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The Ursus Student Self-Governing/Government Group[note 1] (U.S.S.G.) is a Terran organization. It is a band of five Ursus students who survived the uprising in Chernobog and its devastation. Currently, the U.S.S.G. is working together with Rhodes Island as its Operators in exchange for treatments for their psychological/physical illnesses.
Background[]
The students of Chernobog were initially sheltered at Peterheim Middle School under the direction of the Reunion leader, Patriot, who sought to protect them from the surrounding violence. Most of these students were commoners, but some came from aristocratic families and attended prestigious schools. Social tensions between the two groups were already high, as mutual disdain festered due to class divides. These issues worsened when Mephisto took over, ordering his men to lock down the school entirely, trapping the students inside to fuel his amusement at their infighting.
To survive and protect their dwindling rations, the students formed factions. While these groups provided temporary stability, they couldn’t mend the deep-seated divide. Amid the chaos, Anna Morozova approached Sonya and suggested that Sonya take the lead in organizing the students. This suggestion was met with hostility, but Sonya asserted control, killing those who opposed her leadership to maintain order. At Istina's recommendation, the students formed the Ursus Student Self-Governing Group (U.S.S.G.).[1]
The fragile peace shattered entirely after Sonya accidentally set the school’s storehouse on fire, destroying the last of their food supply. This catastrophe sparked a violent conflict between the commoners and the aristocrats.[2] By the time Sonya managed to rescue Natalya (Rosa), only four members of the group remained.
After the Catastrophe that devastated Chernobog, the U.S.S.G. escaped the school and hid in unaffected districts until they were rescued by Rhodes Island. While Rhodes Island provided medical treatment and psychological counseling, the traumatic events at the school left deep scars on the students. Despite this, they worked hard to move forward from their dark past.[3]
Rhodes Island offered to enroll the U.S.S.G. members in schools within Chernobog, but they declined. As an alternative, Rhodes Island provided them with an equivalent education, albeit unaccredited and without the ability to confer formal degrees.
Years has passed, Zima once thought of disbanding the group as she thinks everyone will go their separate ways someday, to the resounding disapproval of everyone else, reassuring her that they will always remain tightly-knit.
Aftermath[]
The survivors of the U.S.S.G. each carry lingering trauma from their time at Peterheim Middle School:
- Gummy struggles with intense hunger and compulsively bites objects when hungry due to the severe food shortages she endured. She is unable to strike three consecutive blows without overexerting herself and also suffers from nyctophobia due to her experiences in the dark during the occupation.
- Istina suffers from survivor’s guilt after witnessing her friend, Vika, fall to her death. She developed acrophobia as a result.
- Zima is haunted by constant nightmares, burdened by guilt over killing fellow students during her leadership and accidentally destroying the food storage while trying to reclaim stolen rations from the nobles. She is also occasionally disturbed by hallucinations of a doppelganger that chides her for her actions.
- Rosa was coerced into allowing her aristocratic peers to steal from the commoners. The guilt has led her to struggle with self-loathing, depression, and suicidal thoughts.[4]
- Leto appears unaffected on the surface, but her true feelings about the incident remain unknown.[5] She also grapples with unrelated personal struggles, such as growing up without a father. This shaped her into a tough, resilient individual, likely influenced by being the daughter of the fearless and ruthless Arctosz Paleroche.
Members[]
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- Vika☠: A friend of Istina who wished to seek shelter from the aristocrat faction after realizing that the U.S.S.G. could not fully protect them. However, Istina was opposed to the idea as Zima hated the nobles.[2] Due to Istina's resentment of the nobles' actions in the school, she refused to pull up Vika from a ledge and allowed her to fall to her death. Her name was later given to Istina's teddy bear as a remembrance.[1]
Of the U.S.S.G. members above:
- Zima is the de facto leader of the U.S.S.G.
- Istina is the founder of the U.S.S.G.
- Rosa acts as the figurehead of U.S.S.G. during their stay in Rhodes Island.
- Leto is the only one who is not born in Ursus or Chernobog, but from Kjerag. She also belongs to the bloodline of one of the ruling parties of Kjerag, the Paleroche.
Notes[]
- ↑ Russian: Урсуский Ученический Союз Самоуправления; lit. "Ursus Self-Governing Students' Union"