- "To survive out there in the field, you have to know how to adapt. And I'm an adaptable man."
- —Damon Baird's view of himself.
Corporal Damon S. Baird (COG tags CSID 06059-81111-96)[5] is a Gear of the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army and an expert in several technical, mechanical, and scientific fields. He also appears to be an expert in collecting and analyzing Locust weapons, other equipment, artifacts and documents.[6] He joined the COG Army on Emergence Day, and soon after met Augustus Cole, who became his best friend. Fourteen years later, he was a member of Alpha Squad during the Lightmass Offensive, but joined Delta Squad along with Cole after the rest of the squad was killed. After the successful conclusion to the offensive, he was assigned to lead Sigma-One with Cole, taking part in several battles against the Locust. During Operation: Hollow Storm, he once again rejoined Delta, and fought through the campaign to sink Jacinto. He joined the rest of the COG in its evacuation to Port Farrall and later Vectes, where the COG was forced to deal with the Stranded Insurgency, and later the Lambent Pandemic, during which Baird was often on the front lines helping formulate plans with the rest of Delta and Command. When the COG collapsed, Baird joined the rest of Delta aboard the CNV Sovereign as part of the rapid response force that would assist several settlements the remnants of the COG had set up on the mainland.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Damon Baird was born to Jocelin and Elinor Lytton Baird. Born and raised in a rich family,[7] Damon grew up loving machines. Building and tinkering with machines were the only "happy memories" he had of his childhood.[8] In school, he achieved perfect scores every exam and invented gadgets while waiting for the rest of the class to catch up with him on assignments.[9] Baird had originally wanted to go to engineering school, but his parents refused to give him his inheritance unless he enlisted in the military.[10]
Locust War[]
Emergence Day[]
Six weeks after the end of the Pendulum Wars, the Locust Horde, a race of subterranean beings, emerged and attacked every major city on Sera in what would be known as Emergence Day, the start of the Locust War, in which 25% of the human race was killed in the first twenty-six hours. Damon survived the onslaught, but both of his parents were killed by the Locust.[11] Baird then enlisted in the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army on Emergence Day.[12]
Joining the Army[]
- "You're Augustus Cole, aren't you?"
"That's what it says on the can, baby."
"I'm a Sharks fan myself." - —Baird, talking with Cole after he saved Baird from getting attacked by two other Gears.
One month after Emergence Day, Baird was assigned to Bravo Company of the 4th Ephyra Light Infantry, based out of the Kosoly Barracks in central Tyrus. He was ambushed in one of the base's bathrooms by two other Gears, one of whom was Pvt. Jannis, who had a grievance against his father after he sent him to prison. They stuck his head into one of the toilets and began beating on him. Baird fought back, bursting out of the stall they had forced him into and head-butted Jannis. Baird fell back against one of the lockers, and Jannis began kicking him. Baird grabbed his ankle and brought his other arm up between Jannis' legs, sending him to the floor. They got tangled up and began trading punches on the floor, but before Jannis' buddy could rejoin the fight, they were all distracted by another Gear who appeared in the doorway, telling them to break it up so he could go to the bathroom. When Jannis and his buddy turned to look at the new arrival, Baird took the opportunity to punch Jannis in the mouth. The new Gear grabbed the other guy and told them to go away. The new Gear was large and imposing, and Jannis and his buddy decided it was time to go, but Jannis warned Baird that this wasn't over and he would see him again. Baird responded that that's what Jannis' mother said after he pays her, but the new Gear stepped in between them before the fight could break out again, and Baird's attackers left. Baird went over to one of the sinks and began spitting out blood and taking toilet paper out of his hair, worrying that Sgt. Iredell would stick him on a charge, and the other Gear asked him what had started the fight. Baird told him that his dad had handed out a sentence they didn't like, and that he might have said something to them. Baird then recognized his savior as Augustus Cole, and told him that he was a Sharks fan himself. Cole told him that he would consider saving him missionary work, and told him to take care of himself. Baird said that he intended to, and began washing his face in the sink.[13][14]
The day before being deployed to fight at Kinnerlake, Baird ran through a live-fire exercise at Kosoly Barracks alongside fellow Gears Pvt. Fadow and Jannis. The Pendulum Wars-era course consisted of running down three parallel corridors, with Baird in the center, as targets popped up. Jannis was a good shot, unlike Fadow, whose shots could be heard slamming into the walls as he missed his targets. Baird, on the other hand, hadn't fired a shot. The course used Indies as targets; humans as opposed to the Locust they were now fighting.[14] Proceeding through the course, Baird regrouped behind cover next to Fadow and Jannis. Baird gets nervous, believing Jannis might turn on both himself and Fadow for their inability to shoot their targets. Jannis looked over at Baird, asking him what was around his neck. Taken aback by Jannis' question, Baird made contact with a pair of welding goggles around his neck, which he had used the previous night while working on an invention. Jannis realised the goggles were stolen contraband, but before he could say anything more, Baird zapped him with his invention, a handheld electrocution device, rendering him unconscious. No one else saw what happened, and Baird was transferred to a different company, keeping the goggles with him.[15]
Battle of Kinnerlake[]
- "Shit, Cole, are you afraid of anything? Look, these things aren't rushing up to get your autograph. Kill the assholes at a nice safe distance, okay?"
- —Baird, after saving Cole when he charged into a group of Locust
The next day, Baird was assigned to go to Kinnerlake and fight against Locust that were attacking the city. He stood apart from the rest of the unit on the airfield as they waited to board their King Ravens, swinging his helmet around by the chinstrap. Iredell arrived and ordered him to put his helmet on. Baird complied, but as soon as Iredell was out of sight, he took it off and replaced it with his goggles. Cole called over to him from the assembled Gears and asked if he was going to join them. Baird reluctantly walked over to where Cole was waiting, and remarked that with him there, the IQ of that squad must be doubled. He boarded a KR with Cole and four other Gears, and Baird watched as Cole got airsick and threw up out of the Ravens crew bay. As they flew over Kinnerlake, Baird began fiddling with his Lancer's bayonet, and told Cole he was going to piss his pants if that was okay with him. When they landed, Baird was eager to get the battle over with, and mumbled sarcastically that he hoped his mom was happy now that he was a Gear. When Locust emerged near the marshaling position, the area descended into chaos as the fighting began. Baird saw Cole charged at several Drones and followed him, giving him covering fire as Cole scrambled to reload. He shot the head off of a Drone right before it killed Cole. They finished off the rest of the Drones in front of them, and Baird took cover with Cole, and asked him if he was afraid of anything. He told him not to go rushing up to the Locust like they wanted his autograph, and to try killing them from a distance. Cole thanked him for saving his life, but Baird wasn't sure how to deal with gratitude, and told him that he just needed him around for the next time someone tried to flush his head down a toilet. They began moving with the rest of the company toward a mall filled with Locust, and Baird said that the Locust had ruined his life, and he wanted to make them pay. Cole said he thought the two of them would make a good team, but Baird said he was just following Cole out of curiosity to see if he was afraid of anything. Cole could tell Baird was looking for some reassurance, and told him that the Cole Train was never afraid, and to stick with him because he would never lose. Baird said he would do that since it was not like he had anything better to do.[16]
Destruction of Halvo Bay[]
Hammer of Dawn Counterattack[]
- "Cole, no. No, no, no."
- —Baird, when Cole tried to let a car circumvent the barrier into the Jacinto Plateau
A year later, Baird was part of Kilo Squad along with Cole, Pvt. Alonzo, and Pvt. Dickson. After Chairman Richard Prescott announced his decision to use the Hammer of Dawn on the entire planet except for the Jacinto Plateau, millions of people began desperately fleeing to the region. Baird and the others were assigned to guard a checkpoint along the exclusion zone along the road from Port Farrall ten hours before the strike. Baird could not believe that Prescott was actually going to do it, and wanted to ask him how long he had been planning on doing that strategy. Cole said that the likelihood of Prescott stopping by for a chat was small, and pointed out how he had only been in office two months. Baird said he was sure that deceased Chairman Tomas Dalyell would never have had the balls to go through with it, but that the plan had likely been in place since the orbital platforms were built. He then said he would really like to meet Adam Fenix, the man who had designed the Hammer, because it was not often that the public actually knew about the scientists behind the weapons. Alonzo asked Baird what he knew about the Hammer, and if suburbs or the countryside near major cities would be affected by the strikes. Baird asked how he was supposed to know since it was classified, but Alonzo said that he was an intelligent technical guy, so he figured he would have some idea. Baird said he still wasn't sure, but bet that Prescott was probably right, and that anyone who wasn't in the Jacinto Plateau would be toast.
Baird then turned his attention toward staring at all of the Ravens flying over Jacinto City, in order to not have to look at all of the drivers behind him who wouldn't make it in time to survive. When Cole and Dickson began talking about what would happen if they were ordered to close the highway, Baird pointed out to them that it would not matter, and pointed out a radio mast in the distance, telling them that anyone beyond that point right now didn't have a chance of surviving due to the traffic jam, and that they needed to do their best to keep that quiet. When they saw a car attempt to circumvent the line, Baird headed over to stop them, but Cole got their first. After seeing Cole talk to them and then begin heading back toward him, Baird realized that he was going to try and let them get through the line by moving the barrier. He told him not to and they would start a riot, but Cole said he couldn't live with himself if he didn't save anyone. Baird said they would all have to live with themselves after this, but they had orders not to let anyone through and that it couldn't be their call. Cole said he wouldn't let that guy and his family die, but Baird responded that they had to stand back and view this like a wildlife photographer and not interfere with nature taking its course. Cole told him that that wasn't funny, but Baird asked him if he was going to let everyone through, and that he was sure everyone in line had a sob story or children with them. Cole said that these people were right in front of him, and he couldn't stand back and do nothing.
Baird conceded that he could not change his mind, but after Cole let the guy through, they put up another barrier to prevent anyone from trying to get past again. Cole asked him how bad the strikes were going to be, and Baird told him they were going to be terrible.[17] During the Hammer strike, Baird and the rest of Kilo Squad took cover in a storm culvert in Jacinto. When they emerged afterwards, they stared at a burning horizon all around them.[18]
Patrolling South of Jacinto[]
- "Now this is what I signed up for. Yes!"
- —Baird, as he runs over Locust in an Armadillo.
One hundred and ninety days after the strike, Baird had been promoted to Corporal, and Kilo Squad were on patrol in some ruins fifteen kicks south of Jacinto. Dickson was driving their Armadillo, which began making noises, causing Baird to suggest that they pull over and take a look. Dickson ignored him, but the Armadillo broke down awhile later. Baird began working to fix the engine while the others stood guard. Dickson asked him if they should call in for evac, but Baird told him he could fix the engine and they were not going to leave it behind for the Locust. When they heard movement out in the ruins, Alonzo got into the Armadillo's turret to give Cole and Dickson cover while they investigated. They encountered some Stranded, but were then attacked by a Boomer and several Drones. Alonzo cut down the Boomer, and Baird finished fixing the engine and began driving the Armadillo into the battle. He pulled over to let Cole and Dickson in, and ordered Alonzo to close the hatch. Baird began running over the remaining Locust, and complimented Cole on his use of their new Lancers Chainsaw Bayonet on the Boomer. After he finished running over the remaining Locust, Baird began looking around using the Armadillo's periscope. Cole asked him if he could see the Stranded, and Baird told him he didn't see any of them. Cole decided he needed to check that they were safe, but Baird told him that it wasn't their problem and they should go while they were still alive. Cole ignored him and looked out the top hatch, but didn't see or hear anything. As he began coming back down, a Locust Drone came out of nowhere and tried to drop a grenade into the Armadillo, but it failed. It jumped into the vehicle itself, landing on top of Cole, and Baird, Alonzo, and Dickson were unable to get a clear shot. Cole cut it in half with his chainsaw, scattering blood and guts all over the inside of the vehicle and onto their armor. Baird admired the carnage, and said they needed to work out a technique that didn't involve guts all over their vehicle. Cole got out of the vehicle to look around for Stranded again, and found one dead, possibly from their fire. They began driving back to base, and Baird asked Cole if he was okay. Cole told him it was a fucked-up world, and Baird told him he would hose down the APC for him when they got back to base. When they got there, none of the mechanics were in the vehicle compound, and they wondered what was going on. They went into the workshop and found the engineers there, and they learned that Gen.Bardry Salaman had killed himself, unable to live with himself for carrying out the Hammer strike. Baird remarked that it didn't seem to have traumatized Prescott, and asked who was in charge now. They learned that Col.Victor Hoffman had been put in charge, much to Baird's surprise. He remarked that they knew they wouldn't have to worry about any conscience shit from him since he had let his own wife die in the Hammer strikes, and began discussing with the engineers how Hoffman likely had gotten the post since he was from the 26th Royal Tyran Infantry.[19]
Destroying a Locust Bridge[]
- "Whoa... okay, maybe I didn't check that... shit, Cole? Cole, what happened?"
- —Baird, after one of the explosive charges he had planted detonated early.
Eight years later, Baird was still in a squad with Cole, Alonzo, and Dickson, but they had become Foxtrot-Six. While preparing to leave for a patrol in Ephyra, Baird and the others watched as truckloads of Stranded who had joined the army via Operation Lifeboat arrived at Wrightman Base. Baird thought things must be getting bad if they were accepting Stranded, and Alonzo wondered if they could trust them. Baird said they had their wives and kids in government shelters being provided for, so they likely wouldn't try anything stupid. Dickson agreed, but Alonzo worried they might want payback. Baird was also somewhat worried, and said they should have put them in the kitchens, not working as combat engineers. They headed toward Ephyra, which was the frontline of the war against the Locust, and began looking for Locust structures that they had set up during the night in anticipation of an upcoming assault. Cole drove their Packhorse past a Stranded camp, and Baird watched as a Stranded guard flipped them off. Baird hoped they got attacked by a Boomer, and Alonzo asked him if he had ever gone back to his old house. Baird told him that he didn't want to see a bunch of Stranded living in his inheritance. A few minutes later, Cole spotted a Locust bridge crossing a river to an old power station. They decided to destroy it, and Baird guided Cole to the nearest location they could park the Packhorse at. The ground near the river had turned into a swamp, and they walked through it to reach the bridge. The others decided that Baird should lay the charges to destroy the bridge. Baird told them to cover him, and he made his way across the bridge, planting charges on the supports on the far side while Cole took the ones on his side. After Baird finished, he noticed that the Locust had posts sunk into the riverbed, and began attaching more charges to them. Cole told him to forget about it and back to them, since he was exposed out on the bridge, but Baird wanted to make sure the bridge was taken out of action. He wondered why they just didn't call in a Centaur to blow it up, but Cole told him this would do just fine and to get back to them. Baird said he was almost finished, but one of the charges he had placed earlier went off early, setting the others on the far side off as well. Baird was blown into the air, and landed atop a floating piece of bridge that became stuck in the muck. He was wounded and concussed, and Cole told him to stay put while they found a way to rescue him. However, their Packhorse had been stripped by Stranded, and Locust drones arrived and attacked Cole, Alonzo, and Dickson, not noticing Baird in the water. Cole told him to stay down, and Baird waited there until the Locust were defeated with the help of a Mammoth. The others boarded the Mammoth, and Cole and Alonzo pulled him up onto the tank. Baird was fascinated by the vehicle, but couldn't concentrate because of the concussion and didn't talk much as Alonzo began treating him. Ailsa, the driver of the Mammoth and a former Stranded, came out and talked with Cole about how the Stranded would outlast the COG, which Baird was unable to notice because of his concussion. He asked Cole what was going on, and Cole told him that they were just eating humble pie.[20]
Lightmass Offensive[]
- "Typical. Don't give a smart guy a promotion, no, they give it to the jackass instead."
- —Baird, after Marcus was promoted instead of him.
Five years later, Baird had been demoted to private and was a member of Alpha Squad, along with Cole, Jan Rojas, and Gyules during the Lightmass Offensive.[21] They were tasked with deploying the Sonic Resonator to map the Locust tunnels, but lost contact with command. Several members of the squad were killed, and Rojas and Cole were separated from the others.[22] Baird, Gyules, and one other Gear took refuge outside of the Tomb of the Unknowns, but were pinned down by Troikas on top of the House of Sovereigns. Baird managed to get a hold of Delta-One, who had been sent to rescue them, after Delta killed three Seeders that had been jamming the comms. He told them about the Troika on the House of Sovereigns roof, and told them to take it out and hurry to assist them. Delta took out the Troika operators, and used them to clear the Locust forces. He was then reunited with Cole, who informed him of Rojas death. As they waited for pickup, the Gears came under attack. They were overwhelmed, and forced to flee into the Tomb, but both Lt. Minh Young Kim and the unknown Gear in Alpha were killed.[23] However, they became trapped inside the Tomb with a Berserker, and Gyules was killed. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, two Gears from Delta, managed to lure the Berserker outside and kill her while Baird and Cole guarded the resonator. When they rejoined Marcus and Dom, Baird became angry when Marcus was promoted to sergeant instead of him. Col. Victor Hoffman tells them that Ravens are unable to reach them due to the Locust presence, but Dom says he has a plan and the four Gears begin to move out.[24]
- "Oh, it's bullshit. someone here found out that Cole played thrashball, and now it's all 'Oh Cole Train, tell us about that play again' and 'Number 83, sign my shirt'. Where the hell are you guys?""
- —Baird to Dom, upon being asked how things are going at the Stranded camp.
As they walk, Baird is contemptful that Dom actually has a plan. When they reach a fork in the road, Baird goes with Marcus down one way, while Cole and Dom go down the other. Two Boomers appear in their path and blow open a door, but the four Gears get them in a crossfire and take them down. As they continue to progress, they find a Corpser, which retreats back into an Emergence Hole. Baird worries that it is saving them for a snack, which Marcus doubts. After killing a group of Drones and regrouping, Dom reveals that his plan is to borrow a Junker from a Stranded. Baird is surprised by this, and asks him if he hangs out with Stranded. This annoys Dom, and he tells Baird he is looking for someone. When they exit the building they are in, the Corpser tunnels underneath them, causing Baird to tell Marcus that he knew it was chasing them. As they fight their way to the Stranded camp, the Corpser continues to toy with them. They fight their way to the camp, and as they walk through it, Baird trades insults with one of the Stranded. Dom negotiates for use of the Junker from Franklin Tsoko, on the condition that Baird and Cole stay at the camp, much to Baird's annoyance.[25] After Marcus and Dom cross the river, they contact Baird, and ask how it's going. Baird informs them that somebody found out that Cole played Thrashball, and that now nobody will stop talking to him about it. When the Stranded gave them food to eat, Baird was worried about getting dysentery from the food, but was ordered by Marcus to shut up and eat. Baird was apparently correct about the food, as the next time Marcus tried to contact him, Cole answered instead and told him Baird was in the toilet.[26] Shortly afterwards, Lt.Anya Stroud informed them that Locust were approaching their position, and Baird and Cole began taking defensive action. When Marcus contacted him again, he reported that they were under attack, and that Marcus and Dom needed to return.[26] When they finally returned with the vehicle, they helped Baird, Cole, and several Stranded fight off the attacking Locust. The four Gears then got into the Junker, and Baird drove it to the Lethia Imulsion Facility.[27]
- "There's shit everywhere!"
- —Baird, after being forced to enter the sewer system.
After their vehicle broke down, Baird and the rest of Delta proceeded on foot to the facility. They found the entrance locked, and Marcus sent Baird and Cole left to find an entrance while he and Dom went right. Cole protested, feeling that they should stick together, but Marcus told him that he would take that under advisement, and ordered him to get going. Cole was hurt by this, and Baird told him to come on and follow him to their objective, wanting to get away from Marcus.[28] Baird and Cole found an entrance into the basement, while Marcus and Dom entered through the roof. Marcus then ordered them to find a way to get the lights on, and locate the Cart Control Room. Baird succeeded in restoring power, which he gleefully reported to Marcus. He was surprised when Marcus told them he and Dom found a surviving Stranded, and asked if he could find out if the guy had a geobot, since he needed one to fix the Junker, but Marcus just told him to keep his mind on finding the cart control room. He then warned them to watch the vents, since they kept hearing Wretches in them. To Baird's great discomfort, he and Cole were forced to enter the sewer system in order to proceed further into the facility. They passed under a grate, and spoke to Marcus and Dom, and Baird invited them down as there was plenty of room. Dom and Marcus declined, so Baird and Cole continued on to the cart control room. They regrouped with Marcus and Dom not long after, and Baird told them not to say one word about how they smelled due to the sewer system they passed through. They fought their way through Lambent Wretches, Drones, and Boomers to the control room,[29] where each Gear hops into a mine cart and heads down deeper into the facility. Baird fight alongside Marcus to the drilling platforms, which they board and head down into the Hollow.[30]
- "Look. Those are Locust tunnels, Fenix. You know I'm right."
- —Baird, after finding data on the Hollow in a geobot.
After arriving in the Hollow, Baird complained how it stank, and that there was Kryll shit everywhere. Marcus was worried about the resonator being damaged, so he ordered Baird and Cole to hang back and guard it while he and Dom scouted ahead, which Baird had no problem with. He was contacted a short while later by Marcus, and was informed that the path was too dangerous for the resonator, and that he and Cole needed to find an alternate route. As they proceeded through the mine, Marcus informed him that a Corpser was stalking him and Dom.[31] Baird and Cole regrouped with them just in time for them to see the Corpser die,[32] and finally reached the pumping station. Baird and Cole flanked the station from the right, while Marcus and Dom attacked it from the left. Marcus saw a heavily armed and armored group of Locust, and Baird identified them as Theron Guards. After a tough firefight, they killed the Therons guarding the station, and Baird deployed the resonator, and joined the others on a lift that would return them to the surface. The four Gears made it back to the surface as the Resonator detonated, and were blown forward by the shockwave. After recovering and reporting to control that the Resonator had detonated and they should be receiving information now, they collapsed onto the ground, happy that their mission was over. However, Hoffman contacted them and informed them that the resonator had barely mapped any of the tunnels. Baird then discovered from a geobot he had hacked into that a full map of the tunnels was at the Fenix Estate, located at the East Barricade Academy. He showed it to the others, and a King Raven was dispatched to pick them up.[33]
- "The status is that it sucks. The clutch plate is cracked, I'm gonna have to take off the flywheel..."
- —Baird, reporting the condition of APC-142.
Baird and Delta boarded KR Six-Four, and headed to the Academy along with another squad in KR Two-Five. During the flight, Two-Five was shot down by Nemacyst, and Six-Four was forced to land some distance away from the Fenix Estate.[33] Baird and the others were dropped in a courtyard that was heavily defended by Locust, but they were able to kill them all. Afterwards, they learned there were survivors from the other Raven, and headed to rescue them. When they reached the crash site, they found two survivors. Baird and Cole stayed with them, and gave them medical treatment while waiting for a King Raven to medevac them.[34] They came under attack, and Baird informed Marcus that their situation was FUBAR and that they had to fall back. They then began to make their way to the Fenix Estate.[35] When they arrived at the house, Baird found APC-142 in the backyard. After regrouping with Marcus and Dom in the courtyard, he ordered Baird to fix it while Cole guarded him and they got the data.[36] After he fixed it, they go back into the house and defend it against a Locust counterattack. Marcus and Dom return from the basement, and send them back to prepare the APC for extraction. Once JACK has the data, Baird, the rest of Delta, and JACK get on the APC and escape.[37]
- "Holy shit, it's back!"
- —Baird, upon seeing the Brumak.
As they head toward Timgad Station to deliver the targeting data to the train with the bomb, they find the Timgad Bridge is raised and uncrossable. Baird heads with Marcus to raise the bridge. They find the bridge is out of power, and Delta is attacked by the Locust. After they defeat them, Baird realizes that the Locust were waiting for them, and that they knew what they were doing. After being ordered to stay and guard the APC with Cole while Marcus and Dom try to find a way to restore the power, Baird protests, saying there has to be a better way. However, Marcus shouted him down, telling him it was his squad, and his decision. However, Marcus later found his path blocked by too many enemies, and contacted Baird and Cole to coordinate with Anya to find an alternate route. In a building overlooking Nassar Memorial Park, they talked to Marcus and Dom, and Baird directed them on where to go. When a group of Locust approached on the ground, Baird and Cole covered Marcus and Dom. After killing most of the Locust, Marcus ordered Baird to find the powerlines and have JACK start on the repairs.[38] As they got to the powerlines, a Brumak arrived. Marcus ordered them to keep it away from the powerlines, and Cole got its attention so that it followed Baird and him. After they thought they lost it, they headed back to the powerlines, only to have the Brumak show up again and be forced to keep running. They managed to escape it, and JACK repaired the powerlines, but the Brumak had them cut off from the APC.[39] They regrouped with Marcus and Dom behind a theater, and the four of them hunted down and killed the Seeder that was jamming the comms. They then headed to Timgad Central Energy to raise the bridge.[40] Once they reached it, Baird, Cole, and JACK headed off to find a way to restore the power. However, Baird discovered that the Locust had been taking parts to the station underground, and worked with JACK to attempt to fix what he could. He directed Marcus to turn off several panels and switches to help in the repairs. He managed to get the power flowing, but needed something to connect two transformer blocks.[41] Marcus and Dom tricked the Brumak into connecting them, and the bridge lowered. Delta then returned to the APC and continued to Timgad Station.[42]
- "Damnit, we suck!"
- —Baird, after failing to jump aboard the Tyro Pillar.
When they reached the station, Baird and the others battled against Locust forces as they waited for the train to pass by. As it did, Marcus and Dom jumped aboard, but Baird and Cole were unable to make it.[43] He contacted Marcus, and told him they would catch a ride on a King Raven. They were picked up by a Raven with Col.Hoffman aboard, and Baird contacted Marcus to let him know they were on the way.[44] As Marcus and Dom fought General RAAM, Baird manned one of the turrets on the King Raven and provided support against Kryll and Reavers flying alongside the train. After Marcus deployed the Lightmass Bomb,[45] Baird and the rest of Delta were honored for their part in the Lightmass Offensive.[46]
Ambush on Sovereigns Boulevard[]
- "Hey, smart-ass. Nice shot. Now show yourself."
- —Baird, demanding that an unknown sniper show themselves.
One week after the bombing, Baird had been promoted back up to Corporal and was on patrol with the rest of Delta-One in Ephyra, when they came under attack from a small group of Drones. During the battle, Dom's life was saved by an unknown sniper. Baird shouted out for the sniper to show themselves, but he got no response. Marcus and Dom were curious about who out there was such a good shot and if it might be a Gear, but Baird pointed out no Gear would be Stranded and would have reenlisted in the army. After Dom and Cole scouted the area briefly for the sniper, Marcus got a report that Echo Squad was under attack along Sovereigns Boulevard, and they rushed to help.[47] When they arrived, they found Echo pinned down inside a mall with a Boomer and a dozen Drones trying to break in. Marcus had Baird and Cole cover him and Dom while they took out the Boomer, and once they succeeded, Baird and the rest of the Gears wiped out the remaining Drones. As they waited for a King Raven to medevac a wounded member of Echo, Dom headed off to find Pvt.Harries Lancer, which had been lost when Harrie was killed. As they waited for Dom to return, they heard firing, and Baird, Cole, and Marcus rushed to see what was going on. They found Dom with former sergeant Bernadette Mataki, who had startled him and caused him to open fire. Baird, unlike Cole, was unimpressed with her, and remained silent on the way back to Wrightman Base.[48]
Evacuation of North Gate[]
- "Leave 'em to it, thats what I say. Fewer mouths to feed. Balances out."
- —Baird, reasoning why the evacuation is a waste of time.
When the COG learned that the Locust were trying to cut off access to the North Gate Agricultural Depot, a convoy was put together to evacuate the depot. Baird was annoyed with the assignment, believing it would just be easier to let the Locust kill everyone at the depot, which would balance out the food situation. Once the convoy got under way, Baird drove APC-Three, which also carried Cole and Bernie.[49] Baird became annoyed with Bernie when she ordered him to back away from the truck they were driving behind, and reluctantly obeyed. When Cole began tossing ration bars out of the APC to Stranded children, Baird tried to convince him to stop, but failed.[50] After arriving at the depot, Baird watched the sappers load the convoy trucks until word came of Locust heading toward the depot. Baird and the others boarded KR A-108 and headed to intercept the Drones. He took cover in a doorway and fired on the Locust when they turned the corner of the street. After all the Locust were down, Baird went from body to body and shot each one to make sure they were dead.[51] He and the rest of the Gears then got back on the Raven and headed back to the depot.[52]
- "Didn't see you there... I just like dropping grubs."
- —Baird, after saving Bernie's life
After the convoy began moving out, part of the convoy was hit, and thirty grubs were spotted on the ground. Baird drove the APC to intercept the Locust.[53] When Two-forty-five was damaged, Baird left the APC on foot to try and repair it to rescue the crew. After he reached the truck, he came under attack by Locust forces.[54] The escort was killed, and the driver, Jeff Tatton, was injured. Baird got him behind cover and held off the Drones until Cole and Bernie arrived, and the three of them killed all the Locust. Baird then showed Bernie how to properly chainsaw a Locust, and pointed out the optimal places to attack them with it. They begin carrying Tatton to the APC, but it was hit by a Boomshot, throwing the Gears into the air. Baird killed the Drone, and helped Bernie pick Tatton back up. As they walked toward the road, Baird paused to kick the dead Drone so hard it's guts fell out.[55] They were picked up by Marcus, Dom, and Pvt.Federic Rojas in their APC.[56] As they headed back to Jacinto, Baird attempted to stop Tatton's bleeding, and became angry when Marcus stopped the APC to go back and rescue Hoffman and Tai. Cole took over driving, and they returned to Jacinto.[57]
- "Don't think I'm going to apologize to him and kiss your ass just because you got some sergeant's stripes from ancient history, Mataki."
- —Baird, right before his fight with Bernie.
After arriving at the barracks, Baird began cleaning his equipment. While working on his boot, Bernie asked him why Anya was still only a first lieutenant at her age. He told her there was no point in promotion, and that only assholes wanted them. She asked him if they made him a corporal because he was a reluctant asshole. He asked her how long she was going to keep up the insults, and Bernie said she would stop when he did. He continued to clean his boots as Bernie talked to Cole about him writing to his dead mother, and Bernie's trek across Sera. He was disturbed to hear her mention she had done bad stuff and skinned more than just cats. When Dom arrived and wanted to talk with Bernie alone, Baird and Cole headed down to the vehicle compound to wait for them so they could go out and recover the bodies that had been left behind during the evacuation.[58] After recovering bodies from the first ambush site, they arrived to find that the Stranded were scavenging from one of the trucks. Bernie opened fire above their heads, and Baird supported her completely in demanding that the Stranded return all the parts of the truck. He warned them that he would know if they left anything out, and proceeded to put the truck back together. Bernie complemented him on his skills with machines, but Baird was confused when she didn't add an insult to the complement. He remained silent on the way back to the barracks, and began playing a game of cards with the rest of the squad. When Marcus showed up, Baird insulted him, and questioned Bernie about what she had told Dom. He wanted to know if it involved another screw-up by Marcus, which angered Bernie. She told him to shut up, and stood up, challenging Baird to a fight, and many Gears in the barracks stopped to watch. Baird stood as well, holding his ground as she charged at him, expecting her to try and kick him in the crotch. However, she punched him in the jaw just under the ear, sending him backwards into the wall and onto the ground. Cole grabbed his shirt collar and told him to knock it off and play nice. The Gears returned playing cards, with Baird wisely choosing to stay quiet for the moment.[59]
Mission to Tollen[]
- "The grubs are back. Believe me. They're back, but I have no frigging idea how they managed to do that."
- —Baird, after discovering that Tollen had been sunk.
A few days later, Baird went with Marcus and Dom on a recon mission to the city of Tollen aboard a King Raven. Reports had been received that the city was flooding, and Hoffman wanted it investigated. Baird suggested that the Lightmass Bomb had opened up underwater wells or rivers. They arrived to find the whole city was completely flooded, and was now a lake. Major Gill Gettner, the pilot of the Raven, believed that a pocket of methane had sunk the city, but Baird insisted it was the Locust. He pointed out how the elevation around the city indicated it had been sunk by something, and convinced the others it was the Locust.[60]
Mission to the Dorado Hills[]
- "Cole, get your ass back in here! Distraction achieved, but we gotta go!"
- —Baird, while rescuing Delta from a Brumak.
Seven weeks after the Evacuation of North Gate, Baird and Cole were reassigned to Sigma-One, and were deployed to the Dorado Hills.[61] As they headed back to Jacinto in Centaur II-W0801, they picked up a distress signal from Delta-One, who were under attack by a Brumak. They rushed to assist, and Cole managed to wound the Brumak with a Boomshot. Baird picked up Delta while Marcus tied their squads APC to the Centaur, and they rushed to escape the Brumak. It was killed when one of its shots hit the canyon wall and buried it under a pile of rocks. Baird stopped the Centaur in a field, and talked with Marcus and Dom. He asked what their mission was, and they told him they were heading to Montevado to investigate seismic disturbances. Baird told them he wouldn't be able to fix their APC, but Cpl.Michael Barrick found two Rat Bikes Delta could take instead. Baird and Cole then returned to Jacinto in the Centaur, taking Lily, a girl that Pvt.Jace Stratton had saved, with them.[62]
Liberation of Jilane[]
- "Yeah, the opportunity for us to face extinction right away."
- —Baird, after Hoffman says the opportunity to rescue trapped women and children was too great to ignore.
Two months later, Baird and Cole were assigned to help Delta on their mission to Jilane. Hoffman and Anya briefed them on the mission to locate the old Birthing Creche in the city, with the help of Sgt.Alex Brand. A distress beacon had been detected in the city from the area of the creche, and the possibility that the women and children there were still alive was too great an opportunity to ignore. Baird was skeptical it was a good idea to go to the city, which had been in Locust hands for four months. After the briefing, he joined the others in packing supplies for the mission and catching up. Dom asked him how the rest of Sigma was, and Baird told him that they were a bunch of idiots, always almost getting themselves killed, so that made them a lot like Delta. They then discussed the Alex, and Baird was doubtful she could scout anything out other than a beauty parlor. Cole then began saying that's why they called in Sigma, so because whenever there was a women in need of help, they needed the Cole Train, unaware that Alex was right behind him. Baird and the other watched, amused, as she yelled incoming behind him, causing him to drop his beer, which she caught and thanked him for. As they continued to pack, Jace wondered what they would do if they actually found someone, but Baird told him that they wouldn't.[63]
- "Fuck that, my covers about to give."
- —Baird, after Marcus ordered him not to fire on the GBL.
Baird drove PA-142 to the city, and asked Alex for directions to the Birthing Creche. She told him she didn't know where it was, annoying Baird, who thought that she had grown up there. Marcus told him to use a map, and he located it soon after. Once they got out of the APC, Marcus split the squad up, taking Baird and Alex with him, while Dom, Cole, and Jace explored the other half of the building. They first went to the wards, and discovered several mutilated bodies. As they kept moving, Baird talked about how glad he was that once the war had started, people had stopped bugging him about settling down and starting a family. As they prepared to go through another set of doors, they were surprised to hear a voice behind them, and turned around to find a group of heavily armed women.[63] When Baird ordered the women to stop pointing their guns at them and aimed his Lancer at them, one of the women opened fire on the Gears, shortly followed by several others. They took cover behind a wall, and Marcus ordered them not to return fire, and tried to convince the women they were there to help. Matron, the women's leader, ordered the Gears to drop their weapons and stand up slowly. Marcus agreed to surrender, but Baird protested until Marcus gave him another direct order. However, they were saved when the rest of the squad arrived and surrounded the women. They questioned the women and learned they had been surviving there since the fall of the city, protecting the children that had been left behind. After determining they had not set off the beacon, Baird went with Marcus and Cole to continue trying to find the source while the others stayed with the women and children. After locating a mentally ill women holding the beacon, they tried to get her to drop it, but she activated it, drawing the Locust to their position.[64]
- "There’s a smart one out there- Theron or Kantus... what would I do if I were him?"
- —Baird, trying to predict what the Locust would do.
As the Locust began their attack, Molly dropped the beacon, and Baird shot it, stopping the signal. They then began fighting their way to Dom and the others, but were unable to get a lock on their location due to jamming. They found themselves trapped by the Locust in a greenhouse, and when Molly would not stop laughing about their situation, he threatened to use her as a meat shield. They were saved by Alex and Annalisa arrived and killed the Locust, and they followed them back to a bunker where the others were taking cover.[65] They arrived safely, except for Marcus, who was knocked unconscious by a Mauler while trying to rescue a child. Matron closed the door to the bunker before anyone could attempt to rescue him, and Baird ordered Dom and Cole to stand down, agreeing with Matron that they had larger priorities in getting the women and children to safety. Dom was angry with him, but Baird convinced him to back down. Cole asked Baird if he had a plan, and he told Cole to watch over Marcus while he came up with one. Baird contacted Anya and told her that the mission was complete, and asked for three Ravens to evac them from a combat zone. Anya was worried about why Marcus wasn't contacting her, but he reassured her that he was alright. Annalisa questioned why the Locust didn't just shoot Marcus, and Baird told her they wanted to ambush whoever came to rescue them, leading him to realize either a Theron or Kantus was in charge of the drones. He figured the Locust had superior numbers and likely owned the skies, and decided if it was a Theron, they would torque the door open, and if it was a Kantus, they would send in Tickers. He asked if anyone had seen Tickers, and Jace told him he had. Baird decided to let them the Locust into the bunker after they boobie-trapped it with grenades, while they escaped via tunnels. He ordered Dom, Cole, and Jace to fire on the Locust, but make it seem like they were low on ammo. He would take Annalisa and Alex to kill the Locust leader while the others escaped, and then rejoin them. As Jace and Thecelia led the children to safety, Baird set up a recording making it sound like children were running all over the building to distract the Locust. He, Annalisa, and Alex then got into position to ambush the Locust leader, and found a Scarred Kantus reviving a drone. After the ambush in the bunker succeeded, they opened fire on the Kantus when it became distracted, killing it. They all then regrouped, along with Marcus, who Dom had recovered. Baird told the women they were all coming with them, since they were all COG assets. The argument was cut short when Alex spotted a large group of Locust reinforcements approaching.[66]
- "Look, Alex, I should... just thanks, okay?"
- —Baird, thank Alex for saving his life.
Baird was angry that they had spent time arguing instead of escaping, but Marcus told him to forget about it. Marcus asked Matron if there were any vehicles nearby, and she revealed that they had several trucks, but that they would not be leaving, and instead would be making a stand against the Locust. Baird asked why they would do that, and she told him that it was better than becoming slaves in another birthing creche. He called them crazy, but Marcus said it didn't matter, and that they would take the children and whoever wanted to go. Baird protested, saying their orders were to bring them all back, but Marcus didn't care, only wanting to save his squad and the children. After they got to the trucks and everyone boarded, Baird stayed behind to try and convince Matron and Annalisa to come along as well. When he found them, he discovered that Alex had stayed behind as well to do the same thing. However, he was willing to use force to make them come with them, but Annalisa hit him in the face as Matron armed a bomb to take out the Locust and themselves. Annalisa put a gun to Baird’s head, but Alex shot her in the shoulder, causing her to drop her weapon. Baird picked her up and carried her to the last remaining truck, while Alex failed to convince Matron to come with them. Alex drove the truck out of the city as the bomb went off, and they rejoined the rest of the squad in a convoy heading back to Jacinto. The rest of the squad contacted Baird and were relieved that they had made it, and he told them that they had gotten Annalisa as well. After dropping the women and children off, Baird thanked Alex for saving his life, and she accepted. He then began working on repairing the trucks they had escaped in.[67]
Operation: Hollow Storm[]
Four months after the mission to Jilane, Baird and Sigma take part in Operation: Hollow Storm. During the Assault on Landown, he rode on Rig D28, aka "Marilyn". On the road to Landown, Baird and the rest of Sigma saved Delta after their rig broke down by providing covering fire as it was being repaired.[68] When they reached Landown, they saved Delta once again when their rig and Centaur Four-Nine took out a Troika gun position that had them pinned.[69] After reaching their drill site, they defended it from the Locust counterattack. Their driver was killed, but they managed to deploy in their Grindlifts and enter the Hollow.[70]
- "About time! What the hell took you guys so long?"
- —Baird, after being rescued by Delta and Cole.
Baird's Grindlift jumpmate was Tanner, and thirty minutes after landing, he was sent an image of Kantus Scrolls that Marcus had found. He analyzed them, and was disturbed to discover they were made out of human skin. He translated some of the runes, and learned that they talked about the Locust talking to worms. Baird was even more worried by this, since their enemy was talking to worms and still outsmarting the COG.[71] He later found an iron pendent on a chain, similar to COG Tags, and wondered if the Locust kept track of their soldiers like the COG, or had bad taste in jewelry, settling on the latter.[72] Shortly after this, Baird and Tanner were captured by the Locust and put into cages. Tanner was killed, but Baird was rescued by Cole and Delta-One, and rejoined them. He told them that the Locust were going to take him to be "processed", and that people are being tortured on Beast Barges. They raided two of them, and find Cpl.Tai Kaliso in the second one. Marcus handed him a Gnasher, not realizing Tai's mental state, and was shocked when he kills himself. Baird berates Marcus for giving him a weapon, and they quickly leave the barge. They fought their way back into the sunken city towards a chopper pick up, but the LZ came under attack. They managed to board the Raven under fire, but as it takes off, the Rift Worm arrives and knocked debris into it, and caused the Raven to crash inside the Rift Worm.[73] Pvt.Benjamin Carmine was killed inside the riftworm, but Baird and the rest of Delta managed to destroy all three of its hearts, killing the riftworm. Col.Victor Hoffman then sent them to the New Hope Research Facility to try and find information on the Locust stronghold.[74]
- "I hope no one believes in ghosts."
- —Baird, upon Delta's arrival at the New Hope Facility.
Once they arrive at the facility, Marcus orders Baird and Cole to stay with the Centaur while he and Dom look for the data. Baird is skeptical that anyone will attack them out in the middle of nowhere, but stays with the tank. After a short while, Marcus comms Baird and tells him he need a blast charge, and Baird asks if he wants it regular or extra strength. Marcus tells him extra strength, and Baird quickly builds it before they make it back to the tank. As they carry it away, Baird warns them to get out of the blast radius, and not to drop it.[75] When the weather begins to worsen, Baird contacts Marcus and informs of it. When it appears that razorhail is on the way, Baird and Cole head inside the facility to take cover.[76] After Marcus and Dom find the data, Baird contacts them and tells them that the razorhail has started. Marcus orders him to find a way to get back to the Centaur as quick as he can. However, the razorhail continued coming down, keeping Baird and Cole away from the Centaur, which began taking damage from the razorhail. When Marcus and Dom were almost back to the Centaur, the razorhail finally let up, but Baird needed to repair damage to the tank. As he did this, Marcus, Dom, and Cole defended him from Locust and Reavers. Once he was done, Delta got in the tank and headed for the location of the Locust stronghold: Mount Kadar.[77]
- "Hey, mom, dad, are we there yet?"
- —Baird, as Marcus drives the Centaur under Mount Kadar.
When they arrived at Mount Kadar, Marcus piloted the Centaur up the mountain, with Baird complaining about his driving and fixing any damage to the tank along the way. After they entered the mountain and fought their way below it,[78] they found a Stranded camp led by Chaps. He gave them information on where Nexus, the Locust stronghold, was, and Dom information on Maria. Marcus sent Baird and Cole back to the surface in the Centaur to get the Stranded to safety, much to Baird's annoyance.[79] They regrouped with the rest of the Gear army, and Baird was sent some info from JACK about a Locust document that Marcus had found. When he examined it briefly, he thought it looked like it might be some kind of jailer schedule, but he would need to take an in depth look later because they were getting ready for Grindlift prep. Soon after, Baird was sent some more info that disturbed him: Marcus had found a necklace made from human fingers. Baird passed this disturbing information along to control, and wondered why the Locust would do that.[80] Once Marcus and Dom set of JACK's beacon, Baird and Cole arrived in Nexus aboard a Grindlift, along with the rest of the COG army. They rejoined Marcus and Dom, and fought their way to the Locust Palace, while discovering that the Locust were involved in a civil war with the Lambent. Baird also examined a Locust calendar they found, and guessed that it was based on the ebb and flow of Imulsion. He also examined some defense plans they found, and discovered the Locust were preparing for an attack from below them.[81] As they fought their way down the Palace levels, they stopped in a Locust control room, where Baird cut power from the Queens broadcast system, and allowed Cole to launch a profanity laden speech against the Locust. They then discovered a recording in the Locust computers of Adam Fenix, Marcus's father. It recommended that the Locust Hollows be flooded in order to defeat the Locust, an act which would require the sinking of Jacinto. Baird was skeptical it would work, but Marcus sent the information to command just in case they were unable to kill the Queen.[82] After fighting their way into the throne room, Baird and Cole pursued the Queen while Marcus and Dom fought Skorge. However, the Queen escaped aboard a Reaver, and Skorge attacked Delta from a Hydra. They boarded Reavers themselves, with Baird flying one with Dom as the gunner, and Marcus and Cole on a seconded Reaver.[83] They escaped the Hollow, killing Skorge and his Hydra, and headed toward Jacinto to carry out the plan to evacuate and sink it.[84]
- "Marcus, Dom, you crazy bastards, we're coming down to get you off that thing!"
- —Baird, after seeing that Marcus and Dom have hijacked a Brumak.
When they arrived in Jacinto, Marcus assigned Baird and Cole to help prepare a Lightmass Bomb to sink Jacinto while he and Dom cleared the target area.[85] Baird flew into the target area aboard KR-239, but the King Raven carrying the Lightmass Bomb was destroyed by a Lambent Brumak. After Baird and Lt.Kevan Mitchell pulled Marcus and Dom off of the Brumak, Marcus used the Hammer of Dawn to take it out and cause it to explode, and begin the process of sinking Jacinto.[86] As they left the sinkhole, Baird remarked that Lambent made really good ordnance, and asked Marcus if he had any idea how the Locust Queen had had information on his dad. Marcus ignored his question and told him that they should concentrate on the casualties, and Baird asked if anyone had heard from Cole. He tried to contact him, but was unable to, and reassured himself that Cole would be at the RV point, and the comms network was just down. Marcus told him Cole had nine lives, and Baird said that Anya did as well, trying to do his best to reassure Marcus. As they flew over the city, they spotted a car trying to escape over a bridge, and Lt.Mel Sorotki set down in front of them to drop Marcus and Dom off to rescue them. However, two Reavers attacked, forcing them up into the air to shoot them down. The rising water then flooded the bridge, sweeping the civilians away, but Marcus and Dom survived and got back onto the Raven. They then headed to the RV point, and Baird managed to raise Sgt.Drew Rossi on the radio, and gave it to Marcus.[87] As they flew away from the sinking city, they saw Cole, Anya, Prescott, and Hoffman evacuating on KR-471, and Baird was happy to see that Cole made it. However, when comms were reestablished, he found out that Dom had been forced to kill his wife down in the Hollow to end her suffering.[88] When they picked up a distress call coming from Bernie, they headed over to rescue her from atop of the Allfathers Library. During the flight, Baird clipped a safety line to the back of Dom's armor to make sure nothing happened to him. He was surprised to see a submarine among the fleet leaving Jacinto, and remarked that he had to find a way to get his hands on it. After they pulled Bernie off of the building, Baird helped her into a seat and draped a blanket around her, much to her surprise. He complimented her knife skills she had shown while dealing with a Drone that had climbed on the roof with her, and did his best to be polite to everyone. When she noticed Cole wasn't with them, Baird reassured her that he was okay, and listened as Marcus gave her a rundown on who had been killed.[89]
Arriving to Port Farrall[]
- "Hey, asshole - look at me. I know you get a kick out of this shit, but why pick on us? Your war was with your own buddies. Not our problem. And, seeing as we're chatting, where the hell did you all come from?"
- —Baird, interrogating a Locust Drone as Bernie tortures it.
After arriving in Port Farrall, Baird and Bernie found Cole in Marshaling zone G. They were joined by Anya, and they discussed what they had heard about Maria's death. Baird couldn't believe that Dom had actually shot her because he had seemed so normal when they met up with him in Nexus. Bernie told him to shut up, and that they would do what they could for Dom, but that Baird was not to offer him any advice.[90] When Marcus and Dom found a group of Locust stragglers, Baird was among the many Gears to respond to the call to fight. After the battle, he and Bernie located a wounded Drone, which Bernie pinned down while he questioned it as a large group of Gears gathered around and cheered them on. Bernie asked him if he would understand an answer if the drone gave him one, and he told her he was interested to find out. Baird asked the drone why the Locust had attacked them when they had been fighting another war below the surface, and where they had even come from. The drone just roared back at him and weakly struggled to get free. Just as they were about to begin to torture it, Marcus arrived and convinced Bernie to shoot it, to Baird's great annoyance, but Marcus said he didn't care what any drone had to say. They then drove back to Port Farrall.[91]
- "I haven't gone this long without a firefight in fifteen years. I don't know what comes next."
- —Baird, admitting to Bernie that he is unsure what to do now that the Locust were almost gone.
One week later, Baird was on guard duty at one of the checkpoints leading into Port Farrall. When Bernie arrived in an APC with four deer strapped to it, he told her that her vehicle camo sucked. He got into the APC and headed with her to the barracks, telling her about the number of civilians that had died that day. As they passed civilians, she asked him if there was a headcount on the number of civilians. He told her there wasn't, and that stragglers were still arriving, and that some had even left to join the Stranded. They were both disgusted by that, and Baird asked her if she was lost, not knowing what to do now that the Locust were almost gone. He admitted that he didn't know what to do with himself either. After they arrived at the barracks, Baird, Dom, and Cole unloaded the deer off of the APC. He then attended Bernie's demonstration on how to prepare a deer, but it was interrupted when a riot broke out at the food distribution center.[92]
[]
- "So, we stop fighting grubs and we start fighting Stranded, the local dog pound, and each other. Welcome to the new world peace."
- —Baird, after the mission to Merrenat Naval Base.
Three days later, Baird waited with Cole at Dry Dock C at Merrenat Naval Base for Marcus, Dom, and Bernie to show up so they could look for hidden caches of supplies in underground areas of the base. Baird examined the engineering of the docks, and was highly impressed with them. When they spotted the others approaching, Baird mentioned that Dom looked like shit, and he and Cole talked about Dom's mental state. Once the others reached them, Marcus gave them flashlights, revealing that they navy had had a store of them. Baird commented that he had wanted one during the war, and was not happy about having to go back underground. After Dom located an entrance to the tunnels, Baird stayed above ground to keep watch. He stayed in contact with the others over the comm, except Bernie, who went looking for the main entrance. He talked with them as they searched, and learned about them finding food, medical supplies, and tons of ammo. Baird then reported to the others he heard barking, and they all heard a shot ring out. The others began following after Bernie, and Baird attempted to locate the main entrance above ground. He located it just as the others emerged, and found that they had been attacked by a large pack of feral dogs. Baird couldn't believe that they had been reduced to fighting dogs to survive, and headed back with the others to Port Farrall.[93]
Battle of Port Farrall[]
- "Shit, am I supposed to say something meaningful? No, that's all been done. Contact."
- —Baird, pondering if he was supposed to say something while cremating the bodies of several civilians.
Two days later, Locust attacked the food distribution center in Port Farrall. Baird, Bernie, and several other Gears fought off the initial attack, and were soon joined by the rest of Delta and Centaur tank. Although the won the battle, several groups of civilians began leaving Port Farrall to join the Stranded, believing that the COG could no longer protect them.[94] Five weeks later, Baird and Cole had to dig several pits into the frozen ground and put the bodies of civilians in them, and then use a Grindlift to burn the bodies. He wondered if he was supposed to say something before cremating the bodies, but decided that had already been done, and began cremating them. They then begin driving them back to the city in a Armadillo, but they encountered a civilian fleeing with his family in a truck. Cole had him block the trucks path, wanting to try and convince the guy to stay in Port Farrall. Baird said they should take the truck instead, but Cole just ignored him. He failed to convince them to go back, and had Baird get out of their way. Baird asked him why the family had been leaving, and Cole told him that they hadn't wanted to go through another evacuation, due to the rumors that the COG was going to move to an island. Baird didn't see what the problem was, since it would be warmer and far away from any remaining Locust. Cole figured out that Baird was happy with the way things were, and he told Cole that it was because he had skills that a lot of people needed now, and that everybody knew he was useful. Once they got back to base, Baird began doing maintenance work on the 'Dill.[95]
Ambush Outside of Port Farrall[]
- "Shit, shit, shit- man, that's it. My frigging goggles. You bastard."
- —Baird, after his goggles were destroyed during the Ambush outside of Port Farrall.
A few days later, Baird had acquired a Hammerburst, and went with the rest of Delta and Sigma-Four to hunt down a wounded drone that Sgt.Rory Andresen had encountered the night before. He and Bernie discussed on if it was worth it to head down into the Locust tunnels and see if they could hunt down and kill every last Locust, but Bernie decided the COG was in no shape to launch such an assault. After finding a blood trail, they began following it, but found other trails and became more spread out. Baird then had everyone stop and listen, and they picked out a Kantus screaming deeper into the forest. The ground around the Gears erupted, and drones and an assortment of Boomer variations charged the Gears. The Gears were forced back into mines, but got into some cover. Baird's goggles were destroyed, seriously pissing him off, and he charged a Butcher, ducking as it swung it's cleaver at him, which shaved a few hairs off his head and embedded itself in a tree. The Butcher tried to pull it out, but Baird shoved his Hammerburst into its gut and fired several times, killing it. He then took the cleaver for himself. Bravo-Three arrived to provide reinforcements, and the last of the Locust were killed, but the Kantus continued to scream. The ground around the Gears erupted again, and more Drones and Boomers charged the Gears.[96] After Bernie and Cole killed the Kantus, the tide of the battle changed again, and all the Locust were killed. Baird began gathering weapons and ammo from the dead Locust, gaining a large haul of cleavers and Hammerburst ammo. He went with Cole to locate Bernie and give her a cleaver, but they found her stuck in a tree. She dropped down and Cole caught her, and hefted her over his shoulder to carry back to base. Baird handed her the cleaver, and headed back to help the other Gears gather the bodies of their fallen comrades.[97]
Mission to Vectes[]
- "Hey, Dom, company man. We lucked out. Finally."
- —Baird, after finding a COG enclave on Vectes.
A few days later, Baird, with a fresh pair of goggles, headed with the rest of Delta and Anya to the island of Vectes on KR Eight-Zero, with KR-239 following, to scout the island as a possible relocation point for the COG. Baird and Anya wondered what they would find on the island, and Baird joked that they might find Union of Independent Republics soldiers who didn't know the Pendulum Wars were over. As they flew over it, Baird spotted a house, and they discovered the island was still inhabited. They located a small town, Pelruan, and landed on a cliff near the town. Baird stayed back and covered Marcus, Anya, and Bernie when went to talk with a group of people gathering in their path. After they convinced the townspeople they were not hostile, they went into the town. Baird was happy to find that it was a COG enclave, and that they had had good luck for once. After getting the plans to Vectes Naval Base from the mayor, Baird stayed with the Ravens with Major Gill Gettner and Lt.Nat Barber while the others investigated the base.[98]
- "Good call. Why waste ammo on 'em?"
- —Baird, after learning that Bernie did something other than shoot her rapists when she caught them.
After the others returned from inspecting the base and visiting the Stranded community on the island, Baird and the others were given quarters in the town hall. The played cards until Cole asked Bernie about why she had gotten so upset upon seeing a blue dinghy at the Stranded settlement. She told them the story of how she had been raped by Stranded during her journey back to the COG, and how the boat belonged to the last surviving member of the gang that did it, and that she had killed the others brutally and slowly. Baird told her that she had done the right thing, and not to worry about it. After she and Anya left the room to talk, Baird wondered how anyone could rape someone that old, and was disgusted by their actions. He decided that if she ever caught the last one, he would help her do whatever she wanted to him. After playing a few more hands of cards, they stopped for the night, and before Baird went to sleep, he stopped to listen to the peaceful silence of the town.[99]
Raid on Pelruan[]
- "Game on."
- —Baird, after the Stranded shot several Pelruan guard dogs.
However, his rest was cut short when Marcus and Cole spotted a group of Stranded approaching the shore on inflatable boats, and he and the rest of the squad spread out along the shore to ambush the as they came ashore, while Anya covered the road into the city and the Ravens provided air support. Marcus reminded everyone of the rules of engagement, and not to fire unless fired upon, but Baird was worried the Stranded wouldn't be so polite. He made an effort to be nice to Bernie while they waited for the Stranded to land. When a group of dogs shot past them and were shot by Stranded who had landed, Baird rushed to locate and kill them. He and Dom entered the city and hunted the Stranded as they used firebombs to set parts of the city on fire. After the citizens of Pelruan let loose dogs to hunt down the last of the Stranded, Baird and Dom tried to keep the civilians inside the houses to keep them safe. Marcus then told them to head to the road to help Anya clean up any remaining Stranded. They found three burning Stranded junkers, and Anya admiring her work in destroying them. Baird complemented her on a great job, and helped Cole gather weapons from the dead. After they finished, he drove the APC and the other Gears back to the town. He then began helping look through the bodies to try and find out if Massy was among them.[100]
Sinking of the Harvest[]
- "Control, you awake?... Yeah, we want to go check out that missing trawler... It's Stranded."
- —Baird, asking for permission to join the search for the Harvest.
The day after the raid, Baird joined the rest of Delta in waiting for Hoffman to contact them at the Raven landing site. He discussed with Anya if it was worth convincing the Pelruan citizens that it was good for the COG to come to the island, since they would be insignificant to the number of other civilians and Gears coming to the island.[101] Later in the day, he and Cole used their Lancers to cut wooden planks at the quay, as several Pelruan children watched.[102] As the rest of the COG arrived, Baird and Cole watched elements of the fleet come into the VNB port. Baird was annoyed to discover that the navy had hidden ships instead of turning them over to be broken down into gear needed for the war, but Cole told him that if they had turned them over, the COG would have been screwed in the current situation. Baird put aside his annoyance when they arrived at the CNV Clement, the COG's only submarine. Baird was pleased that the crew had heard about his mechanical skills, and became interested when they told him were about to head out to look for missing trawler, the Harvest. He contacted the CIC and requested permission to help in the search. While he waited for a response, he was disturbed by the sight of a Shale Eel on one of the docked trawlers, and thought it looked like a Locust creature. One of the trawler fisherman then alerted them that debris from the Harvest had been located, and Baird was given permission to head out on the CNV Clement to assist in the search.[103]
Stranded Insurgency[]
Meeting on the High Seas[]
- "Shit, we were going to finish off Jacques and his gang anyway. At least we got another submarine and a gunboat out of the trip."
- —Baird, after the mission to exchange Massy took several unexpected twists.
One week later, Baird went on a mission aboard the CNV Falconer to exchange Jonn Massy, Bernie's rapist, who had been captured by the COG, to the Lesser Islands Free Trade Area in exchange for them to cease their attacks on COG shipping. Baird guarded Massy in the wheelhouse of the boat until they reached the meeting area. However, no one on the Stranded boats attempted to contact them, and Captain Quentin Michaelson had Baird bring Massy out onto the deck to see if he recognized any of the ships or see if he could figure out what was going on. Baird reported to the others that Massy recognized two of the boats, but not a third, larger one. However, a man appeared on the deck of the larger ship, the Trader V, and contacted them. The man was Darrel Jacques, who was from a gang that was a rival of Massy's group, and that they wanted him on the same terms that the COG had made with the other group. When Baird told Massy about this, he freaked out and tried to run, but Baird held him in place. Massy explained to him that Jacques was going to kill him for stiffing him over something, and Baird passed the information on to the others. Michaelson agreed to the trade, since his objective was to have the Clement follow a pirate group back to its base. When Jacques brought out one of Massy's associates, Baird forced Massy to watch as his friend was killed. Baird, Marcus, and Dom then forced Massy onto a Marlin. They piloted it over to the Stranded ship, and Baird shoved Massy up into the arms of two of the pirates. They then piloted the Marlin over to one of the gunboats, which Jacques had given them permission to take. Baird dumped the bodies on board into the water, started the gunboat, and took it back over to the Falconer. He was disappointed when they would not let him drive it back to Vectes, but became more interested in the chatter coming from the Clement. Commander Garcia was reporting that they were picking something up on sonar, and suddenly he reported a torpedo launch. Baird and the others watched as something exploded in the water, and Baird grabbed a pair of binoculars to see if the Clement had been hit, but discovered that the Trader V had been destroyed. The surviving pirates on the other gunboat thought that the COG had attacked them, and declared the deal broken. The Gears were then shocked as they watched another submarine surface, the Zephyr. Its commander, Miran Trescu of the Republic of Gorasnaya, contacted them, and asked if he could follow them back to Vectes to negotiate joining the COG. Baird found the whole thing funny, and was happy to have another submarine joining them.[104]
A New War[]
- "Hilarious irony. We all got along when the grubs were around. If we've really wiped out those assholes, we'll need to breed some more so we don't have to kill each other."
- —Baird, on the mounting tensions among the various human factions
Two days later, Baird drove PA-207 down to Pelruan to assist in keeping the town calm after the news that the Gorasini would be coming to island was announced. Baird and the rest of the squad speculated on if the how much the citizens were going to react, but Baird was glad to have the extra assets. They met with Sgt.Drew Rossi when they arrived in the town, and Marcus had Baird park the APC on the shore where it was visible. After he did that, Gavriel came up to him and informed him that a farmer had reported a pall of smoke coming from the Stranded village. Baird contacted control and told them, and they sent KR Eight-Zero to inspect it. The rest of the squad gathered around, and listened to Gettner's report about how the settlement had been set on fire in an organized manner, and that there were no bodies. Baird drove the squad down the settlement, and found that the Stranded had set on fire any materials that could be useful to the COG, much to Baird's anger.[105] Four weeks later, Baird repaired the large defensive guns of VNB, and attended the opening of the sergeants mess at VNB. However, the party was cut short when Merris Farm was attacked, and Baird and the rest of the squad deployed alongside five other squads to respond to the attack. Once they arrived, they found farmer Dilland Jonty and his dogs dead, and the angry Gears spread out to find the insurgents who had launched the attack.[106]
Lambent Pandemic[]
Mission to Hanover[]
- "Don't you people ever try gratitude? Just to break up the friggin' monotony of sarcasm!"
- —Baird to a Stranded leader in Hanover.
Baird joined Cole, Sam, and Clayton Carmine on a mission to Cole's hometown of Hanover in order to obtain supplies. Baird was doubtful that they would find anything but Cole told him to trust him. They ran into a Stranded camp, where Baird was eager to trade Sam for a side of bacon. Cole turned down the offer and they instead moved into the town to look for supplies. On the way to the supermarket they were attacked by the Lambent. They managed to fight through them and found a large supply of food in the supermarket. Using a loader they moved the food to a pick up zone while simultaneously fighting off Lambent forces. They then move to another Stranded camp where Carmine is nearly killed by a sniper. The Stranded stand down once they see Cole and give them some supplies. The squad then goes to Cougar Stadium but it quickly comes under attack by the Lambent. They manage to fight off the Lambent but the Stranded leader refuses to help them. The Sovereign contacts them saying they were under attack by the Lambent. At the same time more Lambent attack the Stranded forcing them to escape by zip-lining to Centennial Bridge. They find the bridge occupied by the Locust and they are forced to fight through them. Baird is unimpressed upon seeing the Lambent Leviathan, and boasts about killing the one on Vectes. Sam reminds him that those two were much smaller than the ones attacking the Sovereign. Baird decides to kill the Leviathan by dropping a crate full of Tickers onto it. After fighting through the bridge they obtain a crate and dump the contents onto the Leviathan below. It succeeds in killing but heavily damages the ship as well. As the Leviathan flails around one of its tentacles smashes through the portion of the bridge they're standing on, sending them plummeting off. Baird nearly falls to his death at first, but is saved by Sam and makes a romantic joke about it.
Victory Day[]
- "Uh, I suppose you want me to say I've always loved you. But I don't. I really, really don't!"
- —Baird to Sam after she saves him from falling to his death
They survive the fall but are left wet and exhausted. Carmine sarcastically told Baird that he got the Leviathan, with Baird responding by saying they're still alive. The squad obtained some weapons before some Wild Tickers could get to them and they started fighting a group of Locust. They eventually found Marcus and Dom and revived them. The squad then found Anya, Jace, and Prescott under attack by the Locust and they defeat the Locust but Prescott is fatally injured during the firefight. Prescott gives them the key to unlocking his disk and tells them of Azura before dying of his wounds. A Brumak then engages them and after a long fight it is killed. Baird tells them about the disk Hoffman stole from Prescott on Vectes and they decide to go to Anvil Gate. Sam gives them directions to Anvil Gate and Baird, Marcus, Dom, and Cole move to the Deadlands while the rest of them assist the survivors in regrouping.
- "...Yeah, we're droppin' 'em, but they've invited all their friends!"
- —Baird to Marcus.
18 months after the sinking of Jacinto, Baird was at Anvil Gate fighting off Locust forces besieging it. Suddenly, the Lambent join in the fray. While Marcus/Dom were busy saving Anya, Sam and Jace, a Lambent Berserker appeared from one of the stalks. Baird decided to blind-fire the Hammer of Dawn, killing everything outside the fort; however, the Lambent Berserker survived the blasts.[107] It engaged them but the Gears eventually manage to kill it by repeatedly attacking it's Imulsion core. After the battle he manages to crack Prescott's disk and reveals the information about Azura on it. He states that he almost admires how far Prescott went to keep Azura a secret.
Before leaving Anvil Gate Marcus tells Cole and Baird to go find reinforcements, transport, weapons and anyone that can fight. Anya, Marcus, Dom, Sam, Jace, and Dizzy went to obtain fuel for a submarine in order to breach Azura. Baird was left with Carmine and Cole, and decided to search for anyone who would help them, although they needed a boat to do so.
While searching for a boat outside Halvo Bay, Baird and the squad bumped into Paduk again. Paduk listened to Baird and offered him a boat, after showing them his camp. Baird noticed an Imulsion rig, which Paduk replied that it had been washed ashore after the COG flooded Jacinto. The squad bumped into groups of Savage Locust, who attempted to kill them in straight on battles, Tickers and an avalanche. At one point in the skirmishes, the Savage Locust deployed Ragers, which surprised Baird as he thought they had all died out.
After dealing with the Locust at the outskirts of town, Baird arrived at the mall, where more Locust ambushed them. Paduk became slightly angry at Baird, believing that his presence may have attracted the Locust, as Paduk's people had not seen the Locust for months. After a long firefight, Paduk led Baird, Carmine and Cole to his settlement. Paduk became concerned when no one was around in their typical stations when Lambent Humans started attacking them. They fought their way through the settlement, arriving at the top of the rig where Paduk's men managed to pick them up.
The next morning, Paduk showed the squad the boat they were looking for. Baird asked Paduk what had happened to Sofia, as he had not seen her for a long time, but Paduk refused to let him know until the mission was complete. Unfortunately, it was washed ashore on top of a very large building. They fought their way through more squads of Locust that had arrived, and entered the building. Baird set up four batches of explosives acquired from the local police station on the building's corners and detonated them, to no avail. They fought their way up to the top, where Baird had an idea to fill the building with gas, then blow it up. This plan worked, and the boat washed down to shore.
At the end, Paduk reveals what had happened to Sofia. Baird is shocked by what had happened to her, and Paduk tells him that if they were to remain friends, they would never see each other again. Baird, Cole and Carmine leave with the boat, and after a while, find the Gornasi who were willing to help the COG retake Azura.
- "It's a friggin' palace! Thanks Prescott, excellent use of my taxes!"
- —Baird ranting about Azura.
Cole, Baird, and JACK then reunite with Marcus, Anya, Jace, and Sam on Azura. Baird asks about Dom and Dizzy and Marcus tells them Dizzy is on the submarine but sadly tells them Dom didn't make it. Both Cole and Baird are visibly dishearted at this. Marcus then tells Sam and Jace to help the Gorasni with their attack. Baird tells Sam to take care of herself and she tells Baird to take care of himself as well. When the battle beings Baird reveals that he had upgraded Jack after repairing him and the squad destroys several Siegebeasts so the Gorasni can send in reinforcements and air support.
As the rest of them fight through Azura, Baird expresses some doubts about Adam Fenix's supposed Lambent cure and worries whether or not they will affected as well. Marcus and Cole berate him and tell him to have some faith and he eventually agrees to do so. He also asks Marcus about how Dom died, but Marcus isn't ready to talk about it. As they fight their way to the building where Adam is being held Myrrah shows up on the Tempest and tries to stop them. The squad manages to drop a large ornament on the ceiling, seemingly killing her.
Baird wonders what Myrrah had meant when she gave Adam twenty years to protect her people, and how Myrrah resembled a human more than a Locust. When Delta arrives at Adam's office, Baird confronted Adam with several questions, especially about how he was aware of E-Day. Adam answers Baird's questions, and hands him a disc to look at after the war is over. The group arrives at the top of the tower, where Adam starts up the weapon and Baird assists in killing the Tempest.
After the Tempest's death, the weapon starts firing up. Baird asks Adam exactly how he tested the weapon; Adam then reveals that he injected himself with a large amount of Imulsion, to everyone's horror. His body then crumbles and turns to ash while Myrrah emerges from the Tempest. She goads Marcus who then kills her. Baird and the rest of them then go out and join with the COG and UIR forces who cheer them as they emerge. Baird meets up with Sam, Jace and Dizzy to celebrate. Afterwards he is seen looking on as Anya talks with Marcus about finally having a tomorrow.
Interwar Period[]
Career and Rebuilding Sera[]
After the Lambent Pandemic, Cpl. Baird left the military to use his engineering and mechanical expertise to help rebuild after the war. Becoming CEO of Damon Baird Industries, he created the first automated DeeBees to collect garbage and rubble. Baird also created the Fabricator, which allowed for recycling ruins from other cities to transform into building materials for new cities. As Anya Stroud became First Minister of the newly-restored Coalition of Ordered Governments, he assisted her in rebuilding the capital into New Ephyra. The DeeBees were further created to act as construction workers and eventually security. After the completion of New Ephyra, his technology was used to build walled, prefabricated cities called Settlements outside of New Ephyra.
Sometime after the Lambent Pandemic, Damon Baird entered a relationship with Samantha Byrne. While never married, they remained romantic and business partners of DB Industries, living in Baird Estate of New Ephyra. Baird and Sam's friends began to settle down as well. Augustus Cole, who also left the military to become the President of the Coalition Thrashball League, had a daughter named Hana, while First Minister Anya Stroud and Sgt. Marcus Fenix had a son named James Dominic Fenix. Baird took it upon himself to become an "uncle" to JD and gave him many toys growing up. However, Baird stopped seeing not only JD but the Fenix family as well in 27 A.E., when First Minister Anya Stroud died from birthing complications of their second child - estranging Marcus Fenix from everybody. Despite this, Baird and Fenix stayed within some contact and remained friends.
Outsiders Movement[]
Settlement 2 Protest Massacre[]
After the death of First Minister Anya Stroud, many civilians felt that the Coalition turned into a totalitarian state since she died. Many civilians protested and abandoned the COG to join a group known as the Outsiders, former Stranded and disillusioned COG citizens who lived off the land and outside of COG jurisdiction. As the protests increased, as did the raids on Settlements for supplies by the Outsiders, First Minister Mina Jinn nationalized DB Industries and took polticial ownership over the company. In order to deal with the violent disorder, she ordered DeeBee weapons to be replaced with lethal force, as they were previously armed with non-lethal shocking devices. Damon Baird was against this order, but had no power to stop First Minister Mina Jinn.
In 41 A.E., the DeeBees were then ordered by Lt. James Dominic Fenix to open fire on the protesting civilians of Settlement 2, known as the Settlement 2 Protest Massacre. This event caused Lt. Delmont Walker, best friend of JD, to leave and become an Outsider along with JD. JD first asked for his father's advice, as he previously told him not to join the COG. Marcus then advised JD and Del not to become Outsiders or the COG would hunt them down. JD and Del refused to go back and gave Marcus their armor, becoming Outsiders and joining the village of Fort Umson. Marcus then contacted Damon Baird and requested that he use his DeeBee technology to watch over JD and Del, protect them, and to inform Marcus if they were in danger.
Raid on Settlement 5[]
Six months later, in Bloom of 42 A.E., was the anniversary of Victory Day, and watched First Minister Mina Jinn deliver a commemoration speech with Samantha Byrne, Augustus Cole, and Victor Hoffman as honored guests. After the speech, Damon Baird was using a Watcher to surveillance JD and Del, as the two and their Outsider friend, Kait Diaz and her uncle, Oscar Diaz, were preparing a raid on Settlement 5. As they approached Settlement 5, Kait sensed the Watcher and shot it down with her Gnasher. Upon entering Settlement 5, they were eventually caught by First Minister Jinn's DeeBee forces.
Baird secretly assisted the team of JD Fenix, Kait Diaz, Delmont Walker, and Oscar Diaz escape COG custody after they were arrested by Settlement 5's DeeBee security force by using an automated tram to slam into the robots, destroying them. Baird was also able to remotely control aspects of the city to help their mission.
Swarm Invasion[]
Reemergence of the Locust[]
Rescue of Fort Umson[]
- "What? You don't call you don't write."
- —Baird after reuniting with Marcus
During the ensuing conflict against the Swarm, Baird was contacted by his old friend Marcus Fenix during the battle, requesting reinforcements to help deal with the larger Swarm nest beneath the Tollen Dam. Arriving shortly after in the abandoned town of Speyer, Baird provided two top of the line mechanized assault suits, Jack Jnr. and Second Betty as well as a King Raven gunship for aerial fire support. During this reunion, Baird reveals to JD that it was his doing that allowed JD, Del and Kait to escape from Jinn back in Settlement 5, much to JD's disbelief. He also strongly implied that the reason JD and Del hadn't been arrested, despite outright deserting, was because Baird had used his influence to protect them, presumably as a favor to Marcus.
With Baird's reinforcements, JD and Kait were able to eliminate all Swarm resistance between Speyer and Tollen, including a massive Swarm beast that was acting as guardian to the nest's main entrance, allowing the squad to enter the nest and find Kait's mother.
Skirmish in the Wilds[]
COG-Outsider Intelligence Summit[]
Mission to Fort Umson[]
Rescue Mission at Orzabal Crater[]
Mission to South Village[]
Preparing the Defense[]
Baird began to design new weapons to help fight against the Swarm. Together with Marcus, they designed the newly developed Lancers that incorporated the modifications of Marcus's Custom Lancers with Baird's technology. He also developed another variant of Lancers which under barrel grenade launchers and new automatic Talon Pistols. Later he took Delmont Walker to the COG training grounds located in Ephyra and asked him to help with gathering combat data for his DeeBees in order to make them more effective against the Swarm. They were assisted by a Jack-bot named Dave and an A.I. known as I.R.I.S..
Mission to Azura Research Facility[]
Baird later coordinated a mission with Marcus, Sam, JD, Del, and Kait to travel to the ruins of Azura to launch a prototype Hammer of Dawn satellite in an attempt to reactivate the network to use against the Swarm.
Though they we're successful, Baird was chastised by Jinn for acting without her approval and informed the others that they would be punished accordingly. While Marcus left to smooth things over with Jinn, JD, Del, and Kait visited Baird in his new workshop that Jinn had placed him in to keep an eye on his activities. There he debuted the new Jack which he reluctantly handed off to Del and had JD test its new Flash Weapon.
Evacuation of Settlement 2[]
Baird acted as mission coordinator during the attack on Settlement 2, giving the Squad mission updates and providing them reinforcements when needed. Later when the squad was ambushed by a large Swarm attack force, Baird reluctantly activated the Hammer of Dawn at JD's instance. Though it destroyed the attacking Swarm, Baird lost control of the Hammer and it began firing wildly near the squad and nearby civilians, resulting in the death of Elizabeth Carmine.
Mission to Mount Kadar Laboratory[]
Baird accompanied Marcus in a Raven following Kait and Del's battle with the Matriarch and assisted Del in hooking up the Skiff to the Raven.
Mission to OZP-11[]
Sometime later, Baird, Kait, and Del traveled to Vasgar in an attempt to launch a UIR rockets equipped with the help of Garron Paduk and his desert Nomads.
Destruction of Old Ephyra[]
Personality and Traits[]
Throughout the Locust war, Damon Baird was considered to be an effective Gear soldier with a very poor attitude both in and out of combat. Baird speaks his mind freely, a trait that often annoys (and sometimes even hurts) others, and most often gets him into trouble. When Marcus was promoted to squad leader following Lieutenant Kim's death, Baird was unhappy with this arrangement and frequently insulted him and Dom during their mission to deploy the Resonator. Baird offended Marcus when he talked about his mother, and was actually punched by Bernadette Mataki because he ran his mouth off too much.
Despite his negative attitude, Baird is highly intelligent. His vast knowledge in mechanics, demolitions and robotics make him a valuable addition to any squad. Able to fix, build, or blow up anything, Baird was normally the man Marcus relied on to come up with an unconventional solution to any problem. He also had intricate knowledge of various sciences such as chemistry, geology, and biology, being able to identify certain organs of the Riftworm after Delta Squad was trapped inside it. Following the Locust War, Baird used his mechanical knowledge to start his own robotics company, DB Industries, and developed a variety of robots for the use of construction to help rebuild the war torn Sera.
Although he is best known for his genius level intellect, Baird was a also battle hardened Gear who fought in various battles throughout the Locust War. Having killed countless Locust throughout the war, Baird’s skill’s in combat in addition to his intelligence had earned him an officers commission during the early years of the war, though he ultimately was demoted after his court martial during the battle Halvo Bay.
During the Mission to Jilane, Baird showed a chauvinistic attitude towards Alex Brand and Jilane survivors.[108] During the Evacuation of North Gate he berated Cole for giving a group of stranded children ration bars, referring to them as 'Parasites'. Baird can also be considered anti-social, as he backs away from people to machines. This may be because of the way he grew up and the way his parents had raised him. He is sometimes noted as, "his love of machines is more than his love of people." There was an exception with Cole, who Baird felt he was the first person to ever have his back unconditionally. As he spent more time with Cole and the rest of Delta, Baird began finding himself acting unselfishly, acting to save others rather than himself.
Cole says that in all the times Baird had ever mentioned or reminisced of his childhood, he hardly mentioned his parents, rather the many inventions he created, leading some to believe he was not on very good terms with them. Baird says that he never wanted to join the army in the first place, but rather claims that his father forced him to, as he wouldn't receive his inheritance unless he made it through at least one tour of service. A comment by his mother seems to confirm this and that his parents thought little of his dreams. Baird claims that he sold out his future for money that should have rightfully been his, and has since come to believe that in a world where people are in a constant struggle to survive, "skills" will be the new money, earning your place by your usefulness, rather than the money you have. Baird's skills prove very useful in the new world and he earns the appreciation of the COG Navy for his work on repairing and upgrading their systems which prove incredibly useful with the Stranded Insurgency and Lambent Pandemic. Baird was also able to align and fire the Hammer of Dawn, a duty usually allocated to Anya Stroud when she was unavailable at a critical moment. Despite a moving target and a very hard target lock, Baird is able to successfully fire a blast that destroys the target (and severely damages New Jacinto) despite likely never having fired the Hammer before. When doing it, Baird was confident that even Anya wouldn't have been able to pull what he did off and may have been right. Afterwards, Baird may have been assigned this duty if needed as during the Second Battle of New Jacinto, Marcus hoped that it was Anya and not Baird that was firing the Hammer. During the Battle of Anvil Gate, despite being told the Hammer was basically useless, Baird went to work on it, believing he could get it working again. He succeeds in firing off three bursts that kill all the Lambent attacking the fort except a Lambent Berserker that survives a direct hit.
Despite all of this, Baird has shown a caring attitude towards Cole, risking his life to protect the Clement just because Cole was onboard and worrying about his safety when he's away from him to the point where Dom at least notices but doesn't say anything. When Baird is chosen to fire the Hammer of Dawn since Anya is unavailable, he's reluctant as it will separate him from Cole who has to play a very dangerous role in the operation and will be very close to the blast. Eventually Baird began caring about others besides Cole and the rest of Delta, and became friends with several Gorasni like Yanik Laas and Borusc Eugen. He was also greatly saddened after Dom was killed by his sacrifice. After being more kind to Sam, it hints that the two are in some form of relationship together with Baird joking about a relationship when she saves him from falling and awkwardly wishing her luck at Azura.
Baird is the COG's foremost Locust expert, his great intelligence and motivation allowing him to examine Locust equipment, tools and cultural writings and artifacts in the field, where he collects, analyzes and documents his finds.
Unlike other Gears, Baird does not have nightmares, and sleeps soundly despite all of the things that he has gone through.[109]
Baird also regards all officers, except for Hoffman, as parasites who were promoted until they couldn't do any more hands-on damage.[110]
Appearance Gallery[]
Notable Quotes[]
- "Oh this is just wrong... I'm coughing up blood that ain't mine!"
- —After cutting his way out of the Riftworm with the rest of Delta Squad.
- "There we go, one muzzled queen! Not you, her. You were great, I loved your speech there, especially the bitch-ass stuff. Very good, very enlightening."
- —After Cole broadcasts a curse-laden speech through Nexus via the Queen's address system.
- "We are going to get dysentery from this shit."
- —On the Stranded's food.
- "Screw you, man. You get down here and see how much you like it! There's room for one more. It's a fucking party down here."
- —In the sewers with Cole as Dom and Marcus are high and dry.
- "Yeah, yeah, yeah... group hug."
- —After being reunited with Cole and meeting Delta Squad.
- "Anybody else's bullshit detector just go off? "
- —After hearing Delta's new mission briefing shortly after destroying the Riftworm
- "What? What'd I say... I'm sure that there's some nice... Stranded... maybe not."
- —After Dom says he knows some Stranded
- "Uhh Razorhail? Not so good for my life expectancy!"
- —After Marcus orders him to hold position near the Centaur outside New Hope
- "Bottom floor! Sporting goods, lingerie, and one bitch-ass queen!"
- —On the bottom level of Nexus, just before the battle with Skorge.
- "Am I the only one that can feel crosshairs just about here?"
- —Discussing his suspicions of the toll booth with Delta Squad on the Centennial Bridge
- "Great! The whole grub family turned up to say 'Hi'!"
- —Baird annoyed at Grub troops on the Centennial Bridge.
- "You're a pretty good shot for a Stranded Dizzy!"
- —Baird to Dizzy.
- "Damn! The bitch got us, hang on we're going down!"
- —Delta's hijacked Gas barge going down after Queen Myrrah's Tempest destroys it.
- "Granny had a chainsaw chat with the vermin."
- —Baird talking about Bernadette Mataki.
- "Uh, I suppose you want me to say I've always loved you? But I don't. I really, really don't!"
- —Baird to Sam after she saves him from falling to his death
- "Yeah, and it can do tricks too! Like blowing up in your face."
- —Baird to Cole, after they encounter caged Tickers in a room in a Savage Locust stronghold in the Deadlands.
- "Uh, in the shit, up to here!"
- —Baird to the rest of Delta Squad, after fighting a group of Savage Locust in a short skirmish in the Deadlands.
Analysis of the Locust Horde[]
At some point during the Locust War, the Coalition High Command requested Cpl. Damon Baird to discover more about the Locust Horde by collecting and analyzing Locust weapons, armor, tools and other equipment, as well as runes, glyph writings, and artifacts that he could find and was able to bring back to Command.[111] As Baird was a master in technology, mechanics and engineering, he was also a master in "Locust social studies," [112] research and artifact collecting. By doing this, the Coalition was able to figure a little bit more about the Locust Horde, their civilization, and their motives for invading the surface, and possibly find a way to expose their weaknesses in order to defeat them.[113]
Locust Artifacts[]
Kantus Scroll
Baird here.
So we're barely 30 minutes in the Hollow and I've already found irrefutable, incontrovertible evidence the Locust are, absolutely, without a doubt, insane. Like I didn't already know that, but hey, when you find a scroll made of human skin, well...
I'm still trying to decipher all the Locust runes, but from what I can tell, the scroll has something to do with communicating with "worms." Yep, that's right...haven't figured out the first part yet, but the second verse says: "The Worms answer, my name is Horde, for we are many with..." It cuts off after that, and there's also a glyph I've never seen on the back, but I'll have to figure that out later. But gut-check here, guys: Our enemy talks to worms. If they're outsmarting us in this war, then we probably deserve to be extinct.
Locust Emblem
Baird here.
Do the Locust have their own version of COG tags?
I just found an iron pendant attached to a silver chain, so either they keep track of their soldiers in a similar way that we do...or they just have really bad taste in jewelry.
My guess is the latter.
Locust Jailer Document
Baird here.
We know the Locust are taking prisoners (hell, I know that fact too well) but now we're starting to get some insight into their routines, techniques, procedures, etc. Jack just beamed me the info, so I haven't had a chance to look at it in person yet, but a quick look tells me it's some type of jailer schedule...guard shifts or something.
Cole's yelling at me for Grindlift prep, I'll get back to this later. That is, if there is a later.
Can't believe the plan is for us to go back down into the freakin' Hollow. It was hard enough getting back out.
And don't even get me started on how it stunk in the Centaur from all those grubby stranded...man, I've ozoned the tank interior three times and the damn thing still stinks!
Human Finger Necklace
Baird here.
And I thought the scroll made of human skin was bad...
Okay, I'm not kidding you here, Marcus and Dom just found a necklace made from human fingers. Seriously. This thing is so completely beyond nasty, I don't even want to look at it any longer...
You know, it's one thing to hate your enemy, but making necklaces out of their body parts?
That's just nuts.
Locust Calendar
Baird here.
I think this thing's like the Locust equivalent of a calendar or a clock...it says something about "every season having its opposite," and I also see some glyphs for "Nexus," "queen," and maybe "Imulsion,"...can't quite tell.
I'm guessing it has something to do with the ebb and flow of Imulsion, but I'd have to do a lot more research to confirm that.
Considering that I'm about, oh, 3 kilometers deep, right square in the guts of the enemy, you'll have to forgive me if my vast empirical skills aren't exactly at their finest right now.
Locust Defense Plans
Baird here.
There's that glyph for "queen" and "Imulsion" again...also see "Nexus" on there again. These are some kind of plans that indicate an attack on the Locust...but not from above, from below.
Sure as hell isn't us attacking from below, so who the hell are these plans referring to?
Please tell me it's not worms. I'm so sick of worms.
Locust Invasion Map
Baird here.
I guess this could be an invasion map, but it looks more like a kid's drawing to me. Li'l Locust, do they have those?
I was just asking Marcus about this earlier...Why aren't there any Locust brats around here? Figured we'd see some grub's grubs somewhere around this place.
Well, guess if the Berserkers are the females, maybe the males just wised up and quit laying the pipe to 'em. Man that would be perfect...Locust go extinct due to the fugly, homicidal chicks they have to mate with.
Hey, one can hope.
Trinity of Worms Artifact
Baird here.
Just found an artifact that looks exactly like the glyph on the back of that lovely skin scroll.
From other writings I've found, I think I've pieced it together: This is something called the "Trinity of Worms," and it's probably the closest thing I've seen yet to a Locust religious symbol. They really worship worms. We so do not deserve to be alive.
As far as I can tell, there's some kind of mantra on the artifact, about the queen making drones, drones protecting Nexus...and I'll have to work on that last part a little later. I don't work well under gunfire.
Locust Tablets
Baird here.
Some old tablets that talk more about...you guessed it, worms.
Also might be something of a creation tale here, definitely worth investigating further...we also found another piece of tablet earlier, a more recent piece, that seemed to suggest that something awakened "the great worm" recently. Something "light" and "hot."
If I were a gambling man, my money'd be on the Lightmass Bomb. Now that'd be some irony. The bomb kills the Kryll but not the Locust, then awakens something that can sink entire cities. Story of human existence, right? We try to make things better, but only to make things worse in the long run.
Misanthropy is underrated.
Locust Hammer
Baird here. There's no more COG high command barking at me for fresh intel, but I'd figured I'd keep up with the research anyway. It's kinda turned into a hobby. Some people knit, but I like staring at creepy Locust runes and finger necklaces.
Anyhow, we stumbled across this hammer in the fresh trenches the grubs have been digging up. It looked a little too ornate to be just another common tool, probably made out of some expensive poly-alloy. If I'm reading this right, this is a ceremonial object-the fine china of Locust weaponry, you might say. Only to be used for very, very special occasions.
Queen's Symbol
Baird here. Found some new evidence pretty much proving that the "beach-bum"-lookin' Locust we're running into out here aren't part of some extended family-nope, these are the same grubs we flushed out of the Hollow way back when.
This chain we found has the Queen's seal...logo...thing. Whatever. I saw the same symbol on the corpses of Myrrah's personal guard. This ain't your everyday grub cannon fodder, and they're definitely not native to this area.
Gotta give 'em credit though. Scavenging, adapting, rebuilding, no matter how wretched the conditions, hacking together whatever crappy excuse for a life they can manage. Sound familiar?
Manifest
Yep, it's your old pal Baird, with another rip-roaring adventure in Locust social studies. If I learned anything living on that rusting crap-heap carrier, it's that nothing screams, "we're hosed" like a sudden interest in strict resource management. The less you've got, the more precious whatever's left suddenly becomes-even if it's the last few century-old cans of rancid baked beans in the galley. (Whoever took my stash is gonna pay.)
But I guess we're not the only ones tightening the ol' belt. According to this manifest, the grubs are adhering to some pretty rigid rationing protocol. They're tracking each shipment of cargo with a level of scrutiny that'd make Michaelson's head spin, and that's saying something. Best of all, any grubs caught taking more than their fair share is executed on sight. Times are tight.
Man, it's gonna be twice as satisfying to blow their crap up knowing that. Who says research can't be fun?
Assault Plans
Baird here. The Locust have big plans for this island. It starts with a pretty elaborate trenching and defensive setup, which we've already seen. It ends with-actually, it doesn't. They're digging in for the long haul, and directing what looks like the majority of their remaining resources towards this new HQ.
The way they see it, Azura is the ultimate vacation destination to wait out the end of the world, they're absoulutely right. The terrain was chosen for its capacity to support a massive defensive effort. And unless the Lambent plan on mutating some vestigial organ that doubles as a life preserver, the island thing is obviously a big plus, especially with that Maelstrom device to keep 'em cozy.
One last thing. Anybody paying attention by now knows that we shot ourselves in the ass, right? We can crap on the Locust all we want, but at the end of the day it was our favorite sport of trying to annihilate one another that gave the grubs what they needed to finish the job. So, children, what have we learned?
Screw it. Nobody's reading this crap anyway.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Baird is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
- Baird "hosts" all the official Top 5 Gears of War Series videos, providing typical in-character color commentary even as he breaks the fourth wall.
- After saving Baird from being trapped, you will unlock an achievement called "Freebaird!" This is a reference to Lynyrd Skynyrds' song "Freebird".
- Baird was named after a childhood friend of Cliff Bleszinski.[114]
- Baird and Cole's roles were originally reversed, with Baird being a former sports star.[114]
- Baird was one of the characters included in the Gears of War 3 HeroClix Toyline.
- The symbol in the centre of Judgment's Baird's chest armor stands for: Rank, Glory to Royal Tyran Infantry.[115]
- Baird's original visual inspiration was based off Denis Leary.[116]
- In the chapter Straight to the Top of Gears of War: Judgment, a Stranded asks Baird and his group who they are twice before getting killed by a One-Shot, which Baird response to by saying "A boring conversation anyways..." which is a reference to a line given by Han Solo in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.[117]
- The logo on the front of Mechanic Baird's hat reads: Baird Services.
Multiplayer[]
- Damon Baird is initially available for multiplayer in Gears of War 1, 2, 3, Judgement, and 4.
- By pre-ordering Gears of War 3 at Best Buy, it was possible to obtain a special multiplayer skin of Baird, entitled Mechanic Baird.[118]
- In the DLC Forces of Nature, there is a limited edition Mechanic Baird multiplayer skin.
- In Gears of War: Judgment multiplayer, Damon Baird (Aftermath) can be unlocked through a promo code from specially marked Brisk packages. He can purchased for $1.99 from the xbox store.
- In Gears of War 4 multiplayer, there are five skins for Baird: Armored Baird, Classic Baird, Day of the Dead Baird, DB Industries Baird, and Mechanic Baird. His Classic skin is only available in the Classic Delta Squad and Classic Baird Gear Packs, his Day of the Dead skin is only available in the Day of the Dead Gear Pack, his DB Industries skin is only available in the DB Industries Gear Pack, and his Mechanic skin is only available in the Gears Engineers Gear Pack.
- In Gears 5, Baird is a playable multiplayer character, available as part of Operation 2.
Appearances[]
- Kilo Squad: The Survivor's Log
- Gears of War: Judgment
- The Slab (Mentioned only)
- Gears of War (First appearance)
- Aspho Fields
- Hollow
- Barren
- Gears of War 2
- Dirty Little Secrets
- Jacinto's Remnant
- Anvil Gate
- Coalition's End
- Gears of War 3
- Aftermath
- Ephyra Rising
- Gears of War 4
- Ascendance
- Gears 5
- Bloodlines
References[]
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