Juan Pedro O'Rourke
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Juan Pedro O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Also known as | "Don Coyote" |
| Died | 15 October 3056[1] |
| Affiliation | Seventeenth Recon Regiment |
| Profile | |
| Rank | Captain[2] |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Juan Pedro "Don Coyote" O'Rourke was one of those who served in the Seventeenth Recon Regiment, also known as Camacho's Caballeros.[3]
Contents
History[edit]
Juan Pedro O'Rourke was one of those on active duty with the Caballeros in 3056 when they were employed by Chandrasekhar Kurita to provide security for one of his companies, Hachiman Taro Enterprises. O'Rourke was the Commanding Officer of the Caballeros' Adelante Company in the First Battalion, under the overall command of Force Commander Gavilán Camacho at the time.[3]
Although Juan Pedro was black and had the surname O'Rourke, he was the scion of a norteño family from Cerillos in the Southwest Trinity worlds, a very old family of great honor. Described as a lean and handsome ranchero, O'Rourke wore a trim mustache and sideburns that traveled down to the point of his jaw, and was known for his devil's grin. O'Rourke was one of those who appreciated the efforts that Lieutenant Junior Grade Cassie Suthorn put into scouting out their urban environment after they arrived on Hachiman, and when piloting a Locust, had specialized in recon work, often operating in partnership with Suthorn. O'Rourke was also known for thinking that a number of the more abrasive, hot-headed norteños in the regiment such as Bobby The Wolf Begay and Macho Alvarado were idiots.[4]
O'Rourke was known for being cool in combat, and always keeping himself in control; this was a combination that had seen him advance rapidly within the Caballeros, in part due to their scarcity among the regiment's MechWarriors, as well as being someone who was brave when required, but also capable of recognizing when a more measured approach was needed. It was this combination of traits that had been a large contributing factor in Colonel Carlos Camacho giving O'Rourke command of Adelante Company.[3]
On the 15th of October 3056, Ninyu Kerai Indrahar, the senior ISF representative on Masamori, attempted to infiltrate DEST commandos into the main HTE compound in Masamori in an effort to obtain proof that Chandrasekhar Kurita was betraying the Draconis Combine to the Clans. Ninyu's plan used an attack by Word of Blake terrorists that he had been able to generate via rumors about HTE's research, and saw DEST troops disguised as HTE security personnel make considerable progress accessing the HTE compound until they were uncovered by Cassie Suthorn. Upon being discovered, many of the DEST troops immediately engaged the Caballeros with various weapons, including SRMs. O'Rourke was one of those who responded to the opening stages of the attack, now piloting an upgraded Phoenix Hawk rather than a Locust. O'Rourke was one of the first to engage the DEST troops directly, after Gavilán inadvertently crashed his Shadow Hawk into a building, and the DEST troopers were able to concentrate their fire on him, saturating his 'Mech with Inferno rounds.[3]
O'Rourke's 'Mech promptly overheated and shut down, and he was ordered to eject by Don Carlos, as there was nothing he could do other than be a target while his 'Mech was inoperative. Unfortunately, the angle that O'Rourke's 'Mech had been left standing in after shutting down meant that he was propelled almost directly upwards, rather than away from his 'Mech, and a number of the DEST troopers shot at him while he was hanging helplessly in his parachute.[3] O'Rourke was confirmed to have died in his parachute, and was the highest-ranking Caballero casualty of the battle. Following O'Rourke's death, his position as CO of Adelante Company was passed to John Amos "French Fry" Ames.[1]
BattleMech[edit]
Juan Pedro O'Rourke piloted a Locust and later a Phoenix Hawk.
After his death, O'Rourke's Phoenix Hawk was briefly piloted by his successor, "French Fry" Ames.[5] Ames subsequently passed the Phoenix Hawk on to Lieutenant Junior Grade Jesse James "Outlaw" Leyva, a Dispossessed MechWarrior from the regiment who joined Adelante company. This left John free to continue piloting his Stinger. In contrast with many other units, there was no stigma against lighter 'Mechs in the Caballeros, many of whom cut their teeth on light AgroMechs while young.[6]