Prepare to Drop

Player Information ;
Your Nickname: Jayde
OOC Journal: mordoriannazgul
Under 18? Nope!
Email/IM: Email - Jaydepuff@aol.com IM - Jaydepuff
Characters Played at Singularity: None


Character Information ;
Name: Lance Corporal J.D. "The Rookie"; fan speculation suggests his name is James Dante
Name of Canon: Halo 3: ODST
Canon/AU/Other Game CR: AU
Reference:
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/The_Rookie
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Halo_3:_ODST
Canon Point: Shortly after meeting up with Dare and Buck
Setting: Congratulations, Earth has (mostly) unified under the banner of the United Earth Government and United Nations Space Command, but your colony worlds are displeased and start reacting with Insurrectionist uprisings! What do you do? Getting attacked by an organization of violent alien zealots might do the trick!

First contact in 2525 did not go as peacefully as might have been hoped, with the alien Covenant declaring humanity as an affront to the gods and attacking. The war extended for a grueling 27 years, being less an even battle and more of a long delaying action by the UNSC to try to find methods to beat the Covenant before they could destroy humanity. Some methods were found to protect Mother Earth, such as the Cole Protocol and – of course – the legendary SPARTAN forces that came out of ONI and put fear into the hearts of the Covenant. Even so, one by one the Outer and Inner Colonies were lost, taken over by the Covenant or outright glassed by their plasma weapons. This included New Jerusalem, the first battle that the Rookie played a major part in.

The tide only really began to turn in 2552, after the Fall of Reach, the UNSC stronghold world and gateway to Earth. One of the last surviving Spartans dealt a crushing blow to the Covenant on ring Installation 04. Unfortunately, the Covenant still managed to find Earth, invading the African town of New Mombasa. The Marines and the Spartan drove them back. When only one of the Covenant’s cruisers was left in the area, The Rookie and the rest of his squad were dropped in. They were scattered when the cruiser jumped out while still in atmosphere, leaving J.D. to find the squad and complete their mission on his own. Unbeknownst to him, the survival of the human race depends on him finding Vergil.

Personality: One of the most notable things about the Rookie is that he doesn’t really talk much. His friends and coworkers have always pegged him as quiet, or “the strong, silent type”, and he doesn’t do much to change people’s opinions on that. In additional content from the official website, his commander Buck admits that he doesn't say much, but he just needs him to listen. Listening is what the Rookie is exceptional at, whether it's to his commanding officers like Buck and Dare, or to the story of an old ODST like Yevgenny. He's made something of a career out of listening, especially since dropping into New Mombasa, since he's chasing the instructions of the Superintendent AI and the Audio Logs revealing the story of a native girl named Sadie.

The time he spent in the company of Yevgenny, while comparatively short, left its impact on J.D. Yevgenny talked about how, for most of his life, planets were nothing to him but dirt. Finally, having sacrificed almost everything – and about to sacrifice his life – Yevgenny realized that the planets of the UEG might be dirt, but they were the humans’ dirt, and that made them worth defending from the Covenant. He made J.D. swear to fight the Covenant to the last, and the Rookie took it to heart. He hates the Covenant and will do everything he can to oppose them. If he has to fight them with nothing but rocks and sticks, he will. Given the setting, this will probably also extend to any current enemies of the other UNSC personnel on the station. He’s a loyalist at heart. Yevgenny’s story might have been a factor in why the Rookie is as quiet as he is, as well; he’s seen humanity at its worst and is carrying not only his own life, but that of Yevgenny as well now, and the weight of the planets the Covenant have glassed, including Reach.

Less obvious but just as significant is the fact that the Rookie is good with puzzles. In the most recent hours of his life, he’s had to not only piece together instructions from New Mombasa’s AI, Sadie’s story, and the six hours he missed while unconscious. This includes that he was able to figure out what happened to all of his squadmates after he lost contact with them, and that the New Mombasa police officer he met up with in the Data Hive was not as benevolent as he tried to seem. The designers even admitted that the Rookie was intended as a sort of lone gumshoe in a city full of hostiles (and rain. And saxophone solos), and he fits that bill spectacularly.

Abilities and Weaknesses: The Rookie has trained as both a marine and an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. This means he was trained to drop into the atmosphere from space, in what amounts to an armored car with jet thrusters on it. This has made him a bit fearless in the face of death. He also has extensive training with UNSC weapons and vehicles, and specializes in high-risk combat situations. J.D. is a surprisingly strong runner as well, able to flee the blast zone of a Shiva nuclear warhead in time to survive it - unlike the rest of those deployed at New Jerusalem.
Also, he’s extremely good at sleeping. Not just anywhere, but everywhere, from his (incredibly cramped) drop pod to solid metal floors, and in his armor no less.

Inventory:
M7S Caseless Submachine Gun
M6C/SOCOM pistol
ODST battle armor
- VISR system (fully functional)
- His rucksack contains extra ammo (2 clips for the submachine gun, 1 for the pistol) and two canisters of Biofoam
Appearance: The Rookie can typically be found in his armor, even sleeping in it. Under the armor (by player fiat, since he doesn't have a face in canon), he bears a resemblance to Sean Maher, with shorter hair. This is to follow the odd trend in ODST of a miniature Firefly reunion. He is 6'1" tall.
Age: 24


OC/AU Justification ;
If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across? He is utilizing the Audiophile achievement, which makes use of Sadie’s Story, found in Audio Logs throughout the game. This leads to a minor change in gameplay, where The Rookie calls out Vergil, rather than Dare. More importantly, it leads to one of the only instances in the Halo games where it is a plot point for a human protagonist to kill another human. In spite of his tepid demeanor, this has left J.D. shaken, as has Sadie’s Story, which was rife with humans doing terrible things to other humans in the middle of a Covenant invasion.
Also enabled is the “I Would Have Been Your Daddy” Skull, which provides additional dialogue to the game. This, along with the Audio Logs, affects the fact that J.D. has a name – the skull reveals that the Rookie’s first name is James (through additional dialogue from Buck), while the format and ‘Circles’ of the Audio Logs suggest the surname of Dante.
If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test?
And What Did You Score?


Samples ;
Log Sample: He had gotten into the lift with Buck, Dare, and their latest charge, Vergil. The blue and pink thing - Dare had called it an Engineer - purred through the fight that Buck and Dare picked with each other. The Rookie pretended to pay attention. He felt like he had heard this argument since Dare took over their squad for this mission, and it wasn't interesting anymore. Until they... kissed each other?! Well. Maybe that was normal for ONI officers? She told Buck it was for coming down to get them, which he couldn't really object to; being trapped in an underground data hive, surrounded by hostile Covenant forces, and his bad ass commander showed up to save them? He would have kissed the man too. Except that would probably lead to messy paperwork later. Beside him, Vergil trilled, and he looked to the creature. It looking at him, and him looking at it, J.D. thought they shared a common thought: what is wrong with these two?

His attention was distracted by Dare, abruptly and awkwardly, saying, "Thank you." Thank you? Well, he'd just been doing his job. Locate his squad members, kill the Covenant, save the world. Sitting through Buck and Dare having a decidedly awkward moment was, apparently, just a new part of his job.
Buck added, after clearing his throat, "You did good, Rookie. No doubt." And that... that was the important part. That he'd proved himself, at least to the Gunney. He was the FNG, after all - Fucking New Guy. Even if he couldn't shake being called Rookie, at least now he could probably get past FNG. "But we're not out of this yet."
No, they weren't. Vergil still needed to get out of the city, they had to rendezvous with the rest of the squad - and J.D. knew they were alive, the biofoam canister in the subway station had told him that much. All before the Covenant killed them. The lift doors hissed open and Buck and Dare turned to exit it, Vergil squealing beside the Rookie. Well, time to move...

Except that when he moved to step out of the elevator, his innards lurched. It felt something like his intestines had decided the real estate was better inside his stomach, and the floor dropped out from under him. He had enough time to gasp in before the surroundings changed and he fell, skidding and bouncing down surfaces that definitely weren't made by humans - or Covenant, for that matter - before finally slamming into a large hunk of concrete with a pained yelp. J.D. panted inside his armor, waiting for the pain to fade before he finally tried to move. At least his pistol had been clipped to his belt, his SMG landing not far from where he did. That was when he heard the chime, and some voice welcoming him to Sacrosanct. And warning him to watch his step.

He struggled to his feet finally, gun in hand, and snorted quietly. "Too late," he muttered, looking around. This... was definitely not New Mombasa.

Network Sample:
[The video flicks on, to someone wearing a helmet not entirely dissimilar from that of the Spartans. He appears to be fiddling with the wearable that’s been integrated with his armor. He lets out a short grunt, before the video flicks off…

And the hologram flicks on. He taps his helmet a couple times, starting to take it off…

As the hologram shuts off and the audio comes on. There’s the soft, rhythmic noise of breathing, and the man finally says something.]

Interesting.

[The audio flicks off, and when the video comes back, the fellow has his helmet back on. He looks around the area, shifting his posture, before finally looking back to the ‘camera’.]

Any other UNSC personnel present?

I guess I lost a month somewhere, since it's apparently December now. Well, merry Christmas or whatever holiday everyone celebrates in the winter!

[ Rookie can be non-denominational, see? If anyone's looking for him, they'll find him on the snowy jogging track on Deck Two, out for a run in his armor. What? It's warm! And also face-obscuring. ]

Your Name: Jayde
Age: 22
Username: mordoriannazgul
Email: Jaydepuff@aol.com
IM: Jaydepuff on AIM

Character Name: Lance Corporal “Rookie” J.D. – No full name is given, though fan speculation suggests his first name is “James.”
Series: Halo 3: ODST
Timeline: He’s being brought in from after finding Vergil and meeting up with Dare and Buck, toward the end of the game.
Background: Halopedia Entry – The Rookie
And Halopedia Entry – Halo 3: ODST for good measure!

The Rookie will be using the “Audiophile” achievement, which provided a mostly-minor change in one cutscene; it can be seen in a video on his profile here. He will be staying mostly spoiler-free, due mostly to specifics listed in languages below and a natural reluctance to talk about his missions with non-UNSC soldiers.
As well, by the mun’s calculations and minor canon information listing his previous occupation as ‘student’, his age is somewhere between 23-27 years of age, roughly.
Spoken / written languages: He both speaks and writes in English, but he rarely says much; the closest he gets to actual speech in canon are occasional grunts and groans, though for RP purposes he might actually string a few words together. Mostly he will be making use of the texting feature on the communicators. It could also be said that he ‘knows’ the language of the Huragok, or ‘Engineers’, but he’s limited to whistles to try to befriend them.
Abilities: The Rookie is excellent at stealth work, particularly thanks to his armor (see items, below). He is also good at both melee and ranged combat. And he’s a good listener… since he hardly says a word. Other than that, his strength, speed, and endurance are all average for a baseline human.
Items: Stripped of his weaponry, all that the Rookie would have on him would be his armor. Details of the armor can be found at this link - it offers protection primarily from small arms fire, as well as temperature regulation and urban camouflage – though that might be pretty useless on the Failboat. As well, it comes equipped with the Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance, or VISR. Given the lack of transponders on the Elegante, this feature would likely highlight all figures in orange, providing little more than low-light vison enhancement.

Third Person Sample: There was going to be a drop today. He could feel it. Nevermind that the navy had left one Covenant cruiser - they were going to be landing on it. There was a while before they had to drop, though… J.D., or ‘Rookie’ as the rest of his squad had taken to calling him, already suited up in his armor, settled into his pod and let the chin of his helmet sink onto his breastplate, intent on getting at least a few minutes sleep. A power nap, that’s all it was. Let the rest talk, or bicker in Romeo’s case. The Rookie planned to be fresh and alert for their mission, and that meant getting a little shut-eye beforehand. He shifted a little more before drifting off. Muffled voices floated through his dreamscape, ‘The navy put up a good fight… How about you show some respect, Romeo? - You know the music, time to dance!’ Somewhere, farther in the back, he heard a klaxon sound. He shifted in his sleep, grunting to himself. More voices, angrier now, ‘Ms. Naval Intelligence… What the hell am I supposed to do with this inside a Covenant ship?!”

Something cracked against the Rookie’s helmet, snapping his head up. Startled – and rudely awoken – he let out a yelp of pain. Romeo, the squad marksman and his least favorite member of the group, was standing in front of him, brandishing a sniper rifle. “Wake up, buttercup!” he said, right before he was pushed out of the way by Dutch. Dutch was the biggest in their group – he wasn’t much taller than the Rookie, but he was built like an ox. Heavy weapons specialist, unsurprisingly.

Apparently he’d flinched without realizing it, because Dutch looked apologetic. “Relax, Rookie, he don’t mean nothin’. Besides, now’s one of those times… it pays to be the strong, silent type.” He regarded the submachine gun he was holding – a noise suppressor was attached to it, J.D. noticed – then offered it over to him. He took the proffered weapon and locked it into his pod as Dutch turned to head for his own. Then it was S.O.P… until both of his video links flicked on. There was Buck… Gunney, he reminded himself… and a woman with DARE printed on her helmet. ‘Ms. Naval Intelligence’… an ONI spook? Dropping with them? Huh. She was saying something about the Covenant massing under the carrier they were supposed to be landing on.

The Rookie didn’t have time to wonder for long as his pod was ejected. Romeo made one of his usual smart-ass remarks, leaving Gunney to shoot him down as always. Wait… adjusting trajectory? Where were they going, if not that Covenant cruiser? The city?! Buck expressed the same disbelief he had… as the cruiser jumped into Slipspace. He heard a shout of “EMP!” and “Going in hot!” right when another pod – Mickey’s, he thought – slammed into his. He didn’t have time to consider the irony of the squad’s pilot’s pod hitting his. Suddenly he was listing in the air, alarms blaring and several screens popping up with red WARNING signs. He gripped the throttles, knuckles probably going white under his gloves as he tried to right the pod. It was in free spin, sky and ground rushing past one another outside the cracked window. No no no. Can’t die now. Didn’t make it through New Jerusalem just to die here. Pull up, pull up, pull-

Then, blackness.

First Person Sample: [ The first sound out of the comm was a suspicious thump thump thump. Someone’s testing to see if it’s on, maybe? After that, someone whistles what sounds like the acknowledging warble a computer might make. After that is a long, tense pause, followed by a grunt. The audio flicks off, but typing starts after a few more moments. ]

Gunney? Dare?

[ Another long pause before the typing continues. ]

This isn’t New Mombasa. This probably isn’t even Earth, is it? Where am I?

[ More importantly, where are his guns?!]
Quarters: Deck 07, Room 6216