# CSS Rebel Ascendant

Covert vessel

A Confederate-sanctioned vessel designed to pass for something harmless, carrying a covert crew through the series.

The CSS Rebel Ascendant is commanded by [Kaid Sidorov](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/kaid-sidorov/) when *Geometry of Grace* opens. She operates under Confederate sanction and carries a small crew used to extraction, cover identities, and missions that cannot be openly acknowledged.

## A convincing exterior

At the opening of *Geometry of Grace*, the Ascendant has been prepared to resemble a cheap NGO corvette transport. Worn paint and battered outer surfaces conceal her more dangerous capabilities. Her interior supports the appearance with dim lighting, scarred panels, and equipment made to look overworked.

The disguise is meant to make the ship unremarkable. Its value lies in the attention it avoids while the crew approaches [Clonmel](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/clonmel/).

## Shipboard work

[Alex Dakota-Kinsworth](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/alex-dakota-kinsworth/) combines piloting and engineering, keeping the vessel working from within. [Nadira Izmaylova](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/nadira-izmaylova/) handles technical operations including communications, travel planning, and traces left by the crew’s activity.

The Ascendant’s [Unity drive](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/unity-drive/) makes journeys between distant locations practical. The ship is also the crew’s shared working environment, where a plan has to become something a small number of people can actually carry out.

FOLLOW THE CONNECTIONS

## Related articles

- [Captain Kaid Sidorov](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/kaid-sidorov/)

- [Pilot and engineer Alex Dakota-Kinsworth](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/alex-dakota-kinsworth/)

- [Technical operations Nadira Izmaylova](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/nadira-izmaylova/)

- [Sanctioning alignment The Confederacy](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/confederacy/)

- [Interstellar travel Unity drive](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/unity-drive/)

### Also connected from

[The Clonmel extraction ↗](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/clonmel-extraction/)[Goblin ↗](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/goblin/)[New Thessalia ↗](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/new-thessalia/)[Nobu ↗](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/nobu/)[Pepper ↗](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/pepper/)[Veyra ↗](https://emissary.mdscur.com/encyclopedia/veyra/)

## Reading references

- Geometry of Grace — Reader orientation
- Geometry of Grace — Chapter 1

Introduction view omits plot outcomes. Interpretive articles are readings of the fiction.