Name: Markus Brass
Codename: Black
Rank: Lord Commander
Place of birth: Planet Manhattan
Age: 42
Height: 1.90 CM
Weight: 95 KG
Eye Color: Brown
Bio: Markus was born and raised on planet Manhattan, his family were serving the Liberty Navy for many generations and it was only natural that he would follow. He was able to receive the better education thanks to his family's status and wealth, and those two opened many doors in young Markus's future. He was particulary excited when it came to space and the ships that are able to travel there, he would find ways to escape from his duties just to be near the spaceport and observe incoming and outgoing ships, his parents however, as much as they disliked that still let him do it, knowing that his love for spaceships would one day make him a pilot.
His father used his rank to allow Markus enter a military base to show him the future that awaits him. From the gates to the cafeteria, the barracks, the armory. When they arrived at the hangars, the vast amount of Patriots and Defenders amazed him and when he hear he was going to be the co-pilot on one of them made him the happiest person to ever. That experience decided his fate, he would join the Liberty Navy no matter what.
At the age of 17 he was accepted on West Point Military Academy, the most valued and respected Military Academy in whole Liberty. His parents were proud of him and they would wait for the day he would return home in his uniform and rank. Markus, as sad as he was for leaving his home, did not let it get in the way of becoming a military officer. His journey from Manhattan to West Point was long and full of anxiety for the young man and as he set his foot on West Point, he was about to die, he could not believe that he was finally there. His first days as a cadet were not the best, he was not used to living in shared quarters and co-habiting made him nervous which affected his training, which got him warned from his Drill Instructor that he were to fail. When he heard that, Markus froze completely, his mind was now thinking faster than it usually is, recalling memories of the past and thinking the shame he would bring on his family, changing his mindset completely and day by day he began improving.
A few years later, finally graduated, he returned to his home happy in his uniform as Ensign Markus Brass. He would stay there a few days before going on to his first assignment, his parents finally got to greet their son uniformed.
His first assignment was in the California system, a patrol with the Zeta wing around planet Mojave as Zeta-3. The emptiness of space and the dangers that lurk there did not scare him once he was in the cockpit of his Defender, the mission, went as expected, nice and easy. He was part of the Zeta wing for quite a bit of time patrolling areas within the California system, occassionally encountering cocky Rogues or sneaky Lane Hackers and by the time he was transferred, not a single member was left from when he first joined, they all died. The experience he had in the Zeta wing further changed the mind of Markus, sworing to never let anyone die on his watch again.
During that time was the beginning of the Nomad crisis, Freeport 7 was destroyed and some time later the Rheinland cruiser on Manhattan's orbit was destroyed by an Order wing and soon another crisis was to emerge. The LNS-Ragnarok, a prototype warship and its escort had gone rogue, laying destruction to their path towards Magellan and Markus was assigned into a fleet to prevent their exodus.
In the dense ice fields of Magellan, a Liberty fleet was expecting the LNS-Ragnarok, Markus was assigned there as a wing leader. The moment was finally there, LNS-Ragnarok and its escort were in range and the hidden Liberty fleet stormed them, but they were not alone. As soon as they were engaged, Lane Hacker fighter wings joined the fray to destroy the Liberty's fleet who had come so close to their home. As the fight raged on, Liberty's ships were going down one by one, Markus started to panic and not before long, he ventured away from the battlefield being chased by enemy fighters and he surrendered. Liberty's fleet had been destroyed by the joint forces of the rebels and the Lane Hackers and he was now a prisoner.
Taken aboard the LNS-Ragnarok he was interrogated by the rebels, even tortured, then he was thrown into a cell. With nothing but memories of his home to keep him company, he was surviving day by day in his cell waiting for his rescue or his death. One day, Commodore Thastus visited the brig to see if anyone would choose to fight by their side or remain a prisoner, that is when Markus snapped and without hesitation he decided to do anything for his freedom, even if it meant to join the rebels and escape later on.
After a few days spent on educating him, he was given a chance to prove himself loyal to the rebels. A Liberty patrol was spotted in Magellan searching for something and they had to be taken out, Markus, another prisoner and two rebels were assigned for this mission. This is when Markus found a chance to return to the Liberty Navy and was more than happy to accept the mission. The day after the briefing, the fighter wing launched to engage the patrol at the given coordinates, the other prisoner attempted to escape after they were in the clear but he was quickly put down permanently by the two rebels, it was clear these guys are aces which made Markus rethink of his escape. At the waypoint, they were waiting for the patrol to show up but what they got was unexpected, it was not a standard patrol, it was a flagship with fighter wings deployed. Markus immidiately hailed them asking for their help without receiving a response from them and neither were the rebels doing anything to stop him. Fighters were approaching Markus's fighter and once they were in range they powered up their weapons, which threw Markus into a state of panic and started fleeing towards the rebels seeking help.
The navy fighter wing consisting of 9 fighters engaged the two rebels and Markus and while the fight seemed over for them, it wasn't. The wing dispersed into teams of 3 for each fighter which made it easier for the rebels to coordinate and defeat them while Markus was having a hard time keeping his ship together. The two rebels cleared themselves and assisted Markus and ran away before reinforcements arrived. It was made clear that day that the Navy stopped caring for its lower ranked officers if they had fallen into enemy hands so he had to choose, flee and die or join the rebels for good.
Markus wanted to live a life of freedom and travel the stars but that seemed impossible now, the Liberty Navy who he had served has branded him a traitor that followed Commodore Thastus and his life was ruined. His first few months with the rebels were harsh as he did not consider himself as one of them, he just did what he had to do to survive.
What changed his mind was William Draxton, a high ranked member from the rebel group that decided to help the young man find his self. He shared his life's story with him, shared his experiences, his pain, his goals, his reason to continue fighting as a rebel. Once again, Markus's mind was touched and altered his way of thinking, Draxton showed him the light in this dark tunnel he was in, he showed him hope of achieving his dreams even in this state. After that conversation and with time, Markus devoted himself to the rebels to create a new home for them and strike back at Liberty.
Markus had not seen any real action as his post was in the home guard and the occasional Magellan patrol, not untill he was assigned as the XO of the Polyphemus under the command of Fleet Admiral William Draxton, his mentor. After many fierce battles with the Polyphemus, Draxton retired and command was given to Commander Brass who was later promoted to Star Colonel for a small period of time, before the S.A.D were disbanded.
His ascension to the rank of Lord Commander was done out of necessity, as the high command had chosen the Executive Commander Cristina Hunter as the next leader, which she refused and the next capable leader was Markus.
He is the Lord Commander of the Hellfire Legion untill this day.
End of file HF-HCD-MB
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