- "Oh, I could gag him if you like. Be my treat."
- —Sam, responding to Clayton's remark about how Baird won't stop talking
Private Samantha Byrne, affectionately called "Sam" and also called "Duchashka" ("lovely duchess") by the Gorasni, is a Gear in the COG Army. She was the daughter of Samuel Byrne, a Tyran Gear; and Sheraya Olencu, a Kashkuri liaison to the COG Army. Sam was born and raised in Anvegad, Kashkur where her father died in action during the Siege of Anvil Gate of the Pendulum Wars. She eventually moved to Tyrus where she joined the army and became a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit during the Locust War. She fought in Operation: Hollow Storm and evacuated with the COG to Vectes - where she continued to fight during the Stranded Insurgency and Lambent Pandemic.
When the COG collapsed and was forced to abandon Vectes, Sam chose to go on the CNV Sovereign as part of the rapid response force that could assist several different settlements the COG remnants had set up. She participated in scavenging missions to the mainland, and was part of the force that assaulted Azura to end the Locust Horde and Lambent forces. Following the end of the Locust War, she entered a romantic partnership with Cpl. Damon Baird, who later became CEO of DB Industries - instrumental in the creation of DeeBees and reconstructing civilization. She continued to serve in the COG Army during the Swarm Invasion, primarily as a King Raven pilot.
Biography
Early Life
Sam was the daughter of Sgt.Samuel Byrne, a Tyran Gear, and Sheraya Byrne, who was of Kashkuri origins and liaison for the Coalition of Ordered Governments at the Anvil Gate garrison in Anvegad, Kashkur.[4] Her father was killed during the Siege of Anvil Gate, despite being given a chance to flee with his pregnant wife. This left Sheraya to raise Sam alone, and as she grew up, she would tell Sam stories about how Anvegad burned during the siege.[5] During the last years of the Pendulum Wars, life in Anvegad was difficult, and Sam and the other townspeople faced food shortages.[6] At some point in Sam's life, she joined the Coalition of Ordered Governments Army, following in her father's footsteps and becoming a frontline Gear against the Locust Horde.
Locust War
Operation: Hollow Storm
On 2nd Frost, 14 A.E., Pvt. Byrne took part in the second wave of Operation: Hollow Storm. After the COG received intelligence that the Locust Horde stronghold, Nexus, was located beneath Mount Kadar, Pvt. Byrne fought in the assault of the Kadar Valley and drilled into the Inner Hollow, where she along side Clayton Carmine and thousands of other Gears destroyed the Locust and their home. Pvt. Byrne then managed to evacuate before the COG could sink Jacinto City and flood the Hollow, destroying all Locust civilization underground.
Stranded Insurgency
Off Duty at the Bar
- "Come on, Baird. Don't be an antisocial dick all your life. Take a day off."
- —Sam, trying to convince Baird to enjoy himself with her and some other Gears.
After the COG moved to the island of Vectes, Sam was assigned to an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit commanded by Major Aleksander Reid due to her expertise in explosives.[2] While off duty, she drank with CPO Frank Muller at the Main Mess Bar at Vectes Naval Base, where he taught her how to play navy chess. She tried to get Cpl.Damon Baird to join in, but he refused. Sam then returned to playing the chess game, which used shot glasses with either moonshine or rum in them as pieces, and drinking whenever a piece was taken.[7]
Battle of Vectes
- "See? He's not dead."
- —Sam, to Marcus Fenix after ramming a Stranded with her Rat bike
Shortly after this, Sam went on patrol on a Rat bike. She discovered tracks and an explosive device north of the hydro plant, and could tell it was remote detonated, meaning that Stranded Insurgents were nearby, and worked out the position they had taken in the tree line. She called this in to Lt.Anya Stroud and Sgt.Bernadette Mataki, and they arranged to ambush the Stranded with the help of Echo Squad.[8] However, Anya and Bernie's Packhorse was hit by another roadside bomb, and they were unable to help Sam and Echo. Sam commed them and told them they were in position, and were preparing to launch the attack.[9] Unfortunately, the Stranded managed to escape, but Sam was able to disarm the bomb and salvage the materials.[10] A few hours later, the Stranded had set off several roadside bombs and launched ambushes of their own. Sgt.Marcus Fenix, Bernie, and Baird were pursuing a group of Stranded on foot with the help of Mac, a hunting dog, and KR-239. Sam offered her assistance to them, and headed to her position on her Rat-bike. The Raven gave her directions to the Stranded, but by the time she reached them, Delta had already engaged them. Sam ended the battle by ramming the last Stranded standing with her bike, knocking him to the ground and injuring him badly. She then jumped off the bike and pressed her chainsaw to the guys throat just in case he was able to move and tried to shoot the Gears. Marcus was annoyed with Sam, since they were supposed to take the Stranded alive, but she confirmed that she had not killed the target. She helped the rest of the squad load the three Stranded they had captured into the Raven, and headed back to New Jacinto.[11]
Patrolling the Sea
- "Corporal Baird likes hospital food. And you'll learn to like it if you check me out one more time, Indie boy."
- —Sam, to a Gorasni sailor when he doesn't look at her at eye level
Three days later, Sam went with Baird, Muller, and Cpl.Dominic Santiago aboard the Amirale Enka, an Gorasni patrol boat, to guard the fishing trawlers from Pelruan. Sam was nervous about going on the boat, but Baird told her not to worry. Once they boarded, Baird introduced her as being there to clean and cook, which hurt Sam's feelings, but she tried not to let Baird see that. She threatened the Gorasni sailors to stop checking her out or else they would end up in the hospital, which quickly earned Sam their respect. She then took up position on a mounted gun on the foredeck, where she briefly talked with Dom as the ship got underway.[12] She remained on the gun all morning, until one of the trawlers, the Levanto, exploded. No Stranded were detected on the radar, and Baird worried it may have been a mine. Sam had Dom take over on the gun since she was the ordnance expert, and got into a Marlin with Baird to check out the remains of the ship. She determined by the debris that it hadn't been a mine, which made her and Baird even more worried about what it was.[13] After they returned to the Amirale Enka, Sam went back to manning the gun, and watched as Baird sorted through the wreckage they had recovered for a clue as to what had happened.[14] She joined Dom in discussing with Captain Quentin Michaelson what had happened to the ship, and she doubted it was Locust as Dom hoped. Sam told him the Locust couldn't cross the ocean in their barges and that they would have seen or detected any Leviathans. Michaelson agreed with her assessment, but told her that he was not ruling anything out.[15]
Keeping the Peace
- "Come on, Diz. Let's go and have a glass of your vintage kidney-killer. I'm choosy who I drink with."
- —Sam, comforting Dizzy after he was attacked by Jacinto citizens
Marcus then contacted Sam and Dom, and asked for help in dealing with a crowd from Pelruan that was growing agitated over the Levantos destruction. They found Chairman Richard Prescott and Col.Victor Hoffman and a line of other Gears trying to defuse the crowd and stop them from entering the Stranded community in New Jacinto that had been given amnesty. They were unsuccessful, and Sam began maneuvering to get a clear shot at any member of the crowd who turned violent. Luckily, Marcus managed to get them to disperse when he told them that Stranded had not sunk the ship, and made them understand that there was another unknown threat out there. The crowd dispersed, and Sam complimented Marcus on doing a good job dealing with them. However, there was already more trouble starting near the Stranded ghetto. Sam and the others found Pvt.Dizzy Wallin trying to keep the peace between some Stranded and Gorasni, while some of Jacinto's citizens watched. However, a brawl erupted, and the New Jacinto citizens attacked Dizzy. Marcus cannoned into the brawl to separate everyone, and Sam was punched in the face by a Stranded woman while trying to help him by pushing the Stranded back. The fight ended when Sam, Marcus, and Dom had each pinned a separate fight from each group down. Dizzy yelled at the Jacinto citizens, appalled that they did not consider him one of them despite fighting for them. As the ashamed citizens walked away, Sam went up to Dizzy and asked him follow her to the bar so they could get drunk and forget about the civilians.[16]
Lambent Pandemic
Patroling the Stranded Shanty Town
- "I think they've done a good job. I've lived in worse."
- —Sam, as Delta patroled the Stranded shanty town in New Jacinto
The next day, Sam went back out with Dom on the smallest fishing trawler, M70, with the rest of Delta divided up on several other ships.[17] During the trip, the ship that Marcus and Bernie were on, the Coral Star, hauled up a Lambent creature. They and the crew were forced to evacuate the boat, and the ship was destroyed when the Lambent exploded.[18] After they returned to VNB, they found Reid waiting for them on the pier. He ordered Marcus and Bernie to be debriefed, and ordered Baird to take Sam, Cole, and Dom on patrol. As they walked through the Stranded's living area, Sam noted that it wasn't as bad as some of the places she had lived in, and asked Baird what was in the center of the island. He told her it was a dead volcano, with a lot of forest and caves on it. Soon after this, a truck of Gorasni soldiers arrived, and Sam readied her Lancer commented that if they started throwing candy to the crowd, she was going to swear off drinking. They were shocked when the Gorasni dumped off the bodies of Insurgents they had killed in a recent battle. Sam and Cole quickly blocked the Stranded crowd off from the Gorasni, as Baird tried to convince the Gorasni commander, Yanik Laas, to leave. A crowd of Jacinto citizens also appeared to watch what was happening, and Sam tried to get them to go back inside to prevent anything else from happening. The squad stayed there until the Stranded had taken the bodies away, in order to make sure no more violence erupted.[19]
Battle of the Emerald Spar Platform
- "How are we going to know if we're near a vapor leak? This whole place smells of imulsion."
- —Sam, worrying about blowing up the Emerald Spar platform while fighting the Lambent
A few days later, Lambent Stalks were spotted heading towards the Emerald Spar Imulsion Platform. Sam was one of twenty Gears sent on three King Ravens to backup the platform's defenders. After arriving, she swapped ammo with Cpl.Jace Stratton.[20] Once the battle began, Sam went with Baird and Cole into the lower decks of the platform, and found a door where a bunch of Lambent Polyps were trying to break through. They planned to ambush them, but Sam was worried what would happen if they set off something explosive. Baird told her it didn't matter, that if they didn't shoot the Polyps, they would kill them and set something explosive off themselves. They opened the hatch and fired into the mass of Polyps. When they couldn't see anymore, Sam peeked around the corner and shot a couple more, and told the other two they were clear. They began clearing corridor after corridor of an endless number of Polyps. As they fought, the platform suffered more and more damage, with the Polyps explosions destroying bulkhead and bridges, and also setting off fires and igniting Imulsion. After assisting Aurelie Dersau in fighting a group of Polyps, Sam was contacted by Marcus and told to ask Baird how many Polyps the Stalks carried, but Baird was unable to figure it out. KR-239 managed to destroy the first Stalk, but another emerged and began pouring more Polyps onto the platform, and the Sam, Baird, and Cole continued to clear corridors.[21] They eventually had to abandon the platform when it began to take too much damage, and Sam escaped with the rest of the Gears and many of the crew aboard an evacuation boat.[22]
- "No, you don't. That's for making my day."
- —Sam, to Dom after he told he owed her for modifying his tattoo of Maria into an angel
The next day, Sam was patrolling Vectes on her Rat-bike, and offered to pick Bernie up after she killed three Stranded insurgents, but Bernie refused the ride.[23] A few days later, Sam was taking a break and drinking with Dizzy in the mess hall when Dom arrived, and asked her if she could modify his tattoo of a heart with Maria's name in it. She was interested in the challenge and agreed to do it. Sam gathered her tattooing supplies and met Dom in a storeroom at the barracks in order to prevent anyone from stumbling upon them. Dom told her that he wasn't sure on what he wanted done, but just wanted something to mark that Maria was gone. Sam understood, and after staring at the tattoo for a moment, asked him if he trusted her. Dom said he did, so she began working on transforming the tattoo. When she finished, it had become an angel cradling Maria's name, and Dom was overcome with how perfect it was. As Sam began walking away, Dom told her he owed her, but she told him he didn't, and that doing that for him had made her day.[24]
Deployed to Pelruan
- "Banished to the soft option. With the rest of you girls."
- —Sam, to Rossi after he asked why she and Bernie were in Pelruan
After a suspected Leviathan was spotted heading toward Vectes, Sam was sent to Pelruan with Bernie, both of whom were annoyed at being sent to the "soft option". She rode her Rat-bike to the town, following Bernie, who was in a Packhorse with her dog Mac. They stopped outside of the barracks and reported to Anya, who had been placed in charge of the garrison in the town. Sam walked with Bernie through the town, taking notice of all of the wooden houses. She remarked how that the city would burn if it came under attack, and told Bernie about how her mom had told her about how the wooden houses of Anvegad burned during the Siege of Anvil Gate. They walked past a Pendulum Wars memorial, where she and Bernie stopped to pay their respects. Sam noticed a card on a wreath lay near the memorial, and saw that it was from survivors of the Duke of Tollen's Regiment, many of whom lived in Pelruan and had fought the Gorasni. Sam remarked that the Pelruan citizens would never get along with the Gorasni, and Bernie agreed. As they continued walking, Sam asked Bernie if there was anyone specifically that she had lost to the war, and Bernie remarked that she was lucky, and that no ones face kept her up at night. After dropping Mac off at William Berenz's, Sam and Bernie headed to the signals office. They found Sgt.Drew Rossi there, and he sent them to an observation post on the western cliffs of the town. While up there, Sam monitored the local comm network, and was disturbed by the view, noting that if she looked out at the sea a certain way, it made it seem like there was nothing else left on Sera. Sam kept an eye out with binoculars, and then spotted a large creature surface briefly. She handed the binoculars to Bernie, and pointed out where she had seen the movement. They both then saw it, and realized it was the Leviathan. Sam quickly contacted Anya and informed her about it.[25]
Battle of Pelruan
- "I always wanted my own meat shield."
- —Sam, to Yanik, after he offered his life for hers jokingly
Sam and Bernie headed back down to the town, when they suddenly saw the Leviathan in the harbor, and Sam informed Control, who decided to send a King Raven. Sam and Bernie then discovered the Leviathan was Lambent, and saw it begin sending Polyps ashore. Sam and Bernie began attacking them, and were soon joined by Anya, Rossi, and other Gears. KR Three-Three arrived to support them, but it was destroyed by the Leviathan. Sam and the others killed the Polyps that had come ashore, and the Leviathan disappeared.[26] Sam kept an eye out for it, and reported to the others when it returned.[27] When Gorasni reinforcements arrived, Sam worried about them and the locals trying to kill each other. Yanik Laas, a Gorasni squad leader who had taken a liking to Sam, arrived and joked to Sam that his life was hers. Sam, amused, told him that she had always wanted a meatshield, and asked if there were really only eight of them as reinforcements. Yanik told her eight Gorasni were worth twenty COG, which Sam didn't believe, but she did thank him for coming. She then warned him to stay away from the Pelruan veterans, since they hated the Gorasni.[28] Sam retrieved her Rat-bike, and joined Anya behind some cover as night fell. She remarked that it would be easy to shoot the Polyps since they glowed, and Bernie arrive in her Packhorse and remarked it was time to have that girls night out that they didn't when she and Anya had been hit by a mine. Sam agreed, and set off on her bike, steering one handed, racing around the Polyp positions firing her Lancer, while Bernie and Anya did the same in the Packhorse. Eventually, KR-239 managed to kill the Leviathan, preventing more Polyps from getting ashore. The Gears then scouted around the town, killing any remaining Polyps, ending the battle. Sam drove her Rat-bike to the beach, meeting up with the other defenders. Sam and Bernie headed to Berenz's house, and Sam was slightly disappointed that Mac did not greet them in celebration. She said goodnight to Bernie, and then went to sleep.[29] She returned to VNB the next day on her Rat-bike, cutting through the woods in order to get there and begin helping in the cleanup.[30]
Hoffman's Revelation
- "I hate myself. All I could think at first was that he left me and Mum to stay with his mates. But I'm a Gear. I know it's not that simple."
- —Sam to Dizzy, after Hoffman told her how her father had chosen to stay behind at Anvil Gate
Ten days after the Lambent attack, Sam was working in Boathouse 7 with Dizzy, repairing her rat-bike while he worked on his rig, "Betty". She told Dizzy about seeing Baird working in his private workshop, which was an old bathroom stall he had converted. Both of them found it hilarious that Baird was working in a bathroom, and Dizzy wanted to go see him there. Sam told him Baird was on patrol that morning, and that they could borrow a camera from Lt.Nat Barber and take pictures of Baird working there later that night, and hold a caption contest among the other Gears. Dizzy wondered what he was working on in there, and Sam said she thought Hoffman had given him something to fix, as well as trying to keep JACK working. As they carried on working on their vehicles, Sam remarked that she was glad Baird was such an asshole, because she needed an outlet to focus all her frustrations on. Several minutes later, Hoffman arrived and asked Sam if she could spare a few minutes. She said she could, and Hoffman took her outside, where he revealed to her how her father had died at Anvil Gate, and that he had had an opportunity to leave with Sam's mother, but chose not to take it because he felt he would have been abandoning his comrades. Sam was upset, and as she reentered the Boathouse, Dizzy asked her what was wrong. She told him, and began working on the rat-bike again, but not really paying attention to what she was doing. Sam told Dizzy that she hated herself for thinking that her dad had abandoned them to fight, but knew it wasn't as simple as that. Dizzy said that her dad must have been sure they wouldn't have made it out of there if the Indies had won, just as he had been sure his daughters would die if he hadn't joined the COG, and that fathers would do a lot of crazy things to make sure their kids survived. Sam thanked him for his support, and told him that she would be okay.[31]
Guarding Dizzy
- "Diz, this is my job. I'm not Maralin, okay? I'm a bloody Gear."
- —Sam to Dizzy, when he tried to stop her from fighting the polyps
Several days later, Sam was assigned to guard Dizzy and his rig as it traveled to a newly discovered imulsion field around a stalk to help the Gorasni rig crew set up a way to extract the Imulsion. Dizzy's daughters, Maralin and Teresa, wanted to come with them since they had been stuck in camp for weeks, but Dizzy said it wasn't going to be that interesting. They pointed out that Sam got to go, but Sam revved up her chainsaw and told them that when they could handle a Lancer, they could go off-camp. She then told them that if they helped out Mrs.Lewelin at the school, she would teach them how to shoot. They agreed, and Sam and Dizzy headed for the field. Sam told him that it would be good for the girls to help out and learn to shoot, but Dizzy said he didn't have a problem with it and that they looked up to her. She joked that teenagers looked up to her because she seemed like a rebel, and that Dizzy had done a good job raising two kids on his own. Dizzy remarked that he didn't like having to leave them during his time as a Gear, but she told him that he had done what he needed to provide them with a good life. When they reached the edge of the forest, Sam was disturbed by the fact that they had to knock down a bunch of healthy trees to reach the field and prepare the way for a road to be built. Dizzy reassured her that they would use all the wood, and that it likely would have died due to stalk poisoning anyway. SSgt.Lennard Parry contacted them and said that the way was clear, but as they moved through the forest, Sam heard something falling on top of the rig, and looked out the branches to find polyps dropping from the trees. She quickly tried to roll up the window, but one stuck a leg through, forcing her to shoot it. It exploded and splashed them with gory debris, but they were uninjured. Sam finished rolling up the window, and told Dizzy to find way to shake the polyps off. They also became stuck in an Imulsion seep, and saw more polyps in the trees heading for Parry, the other engineers with him, and the Gorasni rig crew. Sam wanted to leave the rig to help defend them, but Dizzy told her it was too dangerous. She responded that it was her job and she wasn't one of his kids, but he locked the door and told her she wasn't fireproof either. KR-239 contacted them, and Marcus said he and Delta where on their way to help them. They then heard noises coming from deep within Betty, and realized that polyps had gotten into the rig. Sam worked her way deeper into the rig and held off the polyps while the Raven arrived to assist them, and Marcus came in to pull her out after Dizzy was rescued. Her eyebrows were burnt off by a close call with one of the polyps, and they dropped out of the rigs cab and ran from the field. The rest of the polyps were finished off. After they were picked up by the Raven, Sam stared and smiled at Dom on the way back, trying to find a way to tell him that she was interested in him, but couldn't work up the courage.[32]
Second Battle of New Jacinto
- "I made sure I can make it more respectable later. Rossi's tattoo, I mean. He had too much of Dizzy's potato hooch."
- —Sam, telling Dom about the tattoo she had given Rossi
While out drinking with Rossi and Frank, Sam gave a drunk Rossi a skull headed tattoo with something embarrassing in the eyes after he insisted she give it to him, but made sure she could fill in the eyes to cover it up later. The next morning, Sam heard the base siren go off, and headed to investigate with Bernie. They arrived at the docks and found out a Lambent Leviathan had been heading for New Jacinto, but Marcus, Dom, Yanik, and CWO Teodor Marisc had killed it after Marcus tossed a grenade inside of it. Sam told him he had done a nice job, but he indicated the Gorasni, who were on a rigid inflatable boat they had used to distract the Leviathan, and said he had had some help from the psychiatric ward. Yanik yelled at Sam that this was how the Gorasni went fishing as he and Teodor gathered many dead and stunned fish that had floated to the top of the water after the grenade had exploded. Sam laughed and told him that it looked like he had pissed his pants, but he told her it was just from his uncontrollable excitement at seeing her. She laughed again and called him a wanker, and then cheered with the rest of the Gears as Bernie sniped a few polyps that were floating on a piece of the Leviathan. Sam then went to Dom and put her arm through his, and told him to come have breakfast in the mess and see the tattoo she had given Rossi. Dom was reluctant to come, knowing about Sam's feelings for him, but relented and followed her to the mess hall.[33]
Missing Livestock
- "I'm not going to pretend I'm confident about this. Goats- fine. Cows- scary. And there's a bull, too."
- —Sam to Bernie, before they went on patrol to find missing farm animals
The next day, Sam was selected by Bernie to take part in a patrol that would search for livestock that had gone missing during a Lambent attack. She met with Anya and Sgt.Alex Brand at the vehicle compound, and worked with Alex to load up their Packhorse while waiting for Bernie. When Bernie arrived, Sam told Bernie that she liked her new dreadlocks, and asked if they should be bringing the cows owner with them to try and calm the animals down. Bernie told her it might be helpful, but that she didn't want to bring civilians into possible contaminated zones. Sam was worried about how she would deal with the cows and bull, but Bernie gave them all some cattle nuts to give them to keep the animals calm if they found them.[34] On their way to patrol the area near the farm where the animals went missing, Bernie stopped to put a cow named Rose by the Gorasni camp to serve as an early warning system if a Lambent Stalk approached the site. Sam watched from the Packhorse as Alex flipped off Baird, causing him to moon her, not realizing Sam and Anya were inside the Packhorse as well. They laughed at him, and Sam called out that he had an interesting choice of fabric for a boy. Bernie then returned to the Packhorse and they headed for the wilderness.[35] When they reached a pasture north of the Edlar Farm, Sam and Anya began inspecting the grass for a trail on one side of the field while Bernie and Alex looked on the other. Bernie found a trail of cow dung and called Sam and Anya over to follow it, but also told them that Baird had called in from the Imulsion field and said the bull had shown up there, but had turned lambent and killed a rig crew worker. As they followed the dung trail, Bernie said that the dead Gorasni was Borusc Eugen and asked if anyone knew him. Sam said that she did, and felt sorry for his wife. A few minutes later, they found the two missing cows among a herd of sheep, and Bernie headed to get a closer look to make sure they weren't Lambent. However, something spooked them and they began running toward Bernie, who fired automatically and killed them. Sam, Anya, and Alex ran down to help her, and Bernie was horrified that she had shot two healthy animals. Sam told Bernie that she would have done the same thing if they had been coming at her, and wondered what had spooked them. They then noticed that Mac was barking and digging at a spot on the ground, and realized that a Stalk was about to emerge.[36]
Battle in the Meadow
- "Maybe it's connected to the two farm dogs. Although god knows how we get from two dogs being fragged by polyps to dozens of those things spawning from the pods."
- —Sam, after Anya asked for theories on where the Lambent dogs came from
Anya ordered them to spread out around the spot Mac as digging at, and they began to feel tremors. Sam remarked that the tremors weren't as bad as normal so it was likely a small stalk, but Bernie told her not to get to blasé about them. The stalk erupted a few moments later, and they noticed that it had pulsing blisters on the side that started to open and sprayed liquid out. Alex asked if that was normal, and Sam remarked that it was new to her. A few seconds later a four-legged creature came out of the blister, and Sam said that it didn't look like a polyp. Bernie told her it was a Lambent dog, and more of the mutated creatures began to fall out of the other blisters. The Lambent dogs then began charging them, and Sam and the others opened fire on them and fell back to keep themselves from being overwhelmed. They destroyed most of them, but one tried to lunge at Bernie as she was reloading, but Mac knocked it away, but the explosion knocked her down and sent Mac flying. He got back up and went to defend Bernie, while Sam, Anya, and Alex finished off the remaining Lambent dogs. Sam then went over to Bernie and helped her up, asking if Mac was okay. Bernie checked him over and said he was fine, and they joined Anya and Alex in looking at the remains of the dogs. Anya asked if anyone had a theory about what had happened, and Sam suggested that it might be connected to the two missing farm dogs, but she didn't know how two dogs would have been turned into dozens. They retrieved several chunks of the dead dogs to prove what had attacked them to the other Gears, and returned to the Packhorse and drove back to Vectes Naval Base.[37]
Delivering Food
- "Ah, I'm putting blades on the wheels. It's going to cut right through them like butter. Legs everywhere. Splat!"
- —Sam, joking with a child from Pelruan after he asked her where her rat-bike was
Two days later, Sam and Dom were assigned to dispense food to civilians. Dom drove the supply truck through New Jacinto towards their drop-off point, and Sam told him that Lt.Kevan Mitchell had told her that the dead zones around some of the stalks had stopped spreading, which she hoped meant that there was a maximum area the contamination could spread. Dom didn't think it mattered pointing out how many different creatures were being turned Lambent, causing Sam to ask if he was channeling Baird or something. He responded that it just felt like the last days in Jacinto all over again, with everyone crammed together and doling out food rations. Sam picked up on the fact he was having another one of his bad days where he couldn't stop thinking about Maria and his kids, so she dropped the subject. When they reached the drop-off point, Sam gave the food out to the civilians while Dom unloaded the truck, and she joked around with the civilians, many of whom were from Pelruan and looked up to her for having saved them from the Lambent. She used an anatomically correct carrot as part of a stand-up routine, and joked she might keep it for herself, but one of the women said she didn't need it when she had Dom. This got a laugh out of the crowd, but Dom was embarrassed, and Sam looked at him, hoping he might say something positive about that, but he didn't. She returned to handing out the food, and one of the kids asked her where her rat-bike was, and if she had killed any more glowies. She told him that she was putting blades on the wheels to slice through them like butter and have them go splat, making the kid laugh. After they finished handing out the food, they got back into the truck and headed for Merris Farm to pick up more food. Sam marked off the names of the people they had given food to, and Dom remarked that she was good at food distribution. She told him that the market was a big social event in Anvegad, and that she found it easier to actually interact with people than throw scraps at them like charity.[38]
Stalk Emergance at the Reservoir
- "Should've brought my bike. That's how you fight polyps."
- —Sam, as she and Dom looked for polyps in the forest
They then noticed several Ravens flying over them, and Mathieson came over the radio, reporting that there was a possible polyp incursion near the old reservoir. Sam contacted him and said she and Dom would investigate, while Major Gill Gettner offered to fly cover for them. As they headed to the reservoir, Sam wondered if Gettner ever slept, since she kept her Raven in the air all the time, and Dom told her that Gettner didn't want to have too much spare time to think. They also speculated about what could have brought polyps to the reservoir, since it didn't lie on the fissure lines that allowed the stalks to emerge. As they navigated the difficult terrain, Sam wished she had brought her bike, since it was useful in fighting polyps, and contacted Gettner, asking if she had spotted anything yet. Gettner told her that they were over the site, but couldn't see anything due to the thick forest. When they reached the reservoir, Sam and Dom heard something moving around the forest, and got onto the flatbed of their truck to get a better firing position. Polyps burst through the bushes around them, and they opened fire on them. However, some got past them and went under the truck, and Sam and Dom looked at each other in horror when they realized it could explode and set of the fuel tank. They leaped off the vehicle and began running, but were knocked to the ground when the truck exploded. They recovered quickly and grabbed their weapons, and Sam told Gettner to find them and winch them up. They fired at the remaining polyps, but were then knocked around when a stalk emerged from right underneath them. They began running out of the forest to find a clearing, and when KR Eight-Zero lowered its winch down, Dom slipped it around Sam and sent her up before she could protest leaving first. Barber helped her into the crew bay, and they then lifted Dom up into the crew bay. They finished off the remaining polyps from the air, and then waited nervously as Barber calculated and confirmed what they feared: the reservoir was too far from the fissures for the stalk to have used them to emerge, meaning that they could come up anywhere and nowhere was safe.[39]
Collapse of the COG
- "There'll be people we won't be seeing again. The Gorasni, for a start. The Pelruan people. The Gears who end up as shore garrisons."
- —Sam, talking with Dom about how everyone was going to be split up when the COG left Vectes
Three months later, Prescott had resigned as Chairman and disappeared at sea, leaving the COG to be led by Hoffman, Michaelson, and Trescu. They began plans to evacuate the island due to the worsening Lambent attacks, and split up what remained of the COG among several mainland communities. Sam and several other Gears worked aboard the CNV Sovereign to build living quarters for civilians, and she and Dom often worked together. As they were finishing one group of bunks, Sam and Dom reminisced about the foods they missed from before the war, with Sam really missing real coffee. When they finished working on the bunks, Dom remarked that the Gears had learned a large numbers of skills over the course of the war, and Sam told him they needed to learn how to make wooden joints next, since they were running out of nails. As they moved up to the deck of the ship, Dom remarked that Hoffman and the rest of the command staff were rehearsing them to leave the island, pointing out how many people now slept aboard the ships rather than ashore. Sam became annoyed, and told him that he was thinking too hard, and that Hoffman and Michaelson didn't do that kind of political bullcrap. Dom said he was sorry, and admitted he was having a hard time adjusting to how they would be living. Sam told him not to start saying they were going to be Stranded again, and said that she was more worried about how everyone was going to get split up by the multiple communities, and how there would be some people they would likely never see again. Dom said that he was sure everyone who wanted to stick together should be able to, but Sam pointed out how most people hung around people with similar skill sets, and that they would be divided up among all the different communities. Dom said that they could always talk over the radio, and it wasn't like they were going to be completely cut off from everyone. Sam started to get exasperated, hoping that Dom would say something about wanting to try and stay near her, but he didn't. When they reached the deck, Sam and Dom admired the tomato gardens that he been set up, and both acknowledged how surprised they were that Major Aleksander Reid had come up with the idea.[40]
Third Battle of New Jacinto
- "Oh shit, what's that?"
- —Sam, when the base alarm went off
As they began working again, an alarm sounded, and Mathieson came over the comm network saying that tremors had been detected near the north perimeter. Sam and the other Gears dropped what they were working on and began heading to their defensive positions around the base. Sam and Dom saw a Raven take off seconds after the alert, and she commented that that had to be a record. Dom told her it had to be Gettner, and that she must sit in her Raven all day to be able to take off that quickly. Sam said that she had seen Gettner doing that, and Dom asked what Barber did. Sam said that he had to stay with her all day, and that was why they both had gotten so good at cards. Sam then left Dom and headed for the gun battery, which she had been assigned to defend. A few minutes later, several Lambent stalks emerged, but the Gears managed to beat them back, albeit with over two hundred civilian casualties.[41]
Driving with Dizzy
- "If you find Dad's grave or something, would you put this on it?"
- —Sam, giving Hoffman her mothers locket
A week later, Sam was guarding Dizzy and his rig as it brought supplies back to VNB. Teresa and Maralin were with them, since Dizzy was loathe to leave them behind anywhere now. Sam told him that she had heard Rossi and the rest of his squad had all volunteered to go to Anvil Gate with Hoffman and the Pelruan citizens, since most of his squad had gotten into relationships with people there. Sam said that she couldn't believe that all these people she had gotten used to being around were going to be gone in a few days, but Dizzy said they were better gone than dead. KR One-Five then contacted all call signs away from the base, and Sam responded, asking what was going on. The pilot, Kenyon, told her that they had polyps to the south of them, along the road to VNB, and to be careful if the cargo they were carrying included Imulsion. Sam thanked him for the warning, but Dizzy wasn’t' worried about them, since they could just be simply run over. Sam then asked him if he had seen Barber's recon images of Anvegad yet, and said that she had hardly recognized them. Dizzy asked Kashkur was nice, and she told him that parts of it were, but they were a long way from Anvegad. Sam then spotted some polyps in the road ahead and prepared to lean out the window to fire on them, but Dizzy told her to save her ammo, and simply plowed through them, with no damage done to the rig. Sam then asked him if he ever thought about where Prescott was now, and he told her it just made him too angry to think about. Sam said that she wished they had asked more questions after E-Day about everything that had happened, but that everyone had seemed to forget about that and simply tried to survive. Dizzy said it didn't matter since it wouldn't have made a difference if they knew or not. Sam said she still wanted to know, and hoped that she lived long enough to find out. She then remembered that Teresa and Maralin were with them, and reassured them that they were all going to live and that things would sort themselves out. When they reached VNB, Sam took out a locket that had belonged to her mother, and said that she needed to ask Hoffman something. Dizzy said he did as well, and they could find him together. Sam contacted Mathieson, and he told her that Hoffman was with Anya on the forts walls. They went to see him, and waited until Anya left to approach. Sam gave him the locket, and asked him to put it on her father’s grave when he reached Anvegad. Hoffman reassured her he would, and Sam left to watch over the girls while Dizzy asked Hoffman if he could come with him to Anvegad.[42]
Leaving Vectes
Three days later, Sam and the rest of Delta gathered on the deep-water berth of VNB, and stood as an honor guard as the COG flag was lowered and given to Lewis Gavriel by Hoffman, signaling the end of the COG as a government. Anya then directed Sam and the others back aboard the CNV Sovereign, which Sam had elected to stay aboard as part of a rapid response force that would assist all the coastal land settlements. A few days later, they reached Port Caval, where Hoffman, Bernie, Dizzy, Rossi, dozens of other Gears, and all of the Pelruan citizens would disembark and head for Anvegad. Sam and the rest of Delta met Hoffman on the jetty, hugging him and saying goodbye to their commander before he left.[43]
Victory Day
Mission to Hanover
- "We haven't seen polyps for months. Relax."
- —Sam to Baird, after he began getting nervous about the number of Stalks in Hanover.
In Bloom 17 A.E., the CNV Sovereign entered the Hanover Canal and neared the city of Hanover, the hometown of Pvt. Cole. Believing his fame would help get supplies from the local Stranded, Pvt. Cole led a supply run mission to Hanover along with Cpl. Baird, Pvt. Carmine, and Pvt. Byrne. As they arrived to the city aboard KR Seven-Zero, Pvt. Byrne noticed Pvt. Carmine's quietness and asked why. Pvt. Carmine noted that he felt he had to be, since Baird was talking all the time. Pvt. Byrne then jokingly offered to gag Baird.
After landing, they quickly found a Stranded outpost overrun by Lambent, as Pvt. Byrne guessed by the state of the bodies that they had not died of natural causes. As the squad headed down the street, Baird wearily noted the number of Stalks and suspected that Polyps were close. Pvt. Byrne remarked that they had not seen Polyps for months and advised Cpl. Baird to calm down. Pvt. Byrne then began joking about the two of them moving into the house on the corner and having kids and dog, to which Cpl. Baird joked he would also have a bottle of suicide pills, causing Pvt. Byrne to respond that she would not have to poison his dinner then. Cpl. Baird then told Pvt. Byrne that she would miss him, but Pvt. Byrne responded that she would miss him if someone would bump her elbow, joking that she would try to snipe him.
Down the road, they found an inhabited Stranded outpost, and Pvt. Cole tried to negotiate for some spare food. The outpost guard offered a slab of bacon in exchange for Pvt. Byrne, angering her, but Cole motioned for her to stay back. The Stranded told them about two other camps at a warehouse downtown and at Cougars Stadium that might be willing to trade, but also warned that Lambent creatures were between them. As Cole led them to a nearby grocery store, they were attacked by a group of Lambent in the park. Drudges, a new variant of Lambent Drones, emerged from the stalks. They fought their way through the Lambent and found the store near a wiped out Stranded camp.
After killing another group of Lambent they entered the store and Sam watched as Cole examined an old cardboard cutout of himself advertising cereal and asked them if they ever felt like they were dead but nobody had told them. As they moved on, Sam hoped they would find some coffee, while Clay wondered if there was bacon. Sam noticed polyps crawling on the roof, which attacked them alongside several creatures produced by stalks that emerged inside the store. After killing all of them and watching Cole enthusiastically celebrate, Sam remarked that watching him play Thrashball must have been really entertaining. They located a crate of food in a storage area at the back of the store, and Sam helped clear the parking lot of Lambent so that KR Seven-Zero could come and pick it up.[44]
- "Don't mind him, somebody stole his teddy when he was little. Is everyone okay?"
- —Sam, to the leader of the warehouse Stranded
After leaving the parking lot, Sam noted that the Lambent were overrunning Hanover and asked Cole if they should leave. Cole stated he still wanted to meet with the Stranded at the warehouse and Cougars Stadium before leaving. When they reached the warehouse district they found the Stranded under assault by a large Lambent force, including a Gunker. Sam warned the others to watch out for the explosive blobs of Imulsion that it could throw around. After clearing out the Lambent, they approached the camps gate, where Clay was hit in the head by a sniper round. His helmet deflected the bullet, and Sam called out to the guards that they were on their side. The gates opened and the female leader of the camp came out and noted how odd it was to see Gears saving them. Baird asked for some gratitude instead of sarcasm for once, but Sam cut him off and asked if all her people were okay. The leader said they were and thanked them for their help, but then she recognized Cole and became really excited. Cole managed to convince her to give them some spare supplies. As they walked through the camp towards the docks, the leader warned them that Faraday, the Stranded leader at the stadium, did not like the COG. Sam asked what kind of supplies they could spare, and the leader told them she had a few crates of ammo out in the back to give them. When Sam saw how much ammo they were going to be given, she guessed that Michaelson would be really pleased with the haul they brought back. They called in KR Seven-Zero to pick up the ammo, and the pilot warned them that some Stranded on the Centennial Bridge had been taking potshots at them. They acknowledged the warning and began heading for Cougars Stadium.[45]
As they made their way across the docks, more stalks emerged and dropped off Drones and Drudges. After clearing the dock, they entered another warehouse and discussed how the CNV Sovereign was going to pass right under the Centennial Bridge. Sam doubted that even a hostile Stranded gang would try to take on a warship. Baird suggested they blow up the bridge just to be sure, causing Sam to joke that suggestions like that are why he never got promoted. They then reached the stadium, and Sam noted that the gate was locked. As they prepared to cut it open, Lambent stalks emerged behind them and released two Gunkers. They managed to kill them, and Sam used her Chainsaw Bayonet to cut off the chain holding the entrance into Cougars Stadium closed.[45] As they found the entrance to the Stranded camp, Sam pointed out to the others the giant statue of Cole, and guessed that he was still a hero to this group of Stranded as well. The Stranded excitedly crowded around Cole, but his homecoming was cut short when stalks emerged inside the stadium. The four Gears split up to deal with the attack, with Sam joining Baird while Cole and Clay worked together. They cleared out the atrium and made their way to one of the locker rooms, where Cole found his old locker. Baird made a crack about the smells lingering forever, causing Sam to hit him in the back and leave Cole alone with his memories. They then engaged a group of Lambent in the stadiums field, covering Cole while he planted a bomb on one of the Stalks. The explosion wiped out the Lambent, but Cole was knocked across the field. Sam and the others rushed over to make sure he was okay, but he quickly recovered and claimed that he still had all his old Thrashball moves. As they headed up the stairs towards the leader of the Stranded, Anya came over the radio and reported that the Sovereign was under Lambent assault and that they needed assistance. KR Seven-Zero informed them that it would be too difficult to land back on the ship, so they decided to find another way to get back. More stalks emerged inside the stadium, and Faraday confronted them, claiming that the stalks had left them alone until the COG showed up. She refused to help them, and they decided to get to the Sovereign from the Centennial Bridge. They took the elevators to the roof, shooting at Lambent creatures as they went up.[46] Upon reaching the roof, they used grappling hooks to glide along four cable car lines towards the bridge, shooting at Lambent along the way.[47]
Battle of Centennial Bridge
- "Hey, those aren't Stranded! They're Locust!"
- —Sam, upon spotting Locust through her sniper scope
They were immediately attacked by Lambent upon landing, which they quickly killed. They began making their way down the bridge, but Baird and Clay expressed their concern about the stability of the bridge. Sam told them to forget about that and hurry up, because if they lost the Sovereign they would lose what little they still had. They tried to contact the Sovereign but were unable to, causing them to approach the Stranded barricades. Sam spotted movement on the barricade, and they came under heavy fire. Sam pulled out her Longshot Sniper Rifle and zoomed in on one of the Stranded, but was startled to discover that it was a Locust Drone. She shot it in the head and informed the others. After killing all the Locust along the wall, Baird noted how they were using old Lancers to create turrets. Sam guessed that everyone was reduced to scavenging stuff in creative ways, including the Locust. Another pack of Locust came out of one of the gates, but they quickly killed and proceeded ahead. Baird noted how squalid the Locust camp looked, and Sam told him that was normal for Locust. Baird disagreed, pointing out how organized they were in the Hollow, and suspected that these Locust had gone savage. Sam wondered if that made them easier to fight, and they cut their way through more Locust as they made their way across the bridge. As Cole enthusiastically engaged the Locust, Sam commented that she was glad coming back to Hanover had not depressed him, and he responded that it would take more than that to keep his spirits down. As they tried to navigate around the wreckage on the bridge, Clay was worried that the Sovereign would be too far away by the time they crossed. Sam guessed that he was a glass half-empty kind of guy, and he said she should buy him a beer to find out. Baird joked that she would not buy him anything since his name was not "Dom", causing Sam to snap a Baird to shut up. While clearing the next section of the bridge, they spotted the Sovereign on fire and under attack by a Lambent Leviathan. After Cole talked with Marcus, they began trying to formulate a plan to kill the Leviathan. Baird was sure he could find a way to do it since he had killed one at the Vectes dockyards, but Sam pointed out that this one was twice the size and that he had blown up half the harbor to do it. Baird suggested she nag it to death instead, causing Clay to tell them to knock it off or else they and the Sovereign were screwed. Baird suggested they find some ordinance and figure out something, and noticed that the Locust had crates of Tickers. They fought their way through more of the bridge, taking out a mortar crew and shooting down a Gas Barge. They found a crate of Tickers near the top of the bridge, and after killing the Locust guarding it, dropped them onto the Leviathan. They killed the Leviathan, but it exploded and took the Sovereign. The Leviathan's last act was to tear down the bridge, and they clung onto the side of it to avoid falling in the water below. As Baird began to slip, Sam grabbed ahold of his hand, and he began guessing she wanted him to say he always loved her, much to her disgust, but said that he really did not. The bridge then fully collapsed, and they fell screaming towards the water.[47]
Battle of Hanover Coast
- "Come on, Santiago, breathe!"
- —Sam, as she attempted to revive Dom
They managed to make it to shore along with most of the Sovereign, and they took a moment to recover. They tried contacting the others, but spotted a large group of Locust, including Brumaks and Siegebeasts, heading for the wreckage. They gathered what weapons they could find and began making their way there to rescue any other survivors, killing a group of Locust Drones that were combing the wreckage. They found Marcus and Dom lying unconscious, and Sam rushed with Baird to check on Dom while Clay went with Cole to check on Marcus, who quickly woke up. They flipped Dom over, and began preforming CPR and Sam pleaded for him to breathe. Dom began coughing up water, much to her relief. Marcus tried contacting Anya and Jace, and Anya came on the line, reporting that she was with Prescott, who was badly injured. Sam and the others were stunned to learn Prescott was there and alive, and Marcus informed them that Michaelson was dead and that Prescott had brought a message from his father, Adam Fenix, who was alive and being held hostage by the Locust. Anya also reported that the lifeboats were coming to shore north of the ship and that they needed assistance as well. Sam was ordered to go with Clay to assist them, and they hurried off to defend the survivors. After the beachhead was secured, Sam met back up with the others, and watched as Baird decoded a message from Adam to Marcus explaining where he had been and what Azura was. The key to finding Azura's location was on A2897, a data disk that Hoffman had stolen from Prescott. Marcus asked Sam the quickest way to get to Anvil Gate, and she informed him that they were across the Deadlands, but she could take him straight there. Marcus told her to just give them directions, and ordered her to stay with Anya, Jace, and Carmine to supervise salvage operations and then follow them in force once they were finished. Cole took out a map, and Sam pointed the directions out to him on it as the rest of Delta said their goodbyes.[48]
Battle of Anvil Gate
- "Did we fry that bitch?"
"Looks that way." - —Cole and Sam after the Hammer of Dawn was used on a Lambent Berserker
After the scavenging mission was complete, Sam and Anya put together the first of several convoys that would head for Anvil Gate. They arrived to find it under attack by the Locust, and their convoy was ambushed. They became pinned down outside the fort, with most of their team being killed. Marcus and Cole arrived on a truck to assist them, but it was knocked over by a Digger. The four Gears cut their way through the Locust, but stalks arrived as well and began letting out mutated creatures. As they headed for the gate, a Lambent Berserker emerged from one of the stalks. Sam and the others ran for safety behind the forts walls while Baird activated the Hammer of Dawn in an effort to kill it. The gates closed behind them and they heard the Berserker screaming as the Hammer hit it. Cole wondered if it was dead, and Sam guessed that it had to be, but it began pounding on the gate before jumping over it. Sam ran for safety with Anya and Bernie while the others fought the Berserker, eventually managing to kill it.[49]
- "You sure you want to go there?"
- —Sam, after Dom suggested getting fuel from Mercy
Sam joined the others in gathering around a holoprojector after Baird decoded A2897, which revealed Azura's location in the Serano Ocean and the fact it was defended by a Adaptive Atmospheric Manipulation System which created an artificial hurricane around the island, preventing boats and helicopters from reaching it. Hoffman recommended using the CNV Adamant, a submarine at Endeavor Naval Shipyard, to go under the barrier, and Dizzy claimed he would be able to fix it. Dom suggested they get fuel from Mercy, but Sam asked if he was sure he wanted to go there, since it was Maria's hometown. Dom reassured her he could handle it, so they all began making preparations to depart.[49] The next morning they prepared to set out, with Sam going along with Marcus, Dom, Anya, Dizzy, and Jace to Mercy while Baird, Cole, and Clay went to find reinforcements and vehicles to attack Azura. Hoffman and Bernie stayed behind to defend the fort. After everyone said their goodbyes, they departed the fort and began driving for Mercy.[50]
Mission to Mercy
Sam rode with Dom on the way to Mercy where they were attacked by Locust forces en route. They eventually fought their way past them and reached Mercy. They found the city to be completely deserted. Jace and Dizzy stayed by the tanker while the rest of them searched the city for survivors. They found the pipeline to be rigged with explosives and after disarming them a crazed man shot at them and began shouting that he wasn't going to let "it" spread. The squad tries to talk him down but he flees into the sewers. When they catch up the man has been killed and they look around for what could have done it. They spot a woman crouched and seemingly crying but when they approach her she attacks, revealing herself to be Lambent. They kill her but more Lambent Humans show up and they fight their way out of the sewers and into the city where a group of survivors takes them in. The survivors explain how the Imulsion infected the population before more of them break into their room, killing the Stranded. They fight their way to the main pipeline and begin siphoning fuel to the tanker. They fight their way back to the tanker but come under attack by both Locust and Lambent forces. About to be overrun, Dom takes one of the truck and rams it into the tanker, causing it to explode. Dom and all hostile forces are killed by the explosion. Sam is greatly saddened at his death.
Mission to Char
Sam and the rest of Delta-One later arrived at Char after running out of fuel. From then on, they continued their journey on foot. Whilst trekking through the destroyed Char, they realize an unknown man is trying to kill them. They follow him, but come across some Lambent. After they kill them, the stranded lets them into his camp. Delta Squad make a deal with Aaron Griffin, the Stranded's leader, so Sam and the others go to retrieve fuel from Griffin's second tower. When they arrive, they come across more Formers, but soon finish them off. They then return with the fuel, but find the first tower is being attacked by Myrrah and her guards. Sam helps fight off the Locust to protect Dizzy. After refueling the truck, the five head to some docks in Char and they find (and repair) a Submarine, which they use to head towards Azura.
Mission to Endeavor
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Incursions in the Serano Ocean
After repairing and refueling the submarine CNV Adamant, Sam with the rest of Delta headed to Aura in it. They manned the Flechette turrets to protect them from threats. Along their route they were attacked by Shark-like creatures, but were held off by Sam and the others. They were later attacked by a giant Leviathan, they held it off by shooting it in the face and leading it into a tunnel were the roof came down on it, crushing it's head. Further on the route, automatic torpedo launchers fired at them. She and the rest of them opened fire on the torps destroying all of them before coming to the Docks at Azura.
Battle of Azura
Sam, Marcus, Anya, Jace and Dizzy soon made their way to Azura on the submarine. On their way, they took out several Manglers, a Leviathan and several torpedoes. Once they arrived, they killed some Palace Guards and then they contacted Adam Fenix via security cameras. Sam and the others then entered the facility, taking with them a Silverback. Adam tells the group they need to shut down a generator, which will turn off the Maelstrom device, thus allowing air support to arrive. Sam helps turn off three switches, but they discover that they must be an extra power source. They eventually find the extra power and shut it down, however, it causes a massive explosion, and they barely make it out alive. Moments later, the Maelstrom clears and the sun shines once again. Delta-One are then messaged by Baird and Cole who announce they're on their way. Sam notices them coming and points out that the COG found a Gorasni ship. After Cole and Baird find Delta-One, Sam listens as Marcus explains to them that Dizzy had taken the submarine off shore and that Dom didn't make it. Which shocks and saddens both Cole and Baird, Marcus then orders Jace and Samantha to head to the ship. Before leaving Baird pulls Sam to the side telling her to take care of herself, with Sam replying that he should too. She then leaves with Jace to go to the ship to tell them where to land and to give them the intel on the situation.
After the battle with the Locust and Lambent is finally won she is later seen celebrating outside the hotel with Dizzy and Jace. Once Delta-One arrives she along with Dizzy and Jace walk up to Baird, happy to see him. She is then last seen watching as Marcus and Anya embrace on the beach.
Interwar Period
At some point during the twenty-five years after the conclusion of the Locust War, Sam and Baird entered into a long term relationship, though seemingly never officially married. She became part of Baird's new technology company, DB Industries, aimed at rebuilding the world by automation and advanced technology. The two help rebuild the COG capital, New Ephyra, and had residence in the massive Baird Estate.
Swarm Invasion
Rescue of Reyna Diaz
She also accompanied her 'husband' during his mission to assist JD and Marcus Fenix to end the threat of The Swarm, piloting a King Raven gunship and providing air support for JD and Kait Diaz as the two assaulted the hive beneath Tollen Dam.
Skirmish in the Wilds
Return to New Ephyra
Mission to Azura
A few weeks after the battle at Tollen Dam, Sam is officially reinstated into the COG army and transports Marcus, JD, Del and Kait to the ruins of Azura in an attempt to reactivate the Hammer of Dawn satellites.
Rescue from Mount Kadar
Personality and Traits
Samantha felt that she had to prove she was willing to take more risk than the male Gears, something that Col.Victor Hoffman thought of as a liability unless Sam had a good commander.[51] Her accent also made her sound even more aggressive than she actually was.[52] Sam was also a master at giving people tattoos, having given a number of them herself to fellow Gears, including Dominic Santiago.[53] Sam hated being assigned to hand out food to civilians because it reminded her of the tough times in Anvegad.[6]
Sam deeply cared for her squadmates; she fiercely defended Dom during a converstation between Sam and Clayton Carmine when Damon Baird interjected. She especially cared for Dom for whom she had romantic feelings for which was indicated by Baird. Sam displayed disgust or sarcasm over Bairds obnoxious attitude, however she did still seem to care for him just like the rest of her team mates.[54]
Gallery
Behind the scenes
- Samantha Byrne is voiced by Claudia Black.[55]
- "Sam's voice (Claudia) from Gears 3 was originally cast and recorded as the voice for Bernie. We swapped later in the project after some feedback and focus testing." - Jim Brown [56]
- Sam is one of the first playable female Gears that appeared in Gears of War 3, the first time Gears of War features female Gears being playable.[57]
- The bandage below Sam's right eye was added late during the production process of Gears of War 3 to ensure that she would be quickly recognized.[58]
- Sam can be seen in the back on the extended version of the Gears of War 3 box art fighting off a mutated Drudge to save Clayton Carmine.
Multiplayer
- In Gears of War 3, Sam is an unlockable multiplayer character, available after reaching Level 4.
- In Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Sam is an unlockable multiplayer character, available after reaching Level 5.
- In Gears of War: Judgment, Sam is only available as a playable multiplayer character in the beta version of the game. She is not playable in the retail version of the game.
- In Gears of War 4, three Sam multiplayer skins are available; Armored Sam, Dress Uniform Sam, and V-Day Sam.
- Sa was added to Gears 5 multiplayer as playable COG Team character during Operation 4 Drop 2 as part of the Anniversary bundle.[59]
Appearances
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Multiplayer only)
- Anvil Gate (First appearance)
- Coalition's End
- Gears of War 3
- Gears of War: Judgment (Beta Only)
- Gears of War 4
- Ascendance
- Gears 5 (Voice only)
- Bloodlines
References
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