Richard Skinner

## Physical Description

Rich is a white, Kenyan man with an Irish/American descent and is muscular and has soft skin with a few scars, which show his adventures and mishaps over his many years in the field. He has a long but short-on-the-sides haircut of dark brown hair with lighter tips from the sun. His brown eyes and small nose blend well into his face, reflecting his young but well-worked body. Lots and lots of freckles show his Irish background plus his many days outside and in the sun (multiple suns). He has a scar across his jaw and neck and a strip of artificial skin on his right leg from plastic surgery. Although he strongly dislikes weightlifting and strength workouts, Rich knows that such workouts are imperative to becoming an ODST.

## Personality

Rich tends to be friendly and positive all the time, even towards people that he dislikes. He believes that the two keys to winning a war are communication and not wasting lives, but spending them. He is not afraid to state his opinion proudly and is open to all ideas, even if he dislikes it. When Rich feels something is off or not right, he is quick to talk to the people involved to find a common ground or a solution. He is also dependable and not afraid to take a small job from another recruit, even if it leads him into trouble; however, he has a great sense of judgement, knowing when an action has been taken “too far” or “10-33”. Besides the danger, Rich has a knack for science and math, mostly medicine, electricity, and engineering (studies all three in middle and high school).

He views every man in uniform with respect, but especially those that had proven themselves in combat, or done something exceptional. For this, he heavily respects Edward Buck for saving his life on Reach and hopes to follow in his footsteps as an ODST. And although he knows that “Our duty, as soldiers, is to protect humanity. Whatever the cost.” (John 117), Rich knows that it includes death. Matching this with one of his keys to winning the war, Rich dislikes officers that waste the lives of their men instead of spending them for a greater good. However, the branch of soldiers that he respects the most are the Spartans, and he respects them for their rigorous training and their overcoming of the augmentations. He sees them as the “last solution” for humanity because of the countless lives that they saved from going out to fight and die.

## Bio

### Early Life

Rich Skinner was born on June 13, 2534 to his Irish parent George and American parent Laura Skinner in a New Mombasa hospital. His parents loved to take him on many trips among the inner colonies, even seeing his uncle Jeffery Coleman who was the captain of the UNSC *Phalanx* during the Fall of Reach. However, on a layover at the colony of Kholo in 2539, a series of unfortunate events occurred with the Covenant. Rich was with his parents and his Uncle, Captain Coleman when the Covenant discovered the location of Kholo due to a captured human freighter. While at the space elevator on the equator, George and Laura were on the opposite side of the spaceport when it split in two from a devastating blast from a CAS Assault Carrier. Along with that, right before boarding a ship back home, Rich was hit by a needler round, and had to be carried by Coleman to the medical center aboard the ship (which had just been boarded). He had been diagnosed with numerous fractures on his tibia and underwent surgery during the random slipspace jump and the return to Earth.

### Youth

When he arrived back home, he was sent to live with his Aunt Peggy Coleman on the outskirts of Old Mombasa. Not much notable had happened during his years there, but there are a few that have been documented, and it was at his aunt’s that he attended his elementary and middle schools, to which their names have been unknown. During his time there, he became obsessed with the infrastructure and wiring of New Mombasa. When he was 12, he broke into the *Superintendent* complex twice and mapped out the entire AI within a week. About a year later, while riding the train home from the *Uplift Nature Reserve*, a bomb from insurrectionists exploded in the car behind him, and he decided to take matters into his own hands alongside the police, which were leading a chase to find the men responsible for the blast. While jumping buildings, he tripped on a ledge and fell two stories below, breaking his left arm and staying in the hospital for two weeks. At the science fair in 8th grade, his innovative side came out when he developed a self-sustaining plasma energy capsule, effectively winning the science fair and being used in some human-made prototypes for Covenant weapons. (This invention was also the cause of his infamous facial scar on his jaw and neck). Last of the documented events was: during his graduation, he hacked the graduating system so that one of his friends could graduate, as his friend did not meet a graduation requirement.

### Highschool and Recruitment

After he graduated middle school in 2548, Rich attended the Allidina Visram High School in New Mombasa for two years before transferring to the Reach Naval Academy. Ironically, it was his performance in his summer internship at the Mombasa Hospital that earned him a spot in the academy. While he was still on Earth at Allidina Visram, Rich became interested in the AI infrastructure of the city, and in the summer of 2549, when he was 15, he broke into the Superintendent complex under the radar twice. He mapped the entire structure within a week. To make some cash in the summer, Rich would often take a job at the local Mombasa Hospital. Quickly learning the occupation of a medic, Rich enjoyed his time there, and one day, his efforts would pay off. On July 3rd of ‘49, an inspection officer for the *Office of Naval Intelligence* was tasked with finding young students interesting in enlisting at the Reach Naval Academy. Looking to get off-world for a change and to make money as a medic later in his career, Rich became one of the newly enlisted members of the academy in 2549. When he arrived, Rich immediately discovered the hardships of being at the academy. He was around medics who worked harder and were more dedicated to being at the top of their class. However, he soon stayed up long nights studying, lifted weights in free periods (to stay in shape), and showed his officers that he was a skilled medic.

### First Battles and Setbacks

In February of 2551, Rich was deployed with marine platoons Jericho and Draco on the southernmost front of the Battle of Meridian. He showed astounding courage and leadership as he ran numerous times into the line of fire to pick up wounded troops, and he was in attack against the last coastal Covenant stronghold, winning the assault and gaining recognition from his long-forgotten uncle. Sadly, the Covenant took the lives two medics during the Battle of Meridian, but Rich and his colleagues saved the lives of many more marines. Then, to gain more experience in the field, Rich trained on the newly commissioned UNSC *Savannah* in the Epsilon Eridani fleet between the years of 2551 and 2552. It was there that he first trained with not just medics, but marines, for the ongoing war with the Covenant (and unbeknownst to them at that time, the Fall of Reach). Unfortunately, while training in a weight room in March of 2552, Rich hurt himself and was diagnosed with Weightlifter’s Shoulder, having to rest for a few months before training again. After the recovery, it was just discovered that the Covenant had led a skirmish above Reach, the UNSC’s military stronghold and Rich’s home away from Earth. He and a few fireteams of marines and ODSTs were deployed to the northern region of the Viery territory in order to push off the invasion in the North and to protect SWORD Base. Not only was Rich fighting for the UNSC, but he was fighting for the only home he had left. On the second day of the defense, he noticed the exceptional actions of the ODSTs in the *11th Shock Troops Battalion*, especially those of Edward Buck. At one moment in the battle, Buck actually saved the life of Rich from a camouflaged Elite. Also on that day, Rich decided to pick up an DMR. He realized that he was so caught up in the field of Medicine that he never realized how amazing it felt to shoot a firearm. Along with the 30 lives he saved and over 46 people whom made helped make full recoveries, he also logged over 40 confirmed kills with his weapon. (This battle earned him the nickname: *Hit and Heal*.) Unfortunately, he suffered a severe concussion in the blast of a Covenant proximity mine and had to return back to orbit to recover. Abnormally, this recovery took almost three months, and his post-concussion syndrome didn’t go away for another nine.

### ODST Training and Commission Aboard *Acheron*

After his full recovery, Rich’s uncle Jeff Coleman decided that it would be best for Rich to get a fresh start and be commissioned on the UNSC Acheron with the approval of Lieutenant David Scully. Along with that recommendation, Rich had wanted to start fresh as a infantry unit and not continue primarily as a medic, wanting to be an ODST while following in the footsteps of his newfound icon, Edward Buck. Then in October 5, 2553, Rich began his trip to the Martian city of Kenosha for the selection process. Due to his background in battle and the letter his uncle, Rich was selected to start his physical training for two years until further notice from the Acheron. Then, in January of 2554, relatively young and new among the selected candidates, Rich started his training. He lifted weights, ran laps around the memorial park, and met with his CO Jackson Lin every day to discuss how he could improve. Finally, when the time came, he and the other recruits from the *Acheron* branch of ODSTs traveled to the spaceport in New Paris to board their new vessel.