- Name: Brian Forrest
- Rank: Private
- Call Sign: Joyride
- Date of Birth: 2008
- Place of Birth: New Jersey, North America Quadrant
- Status: Killed in Action
Personality
Though pleasant with those he considers friends, Brian frequently comes across as arrogant and standoff-ish to strangers, and is openly anatgonistic to those he does not like. His attitudes come from his time growing up in the gangs of the East Coast wastelands, which taught him to be loyal to his fellow gang members and suspicious of all others. When he joined the military the 21st A.T.A.C. squadron grew to become his new gang and he is very loyal to his squad mates.
Biography
Brian was orphaned as a child during the Zentraedi planetary assault. He was raised by his older siblings in the wastelands of New Jersey and New York and joined one of the roving pack gangs at the age of twelve. Brian's particular gang were very adept at recovering and restoring derelict vehicles found in the city wastelands. They also had a penchant for going on raids into Reconstruction zones to steal newer cars and other vehicles for the gang's use.
During one of the raids Brian and the other gang members were caught by the authorities. Rather than prison they were sent to military boot camp, where Brian exhibited his skill with automotive mechanics. An army mechanic took a paternal liking to Brian and arranged for him to be sent to the Academy for engineering training. There Brian again showed his aptitude at fixing any vehicle, up to and including the complex robotic systems used in modern mecha. He was transferred to the Armored Corps to get Veritech training and became a hovertank pilot with a specialization in mechanical engineering.
After graduating, Brian was assigned to a Veritech squadron in Monument City. He did well there, but unfortunately the Academy had not completely eliminated all of Brian's gang behavior. Everytime he was on leave, the young Private Forrest would inevitably wind up stealing a car and taking it for a spin, and frequently wound up wrecking the vehicle while racing it. He managed to avoid serious punishment at the times he was caught, but his luck eventually ran out. After stealing the very expensive sports car belonging to a two-star General, Brian found himself facing a possible dishonorable discharge. Some of his fellow soldiers went to bat for him, as Brian had always shown strong loyalty to his squad, and in the end Brian was sent off to Australia instead, exiled to the career dead-end that the 21st A.T.A.C. was perceived as.
Update: Brian, or Joyride as he was known to his squad mates, was killed in action in October 2028. He was killed by renegade Zentraedi during the 21st's rescue of the 474th A.T.A.C. in Indochina.
Call Sign: Brian had a habit of hotwiring cars and motorcycles while on leave and taking them for joyrides, the reason he was sent to the 21st in the first place and the source of his call sign.