Covenant:McHugh

Police Sgt. Ethan McHugh's (b. 1977) position as head of police in Covenant was inflicted on him on October 31, 1999.

Sgt. Ethan McHugh

Career

Ethan McHugh served as one of the seven cops in Covenant since the day he graduated high school in 1995.

The town of Covenant had always been quiet and hadn't changed much from the way things were before the Apocalypse. Accordingly, the police department remained small. Only a handful of men called themselves officers. Ranks were fairly arbitrary and usually based on age. But Ethan McHugh worked hard and rose up the command chain.

Ethan had friends all over town. He stayed close with his high school pals, often having bonfires in his parents' back yard. Despite the interest of several girls, Ethan didn't date much. He preferred to spend his time tinkering with cars.

The Fortieth Anniversary

The obituary from November 4, 1999

"Higgs, Captain Charles M. "Chuck", age 60. Chuck's battle with dementia ended on October 31st, 1999. He was preceded in death by ..... He is survived by ..... Chuck grew up in xxxx, before the Fall. He was a devoted officer of the law who knew everyone and was a friend to all."

On October 31, 1999, a secret Cabal of a dozen men born Before the Fall gathered together in the basement of the police office to perform ritual suicide. No one knows exactly what took place, but everyone knows the story of the first man on the scene.

Faced with the grisly display when he arrived to work early Monday morning, Sgt. McHugh stood strong and kept his composure. The clues were plain to see and the evidence clear. Ethan called a town meeting and, on the evening of November 2, gave the townsfolk closure on the greusome suicides. He did not tell them everything, but he made them feel like he had. His inner strength came out in his oratory and the crowd hung on his every word.

Head of Police

After the death of Captain Higgs, the Sheriff's Office was quick to decide on the next head of police. Following his speech, it was an easy choice for the Indentured; Ethan McHugh had shown compassion, strength, and investigative ability. He was appointed Head of Police in a ceremony that immediately followed the funeral of Captain Higgs.

To this day, Ethan has never revealed any additional information about what took place in the basement. He never allowed anyone else to see the crime scene, taking the traumatic burden of recording and cleaning it up all on himself. No one else knows about the literature he found.

Prompts

• What really happened in the basement of the police office?
• What "literature" did McHugh find?
  • A book? scroll? tome? other?
    • What did it say? What sort of prophecies (if any) did it make?
• How has McHugh's age (29) affected his role as head of police?
  • Are there older members of the force who might be jealous?
  • Do the Indentured Chosen still trust in his abilities?
• Who else was in the Cabal?
  • How long had the Cabal existed?
  • Did they recruit or just coallesce?
• Why did Higgs' family refer to his dementia rather than his obsession with the end of the world?

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