| Japanese name: |
アレクサンドル・ビュコック |
Rank: Admiral, later Fleet Admiral and Starfleet Commander
Occupation: Fleet Commander, later Commander of the Combined Forces
Group Affiliation: Free Planets Alliance
Base of Operations: Flagship Rio Grande (5th Fleet)
later Strategical Planning Center (Planet Heinessen)
First Appearance: Episode #12: "Attack on the Empire"
Hair: Grey with mustache
Age: Mid 60's
Birthdate: December 8th 727
History: Alexander ("Old Man") Bucock has led a distinguished military career. In 745UC he fought in the Second Tiamat Battle.
Biography
Early Military Career
Early Military Career
Unlike most fleet commanders, Bucock enlisted in the Alliance forces as a simple soldier, and slowly climbed his way up through merit alone. On one hand, that made him the object of a certain disdain from some of the Academy-educated officers. On the other, his rich experience made him respected as a commander on both sides of the conflict.
Early in his military service, Alexandre Bucock served under the command of Bruce Ashbey, and participated in the Second Battle of Tiamat in 745 UC at the age of 19. He served in the 5th Fleet, then under Wallace Warwick, as a gunner, with the rank of sergeant, on board the battleship Shah Abbas. In a twist of fate, he would one day rise to become that very fleet's commanding officer. During the battle, he kept his cool even when his turret's ammunition ran out, and he later admonished a fellow crew member who was fretting over the battle as a whole, reminding him to stick to his duties and to stop worrying over such things he had no control over.
Sometimes after the battle, Bucock was presumably given a battlefield commission as an officer. Although more competent than most, Bucock's lack of Academy training and refusal to flatter political egos considerably slowed his progression up the ranks for many years.
By 788 UC, Alexandre Bucock had been promoted to the rank of commodore, and served as the Alliance commander in charge of the Marovia Starzone.
Over the next six years, Bucock's star rose rather sharply, with him becoming a rear admiral, and then vice admiral. By 794 UC, Bucock commanded one of the Alliance's twelve combat fleets, and already had a very good reputation in that regard.
Later military career
Later military career
Third Battle of Tiamat
In 795 UC, the Alliance's 5th Fleet, 10th Fleet, and 11th Fleet were ordered to intercept and engage an Imperial force that had advanced into the Tiamat starzone. As the senior admiral, Bucock had command, however Vice Admiral Willem Holland of the 11th Fleet was nearly insubordinate and insisted on employing his own aggressive tactics. Initially Holland met with success, but Bucock and Ulanhu of the 10th Fleet both worried that Holland was becoming overextended and at risk of an Imperial counterattack. Holland refused all suggestions to withdraw and ultimately even Bucock's direct order to withdraw. As feared, a concentrated Imperial counterattack was launched when the 11th Fleet's attack reached the limit of its momentum. Concentrated fire by Reinhard von Müsel's command, destroyed Holland's flagship and sent the 11th Fleet into disarray. Coordinating with Ulanhu, Bucock covered the retreat of the 11th Fleet successfully and blocked further Imperial pursuit. Faced with the threat of yet more Alliance reinforcements and having already achieved the propaganda victory they were after, the Imperial forces withdrew from the Tiamat starzone.
The Imperial Invasion
When Reinhard von Lohengramm led an invasion of Alliance space through the Fezzan Corridor, the Free Planets Alliance hastily assembled a fleet to counter the Imperial threat, with Alexandre Bucock in command as Fleet Admiral. Bucock's fleet engaged Reinhard's forces in the Rantemario Starzone, in what would become known as the Battle of Rantemario. Faced with a numerically superior enemy, Bucock fought the Imperial fleets as best he could, utilizing the Rantemario star's gravity well to his own advantage. Despite dealing heavy damage to the Imperial fleets — particularly admiral Bittenfeld's Black Lancers, the Alliance fleet suffered enormous casualties and was routed. When his defeat became clear, Bucock asked to be left alone so that he might repent for the deaths of the men under his command by taking his own life. Chung Wu-Cheng had removed the clip from Bucock's weapon earlier, preventing the suicide, and implored him not to take his own life. He convinced Bucock by pointing out that if the Alliance were defeated, the Empire would likely try high-ranking military officers for war crimes, and if Bucock were dead when that happened, his subordinates would be tried and executed in his place.
Yang Wenli's Iserlohn Garrison Fleet arrived at Rantemario and assisted Bucock's fleet in a withdrawal from the starzone. While Yang remained at the front lines to continue to harass the invading Imperial forces, Bewcock returned to the capital Heinnesen. When the combined fleets of Imperial admirals Wolfgang Mittermeyer and Oskar von Reuenthal descended over the capital, Bucock was present and the meeting with Job Trunicht and Walter Islands to debate Mittermeyer's call for the government to surrender. Bucock argued that they should refuse to surrender, and willingly die in an imperial attack, just to buy time for Yang's fleet to defeat Reinhard von Lohengramm in battle. Even though they might die, he said, the war could still be won: with Reinhard dead, the Imperial fleets would return to Odin and likely fight over who might succeed the childless conqueror. Trunicht dismissed Bucock's advice, whereupon Bucock declared that he would make sure the Alliance never surrendered, even if that meant he had to kill Job Trunicht.
When Alexandre Bucock approached Trunicht, the meeting was interrupted by armed soldiers belonging to the Terraist Church, who were loyal to Job Trunicht. At Trunicht's command, Bucock was arrested and removed from the meeting. Shortly thereafter, on 5 May 799 UC, the Free Planets Alliance surrendered unconditionally to the Galactic Empire.
Retirement
Following the surrender of the Free Planets Alliance to the Galactic Empire, Yang Wenli met with Reinhard von Lohengramm and urged the conquering general not to pursue "vengeance" against senior military and political figures for their role in the war. Reinhard accepted Yang's proposal, and thus Alexander Bucock (and many others) were permitted to live. Bucock retired from military service and intended to live out his remaining days in peace, at home with his wife.
Though ostensibly a free citizen after the war, Bucock's former position in the Alliance military made him an "important person" to the occupying Imperial forces. As such, he was under constant supervision by military intelligence, to pre-emptively combat any anti-Imperial action he might take.
In the chaos surrounding the Imperial occupation of the Alliance and the subsequent second Imperial invasion of Alliance territory, Bucock was forced out of retirement to lead a suicidal defence against Reinhard's fleets: the single greatest military force ever assembled in human history.
Voice actors: Tomita Kōsei, Madono Mitsuaki
gineipaedia
