Derrick Miller

* "War has no victor, no true end. As soon as somebody does something wrong again, somebody else get's involved and then their allies get involved again. It's a nonstop cycle. That's why it'll never end."
--Derrick Miller
Derrick Miller is a member of the UNSC Marine Corps who served during the Human Civil War and the Human-Covenant War. After the Human-Covenant War, he received the Colonial Cross for his heroic actions and retired from military service. He currently resides in Henderson, Kentucky.
== Description ==
=== Early Life ===
"Sometimes I'd look up at the sky and just wonder 'Hey, maybe I'll be up there in space someday.' If only I knew what circumstances would occur for that to happen."
--Derrick Miller on his childhood
Derrick Miller was born on September 28th, 2500 in Henderson, Kentucky to Mark and Natalie Miller. His father owned the Miller Construction company, one of the most powerful in the United Republic of North America.
Due to his father mostly working at his company and his mother mostly spending the family's savings at casinos and bars, he was forced to learn everything by himself. After when he was behind the learning expectancy at age five his family hired tutor Linda Hanson, who would be the closest thing he had to a parental figure. She would teach him how to read and write and would eventually enlist him at Portsmouth Elementary School.
When Derrick was placed in kindergarten he seemed to have social problems, no matter how many times his teacher attempted to get him to interact with the other children. After twenty days of social issues he attacked another student for insulting him, breaking his legs and ending up getting himself suspended. When asked why he did it by Hanson, he stated that he just couldn't handle not having someone really close to him and that the child was insulting him to his fact. To quote Miller, "He said that I don't and never will have a mommy and daddy, only a tutor. And...he pushed me." Following this, Hanson taught him about social skills and attempted to get him into open spaces with many people. Needless to say, this improved his social skills.
After his suspension had passed he began to socialize with other kids, even with the one he had injured. Unfortunately, Derrick's father, Mark had attempted to intervene. While Linda was helping Derrick with his homework, Mark barged into his room screaming
"My son doesn't need a social life! I was an introvert as a child and I turned out fine, trying to make my son some kind of popular child is wrong! Explain this!" He then handed Linda a piece of paper notifying that Derrick's improved social skills have made him one of the class favorites.
After explaining, he fired Linda with no warning and began to beat Derrick. Stating that he shouldn't listen to somebody that only cared about him because of her paycheck. For the next thirteen years of his life, he fell into depression and would go about his school years as an introvert and would truly believe that Linda never really cared about him.
Derrick would get into many fights in middle and high school due to him being an introvert. Many people had believed that he was an easy target, and he wasn't. He had many years to practice fighting back due to his father constantly beating him and his mother never being there to support him. He would often lose fights, but would at least put up a decent struggle. He also developed a fascination with space, as during his high school years his father's company had finally expanded past Earth. 
During his high school graduation, he would realize that his parents didn't show up to congratulate him but someone did. Linda Hanson, his old tutor, would arrive to congratulate him. This had made Derrick that happiest he had been in years, and would give him the happiness to pursue multiple careers. 
=== UNSC Service (Insurrection) ===
"I was told that I'd never make it. Look at me now. Survived it all. I knew some kids who died on Arrow Hill as soon as they arrived. Real damn shame."
--Derrick Miller to ONI Officer Harrison Kent about his service during the Insurrection
In 2518, during the earlier years of the insurrection, Derrick Miller turned eighteen. As he saw how violent the Insurrectionists had become, the more he wanted to join the UNSC Marine Corps. As much as Hanson protested, he still enlisted.
For four years and thirteen weeks, Miller would go through boot camp and military school at Fort McCain on the planet of Meridian. Despite the struggles and finishing nearly at the bottom of the class, he completed it. He would not experience combat for another year.
==== Battle of Arrow Hill (December 7th 2523) ====
"Arrow Hill. Nothing but fire, ashes, and dead bodies"
--Miller describing 
Eventually, Miller and other marines part of a squad known as Bravo-12 led by Sergeant Kyle Graves would be transported by pelican to the Battle of Arrow Hill. Here, Miller and his squad would provide suppressing fire on insurrectionists inside of the Arrow Hill Memorial. While distracting the insurrectionists, another squad was able to enter the memorial and secure it.
When patrolling the memorial's hallways to ensure that it was in fact, secure he was attacked by an insurrectionist who was playing dead. As the insurrectionist's knife came closer to his throat Miller pulled out his M6G magnum and shot the man in his head. This would be Miller's first confirmed kill.
==== Operation: EXFIL (January 6th 2525) ====
"Should've known it was a trap
Miller would then be sent on Operation: EXFIL, an attempt to rescue an ONI executive, James Heinz. As the other marines surrounded the building, Bravo-12 rappelled to the outside of the building and Graves signaled them to move in. Within twenty minutes, the marines were able to secure the building. However, Heinz had been rigged to a bomb, which was set to detonate by touch. Once Graves attempted to free him from his restraints the bomb detonated, causing the roof to cave in. Luckily, Miller was able to escape with most of the marines. Unfortunately, all of Bravo-12 besides Miller were expected to be dead. When leaving the area, Graves crawled out from under the rubble missing his arm. Graves would remain in sevice after this incident.
Following this tragedy, a memorial was held for the fallen soldiers at Fort McCain. 
==== Fall of Arrow Hill (May 6th 2525-June 7th 2525) ====
Four months after Operation: EXFIL, Miller and the rest of Bravo-12 would be ordered to patrol Arrow Hill after multiple reports of insurrectionist activity near the area.
Sometime during the early morning hours, a truck carrying explosives rammed into one of Arrow Hill's many military checkpoints. Alarmed, the marines stationed there were ordered to evacuate all civilians from the area. As bullets rained down from Arrow Hill's large skyscrapers, marine and civilian casualties were heavy. Despite the order to evacuate, Miller along with twenty other marines would stay behind to hold the enemies off.
Eventually the marines began to die until it was only Miller and one other marine, Joseph Hall. Cornered in Arrow Hill memorial's dining hall, Miller resorted to attempted suicide and failed. Insurrectionists stormed the room and captured the two.
=== Prisoner-of-War (June 8th 2525-August 17th 2530) ===
"I can't describe with words how horrible 'The Harbor' was. The murder, the torture, the brainwashing. All just too much to describe."
--Miller about his time in "The Harbor"
After Miller was captured by insurrectionists he was taken to "The Harbor", a prison camp used to torture and brainwash it's marine prisoners. It was disguised as an abandoned naval yard in an abandoned region of Meridian.
He watched as marines would be taken out of their cells never to return again. One after another. Eventually he was taken from his cell and placed into a small room with televisions. For five years he would be forced to watch the Polymer Study followed by an infinitely looping numbers station. He could feel his sanity being ripped away each passing minute and after he was nearly insane, they began to brainwash him. The same numbers station was repeated along with insurrectionist propaganda.
Within hours he would become a member of "The Enlightened" for a brief time, a group of brainwashed UNSC servicemen who would become some of the most elite insurrectionists on Meridian. Hall had also been brainwashed and would serve alongside him
=== Brainwashed (August 17th, 2020-November 5th, 2530) ===
==== Assault on Fort Beachhead (August 29th 2530-November 1st 2530) ====
"Nothing's really worth it, Hall. These bastards'll pay."
--Miller to Hall before assaulting Fort Beachhead
Derrick Miller and Joseph Hall would be part of the first team to launch a surprise attack on Fort Beachhead, Meridian alongside other members of "The Enlightened" under the command of Captain Isaac Walker .
They began their assault once the sun had risen and most marines were still asleep by destroying a pelican while it was taking off. They then began to assault the fort with heavy artillery fire and eventually used captured warthogs against them 
Yet, against all odds, the marines were able to hold the insurrectionists back and capture Miller for interrogation. He was spared from torture only because of Graves Recognizing him. 
For four days he was interrogated and the marines were able to undue the brainwashing. Miller would eventually retire from the service after this. 
Despite the branwashing being undone, Derrick would still have hallucinations and would be driven by unknown forces until 2552. He would still not know of Hall's death during the battle until the end of the Human-Covenant War. 
=== First Retirement (2530-2550) ===
"It was the best twenty years of my life. I wish that
Miller would return to his old family home once again after he retired in 2530. Once he was given the news that his father and mother had passed away from cancer, he didn't seem angry or even sad. He seemed kind of relieved that he wouldn't be berated by his father anymore.
Derrick would go on to fall in love with a Union Workers Association executive by the name of Catherine Beck and would go on to have two children, Joseph and Sarah Miller. The whole family remained happy on Earth until Catherine's sudden murder on the night before their wedding. Nine years later, he would later meet Mary Hanson, a young factory worker who used to be employed at his father's company.
While his children would disapprove of this, they would think that she filled the part of a new mother.
They would live happily together until 2552, when Miller be approached by Graves. He was given the opportunity to reenlist and become a member of the newly formed Wraith Special Operations team. He gladly accepted and left his wife and children behind.
==== Battle of Khan Overpass, Meruduab (January 1st-28th, 2550) ====
Miller along with his son Joseph (member of the Third Reconnaissance Division) , who recently graduated from McCain Military Academy and boot camp were placed on Khan Overpass, where an ONI executive was being protected. Miller knew Meridian and it's landscapes,so 'fighting aliens shouldn't be that hard, right?' Wrong.
Covenant forces attacked Khan Overpass early in the morning. Though the marines were able to hold back the covenant, something was off. Joseph was nowhere to be found. 
The battle ended in twenty-seven days due to the Combatants mostly being unggoy and kig-yar. Among the dead marines, Joseph was found. He was estimated to have died somewhere between the first and third day of combat. 
Though Miller wanted to retire, he didn't and was able to watch his son be buried at the place he died. 
==== "Final Standoff" (Unknown Month and Day, 2552) ====
"I remember watching the sun rise over the buildings and thinking 'So this is how I go.'
--Derrick Miller on his near death experience
Although Miller had served in many conflicts prior, none were recorded and were considered minor attacks by small Covenant forces.
Just after serving in the Battle of Earth his last major battle during the Human-Covenant war was in the city of New Chancellor. It was presumed that Covenant forces had used poisonous gas to kill the civilians of the city.
As the group of Wraith soldiers proceeded throughout the city, they realized that they weren't fighting just Covenant. They were also fighting insurrectionists. "The Enlightened", to be exact. They wad expanded from Meridian and had made their way to other planets.
Derrick eventually encountered someone who seemed familiar. He'd seen him and remembered everything he'd done. Captain Richard Yates, head of the insurrectionists on Meridian. The one who brainwashed him and forced him to kill innocent marines at Fort Beachhead.
As the fighting ensued between the marines and insurrectionists, the two just stared at each other. And within minutes, the two began to fight. All who witnessed it remember how Yates rose above Miller and stabbed him, followed by him planting the in flag on the ruined capital building. The marines eventually retook the capital building. They all believed that he had died
Nothing could be farther than the truth. Yes, Miller had fought with Yates. Yes, he had been stabbed. Yet when Yates planted the flag. However, Miller killed Yates with a shot to the head
When they found Miller, they presumed he was dead. After a few hours, he was revived by medical staff.
He had unfortunately been paralyzed from the waist down and would be forced to retire.
=== Second Retirement ===
"And with that, I bid you farewell Sergeant."
--Miller saying his goodbyes to Sergeant Graves after being awarded the Colonial Cross
For many years, Henderson would live with his wife and his daughter until she divorced him. Although he won custody of Sarah, he would fall into a deep depression.
He would then marry Audrey Kurt, a retired UNSC Navy servicewoman and would live the rest of the war happy. Shortly after the end of the war, he was given a Colonial Cross for his actions during the Insurrection and the Human-Covenant War.
==== Becoming the Head of Counter-Terrorism ====
Derrick Miller would be considered a hero and would be selected to become the Head of Counter-Terrorism of the city's law enforcement in 2558. Despite his wife and daughter's protests, he happily agreed to take this position. He would never really need to enforce Counter-Terrorism measures due to Henderson being on Earth, and terrorism rates dropping below the average median every year.
Henderson would place Counter-Terrorism units in charge of protecting events such as the 2558 Henderson UNSC Memorial, in which he took part in.
== Awards ==
1). The Colonial Cross 
2). Human-Covenant Service Medal
3). The Bronze Star
== Trivia ==
1). Derrick Miller was originally supposed to be Paul Miller until I changed Paul to his middle name before writing
2). This is my first human character on this wiki
3). Sarah Miller was originally meant to be the name of his wife
Category:UNSC
Category:UNSC Marine Corps Personnel
Category:Survivors of the Human-Covenant War
Category:Humans