Kenneth Halloran

**Kenneth Jonathan Halloran** is a Coalition Navy Rear Admiral, in command of the CSS *Justice*. His military career has been long, filled with triumph, and stained with blood. He is more famously known by his moniker, Gallows, which he earned for his reputation in hanging pirates by the neck until dead. This old world punishment, in Halloran's opinion, is the only thing the scum deserve. He once served as Alister Blood's commanding officer and has a personal vendetta against him and his illicit activities.

## History

### Background

His career began as any other idealistic, patriotic young man coming out of college without a plan usually did. With nowhere else to turn, he saw the opportunity to serve the Coalition and put his new education to practical use. Entering the newly constructed New York Naval Academy, Kenneth Halloran showed high levels of tactical aptitude that made him ideal for commissioning as a line officer, in the command of Coalition Navy ships. He exited the Academy as the Valedictorian, much to the pride of his parents who were both former members of the Coalition military.

His first command was a small assault ship, the CSS *Aquarius*. Their mission was patrolling the asteroid belt for Olympian and pirate activity. Most scoffed at young Ensign Halloran, who served as the ship's gunnery officer. Most men and women who took that as their first ended up pulling desk duty for the rest of their lives, such a miserable failure in their mission that anything else would be far too above them. But those others were not Halloran, and even from his position on the gunnery deck, he made his ambition known. He began directing sweeping operations, picking out small details and hints that almost always revealed false asteroids, patrols of fighters that could easily hide in the shadow of the large space-bound objects, and was almost single-handedly responsible for eradicating a large swathe of pirate holdings in the Belt.

Halloran's infamous moniker came from the end of his tour, days before he was to transfer. He was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade, and came upon an enormous pirate ship. Its silhouette was comparable to that of a Navy battleship, and Halloran threw the caution of his superiors to the wind. Instead of a direct assault, which he knew would not work, he turned their cannons to an enormous asteroid. Using concussive blasts, he sent the asteroid careening into the vessel and smashing it into two. They rounded up the survivors, and as a show of force to make the rabble reveal the origins of their mighty vessel, Halloran began with the Captain and fashioned a noose on the flight deck. He hung each pirate in the chain of command by the neck, letting the crew watch them kick and struggle until they suffocated to death, and each time he asked them the same set of questions. It only took four of them to break and spill to him everything he wanted to know. And then he hung them too.

His ruthlessness brought him acclaim in the Naval community, as did his ability to surmount challenges others had failed in doing. He rose through the ranks at an accelerated pace, soon enough rising to the rank of Commander and was given full command of his own ship. He arrived on the CSS *Andromeda*, and immediately cracked down on his troops. Their previous commander had been far too lax, and he wouldn't stand for it. During his command of the *Andromeda,* Halloran was introduced to both Merhia Dravyn and Alister Blood, two names that he would one day curse.