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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8225608" data-attributes="member: 30538">John Maddox<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-9DVPr3k/0/a60cec3b/M/Rock_n_Roll_RAH-M.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />One of the most senior of the field operators of the Task Force, the circumstances of Maddox's recruitment also made him one of the most famous, to the point where his code name ("Striker") was rarely used, especially after the film made about them was released three years later. He was known to be ambivalent about this, despite recognizing the importance of the propaganda the film represented at a time when the United States was facing an unprecedented crisis, particularly because of the way that it featured his daughter, Virginia, as a character, while she was still recovering from the trauma she'd endured during the real life events that inspired the film.John Maddox was born in Malibu, California in 1942, and lived a fairly carefree and happy life there, as a member of several rock-and-roll bands, a surfer, beachcomber, and body builder. In 1966, however, something made him completely change his way of life, and he enlisted in the Army. He never discussed this episode; some have claimed that a former Army Ranger saved his life, or that of a friend, but when told about this, his only response was laughter. He demonstrated considerable proficiency in Basic Training, and wound up assigned to Ranger School himself, serving with distinction during the last years of the Vietnam War and surviving its apocalyptic climax, notably saving the lives of several other troopers in the process.The latter episode brought the young Staff Sergeant to the attention of Colonel Jefferson Churchward, who recruited him for the special operations unit that he was founding, unofficially dubbed C-Team, one of the predecessors of JSOT. While initially enthusiastic, Maddox gradually came to uncomfortable with the activities C-Team engaged in. He'd hoped to be part of a rescue operation, not a hit squad. He nevertheless remained with the group until 1978, and their mission in Iran, where matters finally came to a head after one of his colleagues, Darcy, went decidedly off-book. While Darcy was dishonorably discharged, Maddox had finally had enough, and took early retirement.Another factor that contributed to this decision was the loss of his wife, Sofia, in 1977. They'd met and married in 1970, and had their only daughter within a year, but had rarely had much time together in the interval. After her sudden death from illness, Virginia was initially left in the care of her aunt Alyssa, but Maddox decided that he needed to take a much more active role in caring for her. Something of a culture clash ensued, but by 1982 they'd settled into a happy relationship.And then the world began to end. The assassinations that he heard about on the news were bad enough, but then Churchward contacted him with the news that other former members of C-Team had also been successfully targeted, and that he was likely to come under fire as well. Ironically, the assassins of the unit were not connected to the Pythonian Insurgency -- though a connection was manufactured in the film -- but rather the personal operatives of a South American dictator that the C-Team had helped to overthrow. He intended to take revenge by forcing Maddox to commit assassinations on his behalf, threatening Virginia's life if he refused.The results are too well-documented to be repeated here, though most of the names were changed. In the aftermath, Churchward convinced Maddox to return to active duty, and he became one of the first recruited operators for JSOT. Virginia was placed in a special school with other dependents of the Task Force, and declared her intention to eventually follow her father into the "family business". Maddox was not too thrilled about that, but hoped that the Insurgency would end before it became an issue. It didn't, and Virginia became a JSOT trooper under the code name Vendetta in 1991, notably taking part in the Mars operation while her father remained on Earth. (For some reason, the notion of going to Mars made him very uncomfortable, as though he had bad memories concerning it.)Tragically, John Maddox was one of the highest profile fatalities of the raid on Delphi, killed in action while saving the lives of his teammates. Virginia Maddox remained in the Army until 1996, after which she was recruited by Argus. Retiring from field work after in 2006, she is currently the Chief Administrator of the company's Los Angeles field office.John Maddox -- PL 6Abilities:STR 3 | STA 4 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 5 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 1Advantages:All-out Attack, Benefit (rank), Close Attack, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Equipment 6, Evasion, Fast Grab, Fearless 2, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improvised Weapon, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Set-Up, Teamwork.Equipment:Light Machine Gun (Ranged Multiattack Damage 5), Commlink and 14 points of equipment as needed.Skills:Athletics 6 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+7), Deception 4 (+5), Expertise: Current Events 3 (+4), Expertise: Military 6 (+7), Expertise: Performance 2 (+3), Expertise: Survival 7 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+9), Insight 5 (+7), Investigation 4 (+5), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 2 (+3), Ranged Combat: Guns 4 (+7), Stealth 4 (+6), Technology 2 (+3), Treatment 2 (+3), Vehicles 3 (+6).Offense:Initiative +6Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 3)Light Machine Gun +7 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 5)Defense:Dodge 6, Parry 5, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6/4, Will 5.Totals:Abilities 42 + Advantages 24 + Skills 35 + Defenses 9 = 110 pointsComplications:Duty--Motivation. Family (daughter). Sarcastic as Heck.Note: After 1998, he is issued an Autoblaster (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8, Accurate), Body Armor (Protection 2) and has Ranged Attack 1, becoming PL 7.</blockquote>

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