Sgt. Clayton Mossberg

Background & History

Clayton Mossberg was born in Oakland, California in 1975. His father was formerly in the Army, discharged after the Vietnam War. His mother was a grad student at the time, and the two met at a rock concert followed by an unlikely adventure. His mother went on to pursue poli-sci and journalism studies at UC-Berkeley, while his father started a local microbrewery. His mother became more involved in politics, and eventually they split up amicably when Clayton was young. Due to his mother's highly mobile career and ambitious nature, Clayton was raised primarily by his father in Oakland. Shortly after graduation, Clayton enlisted in the army. While he shared a good relationship with his parents, he was eager to get out on his own, see the world and maybe use his GI bill money for a college education. While at the end of his enlistment, the terror attacks on the WTC and Pentagon took place. His mother was killed in the New York attacks, and he could see the writing on the wall: his country would be going to war with somebody over this. He opted to re-enlist, and went career, partly in a hope to be involved somehow in whatever wider operation took down those who killed his mother and also because he found some comfort in his ability to take care of his fellow soldiers. After many years of soldiering, he was prepared to return home and finally help out his elderly father at the brewery when the bombs dropped and he and his unit stationed in Poland were given what he calls the "Good Night and Good Luck" message.

Personality & Motivations

Clayton, or "Clay" to his friends, is pretty laid-back and easy going. It takes a lot to make him angry, as he rarely sees the use in anger; it makes it harder to get along with people you might need to work with later. This mellowness is also helped along by some of Clayton's herbal pursuits he has been able to finally cultivate and indulge in since the Army went unofficial--he knows of plenty of medicinal herbs that can have a wide range of useful effects, and he is able to brew/distill a range of concoctions, including his own alcohol. He has been a soldier for most of his life, now, and it is difficult to find things that can really faze him. This calmness has caused some problems in the past--especially the recent past when some of his superiors felt he wasn't taking the gravity of their current situation seriously enough.

A negative side effect of his years of service and dealing with soldiers on the brink of death is that much of his sympathy has corroded over time. He has terrible "bedside manner," and is often as likely to insult his patients for getting wounded as he is to try to soothe them. However, after years of doing what he does, he is compelled to come running when he hears the familiar cry of "Medic!" While not overly religious, he has developed an affinity to angels, specifically the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of combat medics. This superstitious belief seems to empower Clay when he calls upon his patron to rush to people in need and stay alive while attempting to heal them.

After dashing out into withering gunfire more than once and miraculously patching someone up while taking nary a scratch, Clay has become a bit of an adrenaline junkie and daredevil. He rarely backs down from a challenge. Part of this is due to basic soldierly indoctrination; when orders are given, you follow them. Now, part of it might be that as he is getting older, he feels like he has something to prove to these younger pups.

Ultimately, his goal is to get back home and see if his dad is still alive, but he's got a bunch of other people to help take care of right now, so that might complicate things. Since his nation abandoned him in a foreign country right before he was set to come home and retire, he's not feeling super patriotic right now. He's largely still in the game because of his squadmates, and--to a lesser extent--most of the other Americans who got stuck in the same situation as him.

In a fight, he prefers to hang back a bit and pick at enemies from a distance. This also allows him keep an eye on the rest of his squad and position himself to aid those who might need assistance, or come running when someone calls for him.

Much like that one guy in the war movies who is always looking for a certain size of shoe or flavor of MRE or a toothbrush, Clay can often be found nosing around looking for a decent sniper rifle (for long-range work) or a shotgun (because his name is Mossberg and he thinks that would be humorously thematically appropriate).

Quotes

"You made me run all the way out here for this scratch?"

"Rub some dirt on it and walk it off, man."

Powers & Tactics

Clay has a remarkable skill with healing, being able to patch people up on the fly in the middle of a fight or setting them down for a quick and dirty surgery. With his knowledge of plants and brewing, he is also able to blend up a number of cocktails that he can apply to himself or allies that can help out in a fight. When the need arises, he can summon up a burst of speed to get him to an ally in need, and seemingly dodge bullets when he gets there while he's patching somebody up. Believing the best defense is often not allowing your enemies to see where you're at in the first place, Clay also employs homemade smoke bombs to defend against attacks.

Appearance

Clay is about average height, with the slim, wiry build of a runner or someone who has traded some of his rations for cigarettes. He has short, brown hair that he prefers to keep buzzed on the sides and back, and blue eyes. His face is a bit gaunt with an aquiline nose and slightly bulging eyes, but his eyes are usually friendly, accompanied by an almost ever-present half-smile and a minor squint from smoking. He tries as best he can in the post-bomb world to keep his uniform tidy and professional.

Over the years, he has acquired several tattoos. One is "O- universal donor" next to a red teardrop on his right inner forearm. On his left shoulder is a stylized angel smoking a cigar while firing an M4 from the hip with one hand and holding a medic's kit in the other hand. He has a ZZ Top (the concert his mother and father met at) tatto on his right shoulder. On his left pectoral area, he has St. Michael's prayer: "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen." More recently acquired, he has the word "DIRT" tattooed across the knuckles of his left hand. Arced under his ribcage are the words: "If found dead, bury this side up"