Private Dickson was a Gear soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments army who served in Kilo Squad and Foxtrot-Six.
Biography[]
Hammer of Dawn Counterattack[]
- "No, and I hope they don't ask us. You want to go out there and put a DO NOT CROSS tape in front of some poor jerk's car now?"
- —Dickson to Cole, after he asked him if the engineers had told them to shut down the highway
One year after Emergence Day, Dickson was assigned to Kilo Squad with Pvt. Augustus Cole, Pvt. Damon Baird, and Pvt. Alonzo. Ten hours before the Hammer of Dawn counterattack was scheduled to take place and the Coalition of Ordered Governments deadline to make it to the Jacinto Plateau would expire, Dickson and the others were sent to guard a checkpoint along the exclusion zone, and keep order as people crossed into the safe area. However, traffic was moving real slow, and barely any cars were able to make it into the safe lane to proceed forward. Cole asked Dickson if the engineers had said anything about closing down the highway, and Dickson said they did not, and that he hoped they would not, because he did not want to put a "Do Not Cross" barrier up in front of a civilian's car. Baird said that was why the cops had left it up to the army to take care of this duty, because eventually the people down the highway would realize they were going to die. Dickson asked him what he meant, and Baird called him Dick and told him to do the math. Dickson told him not to call him that, and Baird pointed to a certain point in the line and said that if traffic did not start moving faster, anyone past that point would not make it to the safe zone in time to survive the blast, and that if they worked it out, things would get ugly fast. This shut Dickson and the others up, and he looked the other way when Cole helped a family get their car into the line ahead of some others after Cole talked with the driver and felt sorry for him.[1] During the Hammer strikes, Dickson and the others took cover in a storm culvert in Jacinto City. They emerged hours later and viewed the massive devastation and fires the strikes had caused.[2]
Patrolling South of Jacinto[]
- "Oh, yeah, my bad. You got two new stripes. Can you remind us again?"
- —Dickson, after Baird brought up his promotion once again
One hundred and ninety days after the Hammer strikes, Dickson and the rest of Kilo were deployed to patrol south of Jacinto in a ruined city, and had just received the new Mk 2 Lancer Assault Rifles. When their Armadillo began making odd noises, Dickson ignored it and continued driving over Baird's protests, and it eventually broke down. Baird got to work fixing it, angry at Dickson for ignoring his warnings, and Dickson settled in with Cole and Alonzo in a perimeter around the vehicle. Dickson got nervous about how long the repairs were taking, and asked Baird if they should call in for assistance. Baird told him that it would take as long as "Corporal Baird" needed to finish it, and that they were not leaving the vehicle behind. Dickson got annoyed at how much Baird flaunted his promotion, and asked him if he could remind them about it again. Baird said he certainly could, referring to him as Private and emphasizing "Dick" when he said his name. Dickson told him not to say it like that, but Baird just mocked him some more and returned to work. They then heard noises out in the rubble, and Alonzo prepared the APC's turret as Dickson and Cole headed forward to try and flush any Locust out. When they saw something move, they opened fire, but it turned out to be a Stranded who called for them to cease fire. Dickson did, but kept his Lancer up and aimed around, suspecting that Locust were nearby and not willing to take any chances. More Stranded emerged across the ruins, but a Emergence Hole then opened up right next to Cole, knocking him down. A Boomer emerged, but Cole used the new Chainsaw Bayonet to distract it while Alonzo took it out with the turret. Dickson opened fire as Drones emerged from the ruins, and took cover with Cole behind a wall. As he reloaded, he asked Cole if he thought the chainsaw would catch on, and Cole told him that everyone would want one. Alonzo then called over for them to stand down, and he and Baird brought the Armadillo forward. They ran into the open hatch as Alonzo provided covering fire, and Baird ran over several Drones. Once they were finished, Cole wanted to get out and see if the Stranded were okay, but another Drone came out of nowhere and tried to drop a Bolo Grenade into the APC but failed. After it was killed, Dickson covered Cole as he searched for the Stranded, and discovered one of them had been killed in the firefight. They then returned to base, and learned that General Bardry Salaman had killed himself, and Col. Victor Hoffman had become the new Chief of the COG Defense Staff.[3]
Destroying a Locust Bridge[]
- "What the hell is that?"
- —Dickson, upon seeing the Mammoth tank
Nine years later, Dickson was still in a squad with Baird, Cole, and Alonzo, but they had become Foxtrot-Six. While heading out for a patrol in a Packhorse, they spotted Stranded being brought in to become Gears after having signed up for Operation Lifeboat. Baird and Alonzo did not think they could be trusted, but Dickson said he preferred to have them fighting for them instead of working against them. They left the safe zone to hunt for new Locust structures that were being built for an attack on Ephyra, and Dickson noted that there were a lot more Locust on the surface now. As they drove, Alonzo asked Baird if he had ever been back to his old house, but Baird suspected that his inheritance was now the residence of a Stranded ganglord, and then began talking about how he had wanted to be an engineer, but his mom had forced him to become a Gear. Dickson cut him off, and told him they had heard that story already, and noted that if he had become an engineer, he would be working with the former Stranded now. Cole then spotted a small Locust-built bridge across the river, and asked if they wanted to take it out, but Dickson noted the Locust would just put another one up in a few days. Cole told him they would just destroy that one as well, and they drove as close as they could to the bridge, but were stopped by a nearby marsh. They proceeded forward with explosives, and once they reached the bridge, he and the others looked to Baird to plant the explosives. Baird was reluctant, but Dickson told him that all his hot air made him lighter than them. This pissed Baird off, and he called Dickson a lard-ass and decided he would plant the explosives. Dickson and the others took positions to keep watch while Baird crawled across the bridge and planted the explosives, but one went off prematurely, setting off most of the others off as well. Baird survived, but was trapped in the middle of the marshy river on a piece of rubble. Cole told Dickson he was going to get the Packhorse closer to use the rope and winch to rescue him, but Dickson pointed out that Baird was still on some live charges. Cole told him he knew, and that they were going to have to be very careful. As Cole ran back to the Packhorse, Dickson spotted ten Locust moving along the opposite bank, and he informed Cole that he and Alonzo were engaging. As they fired on the Locust, Cole returned without the Packhorse, and informed them that the Stranded had stripped the vehicle, and Dickson decided they could not be trusted after all. As they fought the Locust and tried to determine a way to rescue Baird, they heard the backup Cole had requested from command arriving, making a loud rumbling sound as it approached. Dickson turned around and spotted a giant vehicle, and asked what it was. It was a Mammoth bridge layer, and the driver, Ailsa, told them to sit tight while she took care of the Locust. She ran them over, impressing Dickson, but he was disgusted at how the remains of the Locust stuck to the tank. They boarded the tank and rescued Baird, and Ailsa came out of the cockpit and asked if they needed a ride home. Dickson said they did, and that Stranded assholes had stripped their Packhorse, not noticing the Operation Lifeboat badge on her uniform. Cole elbowed Dickson in the ribs for his rudeness and thanked her for the help, and they returned to base.[4]
Personality and Traits[]
- "Don't say my name like that. I've told you."
- —Dickson, after Baird called him Dickson
Dickson hated being called "Dick" or having that part of his name emphasized, which caused fellow squadmate Damon Baird to do it often, despite Dickson's protests. He also never took chances in a live zone, being prepared to fire on Locust even if Stranded were in the way.[5]