Lieutenant Anya Stroud was a allied officer in the Alliance Joint Military army and the daughter of Major Helena Stroud. She joined the AJM army to follow in her mother’s footsteps, but unlike her mother, she did not serve as a frontline soldier. Stroud instead became a communications officer and served in her mother's unit during the Multiverse Wars. There she met Thomas Sevchenko and fell deeply in love with him and also became friends with William "B.J." Blazkowicz. She took part in the Battle of the Forsaken Moons, where she listened to her mother dying over the communications link.
Anya continued to serve as a controller in the CIC during the Multiverse Wars, and was heartbroken when other soldiers was tried as a deserter and sent to prison ten years after Emergence Day. When the Cerberus Offensive began, she was briefly reunited with him after BJ broke him out of jail. She operated as his squads' controller during the Operation. She reconnected with Sev in the following months, and made sure she was always on duty when he was. During Operation: Black Storm, she again guided Fergus Reid's squad through their battles and escaped the Sinking of Jacinto. As the Allies began to rebuild after the apparent victory over the Coalition, Anya and Sev grew closer and she began to train to become a frontline soldier, while still serving as a controller. However, when the Dominion emerged, Anya fully embraced being on the frontline and fought alongside Sevchenko in Delta Squad.
After the conflict on her homeworld, she married Sgt. Fenix and became the original First Minster of the reestablished Coalition of Ordered Governments. She led the people to build New Ephyra and embraced reproductive programs to restore humanity. Taking part in the program herself, she conceived her son, James Dominic Fenix, with Sgt. Fenix as she was previously unable due to being barren at the time until she was fixed up by the Alliance's medical science.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Anya was the only daughter of Gear officer Major Helena Stroud. Her father wasn't around when she grew up, and as such, her mother Helena raised her alone. Despite Helena being the scion of the affluent Stroud Family, and had ownership of the Stroud Estate, she raised Anya within a small apartment in Jacinto City.
Pendelum Wars[]
Anya joined the Coalition of Ordered Governments military in the 75th year of the Pendulum Wars as a cadet officer, but became a CIC controller instead of a frontline Gear like her mom. During the preparation for Operation Leveler, Anya was brought, along with another cadet, by Major Stroud to see her mother's company after a training session. Major Stroud lectured Anya and the other cadet on the virtues of getting out of the CIC, and seeing what Gears on the front line had to go through. Anya first met Marcus Fenixduring this visit, and became attracted to him, and he to her. Two days before the Operation began,Anya boarded the CNV Kalona along with the rest of the cadets who would operate as controllers during the battle. She later gave a briefing to the Gears on the weather conditions they would face during their landing, informing them that the weather would be difficult, and that timing would be critical. When the Gears launched off on their landing craft toward Aspho Fields, Anya waved goodbye to her mother and gave her a thumbs up.
Personality and Traits[]
In her youth, Anya often felt overshadowed and in awe of her mother. Although very beautiful, Anya didn't seem to know she was considered to be such by others, but this wasn't the case as both Carlos Santiago and Marcus Fenix noticed her. When her mother was killed in the Battle of Aspho Fields, Anya became stronger, firmer and more independent. When she eventually went frontline, she was described as becoming a lot like her mother.
Part of the reason why Anya is so dedicated to the military is, according to Damon Baird, she "can't have kids" During the Battle of Pelruan of 2 BE (1XXX NE), Anya showed great enthusiasm in fighting and enjoyed herself immensely. She became part of what she had always heard over the radio and admitted if she'd known it felt like it did, she would have gone frontline earlier and wished her mother had been there to see her. She ended up becoming a capable field officer, leading the Gears defending Pelruan and joining Delta Squad after the COG collapsed, though she deferred to Marcus' command rather than taking over as the ranking member.
Relationships[]
- Marcus Fenix: Anya fell in love with Marcus Fenix and vice versa ever since they met not long before the Battle of Aspho Fields. The relationship started the night Anya got her mother's Embry Star: Marcus took her home and a combination of grief, alcohol and a need for closeness caused the two to start a sexual relationship. Initially it was fun to sneak away for time together, but Anya grew to dislike this as she didn't want to be like her mother; a woman who slept around and never married and didn't seem to know who fathered her daughter as a result. Anya also disliked that Marcus never stayed a full night, but Dom Santiago explained to her it's because he had terrible nightmares and didn't want to frighten her. Anya loved Marcus deeply and was annoyed by his lack of willingness to be open about their relationship, which was partially fear that she would be brought up on charges for being in a relationship with an enlisted man (there were regulations against fraternizing between officers and enlisted) and according to Dom, partially Marcus' upbringing. However, despite their endeavors to keep it a secret, several people knew by the time Marcus went to prison; including Colonel Victor Hoffman; Dominic Santiago, Chairman Richard Prescott and Adam Fenix. It's indicated that at some point the relationship became an open secret. Despite it being against regulations, no one tried to stop it, not even Chairman Prescott when he admitted his knowledge and the people who knew mostly encouraged Anya. After Marcus got sent to prison for forty years, Anya refused to give up on him, willing to wait for the whole forty years if necessary despite Marcus repeatedly telling her to forget about him and move on with her life. She worked with Dom to get a legal appeal and expressed her frustrations over Marcus not responding to her letters and not being affectionate in public, but Dom assured her that Marcus did love her and never even looked at another woman. Despite not getting any response from Marcus; both to letters and phone calls, Anya still never gave up, not knowing that a vindictive guard burned all but a few of her letters and all of Marcus' return letters. She was also unaware that the thought of her was one of the few things keeping Marcus going in prison, and part of the reason he never answered her calls was fear that she had in fact moved on and he didn't want to remind her of their past while learning the painful truth. When Anya learned the Slab was under siege, she asked the senior warden to pass along the message to Marcus that she loved him, which the warden informed her Marcus asked him to say the same back about her. While Marcus didn't actually say this, he lamented not being able to return the favor and was grateful for the guard's actions. Once the two were briefly reunited in Embry Square, Marcus realized just by her reaction to him that she hadn't given up on him and was relieved. Despite Marcus not being outwardly demonstrative usually, when he believed her dead when he sank Jacinto; he was clearly and openly devastated, but relieved when she was revealed to have survived. While briefly talking about her letters; Anya learned that Marcus didn't get more than a few, and she informed him that even after all that time, what she told him in them about her feelings hadn't changed. When the war was won; unfortunately with the loss of Adam Fenix and Dom, Anya comforted Marcus, who was unsure what to do now after so much loss. She reminded him that they finally had a future to look forward to, and his father had wanted him to experience it. When Anya took his hand, Marcus didn't reject her gesture despite the fact that a lot of people are watching and accepted her comfort and love.