; she is playful by nature, a thrill-seeker who tends to follow her impulses. Before joining the Black Horse Squadron, she had already begun "researching" the Union military, drawing material from the movies, TV shows, music, and video games produced by the Entente nations—media that portrayed the Union as a villainous entity.

       Norma had no interest in defending the sweet "Managed Democracy"; she was simply captivated by the sexy, dangerous Union female officers depicted in those works. Over time, she found herself drawn to role-playing these charismatic villains, eventually insisting that others stop using her real name and call her "Natasha" instead.

       As an eccentric within the military, she felt right at home once transferred to the Black Horse Squadron. Not only did Natasha become increasingly flamboyant in mimicking the look of an evil Union villain, but she also delighted in brazenly taunting the "Blue Force" during exercises with the kind of venomous rhetoric typical of such antagonists. Her opponents, naturally, would seethe with rage and vow to teach her a lesson, yet the result was almost invariably an overwhelming victory for the Black Horse Squadron—it seemed that, alongside rolling her R's and drinking vodka, Natasha had actually picked up a thing or two about real Union military tactics.

Interviews transcript

Interviewee: Philippa
Natasha is obsessed with this game of playing the enemy; she shows no regard for her own free will! If she’s been brainwashed, our entire unit could unknowingly walk right into a trap... Could it be that she’s already been brainwashed?

Interviewee: Bella
Exercises led by the Black Horse Squadron are merely products of OMW and aren't worth commenting on. The next victory will undoubtedly belong to SBO—achieved by leveraging ED to access SKC3.

Interviewee: Unnamed Private First Class, 2nd SBCT
We ran out of rations during the exercise; we were so hungry we didn't even have the strength to hold our rifles, and Captain Norma mocked us mercilessly for it... Fortunately, she still ordered that Black Horse Squadron's food be shared with us, saying it fell under "EW"—what exactly is "EW"?