Lance Corporal Aidan Murphy

Sleeves and urban camouflage not always included.

Full Name: Aidan Connor Murphy

Call-sign: Bloodhound

Nickname(s): Ai (pronounced Eh, as the first syllable of his name), Murph

Species: Human

Homeworld: Tribute

Age: Thirty-six years

Sex: Male



Height: Six feet, three inches

Weight: Two hundred sixteen pounds

Eye Color: Emerald green

Hair Color: Red

Hair Style: Aidan wears his hair rather close-cropped.

Facial Hair: Aidan's usually clean-shaven. He can't really grow a beard all that well, anyway.

Skin Color: Quite pale; sometimes rather pink depending on how sunburned he is. He doesn't tan very well, if at all.

Build: Aidan is relatively close to the peak of human fitness. Carrying sizable weapons with as much gear tends to do that to someone.

Distinguishing Features: Aidan is rather heavily freckled and similarly heavily scarred – cuts, bullet wounds, a plasma burn here and there.



Allegiance: UNSC

Rank: Lance Corporal

Assigned Squad: Fireteam whatever-its-name-is-with-everyone-else-on-Redoubt

MOS: Formerly Special Forces Weapons Sergeant; now Support Gunner

Assignment: Redoubt Outpost Alpha

Basic Training: Basic Marine; Naval Special Forces/Warfare



Armor: Marine BDU

Weaponry: Aidan's generally preferred loadout consists of an M7S SMG and whatever else fits the squad's requirements, most frequently an M739 SAW of late.

Other Equipment: Aidan also carries one Combat Knife; two M9 HE-DP grenades; two flashbang grenades; three smoke grenades, one blue, one black, and one red; two signal flares; a standard medical kit; a pack or two of cigarettes; and, when actively in the field and away from base, three MREs and two canteens. As far as ammunition goes, he tends to carry three SMG magazines and six magazines for his primary. To top it all off, he keeps his wedding ring attached to his dog tags.

Vehicle: Aidan's not much of a vehicles kind of guy. He prefers to ride shotgun in a Warthog if he has to.

Assigned A.I.: None



Religious Belief: Irish Catholic

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual

Relationship Status: Divorced

Personality: Aidan tends to come off as something of a slacker, and that wouldn't necessarily be inaccurate. Whining about whatever crap duty he's been given, however, isn't all he does – he harbors a deep concern for the safety of his fellow UNSC servicemen and -women. He's deeply loyal to the UNSC, no matter how much he'd rather be relaxing than fighting, and he's content enough with what he does to have carved out a comfy little career as a ground-pounder.



Born in what would have been called New England in older times, the Murphy family was never especially well-off. Well enough to send Aidan to school, certainly, but he was working from the day he was able. Sleep wasn't something he found often, in trying to support a disabled father and four younger siblings along with his mother. A high school sweetheart was, however, another Irish Catholic girl by the name of Caitlin.

Six months after graduating from high school, Aidan set off to try and juggle college and work at a restaurant and local factory. He married Caitlin after... a bit of a slip-up during a liaison, one which ultimately resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. The whole two-jobs-and-college thing didn't really work out, either; so he dropped out after a semester and shifted his focus solely towards work to support his family. As if just to make things better, though, the restaurant Aidan worked at was forced to close its doors after a bit of a health regulations scandal. Having been the better-paying of the two jobs, suddenly money was scarce... and Aidan had to turn somewhere else.

So he enlisted, at the ripe old age of nineteen, drawn by the promises of good pay and camaraderie. Throughout boot camp, Aidan established himself as one of the harder workers in his cadet platoon and one of the better prospects. He qualified with most of the weaponry the recruits were tested with; a decent shooter, decently in shape, he was rewarded for his efforts with an assignment to combat duty, which in turn meant hazard pay and more money for the family back home. A few months, a few engagements with Insurrectionists later, he earned himself a Purple Heart, promotions all the way up to Corporal, and a transfer offer to an ONI Special Forces unit with a promise of a pay grade increase when he was done with his tour there.

Aidan rotated out of combat duty for a time then, spending a bit of time on leave before cycling through a NAVSPECWAR orientation and training course. He was forcibly acquainted with standard special operations procedures, forcibly reacquainted with specialist weapons such as sniper rifles and machine guns, and then shipped off to acquaint himself with his new squadmates.

They didn't last long. The squad's first operation, their cover was blown and everyone ended up being shot to death by a bunch of trigger-happy Insurrectionists. Except for Aidan, who'd been lucky enough to draw overwatch – but unlucky enough to have to deal with survivor's guilt, bearing the knowledge that he hadn't been quick enough to shoot the guy who'd first raised the alarm. Such was the price of conscience.

As if to make things better, he received word that Caitlin had found another man – and was looking to annul their marriage. So, broken, Aidan decided to stick with the military – with what he knew. He requested a transfer back to ordinary Marine duty, and he's been shuffled around various planets and units since – filling various infantry roles, from special weapons to rifleman. He recently requested a transfer to Redoubt, looking perhaps to avoid large-scale engagement for awhile.