Full Name: Aleksandra ‘Ally’ Tremblay née Ivanova
Hometown: Varna, Bulgaria
Branch: Royal Canadian Navy
Military Occupation: Naval Communicator
Rank: Petty Officer, 2nd Class (E6)
Age: 30

Languages: Bulgarian (5/5), Russian (5/5), English (4+/4+), French (4+/4+), Serbo-Croatian (4+/4+), Ukrainian (4/4), German (3/3)

Key Skills [Asset >=12]: Drive: Wheeled Vehicle, Electronics, Firearms: Combat Rifleman, Melee Combat: Armed, Navigation, Observation, Profession: Sailor, Seafarer: Large Motorized Ship & Small Motorized Boat, Stealth, Thrown Weapons

Notable Equipment: Manpack Radio, AK-74, PM Makarov, Steiner Binoculars, Hand Grenades, Throwing Axe/Hatchet, Soviet Steel Helmet, Bayonet

Background: Aleksandra Ivanova grew up in communist Bulgaria where her family had a small home in the port city of Varna.  Her father was a Black Sea fishing boat Captain and part-time smuggler who ran contraband between Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania, with the occasional foray up to the Ukraine.  From a young age, Aleksandra spent long days and nights on the water with her ‘tatko’, learning about both of his trades.  She also developed a keen interest in radio, listening to Radio Free Europe, from land or sea and cracking open Bulgarian-made Тонмайстор (Tonmaystor) receivers to better understand how those faraway voices could reach her through the airwaves.

Aleksandra was 15 years old when her father decided to defect with his family and claim political asylum in Canada.  Her father recognized early on that his whip-smart daughter had picked up a considerable amount of English just listing to the Western broadcasts.  He knew that Aleksandra would have opportunities in the West that she would never have in Bulgaria.

Indeed, Aleksandra (Ally to her friends in the West) flourished in her new Toronto high school.  She indulged her interests in language (apprendre le Français par exemple), technology, and Canadian culture, which wasn’t just wearing flannel and throwing axes (something she did take up however).  Bringing her educational foundation up to par required considerable effort, which made much easier by her keen intellect and innate curiosity.

Ally enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy at age 18 as a Navy Communicator, which aligned with her interest in communication technology and promised to make use of her expert language abilities.  Her career field trained her to operate radio-teletype systems, computer networks, tactical satellite and HF/VHF/UHF radio systems, along with communication security/cryptographic equipment.  She also cross-trained on a wide range of shipboard tasks and roles.

Following her three year enlistment, she left active duty to pursue tertiary education, though she remained in the Naval Reserves.  She earned a two-year Electronics Engineering Technician diploma from Algonquin College in Ottawa, where she also met her future husband, Jamie Tremblay.  Following graduation and marriage, Ally Tremblay started with Northern Telecom (aka Nortel) in their repair/return shop, fixing PBX Digital Line Cards and multi-line digital telephone sets.  Rapid promotion to shop supervisor and good pay allowed her to take trips occasional trips back to Europe, where she would often seek to meet up with family in Yugoslavia, since her status prevented her from returning to the People’s Republic of Bulgaria.

Ally, was recalled to active duty at the start of the war and was assigned to the RCN Halifx-class frigate 'Calgary’.  Jamie volunteered for the RCN the day she received orders, but his need for basic and occupational training meant that Ally would ship out first.  Aboard the Calgary, Ally served both radio and bridge watch as the ship struggled to cope with short staffing while also protecting convoys crossing the Atlantic.  Unfortunately, the Canadian warship was sunk early in the war.  Ally survived along with a handful of other crew-members.  She and the others were pressed into service as NATO infantry replacements, something of a waste given Tremblay’s technical skills.  Ironically, when her unit was overrun, Soviet troops did not make the same mistake after taking Ally hostage.  She spent several months repairing Russian radio and telephone sets under light guard.  Her access to high frequency radio equipment and language skills allowed her to make discreet inquiries about her Jamie and her family in Bulgaria.  Over the course of several months she learned that her husband had been wounded and evacuated back to Canada.  Her remaining family in Bulgaria had not been so lucky.  Most had been called up to the eastern front and were either killed or missing.  Those that stayed behind hadn’t faired any better due to disease and famine.  Only a few of her unscrupulous cousins, who had eluded the draft, remained in Varna.

The news left Ally despondent and following her release, she made her way to Odessa, painfully aware that she had no reason to return to Bulgaria and no way to return to Canada.  Fortune smiled on the Bulgarian-Canadian when an undercover DIA agent enlisted her to fix a broken HF radio set.  A few repair jobs eventually turned into an offer of employment -- gathering information on the streets of Odessa.  Little did she know then, that her new role might allow her to return to her adopted home.