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"I knew we shouldn't have let that kid join Bravo..." — Brad Michaels
This article predates the Great Reset, and is thus considered a Legacy article. It is not relevant to the current canon. |
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Hey buddy, rule number one: never tell them they're gonna be alright.
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Hospital Corpsman Third Class Jack Brace is a member of the UNSC Navy who served as a medic on Task Force Bravo during and following the Fall of Reach and well past the Human-Covenant War. He is by far one of the more seasoned veterans on Bravo, as well as one of the most skilled.
Biography[]
Before the war[]
Jack was born into Mare Frigoris, an industrial state known for its harsh temperatures and unforgivingly loose labor laws. His parents were both doctors and pharmacists, a rather uncommon profession in the North of Luna. Unfortunately, he was orphaned at the age of 8 when his parents were killed in a fatal depressurization accident. He then moved to live with his uncle, who also died from disease when Jack was 12. Due to various laws and regulations set in place by the Frigoris Council, Jack was forced to go about on his own, living on the dreary, sealed streets of the city. Later in life, he came in contact with a factory worker, who was victim of a rather cruel and tyrannical boss. The worker had just purchased some arsenic, and was planning to kill himself due to unbearable pain caused by an infection. Jack had already seen his fair share of death. Using his iota of knowledge of injury treatment, mostly procured from watching his parents, Jack managed to aid the worker into recovery.
News quickly spread of this event. As it turned out, the worker's injury would have been fatal if it weren't for Jack's intervention. For a while, people were lining up on the streets for help with wounds. Jack helped all he could, being rewarded in food, money, and vast amounts of gratitude. He usually turned down the money, claiming that all he needed was thanks. The good times lasted 6 years, with Jack emerging as a local hero. It wasn't until one of his "patients", an unconscious girl no older than 12, was under his care that things began to shift. The young girl had been working in a plastic factory, and was severely lacerated by a machine malfunction. She was brought over by a collection of other workers who had heard of Jack's deeds. Jack was unable to save the girl, who died after only 2 hours of operation. The other workers were crushed, and a little suspicious of Jack. When asked if he was a professional, he replied truthfully. No.
A rumor began to spread that this was not an accident, but deliberate murder, as the girl was related to his parents' old boss, who was known for underpaying his workers. In reality, Jack never heard of the boss. He was labelled "Jack The Ripper" and was shunned from society. While he was persecuted on the streets, more theories and rumors began to fill the city. Some claimed that he was a psychopathic serial killer, who lured victims in with the promise of medical help. Others that he was secretly working for the Cartels, and was supplying them with a constant stream of human body parts for its black market trade. Some even declared that he was, in fact, a cannibal, which explained why he "never needed" money.
Slowly but surely, Jack began to believe the gossip, falling for the lies and feeling nothing but guilt. Everywhere he went, he was hailed as "murderer" and "child-killer". He even moved to Crisium City to escape the hearsay, with limited success. Eventually, the accusations caught up, and he was welcome nowhere. Tired of the torment, Jack enlisted in the UNSC Navy Corpsmen in order to escape his problems, and the world.