Editing Natasha Kerensky: Bio-medical Report

{{InfoBoxStory
| image               = 
| name                = 
| author              = [[Tara Gallagher]]<br />[[James Lanigan]]
| pages               = 5
| type                = Short story/In-universe document
| product             = Shrapnel (anthology)
| illustrations       = [[Jeff Laubenstein]]<br />[[David R. Deitrick]]
| era                 = [[Succession Wars era]]
| timeline            = (see text)
| scrollable timeline = [[Start date::]][[End date::]]
}}
'''''Natasha Kerensky: Bio-medical report''''' (listed as "'''Natasha Kerensky: A biomedical report'''" in the table of contents) is a [[BattleTech]] fiction piece (arguably classed as a short story for purposes of the [[BattleTechWiki]]) by [[Tara Gallagher]] and [[James Lanigan]] that was published in the 1988 anthology ''[[Shrapnel (anthology)|Shrapnel]]'' as an in-universe document.

The latest date found in any part of the story/report is a reference to a surgical operation in [[3026]].

==Summary==
Purporting to be a secret file about [[Natasha Kerensky]] put together by [[Misha Auburn]], this archival report consists of several parts:

===Holographic/Photographic evidence===
A section explaining that remarkably few reliable photographs exist of Natasha Kerensky, and that the scarce evidence suggests she repeatedly underwent plastic surgery between [[3007]] and [[3026]]. She is explicitly said to be the same woman with periodic reconstructive surgery.

===Medical reports===
Even scarcer than photographic sources, the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] could only superficially investigate Natasha Kerensky, revealing evidence of possible burns and skin graft on her arm as well as possibly some replaced teeth, and indications of scarring and plastic surgery. She is thought to have had at least one severe injury that was treated by a highly skilled practitioner.

===Interview===
The transcript of an interview by Misha Auburn taken on 7 April [[3023]] shows Natasha Kerensky toying with her interviewer, carefully avoiding revealing anything about herself and giving deceiving and flippant answers.  During the interview, Natasha jokingly suggests that there are multiple Natasha Kerenskys, and that maybe she's not one of them.

The interview is followed by an "Interviewer's notes" section where Misha Auburn notes how expertly her questions were avoided, but also how preoccupied Natasha Kerensky appears to be with youth and age. Also, asking her about her appearance made her slightly hesitant, presumably because few have dared to query her about such matters before.

There is a final section called "Supervisor's notes" where Misha Auburn is commended for her "schoolgirl practicing being a historian" approach to getting an interview with Natasha Kerensky.

==Notes==
* Since the Dragoons had left [[Lyran Commonwealth]] employ in January [[3023]] and were already assaulting [[Hoff]] in April 3023 (per the ''[[Tales of the Black Widow Company]]'' scenario book), if the date Misha Auburn gives for the interview is accurate, Natasha Kerensky's "joke" may have been true, and the person being interviewed may have been a body-double.

==References==
*''[[Shrapnel (anthology)]]''

[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Works by Tara Gallagher]]
[[Category:Works by James Lanigan]]