Hartmann Bertram
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
 Lieutenant Bertram (791 UC (482 IC / 3591 CE)) | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Affiliation: | Galactic Empire |
| Rank: | Commander (posthumous) |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Died: | 791 UC (482 IC / 3591 CE) |
| Played by: | Kanō Shigeaki |
Hartmann Bertram (Japanese: ハルトマン・ベルトラム) was an Imperial military officer who served as the executive officer of the destroyer Hameln II in 791 UC (482 IC / 3591 CE).
Contents |
History
A commoner by birth, Bertram's talents and his amicable personality made him very popular amongst the enlisted crew members of the Hameln II, who considered him as the "commoners' star of hope". However, he was also a very ambitious person who considered the military rank system as more meritocratic than the nobility and thus a better indicator of status and privilege. This made him prejudiced against Reinhard von Lohengramm (then Müsel) when the latter was transferred to the Hameln II as its chief navigator in August 791 UC (482 IC / 3591 CE), as he believed Reinhard to have received undue favouritism and reached his rank of Sub-lieutenant at the age of 16 by virtue of him being the younger brother of Kaiser Friedrich IV's favourite consort, Countess Annerose von Grünewald. (MUT: 'Chapter I')
Bertram's displeasure with Reinhard manifested when the Hameln II was ambushed by an Alliance squadron during one of its routine patrols along the Iserlohn Corridor in late August 791 UC (482 IC / 3591 CE). The Alliance attack damaged the Hameln II and severely wounded the ship's captain, Lt Commander Adenauer, in the process. Adenauer's last order before losing consciousness was to transfer command authority to Reinhard, the highest-ranking officer present in the bridge then. When Bertram arrived in the bridge soon after, he got caught in a disagreement with Reinhard over the disposition of the Hameln II. Bertram wanted to rejoin the Imperial patrol squadron the Hameln II was part of, but Reinhard refused on the grounds that doing so would result in the Hameln II becoming entrapped by the Alliance ambush squadron. Reinhard's judgement turned out to be correct, but after he led the Hameln II to relative safety in a nearby asteroid field and finally relinquished command authority to Bertram, Bertram had Reinhard arrested and confined to his cabin for disobeying a superior officer. (MUT: 'Chapter II')
Bertram turned his attention to the crisis the Hameln II was facing and concluded that there was no way the ship could avoid detection and escape from the Alliance ambush squadron, having earlier rebuffed an escape plan involving the usage of a predicted solar eruption proposed by Spaceman First Class Schmidt, a member of the engineering crew who had studied astrophysics in a university before being drafted into the military. Bertram then decided to scuttle the ship and maintain the honour of the Imperial Fleet. However, his plan to self-destruct the ship was leaked and Reinhard, with the help of Siegfried Kircheis and a group of engineering crew led by Leading Spaceman Alanus Siader, broke free from his confinement and staged a mutiny. The mutineers then overran the bridge and forced Bertram into confinement. Undeterred, Bertram gathered enough support from other crew members and launched a counterattack against Reinhard. During the ensuing scuffle, Bertram accidentally killed Rolf Saider, the younger brother of Alanus and a fellow mutineer, who blocked a shot intended for Reinhard and the situation would have degenerated even further if not for the timely arrival of Adenauer, who put an end to the confrontation by reiterating his order to transfer command authority to Reinhard while he recover from his injuries in the medical bay and urged Bertram to comply and assist. Disturbed by his own actions, Bertram complied with Adenauer's order. (MUT: 'Chapter III')
When Reinhard decided to adopt Schmidt's escape plan, Bertram offered to help out with the engine repairs, hoping to atone for his killing of Rolf. The escape plan required the Hameln II to freefall towards the local star, Altmül, while the engine repairs were underway so as to utilise the predicted solar eruption from the star to give the Hameln II a large enough propulsion boost and allow it to safely escape from the Alliance ambush squadron. However, one of the engines could not be repaired within the ship, and Bertram volunteered to assist Alanus in repairing the engine from the ship's exterior, which had became extremely hazardous due to its proximity with the star. Although the repairs were successful, Bertram and Alanus were jolted away from the Hameln II while it was trying to evade an Alliance long-ranged attack. In that moment, Bertram sacrificed his own life by pushing Alanus back towards the ship while he drifted away and was consumed by the star soon afterwards. For his actions, Bertram received a posthumous double promotion to the rank of Commander. (MUT: 'Chapter IV')
Appendices
Appearances
- MUT:
- 'Chapter I' (first appearance)
- 'Chapter II'
- 'Chapter III'
- 'Chapter IV' (final appearance; death)
Background information
Bertram is both a Germanic given name and a surname, which is derived from the words berht ("bright") and hramn ("raven").
