Post by John Patton on Jul 28, 2010 11:56:31 GMT -5
The Details
~Full Name: John Edward Patton
~Nickname/Alias: None
~Gender:Male
~Age:35
~Sexuality: Straight
~Affiliation: Freelancer (former Settler, then Enforcer)
~Occupation: Former Enforcer, currently living off the land with occasional forays into vigilantism.
At First Glance
~Appearance: A white male of average size, standing at 5'10", roughly 190lbs. John has shoulder length poorly kept hair. His facial hair appears to have started as a goatee, but hasn't been trimmed for a while. Steel grey eyes are barely visible through his squint. Presently he is wearing a drovers coat and heavy brown canvas cargo pants. His feet are shod with a typical set of combat boots. They appear to be commercially made before the collapse and in better shape than you would expect
Under The Skin
~Likes: At least five.
- Beer
- Chivalry
- Family
- America
- Freedom
~Dislikes: At least five.
- Cities
- Excessive heat
- Raiders
- Seafood, other than fish.
- Abuse of the innocent
~Strengths: At least five.
- Skilled marksman.
- Strong sense of duty.
- Strong moral compass (doing what's right).
- Excellent bushcraft skills
- Good endurance.
~Flaws: At least five.
- Disgust at injustice often gets him in trouble.
- Strongly desires to have a family, but is particular about what he wants in a woman.
- Often daydreams about how he wishes things were, not dealing with how they are.
- Strong individualistic streak makes it difficult to seek help when necessary.
- Wanted by the Enforcers for murder.
~Fears: At least two.
- Confinement
- Losing people he cares about
Personality: What're they like as a person?
John mostly keeps to himself. Because of his history it is generally safer for him to be alone, although through recent acts of self discovery he is begining to see that may not get him where he wants to be. John is not excessively paranoid, but is reasonably so given his life experience.
The Past
~Family Members: Paternal grandfather: Walter Patton, former USAF military police, trapped during the event, deceased (see history) Paternal grandmother: Millie Patton, died in the immediate aftermath. Father, James Patton, was aged 10 during the event, deceased (see history). Mother, Genie Patton, died during childbirth.
~History: John's grandfather and father were caught in England during the event and were unable to evacuate. His grandmother was killed in the rioting. His grandfather, Walter, was an E5 in the USAF, working for the military police securing one of the many air force bases in Britain controlled by the US before the flares. After things started to settle down Walter found himself in what would become a settler village and started about the task of raising his young son.
Fifteen years later, James, would receive his own son with the mix of joy and sorrow that comes from losing the mother in childbirth. Walter and James raised John together. Walter was, outside of his job, an avid fan of bushcraft. He had saved some of his personal library and picked up a few more books in trade over time. From a young age John was taught everything that Walter and James knew, and spent much of his time learning what they didn't. Around age ten John was put in charge of one of the village's traplines.
Walter also trained John in firearms. The village had three M4s (M-16 derivative), a few M9s (the US military version of the Beretta 92FS), and a few old Enfields. Since Walter had originally brought the M4s and M9s to the village he used them to train his son and grandson in tactics and shooting. John was taught to respect every bullet not only for its value in currency, but also for what it would do ripping through flesh. They had only used the guns in defense a handful of times before that fateful day.
When John was fourteen he returned from checking his traps (two badgers, three squirrels, and a rabbit) and found the village a smoldering wreck. Raiders. They had taken everything from the village, even the dead; and there were certainly dead judging by the blood everywhere. He shuddered to think of what had happened to them.
Once he recovered from the initial shock he found the corner of his home. He paced off two hundred yards directly south and started to dig. He found the five gallon bucket that served as an emergency cache, dug it up, and then ran for a secluded spot he knew of.
Reaching the cave, John spent some time considering what to do next. He opened the cache and found a well-worn medium ALICE pack (no frame) with MOLLE straps. Inside was a blanket, fire starting kit, a new set of combat boots in his size, socks, underwear, a mess kit, ten pounds of dried corn, and two hundred feet of paracord. On him, he had his drovers coat, some nettle cordage, a little jerky, a canteen, a Khukuri and a Mora knife.
John spent a few days preserving the meat from his earlier trapping, eating, and meditating on what had happened. A fire burned inside him for revenge. After several days, however, that fire had burned down to a hot coal, a driving force for justice. He spent the next year trying to find the men who destroyed his village, but was not successful. Admitting his failure to himself he re-cached most of his materials in the cave, leaving with only his Mora, his old shoes, and some cordage.
He headed to York, home of the Enforcers, hoping to do some good for justice in the world. He joined the patrols and became known for his ruthlessness when it came to the Raiders and his ability to track them outside of the city.
Then one day, things came crashing down. John was part of a team patrolling the outskirts of York when they came across a village being attacked by the raiders. The Enforcers broke up the attack and the Raiders fled. While sweeping a building John and his partner came across a young girl who had been with the Raiders. John's partner hit the girl, demanding information. When she had none to give, he set down his gun and reached for his belt.
John didn't think twice. He brought up his beanbag gun to the back of his partner's neck and fired. The beanbag snapped his neck and severed his spinal column. He died almost instantly. Realizing what he had done, John dropped his gun and fled back to his cave, realizing that his life, as he had known it, was over.
Since that day, John has been living in the bush. He let his short hair grow out. He recovered his cached items and changed out of his enforcer uniform, although he still keeps it, thinking it may be useful some day.
The coal of justice is still burning inside...
Miscellaneous
~Inventory:
Starter List: Tinderbox & Flint, Canteen Cup (Cooking Pan), Canteen (water bottle), 200' Paracord (rope), Mora (knife)
Group-Specific List: Home-built crossbow with bolts x4, Medium Khukuri (from time as Settler)
Clothing and food don’t get listed here.
~Anything else? Put any info you want that the form doesn't ask about.