Jocasta Cameron

Jocasta Cameron ER2750.jpg
Jocasta Cameron
Character Profile
Also known as Mother Jocasta
Born 2663[1]
Died 27 March 2742[2]
Affiliation House Cameron
Parents Michael Cameron II (father)
Katarina Mann (mother)
Siblings Jonathan Cameron
William Cameron

Younger sister of First Lord Jonathan Cameron, Mother Jocasta (formerly Jocasta Cameron) was de facto co-ruler of the Star League from 2729 to 2738.

History[edit]

Early Life[edit]

The only daughter of Michael Cameron and Katarina Mann, Jocasta was a bright and precocious child like her elder and younger brothers Jonathan and William. As equally adept at navigating the complexities of Court society as her brothers, the highly intelligent Jocasta adored the pomp, ceremony and elegance of her high station in life and many in Court expected she might one day become the Terran Hegemony's Director-General. Thus it came as a shock to many when at age 17 Jocasta Cameron heard the call of God, becoming a Catholic and entering the Benedictine Order at the Abbey of St. Joan in Scotland Terra as a nun on the day after her 18th birthday. While beforehand she had questioned her ability to survive such an ascetic lifestyle, Sister Jocasta would thrive at the abbey, not even the drug-related death of her younger brother William could shake her religious conviction or vocation. After 23 years as one of the choir nuns, she became Mother Jocasta in 2704, a sign of her importance in the abbey.[1][3][4]

De Facto First Lord[edit]

Despite her relative seclusion, Jocasta maintained a close relationship with her elder brother, becoming increasingly concerned as she witnessed his mental condition deteriorate as he focused on an ever-expanding military buildup. His letters to her speaking of ever-deepening paranoia of the Star League's fall, Jocasta would attempt to support and council him as best she could, but his mental decline would only worsen. When a fearful First Lord Jonathan refused to intercede in the War of Davion Succession, a high-ranking delegation from the Star League Defense Force led by Commanding General Ikolor Fredasa visited Mother Jocasta in 2729 in an attempt to convince her to depose her brother for the good of the Star League. With Jocasta refusing to leave the abbey even in response to this dire threat, an increasingly desperate Fredasa began to spread rumors that she was planning a coup anyway in an attempt to force her hand, even redeploying Terran forces to aid the illusion.[1][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Absolutely certain his sister would never do such a thing, the enraged First Lord ordered General Fredasa and his fellow plotters tried and hanged for treason, though ultimately he realized they had been correct. For the remainder of his reign, Jonathan would turn to his sister for aid, relying ever more heavily upon her suggestions. At her direction, Jonathan quickly named Jocasta’s close friend General Rebecca Fetladral as Commander-in-Chief of the SLDF, who immediately began to plan Operation Smother to stop the War of Davion Succession and reunite the Star League. In the midst of that conflict, Free Worlds League erupted into civil war and prompted the Capellan Confederation and Lyran Commonwealth to demand the SLDF also intervene in this conflict, but Fetladral and Mother Jocasta quickly realized that were merely attempting to exploit the weakness of an overextended SLDF, advising John to declare it an internal affair and focus the full attention of the Star League's military upon ending the War of Davion Succession. With both sides humbled by the might of the mammoth SLDF, at the direction of Mother Jocasta, Jonathan would heavily chastise both realms and restore the prewar borders.[1][5][8][2][9][13][14][10][11][12]

Finally admitting in the wake of the Second Hidden War that his physical and mental sickness was worsening with age and yet unsure that his now adult son Simon was ready for the task, Jonathan offered instead to step aside in favor of his sister, but again Mother Jocasta refused to leave the abbey, stating her religious calling was more important than even ruling above all mankind. Instead they continued and expanded upon her advisory role, sophisticated communication links to Unity City allowing Mother Jocasta to shoulder an ever-increasing volume of the governmental decision making, as Jonathan focused on less stressful humanitarian matters and remained the Star League's public face. It was during this period that Jocasta would meet the dashing young Lieutenant General Aleksandr Kerensky. Mother Jocasta ultimately assume the highest powers and responsibility in her brother's place when she personally chaired the autumn 2735 High Council session, with the Council Lords journeying to the Abbey of St. Joan for the meeting. Even in this instance she refused to leave her cloistered world, chairing the session from behind grillwork that separated her community from the rest of the world.[1][15][16][8][2][17][12]

Ultimately Mother Jocasta would serve as de facto ruler of the Star League for three years before her brother died from a stroke in 2738. Attending the funeral of Jonathan Cameron along with the Council Lords and the highest nobility of the Star League, Mother Jocasta would serve as the executrix of her brother's will, handing the jeweled staff signifying the office of First Lord to her nephew Simon Cameron at the Court of the Star League before returning to seclusion at her beloved Abbey. During the first years of his reign, Mother Jocasta would provide a similar if greatly reduced advisory role to her nephew, serving as his de facto spiritual adviser before ultimately withdrawing as her health declined in favor of those who more closely aligned with his neo-chivalric ideals such as Mina Samuels.[1][15][8][2][17][12]

Death and Legacy[edit]

Mother Jocasta would be diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2741, by which time it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to her lymphatic system. Mother Jocasta Cameron would die peacefully under hospice care at the Abbey of St. Joan on 27 March 2742.[1][15]

Mother Jocasta was widely acknowledged as the greatest First Lord the Star League never had, providing the strong and insightful leadership expected of House Cameron during some of its most tumultuous periods and ensuring the preservation of the Star League for her nephew Simon's succession, despite refusing to leave her isolated religious community.[1]

Mother Jocasta would also be linked to the incident that help spawn the formation of the Cult of the Saints Cameron during the closing years of the Star League. Five days after Jocasta's death, Private Sandra Ustus, a gunner on a Turhan armored vehicle serving in the Seventieth Infantry Division was suddenly and mysteriously struck deaf, blind and dumb. Regaining her senses five days later, Ustus would insist that she had been visited by the ghost of Mother Jocasta, who had given Ustus a frighteningly specific prophecy: that First Lord Simon Cameron would be killed by an "assassin's digging machine." Though largely forgotten until the death of Simon Cameron in 2751 as a result of a MiningMech going on a rampage, Cameron's death, Ustus' vision and other similar incidents helped drive the formation of the Cult of St. Cameron, with Mother Jocasta forming part of a trinity of divine figures alongside her brother and Aleksandr Kerensky to followers of the Cult. Due to her deification by the Cult, several people, places, and things shared her name.[18][19]

A Cameron-class WarShip would be named after her, the SLS Mother Jocasta surviving the Amaris Coup and Operation EXODUS to become a possession of Clan Wolf and then Clan Wolf-in-Exile.[20][21]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Era Report: 2750, p. 82, "Major Personas - Terran Hegemony - Jocasta Cameron
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 17 "Rise and Fall of the Star League - The First Lords"
  3. The Star League, p. 60 "Peace and Prosperity - Terra's Importance"
  4. 4.0 4.1 The Star League, p. 62 "Peace and Prosperity - Mother Jocasta"
  5. 5.0 5.1 The Star League, pp. 63-64 "Peace and Prosperity - Second Hidden War"
  6. The Star League, p. 71 "Era of Decline - Vultures Gather"
  7. The Star League, p. 107 "Star League Defense Forces - Commanding Generals - General Ikolor Fredasa (2707-2729)"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, pp. 14-16 "Rise and Fall of the Star League - Renaissance and Rebellion"
  9. 9.0 9.1 Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 33 "The League's Might - The Commanding Generals - (6) General Ikolor Fredasa (2707-2729) - (7) General Rebecca Fetladral (2729-2738)"
  10. 10.0 10.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 10 "The Star League Defense Force - The Commanding Generals - General Ikolor Fredasa (2707-2729) - General Rebecca Fetladral (2729-2738)"
  11. 11.0 11.1 Era Report: 2750, pp. 28-32 "History and Review - Breakdown - Succession War"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Era Report: 2750, p. 59 "Factions - Terran Hegemony"
  13. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 18 "Rise and Fall of the Star League - A Plague on Both Your Houses: The War of Davion Succession (Second Hidden War)"
  14. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1, p. 19 "Rise and Fall of the Star League - The Slippery Slope"
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 The Star League, p. 64 "Peace and Prosperity - Surrogate First Lord"
  16. The Star League, p. 69 "Era of Decline - Rising through the ranks"
  17. 17.0 17.1 Era Report: 2750, p. 34 "History and Review - Chaos"
  18. Technical Readout: 3075, p. 172, "Turhan"
  19. The Star League, p. 72 "Era of Decline - Cult of the Saints Cameron"
  20. Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 108, "Naval Assets"
  21. The Falcon and the Wolf, p. 57: "Epsilon Galaxy"

Bibliography[edit]