PROFILE - COMMANDER REECE
"If I can handle a hot-blooded Roanoke heiress,
I can handle anything."
Nicknames: Reece, Ogre
Status: Genetically Enhanced Prodigy
Primary Skill: Physical Prime
Engineered Skill: Shield Defense in Full
Age: 23
Birthplace: Somerset Clinic, born via artificial womb
Raised in: Callayo Military Academy (Core Officer Program)
Accent: British, formal and clipped
Physical Characteristics: muscular, 6-foot-5, long black hair, icy-blue eyes
Personality: focused, driven, confident, can be arrogant and cruel, prone to anger
THE COMMANDER
In Gambit, when Commander Reece arrives at McKaireth with his Ritter quartet, he's in hard-core officer mode. Shaped by a brutal and rigorously demanding military program, fully trained to kill on command, he never fails his missions. He doesn't intend to fail this one, either. The Core sent him to hunt down a traitor, and he has no intention of returning without one. Confident he will succeed, he is completely focused on his goal.
So when he first lays eyes on Willow, he doesn't think much of it. She's quite lovely for a villager, but he pays her little attention. The second she misbehaves, however, and he's afforded a closer look, he notices her strong resemblence to the Roanokes. He suspects her to be related to them, but doesn't know for sure until after her Surge, when Greer betrays her for a bag of jingles. Having many reasons to take her into custody—including a few personal ones—Reece goes after her, intending to bring her with him to the Core.
It doesn't take him long to realize that her appearance is the only thing she has in common with her birth parents. Her village upbringing has made her raw and unrefined, and he is ill-prepared for her spitting defiance. She fights him at every turn, triggering emotions he's struggled all his life to control. As a commanding officer, he decides to handle it the way he usually does—through arrogant brute force.
Of course, this only makes things worse. She ends up hating him. Hot-headed and spoiled, she'd rather break his rules than follow them. And when Joshua, whom he has long despised, shows up and orders him to back off, it's the last straw. Reece gives into his rage by destroying the White Haven courtyard. Only after he cools off does he rethink his approach.
It's not easy for him. In the Core, he's respected and feared, and he's never had to win anyone over. But to keep Willow safe, he needs to earn her trust. Watching her interactions with others, he begins to understand her better. He works patiently to peel back her rough layers and find out who she is at heart, and in the process, discovers what lies inside his own.
Still, she's a challenge. Even after returning her safely to the Core, she fights him with a strength neither of them knew she had, and the situation is unsustainable. Conflict brings their relationship to a boiling point, where he painfully forces her to make a choice: keep fighting until she destroys the path that's been laid out for her, or trust him to guide her down it.
She chooses trust. A tenuous trust, to be sure, but one he can work with. All she wants is her freedom, and with enemies on every side, she's going to need help to get it. Intrigued by her innocence and the effect she has on him, he promises not to fail her. On his honor.
On his life.
THE MAN
Reece's humanity begins to reveal itself in Mimic. Having exposed Willow to his dangerous side, he now works to show her an aspect of himself that he's hidden from everyone else. But the process becomes difficult when Commander Kristoffe arrives on the scene. They have a long and volatile history. As time passes, that history starts rearing its ugly head.
To make matters worse, he stumbles across a new threat to Willow's safety. It's one that he alone knows about, making him the only person who truly believes her when she insists she's being followed. And his duties make it difficult to be alone with her. Working tirelessly to track down Mercer, as well as determine how the rebels knew about her location in the Outlying Lands, he struggles to find the balance between commander and man.
But what concerns him most is the way Willow is changing. Her skills are evolving in ways he doesn't understand, pushing her into behavior he isn't sure he can trust—behavior that he knows Commander Kristoffe won't tolerate. He steps in time and again between them to negotiate, until it becomes alarmingly clear that circumstances need to change.
Reece senses that Willow's faith in him is growing stronger. They've bonded considerably, and the last thing he wants is to destroy their connection. With the heavy burden of knowledge he carries, however, and an unexpected call of duty he can't ignore, he must decide if breaking that faith will, ultimately, be the choice that saves her.
A SPECIAL CASE
Gambit threw a glaring spotlight on Reece's raw brutality. The rising conflict between his drive to succeed and his own desires nearly destroyed what he was trying to build. He shines softer in Mimic, stepping into the role of Willow's friend, confidant, and beyond. In spite of all he's done, he truly wants what's best for her. Even if she can't see it.
But he's still dangerous. That hasn't changed, and neither has the bitter knowledge that weighs heavy on his mind. As the brilliant outcome of a secret experiment, he must perform to the standards of the Core—as well as the Signal Guard that hands down orders—without exception. He's both commander and man, and Willow must learn to accept him as both.
Or suffer the consequences.
Image Credit: Blue Sky Design
