[hider= USMC Sergeant John Dusk]
[h3]Character Description[/h3]
[list]Name: John Dusk
Species: American
Sex: M
Age: 27
Reason for being on the ship: Captured during a multi-party ambush on his unit. With no clear chain of custody and human personnel treated as expendable assets, he was processed as an alien combatant and transferred aboard a Mazdhul prison ship.
Appearance:[img]https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/f2/84/1c/f2841cf9f1a59b70ad23f00e6df24a4f.jpg[/img]
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[h3]Strengths and Weaknesses[/h3]
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Skills: Military training, alien civilian interaction training, marine survival training, familiarity with energy weapons.
Weaknesses: Overcommits to protecting others, struggles with morally grey alliances, limited understanding of alien politics, not adapted to frontier “everyone for themselves” mindset, under-equipped vs locals.
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[h3]Background:[/h3]
[list]Backstory:
John was raised in Northern California and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at nineteen, driven less by necessity and more by a genuine belief in the fight for freedom and democracy, partly influenced by his father’s own service. Over the years, he saw deployment across multiple regions on Earth and even assisted in security operations involving the relocation of Andromedan refugees. He often found himself looking up at the sky with a sense of curiosity. It amazed him how only a few generations ago humanity believed it was alone, and now beings from another galaxy were coming to Earth in search of a better life.

Throughout his service, Dusk built a reputation as a steady and reliable Marine. He believed that soldiers were meant to do more than fight, that they were meant to protect others and represent something larger than themselves. It was a belief that earned him respect from some, and a reputation for being overly idealistic and even obnoxious from others.

When Earth began expanding its involvement in Andromeda through convoy escorts and support missions, Dusk volunteered. The assignment was presented as a continuation of what he already knew on Earth: protecting free trade routes, safeguarding civilians, and helping maintain stability in regions affected by conflict. It sounded like the same mission, just on a larger scale.

The reality was something else entirely. Andromeda was a battlefield far more fractured than anything back on Earth, with conflicts that rarely followed any recognizable structure. Convoys were attacked by forces that could be allies the next week, as Kiellar warlords constantly turned on one another. Alien civilians often viewed human involvement with suspicion rather than relief.

Dusk adapted as best he could as he worked escort details, assisted with refugee movements, and tried to apply the same principles that had guided him on Earth. Even as the situation grew more unstable, he held onto the belief that his presence still mattered and that there was still a line worth holding.

That belief changed during a convoy operation in former Kiellar territory as an attack came suddenly with multiple hostile elements striking at once, jamming communications and disabling escort ships within minutes. Dusk’s unit attempted to hold the line, fighting to protect both the cargo and the civilians, but they were quickly overwhelmed. Most of his unit was killed in action.

The enemy was not a conventional force as there were no markings or insignias on them. The attackers executed wounded Marines without hesitation. Miraculously, Dusk himself escaped any serious injury but was restrained and had a bag thrown over his head, everything went dark soon after.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself no longer a soldier but a prisoner.

He was brought before what was described as a “Judge,” though the process bore little resemblance to anything he recognized as justice. He was processed without representation and without any consideration of his status as part of a UN-sanctioned mission. Instead, he was labeled an “Extragalactic Asset” and transferred to a Mazdhul prison transport. To them, he was simply an alien combatant caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now, John finds himself in a situation unlike anything he has ever faced. There is no command structure to fall back on, no orders and no guarantee that doing the right thing will lead to anything but trouble. He doesn’t even know if Earth is aware of what happened to him.

But he does have one mission now; To survive and to find a way back home.


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