User:BellicoseIntellect/Michael Kelly

"The job's not easy, but it's still better than being the guy sending out the distress call."

- Staff Sergeant Michael Kelly on his work in 1st Battalion, 105th ODST Division

Captain Michael Kelly of the 105th ODST Division, 1st Rescue and Recovery Battalion, is a highly regarded and incredibly skilled soldier, having served in the UNSC for 27 years. Opting into military service at an age of 17 years, Kelly served five years in the UNSC Marine Corp before switching into the ranks of the ODST. There he rotated around several battalions, including the infamous 7th Shock Troops, before joining the 1st R&R.

After numerous successful missions Kelly was asked by the ONI to run several black operations, resulting in his elevation to mythical status. Although his missions with ONI were meant to remain classified, legends of his squad's incredible feats have not remained entirely under wraps. Due to Michael having the nickname and ONI call-sign of "Wolf", myths about the ONI "Wolf Pack" have spread throughout the UNSC, elevating the mysterious men in the squad to legendary status. Kelly has since returned to his home battalion, but occassionally operates for ONI when he is not in the field with his brethren in the 1st R&R.

Early Life
Michael Kelly was born on May 13th, 2508 to Sean Kelly, a retired Marine and farmer, and Laura O'Malley and was their third child. Michael had five other siblings; they were, in order of age: Sean Jr., Tom, Maureen, Kristen and Connor. The Kelly's lived on a family-owned farm outside of Elysium City on the planet Eridanus II.

Around the time Michael turned 12 Sean Sr. died of heart complications, leaving Sean Junior, Tom and Michael as the male heads of the family. Sean stayed on the farm for another year before enlisting in the UNSC Marine Corp, hoping that if he advanced far enough the pay would help support his family. Tom and Michael were left in charge, and due to Tom's uncanny ability with crop-growing he became the family's primary source of income. When the thirteen year old Michael asked about formal schooling his mother consented, hoping that at least one of her sons would be well-educated.

Unfortunately, Michael, feeling responsible for the family, would not give up his field labor, opting to take self-taught courses at night. For two years he took online courses, progressing rapidly due to his strong determination. When a college professor at a local Elysium City university saw Michael's high scores online he offered to take the boy under his wing, an offer Michael immediately accepted. For the next year and a half Michael learned advanced mathematics and science, as well as studying literature and philosophy, both religious and agnostic.

Upon turning 17 Michael left home, enlisting in the UNSC Marines in attempt to find his brother Sean, whom the family had not heard from for over a year.

Joining the UNSC
Michael joined the Marine Corp with two goals: 1) To find his brother Sean and 2) to ascend as high as possible to get as much money for his family as possible during his term of service. However, during boot camp Michael discovered that he possessed keen skills that made him an exceptional soldier. It was in boot camp that Michael got the nickname "Wolf". As one soldier recalls: "Kelly...oh, you mean Wolf! Yeah, that guy was a friggin' animal, no pun intended. Kelly moved around like a ghost, silent and damned near invisible, but he was deadly lethal up close.  That was one scary mike foxtrot!"

- Anonymous UNSC Marine

Easily one of the top recruits, Michael left training and entered the 22nd Fast Action Battalion, otherwise known as the 22nd Rangers, along with fellow rookie Juan "Oso" Martinez, an ex-construction worker and demolitions specialist. Here Michael further honed his stealth and Close Quarters Combat skills. Kelly's rookie mission came on July 7th, 2526--a large-scale assault to retake a major iron- and copper-mining facility on the surface of Chrysus. Casualties were heavy, as the Covenant had heavily fortified the mines, but Martinez and the other demo-men were able to place precision charges that took out half of the facility along with the majority of the Covenant forces. Unfortuantely, Juan had taken two Needler rounds to the shoulder, and when they detonated the force ripped off his arm and caused various microfragment injuries. He died in Michael's arms, and although they had known each other for a short time, the loss weighed heavily on Kelly's conscience. On his next shore leave Michael had a tattoo of a bear claw done on his left shoulder, in honor of his dead comrade and friend.

Reunion
Kelly fought in several smaller encounters, including the unsuccessful ground defense of Madrigal in 2528, over the next few years. Following this battle, he and the other survivors of the 22nd Rangers were evacuated to the ship Valiant Enterprise where, by a miracle, Michael was reunited with his brother Sean. Sean, now a highly-regarded ONI field agent, tells his brother that he has been stationed near Earth with his "Marine company" (a simple cover story), for roughly a year, and that communications have been cut for some time in the name of security. In actuality, Sean is a tactical genius that ONI has been sending out to high-importance battles to prevent the location of key worlds from falling into Covenant hands. It had been Sean's plan that had gotten Juan Martinez killed in the battle of Chrysus; it also protected the location of the planet Reach, the main destination for the mined ores, from falling into the hands of the enemy. However, Michael knows nothing of this.

Once back on Reach, Sean looks into his brother's service records, finding them to be impressive considering Michael's short time in the service. He nominates Michael to ODST service and, discussing the branch with his younger sibling, finds that Michael is enthusiastic about "hypothetically" joining the 105th. Sean, having recorded the conversation secretly, attaches Michael's remarks to the entrance request, almost guaranteeing his acceptance.

Trivia

 * Michael's last name is an homage to John Kelly, aka John Clark, a Navy Seal from the Tom Clancy "Ryanverse", a big inspiration in BellicoseIntellect's writing. Juan Martinez's nickname "Oso" is shared by Clancy's character Julio Vega, a Rainbow Six operator.
 * There are several references to the comedic Halo machinima series "Red vs. Blue" in the stories about Michael Kelly. Kelly's AI, as well as his deceased friend who the AI was programmed on, Dufresne is also the name of the character more commonly known as "Doc".  Kelly's mother's maiden name, O'Malley, is the name of a major "Red vs. Blue" villain, an evil AI.
 * Juan [Martinez] anglicized is Ian, BellicoseIntellect's real name.
 * Adelphos is the Greek work for brother, and in this case the Adelphos planets refer to Sean and Michael Kelly. Sean is killed and Adelphos Major is glassed, both symbolic events