Corporal Brendan Lynch, Irish personal name Bhraonáin Ó Loingsigh, is an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper in the UNSC Marine Corps. He is a machine gun operator in Bravo Platoon of 3rd Company, 5th Shock Troops Battalion.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Lynch was born in the outskirts of Dúnnangall Ùr, a city on the Outer Colony of Cothrom. Cothrom was settled by colonists hailing from Ireland, and thus has a significant Gaelic cultural heritage. Lynch's parents both worked in law enforcement: his father worked at the local police department, his mother served in the military police at the nearby Colonial Militia base. It was a good, happy childhood, and he grew up to be proud of his ancestry.
In 2534, when he was 18 years old, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at the planetary capital, Dàrna-Dubhlinn. During his training, his liking for machine guns became apparent, and thus he was assigned as a machine gunner when he was done with boot camp.
Military service[]
Following his training, Lynch was shipped off on board the UNSC Black Betty. His first combat experience would be in early 2535, at the battle of Jericho VII, where the present Marine forces saw success while suffering only minor casualties. Lynch proved himself a skilled combatant in the field during that campaign, even though the UNSC ended up losing the battle. The Black Betty fortunately escaped unscathed, with most of her ground forces - Lynch included - with her. In the next two years, Lynch did not see much action outside minor skirmishes, until the battle of New Harmony in 2537. This battle, although a very rare naval victory for the UNSC, saw significant casualties on the ground. Nonetheless, Lynch's combat action here brought him to the attention of NavSpecWar's ODST recruiters.
Lynch entered the Orbital Drop Shock Troops in 2538, and was assigned to Alpha Platoon of 1st Company, 5th Shock Troops Battalion. He was present in a couple of battles during his time in 1st Company, though his tenure was cut short in 2540 in the battle of Haydrin, in an event that became colloquially known by the members of the 5th Battalion as the Haydrin Massacre. On Haydrin, a large number of 5th Battalion's ODSTs - including nearly all of 1st Company - were ambushed by Covenant forces led by a Jiralhanae Chieftain named Armonius, rounded up, and mass executed. Lynch was personally not captured; as a machine gunner, he was further behind the main forces with his secondary gunner, Lance Corporal Linn Martins, when the ambush occurred.
Bravo Platoon[]
Following the Haydrin Massacre, Lynch and Martins were reassigned to 3rd Company's Bravo Platoon, whose machine gun team had been killed in action during the battle. Over the next four years, they continued to serve with Bravo Platoon on the UNSC Double Take, taking part in a number of campaigns and battles over that period.
In 2544, 5th Battalion was present during the Battle of Miridem. The battle was a disaster, and the Battalion suffered heavy casualties. Bravo Platoon, with three of its members killed in action, got out relatively unscathed, but even so there were many wounded. Lynch's machine gun team was at some point flanked by Covenant forces, whose plasma fire destroyed their machine gun and took the ring and pinky fingers on Lynch's left hand with it. They survived the two week long battle, however, and the remnants of 5th Battalion escaped along with the Double Take. Following the enactment of the Cole Protocol, they found their way to the backwater Inner Colony of Initiation, where they docked at the spaceport of New Utica. Unbeknownst to them, though, the Covenant had planted a tracking beacon on the Double Take, which led them straight to Initiation.
Personality and traits[]
Despite being uncouth and rowdy, Lynch is loyal down to the bone. He bears deep respect for his fellow unit members as well as the decisions of his superiors, even if he is not shy to speak his opinion about them. This loyalty extends even more deeply to his second gunner, Linn Martins, with whom he has developed a close relationship over the many years and tribulations they have undergone together.
Lynch is not shy of a stiff drink, like a proper Irishman. He is quite proud of his heritage, and invariably speaks highly of his homeworld of Cothrom. He carries a deep hatred for any and all Insurrectionists, the actions of whom have turned Lynch's home into a place of terror and despair.