Paul Coleman

== Paul Coleman ==
Paul Coleman is an Appalachian commando and previously a special agent in the Great Lake States, where his father, Jared Coleman, was president. Coleman and his father were initially aligned with Seaboard, and like his father, he viewed them as being a key successor to many American states and a pathway to reforming key aspects of society.
Coleman was far more empathetic than his father, who had sociopathic characteristics. In being more understanding, Paul Coleman was often an unforeseen aid to Kyle Wald in their encounters, including when Wald was captured and imprisoned by his father. Ultimately, Paul Coleman became disloyal to the Great Lake States after Seaboard ex-general Wei Zhi killed his father and took his place as the leader of the territories. Wishing to hunt Coleman down, Wei Zhi was unsuccessful, Coleman being aided by Wald and Hannah.
With his younger brother and disabled sister, Coleman traveled back east in hopes of taking refuge in Appalachian territories. He encountered Brian Burnett, slowly but surely gaining his trust after multiple run-ins. Eventually, Coleman applied for the Special Appalachian Arms Commando Corps, where he quickly became a well-known elite fighter.
== Early Life ==
Paul Coleman was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 2000. At the time of his birth, his father was still in the start of his law career. Coleman's mother and father divorced when he was young, and he was allowed to stay with his father on the weekends- at the time, his mother and father were of similar financial status. In 2008, Jared Coleman began to achieve widespread success as an attorney, and was soon worth millions. However, he was still unable to gain full custody of his son. In a ploy to take custody, Paul's father started his relationship with his mother again, soon remarrying. A few years into the marriage, Jared Coleman deemed his wife to be in poor mental health, gaining Power of Attorney over her. He used this to keep her in the marriage.
In Jan 2011 and in 2014, Coleman's younger brother and younger sister were born. When his father was able to create the legal proof needed to demonstrate that his wife was not in proper mental health to care for children, her guardianship for Paul, Elias, and Emilia was revoked. His father then divorced his mother, not losing any assets because of prenup paperwork she had been coerced into signing before the marriage.
Beginning in 2015, Jared Coleman hired a variety of specialized trainers and military veterans to train his son so he would develop a variety of necessary skills for a global apocalypse. He was removed from public school, and instead spent time in remote locations of North Dakota learning advanced outdoor survival, marksman skills, and defense. Paul Coleman was, for the most part, reluctant in the events. His father did not explain why such training was needed, though Coleman had theories. Coleman ran away from his training in North Dakota, returning to Detroit. He agreed to continue apprenticeships within the city after a compromise with his father.
As Paul Coleman's father became dedicated to being a corporate defense attorney for Seaboard Technologies, Paul began to learn about the company and their inside workings. When the Jinanvirus began, Paul Coleman was already aware of what was happening, as his father had told him while being in the loop with Michael Sisk. He, his brother, and his father were vaccinated against the virus, however, Coleman vouched for his daughter, who was immunocompromised, not to receive the vaccine. However, a year into the virus, she was infected. Michael Sisk sent the highest quality medical equipment and high ranking medical professionals to Detroit, where they attempted to help her. They were partially successful, but Coleman's little sister was left with severe mental disability following the infection. Ever since the occurrence, Paul Coleman started to shift his views on the Jinanvirus, and held contempt for Michael Sisk.
== Beginnings as a Combatant ==
By 2019, despite his age, Coleman was eager to prove himself as a formidable combatant due to his extensive untested training. At the time, Coleman was confident in his father's authority and hoped to be a valuable asset to him. Jared Coleman was hesitant about this- he wasn't as confident in his son's skills, and also was not entirely interested in putting him in dangerous positions. For this reason, Jared Coleman authorized him to be trained in military circles but without a rank or commitment to any assignments the President opposed.
Through the year, Coleman became more engaged in covert missions backed by an expert crew often involving reconnaissance and surveying. As the Great Lake States begun to make discussion with the officials of the Harrisburg Committee, Coleman and his father found out about the presence of former sentinel SP-S011, who had known himself by Kyle Wald, in the group. Paul Coleman was tasked by his father, with the help of a supporting team, to capture and acquire this rogue sentinel due to demands by and involving his value to Seaboard. President Jared Coleman believed that if he was truly such a high value, capturing him for his own purposes in secret would be an option. Both the President and his son underestimated the abilities of the rogue sentinel, and Paul Coleman was promptly defeated and restrained once he tried to confront Wald. The former sentinel insisted Coleman reach out to his father under the threat of his death, although Jared Coleman appeared to be disinterested in negotiating, even involving the life of his son. Thus, Paul Coleman helped Wald diffuse the situation by himself and his life was then spared.
== Growth as an Operative ==
Despite his prior failings with Wald, Coleman continued to engage in operations, especially covert ones between Seaboard and the Great Lake States. Following the fall of the Harrisburg Committee to Seaboard in 2019, Coleman was often found going with Great Lake units to assist with in-person exchanges of valuable material and/or information. Scouts aligned with the Appalachian resistance in the region caught wind of this in 2021, and thus a plan was hatched to send an Appalachian unit to kill the Seaboard unit, disguise themselves as the unit, and attack the Great Lakes troops. This was to be done as an effort to undermine Seaboard and the Great Lake States' alliance as the Appalachian resistance didn't believe they could retake Harrisburg fighting a war on two fronts at once. The death of President Coleman's son in this fight hoped to spur this diplomatic severance.
Coleman may or may not have suspected the attack due to information leaks. Regardless, when attempting the transfer, a battle broke out between the Seaboard unit and the Great Lakes unit. Coleman was able to help repel the enemy and narrowly survived. His intuition led him to quickly discover that it was in fact Seaboard operatives attacking them who had been informed from an Appalachian informant. The Seaboard squad had attacked and killed the Appalachian units and then hoped to continue the plan according to the Appalachian units. This would serve to allow them to keep their material shipment but also reveal Appalachia's plan and use it to solidify hostile tensions between the Appalachian resistance and the Great Lake States.
After this fight, Coleman realized the truth and had recorded the battle with proof of his revelations on a video camera. While Kyle Wald was away, Coleman took to his camper workshop, pretending to rig an IED and putting Amber Thompson, Wald's companion, at gunpoint. When Wald returned, he was immediately at a disadvantage and was told to sit on the supposed IED-rigged chair. Wald may've been skeptical of the truth of the explosive but was not willing to risk an explosion or Thompson's life. Coleman then revealed to Wald what had happened to their people and plan, revealing that there was an informant in the Appalachian ranks. In return, Coleman requested that he'd be given safe passage to Michigan. This was granted.
In late 2022, Jared Coleman had begun to make plans to secure disgraced Seaboard Brigadier Wei Zhi and integrate him into the ranks of the Great Lake States. At this time, Paul Coleman first met Yun, Zhi's apprentice who originally met up with Great Lake commanders in an effort to orchestrate this event. In February 2023, a squad was sent to Wei Zhi's location to assist his transport to Detroit. Yun stayed behind initially, but was later requested to converge with the group in the event of foul play where she'd have an advantage. Yun was sure there was none, and went to Ohio with Paul Coleman to assist the former Brigadier. However, it was revealed that Zhi had been ambushed by an Appalachian unit who neutralized the Great Lakes' squad. Zhi managed to escape, and Coleman and Yun orchestrated a plan to go through with his extraction. Yun took to a vantage point as Coleman found Zhi, who was accompanied by former Marine Maria Burnett against her will. As Coleman cornered Burnett, she engaged a remote detonator for a set of plastic explosives carried by Zhi. Coleman attempted to work around this, but Burnett ended up tripping the explosive which seemingly killed Zhi. Coleman and Burnett were briefly rendered unconscious, and when he came around, Burnett's squad had arrived. Coleman quickly tried to form a defense, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Appalachian Sergeant Dakota Taylor, who easily bested Coleman. Only due to Yun's offensive post was Coleman able to survive before the Appalachian team fled.
Coleman discovered that Zhi was still alive, and him and Yun took quick action to keep him as so despite his wounds. Once reinforcements arrived, Zhi was transferred to Detroit, accompanied by Coleman. He had few interactions with the military commander until he recovered.
== Switch of Loyalties and Betrayal by Zhi ==
As time went on, Paul Coleman had immediately grown suspicious of the deeper ambitions held by Wei Zhi, despite his father's belief that he had the man under his thumb. When Coleman caught on that his father had captured Kyle Wald, he worked diligently to use his observations of the compound and his own personal clearances to gain access to Wald's cell. The two had a brief conversation where Coleman probed Wald's thoughts on him. He believed that once his father was through with Wald, he'd be killed, but held the personal belief that Wald was more valuable alive. Coleman hoped to sway Wald to his side in a more genuine way, especially as his questioning of Zhi grew. Coleman escorted Wald late at night to a medical facility near Flint, Michigan, hoping to demonstrate the monstrosities created using his blood without proper practice or integration.
As time went on, Coleman kept close watch of Wald and deduced that he was not fond of commander Wei Zhi. Despite this, Zhi was actively attempting to sway Wald to his side in an effort to use him as a tool to rebel against Jared Coleman's authority. While Paul Coleman was not sure of it, he had serious doubts that Wald would side with Zhi over his own father. Wald's loyalty was to be tested when a confrontation broke out between Jared Coleman and Wei Zhi. Paul Coleman quickly tried to step in, but his own commander, Joseph Walker, forced him down and refused to allow him to intervene. In short order, Zhi attacked and killed Coleman's father to his horror. Wei Zhi, understanding the familial power and clearance authority Paul Coleman had, ordered for him to be killed as well. This was prevented when Kyle Wald attacked the others, giving Coleman just enough time to escape his father's office.
After this, Coleman did his best to stay hidden with his younger brother Elias and disabled younger sister Emilia. Using secret resources left to him by his late father, Coleman was able to work in the shadows and plan to spring Wald free in hopes that together, they could kill Commander Walker and new leader Wei Zhi. However, Coleman couldn't find out an effective way to make this happen. To his surprise, he was found by a former Seaboard widowmaker, WID-688 or Hannah, who had been reprogrammed to assist Wald. After learning of the Great Lake States' power shift and her assumption that Wald was being held there, she extended her assistance to Coleman. The former President's son believed that their combined knowledge and utilities were enough to break Wald out of his confinement.
They orchestrated this rather abruptly once it was realized that Wald himself was making a futile attempt to break free. The combination of scenarios worked to their advantage, and Wald, who was beaten down and malnourished again, joined them. Coleman helped fight against pursuing Great Lakes troops, and was aggravated when he learned that Wald and the widowmaker had intentions beyond their departure- the destruction of the Polonium that Wald previously tried to destroy. After being forced to agree, the team ambushed the transport. As the widowmaker planted dynamite in the transport to destroy the radioactive gas canisters, Coleman confronted Commander Walker. After a brief fight, Coleman neutralized him and then executed the wounded commander who betrayed him and his father. Wald then assisted in their departure, expressing that if he wished to seek refuge in the Appalachian Republic that he should seek out the leaders of the SAACC team, specifically Brian Burnett.
Coleman hoped to find the Appalachian unit in a strategic way that painted him as an ally. First, he relinquished control of his siblings to his aunt in Pittsburgh and went on quietly as he didn't want to be discovered by authorities so soon. When he made the trek to Western New York where Burnett's unit was dispatched, he converged on their location as they conducted a mission at a power plant. Coleman realized the team was without reinforcements and soon to be ambushed by Seaboard units. When he made it inside the facility, he was able to help repel Seaboard-aligned mercenary Matthew Castillo, who'd already found his way into the facility and taken Burnett hostage. After Castillo was forced to retreat, Coleman assisted in battling against the trailblazers who tried to ambush them. The team was able to escape, and Coleman was promptly taken captive by the Appalachian Marines. He was interrogated and his loyalties were put under question, and because Burnett found no real reason to hold distrust for the late Great Lakes President's son, he insisted that he leave at once and not interfere with their missions any longer.
Later, during Operation Brass Predator, Coleman kept a keen eye on the team's progress. Hoping again to demonstrate his prowess, he took control of one of the box trucks at the prison, ramming the lobby of the facility. In doing this, he briefly disabled the enemy sentinel just long enough to allow the Appalachian team to flee. Coleman drove them to a regroup point, and again, he was apprehended and kept on the rail clan's main locomotive. Due to his continued interruption of the SAACC's missions in ways that weren't harmful, Coleman was kept on the train until a decision could be made. While in moving across New York, a Seaboard strike team assaulted the train. Coleman proved himself loyal and reliable when he helped defend Olivera Debravka from possibly being reacquired by enemy units. The battle ended when reinforcements from the Confederate States arrived unexpectedly. After this, Burnett decided remove Coleman from his authority when they reached Fort Plain, New York. However, after a brief discussion where Coleman made it clear he wanted to continue fighting, ultimately against Seaboard's tyranny as he did before, Burnett made an offer that if he were to officially enlist and pass the team's requirements within a couple of weeks, he could be an enlisted Marine under Sergeant Leonardo Evans. This delighted Coleman and he gladly accepted the offer.
Paul Coleman did not fail to demonstrate his skills in quickly proving himself, though his discipline and understanding of military hierarchy were more critical for him to learn at that point. He stayed with the rail clan to undergo training from there on out. When a widowmaker unexpectedly attacked the clan early on not long after his enlistment, Coleman helped fight against it despite their apparent lack of numbers. The widowmaker forced its way to the front of the vehicle, and though it wounded Leonardo Evans, Coleman and Burnett were able to disable the combatant android. By this time, the train was in an unrecoverable point. Coleman jumped off the side at the optimal time along with Evans, who was nearly unconscious. Coleman was battered but otherwise okay after his fall. He quickly joined with Burnett, though the two were confronted by Garr, a Seaboard-aligned mercenary who was going against their interests and wished to acquire the briefcase of unknown material. After a quick discussion, Garr was shot by Kaylee Schaffer, who unexpectedly survived the train crash. With the arrival of Seaboard interception forces, Coleman was ordered to take the package, which he believed to be a nuclear core, and make a run for it. Coleman tried to do so but was ultimately taken down by Seaboard ground units and returned to the scene. He was spared by Michael Sisk, who felt obligated to keep the boy alive due to not only his father's prior allegiance to Seaboard but also Wei Zhi's betrayal that Sisk may've felt was his fault.
== Service to the SAACC ==
Over the next year and a half, Coleman attuned his skills and militant discipline within the Special Appalachian Arms Commando Corps. In May 2025, Coleman was slated to be involved in the military coup d'état to oust Elaine Cocklin from power. However, last minute training and certification requirements meant that him and Leonardo Evans were needed in Allentown. The two believed it would be less suspicious if they agreed. The attempted coup failed while Coleman was in Allentown, though he and Evans were without suspicion at the time. After being questioned about the attack that day, Evans and Coleman maintained that they were unaware. After being contacted by Savanna Voland, who was with Maria Burnett and Bryanna Sandoval, Evans urged that the authorities in Allentown expected their arrival. Instead, Coleman and Evans stated that they had requested them to come, hoping to buy the separated team enough time to go to Harrisburg without being expected there.
Once cleared, Coleman went with Evans back to Harrisburg to accompany other members of Burnett's family clan, who they rightfully believed were in danger. They escorted them back to their ranch house in Juniata County, they unexpectedly encountered Bryanna Sandoval, who had split and went there after quick medical intervention from her wounds. Coleman, who was with little sleep, took Zoe Brooks' side in staying at the ranch at least long enough to recover before making further decisions. He rested for a few hours, and when he awoke, was alarmed that Zoe Brooks had disappeared. He ran a perimeter sweep of the property but was unable to find the younger sister of Harper Brooks, who grew frantic and worried. Coleman reviewed CCTV footage from the property, finding out that mercenary Matthew Castillo had kidnapped the younger Brooks sister. The team knew what it meant, and they were well aware that Castillo hoped to split up the group to eliminate them one-by-one. However, Coleman understood that leaving as a team would compromise the others safety, and with confidence, made the decision to leave alone to confront the Navajo mercenary.
While en route to their location, Castillo called him from Brooks' phone, hoping to anger him by humiliating and berating Brooks over the call. Castillo then muted Coleman's side of the call, intending to rape Zoe Brooks on the call to further compromise Coleman's ability to think clearly. Although Castillo's partner, Leona Peshlakai, stopped Castillo, Coleman was initially unaware of this. As Peshlakai split up to monitor the other group members, Coleman confronted Castillo. He made sure that Brooks fled before the two engaged in a duel. Castillo was wounded, and the younger Marine nearly defeated him but had expended his ammunition. Castillo, using a hidden gun, bested Coleman, and before killing him, was caught off guard by Brooks, who returned to save Coleman. The two were able to flee using Castillo's own car. While returning to Coleman's own vehicle, it was revealed that he had been shot in the abdomen, though the wound was not as severe as it initially appeared. The two located a medical facility, and Coleman insisted on staying out of contact from those at the ranch in case Castillo or his gang, which unknown to them was now diminished, perused them. Castillo had given up on that hunt and after, Coleman underwent medical treatment as to make a hasty recovery.
== Combat Style ==
Despite his relative lack of professional training, Coleman is a well-versed marksman in various forms of short to long range combat. He learned many useful combative skills prior to the Great Collapse, and retained them in the years following. Due to constant, repetitive firearm training, Coleman is particularly well-versed in rapid fire and maintaining high-accuracy even when moving or with little time to aim. These factors have led him to win confrontations with many well trained mercenaries and troops from different factions and states. However, Paul Coleman is reluctant to kill in a battle unless he is forced to.
In unarmed combat, Paul Coleman avoids hand-to-hand engagement at all costs. In forms of martial arts, he is less rehearsed. While still far from inexperienced, he primarily learned martial arts skills from ex-military special operations instructors when he was a teenager. He was young, and his training in unarmed combat skills was very broad and designed to deal with regular threats- due to this, Coleman will keep distance with any elite troops unless he absolutely cannot.