Southern Cross Who's Who - John "Black Jack" Mace

Personality

John Mace maintains an appearance appropriate to his rank and position. He is sober and serious, though diplomatic, at all times. His history has led him to become a morose, somewhat hardened person, but at his core he is still the brave, energetic man he has always been. Confident, with an active intellect, Mace does his duty, though sometimes unwillingly, and because he knows his future in the Southern Cross is limited he is willing to stick his neck out for a soldier under his command if he thinks the cause is just.

Biography

Jack Mace grew up in a middle class family that had lost everything in the Global Civil War. As a teenager he joined the fledgling Southern Cross and became one of the first Hovertank pilots, part of the famous Wolf Squadron piloting VHT-0 Centaurs during the Malcontent Uprisings. He met fellow tank pilot Tracy Myers during conflict and the two began a long-running on-again, off-again relationship.

Mace served with distinction during the Malcontent Uprisings, earning numerous medals and citations including a Purple Heart. He distinguished himself enough to gain a squad leader position, but unfortunately made an enemy of a subordinate with connections and this eventually led to Mace being blacklisted within the service, which delayed his promotion to squadron commander.

Mace finally made officer (2nd Lt.) near the end of the Malcontent Uprisings and was given command of a VHT squadron, but his first command ended tragically when nearly the entire squad were killed. After the uprisings he was saddled with a desk job for a few years. When the Surface Operations group was split into multiple armies Mace was assigned to Alpha Tactical Armored Corps and given a squadron again, this time one that would become a dumping ground for misfits and other undesirable troopers. A friendship with a superior officer finally helped get Mace promoted to Captain, but this is likely as far as he will be able to advance given the black marks on his service record.

Update: Under Mace's leadership leading up to and during the war with the NWO the 21st became one of the most successful squadrons in the Southern Cross and developed a reputation for being able to handle any mission, no matter how tough. This reputation continued to grow into the Second Robotech War. For a time when the squadron was short on hovertanks, Captain Mace brought his old VHT-0 out of storage and used it in combat until it was destroyed.

When Mace's lover, Lt. Tracy Myers (who had been cleared to pilot Veritechs again and had joined the 21st) was captured by enemy Bioroids, the new commander of Dundee Base declared her dead (which was the official policy handed down from the Supreme Commander's office). Infuriated, Captain Mace assaulted the General and was thrown into the stockade (along with three of squadron members who had attacked the MPs when they tried to arrest the Captain, such was the loyalty his squadron had to their C.O.). The General decided to throw the book at the insubordinate Captain and Mace remained in prison on the base for several months. After the 21st managed to rescue Tracy (by going over the General's head and proposing the rescue mission directly to Chief of Staff Emmerson's office), the Captain pleaded out and was reassigned to the 21st, but busted down to Private.

Mace continued to serve in the 21st, now under the command of Lt. William Hardy (known as Cavalier due to his callous view towards those under his command). The rest of the 21st had little respect for Cavalier and frequently deferred to Mace despite the fact that they all technically outranked him now. Mace served in this position until the final battle of the war, when his commission was restored and he was made Captain again (mainly because the Southern Cross needed its competent officers back in the field). When Dundee Base was destroyed by a Robotech Masters mothership which then set out the destroy the rest of the Southern Cross bases in Australia, including the city of Perth, Captain Mace joined the 21st with Special Forces Gryphon Squad for a desperate mission to try and take out the mothership from the inside. Gryphon and the 21st were able to infiltrate the mothership, but they took heavy casualties, including all of Gryphon Squad. Cut off from the rest of the team as they retreated from the giant space vessel Captain Mace found himself trapped alongside Lt. Myers (who had been returned to duty after her rescue and deprogramming) and PFC Julia (Prom Queen) Crenshaw. Together they used Gryphon Squad's contingency plan, a salvaged Soviet nuclear warhead rigged with a detonator, to detroy the mothership once the rest of the surviving 21st had safely escaped the ship, sacrificing their lives to take out the enemy.

Call Sign: The origin of Captain Mace's call sign is unknown, but his reputation was enough that it became the name of the squadron he commanded, the Blackjacks. By this time few under his command still used the Black Jack call sign and simply referred to their C.O. as "The Captain".

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