Peter Reynolds

# Peter Collin Reynolds

Peter Reynolds is the captain of the Sunnese Battlecruiser SNCV Abraham. He is the head of the Reynolds Family household, which resides in the Sun Nation. Peter is one of the major POV characters in The Tomes of Sagittarius.

## Appearance & Character:

Peter Reynolds is an elderly man, having passed away on Earth in his late seventies or early eighties. He stands around five-foot-nine. Unlike some of his other family members, or other people on the Afterlife, Peter's Earthen body was not reverted to a younger state. He remains older, bald save for a ring of grey hair around the outside of his head, and tires easily after too much physical exertion. He often carries a stout expression, but his grey eyes often smile, even in times of distress. While Peter can be extremely friendly, kind, and respectful, he also sports a firm hand when dealing with serious situations. He keeps his faith firmly with the Catholic God, and will show his faith despite others mocking him or showing pity for believing in one of the "dead ones."

Peter is averse to killing, even in self defense. He detests violence, but understands he must serve the Sun Nation in any way he can, so his family may remain safe there. Peter's devotion to his family is one of his driving forces.

## History:

Born in New London, Connecticut, Peter Reynolds began his working career as a truck driver, and had a fascination with transportation equipment that he would later pass on to his adopted grandson, Benjamin. Peter received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1953, and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1959. He was in the United States Naval Reserve, and served on the USS Shadwell, a Landing Ship Dock that performed Arctic and North Pole expeditions. Reynolds returned from the navy, and was in private practice in New Haven, Connecticut from 1959 to 1974. He was the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut from 1974 to 1977. He returned to private practice in New Haven from 1977 to 1983. Peter Reynolds was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on June 7, 1983, to a seat vacated by Judge Taylor Emmet. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 18, 1983, and received commission on July 19, 1983. He served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 1998. He assumed senior status on January 2, 1998, and retired soon after to take care of his grandson.

In 2005, Peter was approached by a strange man at the courthouse, demanding to speak with him on an urgent matter. The man would not give his name, and only introduced himself as 'The Conductor.' The man insisted that his grandson was 'godly', and that he could save the Afterlife from demons and darkness. Peter had security escort the man out. The man returned again, this time at Peter's house, and showed Peter the powers of a Child of Time. Peter saw the Afterlife for the first time, with brilliant marble palaces, water cities, deserts, and red trees. The Conductor showed him Ben, victorious over the devil himself, and Peter asked the angel what God wanted of him. The Conductor only replied; "your grandson." Peter raised Benjamin as best he could, and tried to keep his composure sound, so that Benjamin would be happy. However, the taking of his grandson was inevitable, and Peter and the rest of his family were devastated by Ben's loss.

The final ten years of his life saw illness, and the loss of Rose, his beloved wife, who in his mind 'vanished' when Peter eventually reached the Afterlife. It was unclear to him why all of his family were situated in one place, and Rose was absent. When Benjamin passed away in 2014, Peter had a stroke, and went temporarily blind. He passed away in 2015, and awoke upon the shores of the Sun Nation, greeted by none other than Benjamin's mother, Denise Darcy, who guided him to the capital city of Sunwatcher. Soon after, Peter joined the navy, and quickly became a captain due to palm-greasing by Darcy. Peter always lamented that he wished to have risen in the ranks properly, but he was already "in the chair" as First Mate Armando Latorre told him.

Peter was gained captainship of the SNCV Abraham when the Moon Sea War began, and Peter saw service at the First, and Third Battle of the Great Bridge, and then again at the Battle for the Northern Isles. Peter witnessed the aftermath of Zenzele Azikiwe's powers of light, and rescued the survivors of the sunken heavy-cruiser SNCV Sundance, though, there were only three of the seven hundred man crew. The Abraham saw no more action for the rest of the war, as all the fleets were recalled for an impending invasion of the Sun Nation which never came to pass. Peter was granted leave, and his prized Battlecruiser was stored in mothball, along with much of the Sun Nation's now unneeded excess warships.

Peter's family came to the Afterlife one by one, and soon, the Reynolds family was mostly reunited, all except for Benjamin Junior. The family were gifted powers by Denise, but refused to assist her in her machinations, and instead joined the Apocolite Synod of the Sun Nation, to Peter's chagrin. Peter detested the vigilantism of apocolites, while his son Benji embraced it, and drove a further wedge between them.

## Universe Eight:

Peter is called by the Conductor on July 25, 27 A.O.G., the man responsible for bringing Ben to the Afterlife, and is told 'the deal still stands.' The deal, being, Ben would be brought back to the Sun Nation to live his life there, but Peter doesn't understand what the Conductor gains from such a deal. The President of the Sun Nation, Caroline Ford, approves of the mission, and Peter is escorted to the docks with his family. His ship, the battlecruiser SNCV Abraham, sets sail with a battlegroup consisting of mostly troop transport vessels. The Abraham, and the destroyers Ugetsu and George Thiel, are the transport's only escort.

Peter's orders are to land 1200 troops on the High Isle, (one of 27 Lightchild Islands that snake across the Moon Sea back to the Sun Nation). They would have docked on Oilton, but a tidal wave washed out most of the "Sunnese Side", preventing them from doing so. On their way, they encounter a seaplane made of hammered bluesteel, making the plane immune to all but the biggest of their guns. Peter orders it shot down, fearing a kamikaze attack. During this, Peter notices that Armando Latorre and Martha Zlata are acting romantically, something inappropriate for the time, especially considering it was annoying and distracting First Watch Naia Lore. The fleet fires its guns, and the plane is eventually brought down, but it was only a distraction. Peter's first watch, Naia Lore, calls "Fish in the water" seconds before a torpedo slams into the Abraham's side, and another into the side of the troop transport SNCV K-26. Peter watches in dismay as the K-26 rolls over and explodes, dooming the stricken sailors. The fleet oiler is struck, and splits in half as it sinks. The Abraham is struck again, and Peter orders helmsman Donald Watts to make for the shallows, where the Abraham is semi-beached, semi-sunk, with its big turrets still operational. After a bout with soldiers on the shore, a fire breaks out, and Peter orders the Abraham evacuated. He can only watch as the Abraham is destroyed in an explosion. Peter lands his sailors on the High Isle in lifeboats, and encounters Ben in the tunnels, though their reunion is short lived. Andrey "The Butcher" Ivanov captures them, and continuously threatens the lives of Peter and his crew. Ben, incapable as he is, is Peter's only salvation.

They are brought to the fort jail, where Peter tries to explain to Ben the gravity of what is happening, but Ben refuses to listen to reason, and ties his emotions to everything Peter says. Eventually, Ben leaves to go get food, and when Ben returns, Laura Skarpelis attempts to strangle Ben. Peter is driven into a rage by this, and due to the tense emotions and shock of what occurred, he does nothing as the Butcher executes Skarpelis behind the jail. This event causes Peter to question his very command, and his purpose for bringing so many soldiers to die on Fort Lightchild.

Eventually, Artemon realizes they cannot keep the Sunnese at the fort, and due to his respect for Peter's status as a captain, offers to ransom them to Manuel Jaco. Peter accepts. Ben is initially refused when he asks to come with them, but Peter later concedes. An attempt at a parlay fails, and the skirmish in the wood ends in defeat for Thane's Isle. Artemon allows Peter, Naia, Armando, and Ben to escape out the back of his tent. Artemon is assumed killed in the fight, and Peter feels remorse for the man's sacrifice.

The journey through the woods takes a toll on all but Ben, who is sprite with his apocolite abilities, able to drink salt water from the river and stay hydrated while the others can't. Eventually, they come across the Thane's Isle reinforcements, and are arrested by Leon Broks. He brings them to Sophia Miller first, but she leaves quickly to go get the thane. Zenzele arrives, and questions them all. He decides he cannot let the Sunnese stay, nor can he let them go. Ben pleads with him, and Zenzele concedes to let two travel with him as far as King's Hill, but one must be questioned at Retirement Row. Armando is selected for questioning, and Naia yells at Peter, frightening Ben. Peter, afraid to lose his only true reliable ally, tries to console Naia, to little avail. The group boards a truck, and they make a stop at the Huxley Homestead, where Peter is introduced to Joe, Henry, and Deborah Huxley. Peter, Naia, and Joe get into a slight political argument, before Zenzele interrupts them by overcooking an elk with his plasma powers.

Eventually, the motorcade arrives, and they leave the Huxleys with haste. Ben is offered liquor and cocaine, to which Peter is concerned for his grandson's safety with the thane. He witnesses the priest Edmund Sharkie drinking as well, and considers the man to be a hypocrite. Peter encounters an old woman at the rest stop, who transforms into a Lumieri, and warns Peter that King Xolomon rides again, frightening him. Peter, being unaware of the legends of the Lumieri, is not sure what he witnessed.

They reach the city of Great Bridge, and Ben and Peter share a tearful goodbye with each other. Ben is worried he will never see his grandfather again, but Peter promises one day they will reunite. After their goodbyes, Ben boards the King's Hill Limited, and Peter boards the train to the Brokyles with Naia, escorted by Captain Caitlin Baudin of the Thane's Guard. He goes to sleep dreaming of Rose.

## Notes on Peter:

1. Peter is loosely based off of the author's grandfather, who also served in the navy on the USS Shadwell, and had an interest in trains.