[hider=Mortimer Ward][color=AFEEEE]Name[/color] Mortimer “Mort” Ward, Sgt. Ward (Retired) [color=AFEEEE]Birthday[/color] 09/22/1988 [color=AFEEEE]30[/color] [color=AFEEEE]Appearance[/color] [img]https://data.whicdn.com/images/139348754/original.jpg[/img] 5’ 11” 190 lbs Mort let his hair go after returning from Afghanistan and has continued to add to the tattoos that cover his back, chest and upper arms. Standing at a less than towering height of 5’ 11” Mort has the distinct build of a soldier turned engineer with a compact powerful frame without bulging muscles. Despite the memories that his time in the army brings back he has continued to maintain a clean put together exterior with pressed button-ups and functional slacks or jeans if he is working. Beyond a clean look Mort rarely if ever has a reason to dress up through his closet contains everything he needs to look like a well dressed professional. With a short sleep schedule, Mort has plenty of time to maintain his military physique with weights and distance runs. [color=AFEEEE]Position[/color] Neighbor to the left of the Reese Family [color=AFEEEE]Secret[/color] Wouldn’t be much of a secret if it was written here now, would it... [color=AFEEEE]School[/color] M.S. in Engineering from CSUS [color=AFEEEE]Occupation[/color] Mechanic, Retired Army Millington Mechanics was a gift from Mort’s uncle when he passed away. The shop sat empty for years after Alexander Ward passed away waiting on the prodigal son it was left to. At least that’s what Alexander intended. Mort left for Afghanistan a year after Alexander died and only moved to Millington to take over the shop when his wife, Helen, divorced him. [color=AFEEEE]Personality[/color] Despite his service Mort is rather unassuming in his daily life preferring to keep his mouth shut and listen. Under the calm veneer and mild smile is a polarized man. The right reason can turn Mort into an opinionated and willful man with a strong position on a variety of topics that most may assume he has never even considered. While he spent summers in Millington when he was much younger the new town and the questionable fresh start has made him slow to become friendly with those around him. Luckily the job at Millington Mechanics has forced him to start talking to the people of the town and in fact, attempt to hire some of them to help keep the shop open more regularly. In his private life, many could accuse him of being a stay at home dad as his house genuinely feels like a home despite its odd emptiness. The home’s feel is that of a house waiting for a family to come home who never will. Quick to smile and patient when he is at ease it’s not hard for most to forget that Sergeant Cross served as infantry in one of the most dangerous places in the world for two tours. While its a rare day when he is called upon to show it Mort is incredibly protective however with the death of his infant son two years ago and his divorce no one in his life has warranted the reaction he is capable of having towards those in need. [color=AFEEEE]Short Bio[/color] Born in the heart of the California valley, Mortimer Ward was one of three children born to Abigail and Henry Ward. Despite this Mortimer grew up an only child, as a congenital defect killed his two siblings. Miraculously Mortimer was born without a single problem. Growing up in Sacramento he didn’t move far to go to school and graduate from CSUS with a Bachelor’s and then Master’s in engineering. Shortly before he graduated the Army convinced him to enlist. While had been initially destined for a position as a mechanic a change in his paperwork resulted in him being force branched into an infantry unit. Mortimer’s first deployment to Afghanistan was harrowing for him to say the least as he had never once dreamed he would be asked to kill people for his country and he did so reluctantly. To his credit, Mortimer survived more close encounters with IEDs and enemy small arms than he had a right to. In the end, when he returned home he resolved to get out as soon as he could. Upon his return, Mortimer found both sorrow and join. While he had been in the field his father had passed from congestive heart failure and his mother had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. In the midst of all this, he found a light in the darkness. Helen Bright, a woman with an equally keen mind and a passion that he could not ignore. Within a year they were married and Ms. Helen Bright became Mrs. Helen Ward. Despite the keen loss of his parents and several of his close family members Helen and Mortimer resolved to press on. With his release from the Army looming close Mortimer and Helen planned to move further up the valley as Helen had become pregnant. With the birth of his son, Henry Ward after his father, Mortimer made ready for a family life. It was sadly not to be. The Army extended his service for another tour and within days of his infant son being born, he was deployed to Afghanistan again. If the first time had been Hell the second tour with something even Dante had failed to dream of. Within two months of his deployment, Mortimer’s unit was attacked and all contact was lost with them. Three weeks later much to the base commander’s shock Mortimer dragged himself half dead back into the base to deliver critical intelligence on the location of an enemy compound. When asked what had happened to him Mortimer simply replied: “I did what I had to.” The intelligence was sound and Mortimer received a Silver Star for his service. The now Sergeant Ward returned home to retire from Military life. Once again though his return was not a happy one. When he returned it was to an empty home and a despairing wife. Henry had been diagnosed with the same congenital disease which had wiped out Mortimer’s siblings days after he had been deployed. After receiving news that Mortimer had been declared MIA Helen had sunken into a bottle before turning to one of Mortimer’s close college friends for solace. Resolved to put it all behind him Mortimer filed for divorce and retained a lawyer to move the title for Millington Mechanics into his name. One harrowing emotionally draining year later Mortimer left the Sacramento Valley for good and moved to Millington to start over. With the past fading like dust in the rearview mirror, Mort is set on rebuilding a destroyed life here in Millington.[/hider]