James Greenburg

James Greenburg, better known by his post-Jinan alias Abel Clark, is an American soldier and was a Marine commando in the Appalachian Republic's SAACC. Trained under and a close friend of Brian Burnett, the two were an effective pair. Combined with his swiftness, reflexes, and appropriate caution, Abel Clark was known by his peers and superiors at being extremely talented in his field.

## Recovery in Thailand

In the summer of 2024, Clark went with Leonardo Evans on a ride-along to retrieve a package in Germantown, a suburb of Philadelphia. While there, Jacob Sunan Arun Namuan and Doctor Will Mok gave a suggestion about Clark's recovery that he believed was impossible at the time. Clark didn't engage, and left with Evans who returned him to his home in Allentown. Left with only his intrusive thoughts, Clark later took a vehicle back to the place he met Mok and Namuan at. They begrudgingly took his late acceptance, but were very tight-lipped about the truth of the matter. Clark was promptly taken to Pittsburgh, where he received an initial gene supplement and surgery.

Following this, he flew to Koh Samui, Thailand, with a stopover in Nome, Alaska, which, unknown to him, was controlled by Seaboard at the time. In Koh Samui, Clark's recovery was seen to by Doctor Shisheer Ghatak at this lavish beach house. This was rather comfortable for Clark. One day while running and venturing to a nearby town center, Clark got into a bar fight with many others, including a renowned Muay Thai fighter. The fight was eventually broken up by guards who brought Clark back to Ghatak's house, but not before Clark noticed that much of the equipment they used was created by Seaboard.

Ghatak requested that Clark be a member of his own security team instead of returning to America. Clark refused. Later, disagreements between Ghatak and Lyons Russel, who Clark was unaware of his affiliations with, led to a violent confrontation at the beach house. Clark battled his way through and briefly fought a sentinel as it tried to apprehend him again despite Russel's warnings for Clark not to resist. He was quick to commandeer a vehicle and with a firearm, forced a German pilot to return him to the United States.

## Betrayal by and Against Appalachia

Once returned, Clark was avoidant in answers involving his miraculous recovery and where he had been, instead, only saying that he left to the country to get time for himself. This made his former comrade Leonardo Evans rather suspicious, as Evans suspected dealings with Doctor Mok. Regardless, Clark was eager to join back with his team, and after insisting his commander, Burnett, he went with the team without higher authorization when they became engaged in Operation Brass Predator. There, Clark was critical in being able to save half of his team from an attacking sentinel. After their asset left with Sandoval and others, Clark stayed with Burnett and his estranged father to fight and distract the sentinel and the First Subject. Clark surprisingly outmatched the subject, and was able to cut his throat and disable him. Unable to defeat the sentinel, the three were unexpectedly rescued by Paul Coleman, who drove them away to safety.

   Due to the death of Corporal Carly Young, there was an intense questioning of the way Operation Brass Predator was carried out. Clark came to be the figure of scrutiny from his superiors, and was reprimanded. His rank was stripped and he was forced to return his gear while he came under review. Clark began to believe that it was due to Burnett's status as untouchable that he was instead used as a scape goat for the team's underperformance. This was reinforced when he spoke with Harper Brooks, who expressed her uncomfortable feelings towards Burnett as a whole. When Clark returned to Harrisburg, he was stopped by protestors, who became rather hostile as he tried to get through. A fight broke out starting with arguments involving his status as a soldier, and after being spat on, Clark punched a protester, unintentionally killing her. Clark was arrested and brought directly to Appalachian President Elaine Cocklin and Secretary of Defense Andrew Jones. With the threat of a trial that he would surely lose, Clark was strong-armed into signing an agreement that stripped him of his rank, honorable discharge, rights to firearms, and barred him from contacting any former members of his unit, which in large part, was his entire social circle. Clark believed that Cocklin, and Appalachia as a whole, had a personal vendetta against him and grew angered that Burnett was doing little to intervene.

Clark became frantic and quickly planned to leave Appalachia as he foresaw that he may be targeted further. He quickly stopped by the apartment of Nova Parrish, where his former squadmate and Sergeant Bryanna Sandoval was. When she refused to help him, Clark understood why, but was still frustrated. Armed police swarmed the building, but Clark was able to get away, stealing a car parked nearby. While racing north, he was intercepted by Maria Burnett, who was contacted by Sandoval to assist Clark due to her separation from the military and therefore lessened liability. The two took Burnett's coupe, and in their combined emotional distraught, started to drink on their drive north. They intended to go to Fort Plain, New York, a town under Appalachian control where Lieutenant Brian Burnett was expected to arrive the next morning with the rail clan. Instead, the two grew intoxicated and pulled over to rest. Clark alleged that he and Burnett, in their drunken state, bonded over their experience and had sex- although Maria Burnett later maintained that the encounter was not consensual as she was blacked out. Regardless, they stayed together the next morning, arriving at a gas station for supplies. While there, they met the former stepfather of Kyle Wald, Justin Harlem, who Burnett hadn't seen in years. At the same time, police swarmed the building and tried to capture Clark. Burnett gave him her pistol and the keys to her car, and he managed to flee, although Burnett was arrested due to her cooperation in Clark's escape.

Managing to get into Seaboard territory, it wasn't long before Clark was intercepted by troops in northern New York. As planned by them, he was cornered and restrained by Colonel Yudhan and a team of vanguards. Clark was quickly transported to Hartford and detained in a comfortable room, though one he still saw as a cell. He had a discussion with Michael Sisk, who Clark despised, yet still, under his words, began to question his commitment to Appalachia further. As the rail clan was assaulted by a Seaboard Widowmaker, Sisk prepared to go to its fresh wreckage to retrieve a package that contained refined uranium. He brought Clark with him, speaking to him along the way and further embedding his ideology in Clark's mind. At the scene, Burnett was disheveled and beaten. Sisk assured Clark that he could return to Burnett, though he'd inevitably be subjugated to what he considered Appalachia's longing to set an example. Clark considered his choices, but chose to stay as he saw that Seaboard, even as a prisoner and wartime enemy, was treated with far greater respect than he ever had under Appalachian authority.

## Joining the Vanguard

Over the next year, Clark trained further, and once his loyalty was demonstrated, he became a close security asset for various administrators, and eventually Chairman Michael Sisk himself. He was promoted to a Sergeant in Seaboard's specialized Marine forces, the Vanguard. As a vanguard executive defender, Clark was put in the position of carrying out specific tasks for and protecting Seaboard leaders. Though he was not without questioning or discontentment, Clark was generally satisfied with his treatment in his service to Seaboard. As time grew, Clark's disdain for his former Lieutenant, Brian Burnett, grew, and knowing that Burnett would never join his cause, he turned that feeling into anger and a longing for vengeance.

When Elaine Cocklin made plans to integrate Appalachia into Seaboard, Clark was put up to the task of coordinating with Cocklin to form a potential defense against a potential coup. Clark resented Cocklin, but he was assured that his service to her was purely pragmatic and not ideological. Clark accepted this and when word was brought forth by mercenary Matthew Castillo that Brian Burnett was planning a military coup, Clark made it clear that due to his experience working with Burnett and SAACC, he was the perfect man to mount a defense against them. Seaboard defense leaders agreed with this. When Burnett attempted to infiltrate the capitol in Harrisburg, Clark was ready and expecting of the SAACC forces, and by taking his tips into account, the limited but skilled numbers guarding Cocklin were able to succeed. Clark fought Burnett, separating him from his allies. Though the two were toe-to-toe, Burnett was cornered, and due to a begrudging former agreement, Matthew Castillo was allowed to shoot and make the disabling blow to Burnett. The mercenary left the units, and Clark went with Burnett to see through that he was taken to Hartford. On the way, experienced SAACC leaders led by Navy Junior Lieutenant Jeon ambushed the Appalachian transfer, hoping to rescue Burnett before they went into Confederate territory. Clark used his understanding of their battle plan and his own skill as a coordinated soldier to repel them, but was forced onto defense. He nearly lost before reinforcements arrived, and while he had the chance to kill Bryanna Sandoval, he chose to wound her due to the personal feelings for his former team that he still grappled with.

   When Burnett was imprisoned in Hartford, Clark hoped to kill him. While speaking, Burnett called his bluff, telling him that he still cared about his former leader and friend too much. Clark was unable to prove him wrong, and instead, claimed that he wasn't allowed to kill him- which was true. Lyons Russel made it clear that Burnett was to stay alive, but if they decided to execute him, the General assured Clark that he'd be the one to do it. After this, Clark regretted his decision to allow Castillo to best Burnett. He saw Castillo as a disloyal, grungy, and unnecessary mercenary that shouldn't have been involved in Seaboard's work. Regardless, Castillo was out of the question for now, and the job of tracking Clark's former squad in the wake of the Albany Accords was handed over to others due to what Russel saw as Clark's internal conflict. Despite this, Chairman Sisk personally orchestrated a mission to see if Clark could kill Michael Jeon, the SAACC's leading commander. Clark followed Sisk's orders and located a drive in a quarry in New York, secretly leaking the location in a way that Jeon would pick up on. The Navy Lieutenant took it into his own hands to deal with Clark, seeing him as a loose end of his work and potentially his own failure. The two had a brief gunfight that night, and Clark was able to best Jeon, but hesitated to kill him in cold blood when he had the chance following the death of Jeon's corporal, Ricardo Emerson. Clark was shot in the leg but managed to escape and return to Hartford with the data drive. After that, he was informed of the true nature of the mission, which was upsetting to Clark.

As Clark took time to recover, he met college artist Chloe Anderson on a public train. Though the two didn't exchange any information at first, Clark took a particular interest to the student. He continued to train, even as his injured leg healed. Some time later, Clark was at the Capitol Command Center when Kyle Wald attacked it in hopes to rescue Burnett. Clark tried to intervene, but Russel personally stopped him, fearing that the former sentinel would kill Clark despite his confidence. Instead, Clark was tasked with removing Burnett from the facility and transferring him to New Haven. While on the highway with Darius Johnson, who Clark had fought before, the vehicle was ambushed by an organized group of rebel militants. They killed two of their men, but lost three themselves in taking Burnett from their custody. Though Clark was unaware of the nature of the vague rebels at first, he did recall the symbol of their patch. Clark's failure immediately caused him to question himself but also defense against scrutiny. However, upon meeting Director General Gardiner, he was assured that the blame would not be shifted to him. Instead, Gardiner gave Clark a mission- that of eliminating Cocklin.

Elaine Cocklin and the remaining Appalachian leaders, who had been forced out of their position by the Confederacy, were at a safe house with the idea that they would be rescued by Seaboard authorities. When Clark arrived, they were confused, but played along. Instead, Clark killed the group one by one as a means of tying up loose ends for Seaboard, who no longer saw them as useful. Upon return to Hartford, Clark continued to speak with Chloe Anderson. However, news of internal attacks targeting civilian infrastructure agitated Clark. When Sisk failed to respond to his calls and messages, Clark forced his way into Gardiner's office, forcing him to call Sisk. Gardiner eventually agreed, knowing it was Clark's integrity on the line. Sisk was angered by Clark's rashness, and gave a brief explanation before ending the call. Clark left in a furious and emotionally conflicted rage, receiving an invite to a date from Chloe Anderson. Before he took a bus, two men, including Darius Johnson, assaulted Clark. While originally set to kill Clark on behalf of Gardiner, Sisk countered this and requested that they just rough him up and take his gear.

Clark still met Anderson, although he was freshly battered. The two quickly became intimate, and at the same time, Clark discovered drawings Anderson had made that were related to the patches he saw on the men that rescued Burnett. This informed him that the rogue militants were the Liberators. He gave Anderson the benefit of the doubt, hoping she didn't have any deeper connections to them. Upon being summoned by Sisk, the Chairman explained his reasonings for the attacks. Clark then asked about the Liberators, which Sisk dismissed entirely as he saw the group as not worth engaging. He told Clark that the girl he'd been seeing was seventeen, not nineteen, and that he shouldn't worry about her Liberator involvement in that it was purely superficial and she was a naïve, rebellious, and privileged teenager. When he saw Anderson again, he brought this up, but his emotional connection and desire didn't stop him from staying intimate with Anderson.

While reporting to acting Chairman Jonathan Sisk, Clark and him were interrupting by Castillo, who barged into the office with his weapons. Castillo argued about his deals being upheld, and quickly, him and Clark broke into an argument. This nearly spurred a fatal draw between the two over who would get the liberty of killing Burnett, but it was interrupted by Infrastructure Director Roy MacLeod. After this, Clark became extremely leery of Castillo, his loyalties, and his erratic behavior. He relayed this to others, and at the same time, Castillo understood that his privileges within Seaboard were weaning. After Castillo visited Clark's girlfriend, Chloe Anderson, and involved the Liberators, he was unaware of the situation for some time. However, he secretly went through Anderson's personal belongings, finding a radio transmitter that he hoped to inquire about. He sought to take it to the Capitol Command Center to have it traced. While there, he encountered Jennifer Sisk, discovering that she was deleting incriminating footage of Liberators and high-ranking Seaboard authorities having discussions. Clark and her went to a private library on the same floor to discuss this, and Jennifer Sisk, hoping to find a way out of the situation, tried to kiss Clark. Mercenary Castillo revealed himself, having recorded the event, and hoped to strike a deal with the two that would assure him payment. Instead, Castillo and Clark began a fight which became hand-to-hand. Clark defeated Castillo, and with the evidence on hand, had him arrested and detained by Seaboard.

Clark was able to use information Castillo gained and files Jennifer Sisk was unable to delete, extrapolating that there would be an attack on the Seaboard capitol, though details were sparse. He rushed to Sisk when the attack was suspected, only to find him fighting with his wife. The Chairman killed her, and Clark, though disturbed, understood why it had to be done. Sisk promptly ordered him to take care of his former SAACC squad mates. With a team of vanguards, Clark intercepted Appalachian Sergeants Voland and Sandoval, isolating the two. He and Sandoval ended up face-to-face, and broke away from their fighting as their emotional vulnerabilities caught up with them. Sandoval hoped to convince Clark to abandon his post, and for a moment, thought that their connection would make this happen. However, as Sandoval tried to kiss him, Clark stabbed her in the heart with his wrist-mounted blade, killing her almost instantly. This was upsetting for Clark, but it reinforced his belief that he had to double-down. He quickly rushed to the next floor up, joining Chairman Sisk as they cornered and confronted the enemy units in the prototype laboratory.

When the enemy team inevitably broke the ceasefire, Clark hoped to engage with Burnett and defeat him. However, former sentinel SP-S011, in his mind-controlled state, was already engaged with Burnett. Once SP-S011 was defeated, Clark began to fire upon and then chase down the weary Burnett. Their chase led them to an elevator, where they exhausted most of their ammunition, and then to the sub-electric and cooling levels of the CCC. Over a cooling pond, Clark and Burnett had a final showdown. As Clark tried to go for his dropped revolver, Burnett leapt towards him, and the two snagged the gun at the same time. It was twisted around and shot, severing Clark's middle and index fingers on his left hand. He tried to fight Burnett further, but after his wound, was easily stabbed, cut, and slashed. Burnett refused to kill his former apprentice, leaving Clark in his wounded state as more military units arrived. This defeat shattered Clark's confidence, however, he was determined to strike back even harder once he had a chance.

## Combat Style

Generally regarded as one of the greatest commandos in America during the rise and fall of Seaboard, Clark was a well versed and highly competent Marine in nearly all forms of combat. He is a top-class marksman in all fields of firearms, as well as being trained to use many forms of explosives. In command, Clark changes his strategy of attack to fit the target, always seeing through to eliminate higher positions and commanders and then route the remaining troops in a unit.

Clark was taught everything his mentor, Brian Burnett, knew about hand to hand combat and martial arts. He was considered the greatest close quarters fighter in the Appalachian Marine Corps, with an impressive record of kills and victories even in certain defeat or death. This was only further proven in his time working as an elite soldier for Seaboard. He combines aspects from all major martial arts, creating his own form of flexible and unpredictable fighting style that is as lethal as it needs to be.