Natasha Kerensky: Bio-medical Report
Sarna News
Natasha Kerensky: Bio-medical report (listed as "Natasha Kerensky: A biomedical report" in the table of contents) is a BattleTech short story by Tara Gallagher and James Lanigan that was published in the 1988 anthology Shrapnel.
The latest date found of any part of its content is a reference to a surgical operation in 3026.
Contents
Summary
Purporting to be a secret file about Natasha Kerensky put together by Misha Auburn, this archival report consists of several parts:
Holographic/Photographic evidence
A section explaining that remarkably few reliable photographs exist of Natasha Kerensky, and that the scarce evidence suggests she repeatedly underwent plastic surgery between 3007 and 3026. She is explicitly said to be the same woman with periodic reconstructive surgery.
Medical reports
Even scarcer than photographic sources, the Lyran Commonwealth could only superficially investigate Natasha Kerensky, revealing evidence of possible burns and skin graft on her arm as well as possibly some replaced teeth, and indications of scarring and plastic surgery. She is thought to have had at least one case of severe injury that was treated by a highly skilled practitioner.
Interview
The transcript of an interview by Misha Auburn taken on 7 April 3023 shows Natasha Kerensky toying with her interviewer, carefully avoiding revealing anything about herself and giving deceiving and flippant answers.
The interview is followed by an "Interviewer's notes" section where Misha Auburn notes how expertly her questions were avoided, but also how preoccupied Natasha Kerensky appears to be with youth and age. Also, asking her about her appearance made her slightly hesitant, presumably because few have dared to query her about such matters before.
There is a final section called "Supervisor's notes" where Misha Auburn is commended for her "schoolgirl practicing being a historian" approach to getting an interview with Natasha Kerensky.