Russell Holston

Russell, also known as "G.I." by his fellow Raiders, came to the PPC in March 2008.

Backstory
Born and raised in Oxford, England, to a fairly well-off family, Russell grew up with an appreciation for good literature, and, after seeing a video of the Iranian Embassy Siege, the intention of joining the SAS. Having achieved this ambition at the age of 21, after three years as regular British Army, he was quickly involved in work surrounding the war in Iraq, though he has been part of operations in other parts of the world. Of course, he prefers not to discuss it.

In March 2008, during an firefight in a town in Iraq, he stumbled through a plothole in the immediate aftermath of an explosion close by, which had thrown up enough debris to momentarily disorientate him. Naturally, he wasn’t in the most amiable of moods when the DIA came across him a minute or so later, but the officers involved were able to defuse the situation to the point of being able to explain about the PPC.

In due course, the offer of recruitment was accepted, and he was sent down to Personnel to begin training. This happened to coincide with the macrovirus invasion and subsequent lockdown, leaving him trapped in the area with everybody else who’d been in there at the time, including agent trainer  Osbert. This led to Russell becoming one of Osbert’s Raiders, and even earning a modicum of respect from the veteran on revealing his military background. It also led to his receiving the nickname “G.I.”, originally as a mildly derogatory term from an American recruit, but Russell took it with good humour and soon adopted it as his official codename.

Having acquitted himself well in the training, the defence of the area during the virus attacks, and the subsequent Mary-Sue Invasion, Russell was eventually assigned to the Department of Floaters. He worked solo for a month in various fandoms before being given a partner - a former minor Sue from the His Dark Materials 'verse, named Alyssa Tyniova and her dæmon Kian. Though mildly annoyed - Alyssa hadn’t been given anywhere near enough training for his liking - he accepted the partnering with good grace and set about improving her abilities himself. They are still partnered to this day.

Appearance
Russell is 6’0” and, while naturally fairly slim in build, fairly muscular owing to his military training. His skin is tanned, which makes his fairly pale green eyes stand out a little, and he has short, dark brown hair. He is almost always dressed in black, apart from the red cap of the Raiders, which he almost never takes off in public. His typical expression is serious and intent.

Personality
Russell is generally fairly quiet, composed, cool-headed, and serious about his work. While he doesn’t brag about his achievements, and downplays his own role in anything people mention, he nonetheless has a strong air of self-confidence and a grit determination to succeed in whatever he does. However, he also has a good sense of humour, and while he doesn't often have much time for socialising, he does enjoy getting to meet people.

He has a keen sense of loyalty, and would do almost anything for his friends. While he has accepted that his main allegiance is first and foremost the PPC, he nonetheless still feels very loyal to his old life in the SAS, and also to Osbert, whom he admires highly.

Other
As a member of Osbert’s Raiders, Russell is the leader and also the designated medic of his squad - Thatcher Company, Platoon B, Squad Three, or Thatcher B3. He is also highly skilled in unarmed combat and takes any chance he can to learn more techniques, though he regards this more as a useful hobby.

Mission Logs
Russell has not yet appeared in any missions of his own, but has featured in a couple of interludes for Agent Kayla Richards

1. First interlude, in which Russell and his friends meet Teek Virtanen for the first time. April 2010.

2. Second interlude, in which Russell helps work out how to help Teek visit home for a bit. June/July 2010.