Editing Mass Effect Transcendence/The Principals/Russell Bio

'''Origins'''

*Born on Aegis (Attican Beta/Odysseus System/fifth planet) in 2158.
*Military family; grandfather Hector (Captain - retired), father Julius (Ops Chief - honourably discharged), uncle Alejandro (Gunnery Chief - KIA) and aunt Susana (Staff Commander - active) all served in First Contact War.
*Mother Ariel is a geologist originally from Aegis. It was her idea to combine her talents with Julius to found their firm.
*Killed a batarian raider when he was 15.
*Father opposed joining military, in spite of his own service and setting up a mining business using technical skills the Alliance taught him.
*Enlisted at 18 just after the Skyllian Blitz in 2176 (wasn't old enough to sign up before then).
*Older sister Helen signed on to an explorator/prospecting crew and is the XO aboard the ''MSV Jules Verne''.
*Younger brother Isaac has fallen under the sway of the Terran Defense League, a "pro-human rights" group (read: supremacist militia) in the Skyllian Verge


'''Military History'''

*Served in a Marine Recon unit attached to the 4th Frontier Division, fighting pirates and slavers, as well as the odd batarian privateer.
*Was part of the operation on Torfan in 2178, under Lieutenant Kessler; Kessler got half the company killed and himself mortally wounded. Ortiz managed to salvage the situation and intended to bring the Lt out to be court-martialled for his actions. However Kessler died before they were evacuated, and his influential family applied pressure on the survivors to change their stories. 
*After the operation Ortiz was commissioned 2nd Lt (a letter of recommendation for OCS from Kessler was "discovered" amongst his files) and given a medal for his actions. He spent the rest of 2178 and the early part of 2179 in Officer Cadet School studying and training to be an officer.
*The remains of his company was split up and reassigned, sworn to secrecy about what happened on Torfan (and all were compensated in various ways to purchase their silence). It only took one "accidental death" of someone threatening to talk to make them realise the necessity of this. No one has really talked since then.
*While they've all tried to forget it, Ortiz is something of a minor celebrity because of his actions, one of the few "good news stories" they were able to salvage from a thoroughly brutal and unforgiving operation.
*As a result of his actions on Torfan and following his time in OCS, he was sent to the Interplanetary Combatives Academy in late 2179, passing the N1 course.
*Was wounded in 2180, spending several months recovering while they grew him a graft-replacement for his injured hand.
*Resigned his commission in 2181 when the term of his original enlistment was up.


'''Extra-military history'''

*Went to Nguye’s graduation ceremony from the Grissom Academy in early 2178, where he was introduced to Sam.
*While on shore leave on Illium in 2180, ran into an Eclipse enforcer and her Blue Suns trouble. Started the night in fatigues with his sidearm, ended it with his appropriated Blue Suns armour and assault rifle on the floor of her apartment. Hasn't seen her since and she never did tell him her name.
*The man who gave up his armour and weapon was a well-connected Centurion called Cedric Drase. His older brother Louis is chief amongst those who swore vengeance on Ortiz for his death.
*Kessler was related to the family running Hahne-Kedar; they haven't ended their surveillance and monitoring of Ortiz just because he's no longer in service. One of their financial services subsidiaries is an investor in Penumbra for this very reason.
*Went to Omega (to the annual “mercenary’s fair”) after his discharge to find his asari assignation of the year before. Instead he ran into Sam, their mutual friend Nguye and more Blue Suns trouble. The three of them managed to escape leaving a half-dozen mercs dead and firmly placing them on the Blue Suns shit-list. Nguye still joined Eclipse as a freelancer despite Sam and Russell trying to dissuade him.


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