Eric Connelly

"'We only have one shot to escape. This is all or nothing. Good luck.' -General Connelly, shortly after the start of the Battle of Cape Town."Eric Connelly is a Five-Star General in the Atlas Coalition, a veteran of the African War, and one of the original genetic donors to the Hyperion Project. His exposure to the genetic modifications in the project left large changes to his DNA in a similar fashion to the other participants, causing him to be in a remarkable shape for a 48-year old man.

He is a widower, after his wife Anna was murdered while he was at a meeting. He has two daughters, Zoey and Eliza Connelly. Zoey has been missing since 2032 and is presumed dead.

Early Years
Eric was born in Mannhattan, New York to a wealthy family. His mother Elizabeth Connelly was a writer, and his father Sergeant Todd Connelly was a veteran of the intervention in Lebanon, the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War.

Eric grew up in a war-torn world, which became far more torn when his father was killed in the defense of India in 2005. After this family tragedy, Eric became disgusted with anti-war rhetoric in America, and he was grimly satisfied when the Atlas Coalition was formed in 2010. He joined the Atlas Defense Force the day after it was established, and was quickly promoted through the ranks before becoming an officer.

He met the love of his life, Anna MacGregor, in 2014 when on leave back in New York. Every time he came back to North America, he went to see her, and in 2017 he proposed and she accepted. He was granted a small amount of leave to get married, and that is what he did later that year. He promised her that he would come home, and in 2020 he did exactly that.

The African War
Eric as initially deployed as a Sergeant in 2012. He was part of a unit flown to Somalia to hold the line against the initial PRGA landings. Despite being pushed back, Eric managed to rally his ragged squad and hold a key position for several weeks, allowing Atlas forces to retreat from the area. This style of command would later become a cornerstone to his record, as he was generally put in charge of fronts that were not worth holding. After this victory, he was given his Officer's Commission and sent back to America for training. Eventually, he was redeployed as a 2nd Lieutenant. From there, his rise through the ranks was nearly unheard of, as within 3 years he had achieved his first star as a Brigadier General. By the end of the war, he had become a major public figure after his broadcast to the entire Atlas Coalition was interupted by a majority of his fellow Generals turning traitor and attempting to kill him and the few loyal Generals.

When the dust cleared, Connelly alone stood above the dead. He had killed several people on live television, and would soon have to live with the consequences of that. The nations of the Atlas Coalition idolized him in a way reminscent of famous wartime commanders of old, and he was soon given his fifth and final star as a General, marking him as the one leader of the Atlas Defense Forces.

It was a position he would never be allowed to give up, and in 2040 he still holds the lofty rank of General of the Army.

Operation Cobalt Hue
In mid-2019, it became apparent that the PRGA was losing ground in Central Africa. After Connelly's forces held the line consitently in Kenya and the DRC, the Atlas Coalition was closer than ever to liberating the countries invaded and occupied by the PRGA. However, the President of the PRGA was not one to bow out in defeat, so he authorised one last strike to achieve a pyrric victory in Africa. During the occupation of Nairobi in Kenya, the PRGA had constructed a nuclear power plant larger than any other in the world. The plant was initially built to supply power to all of the PRGA's occupied countries to allow them to begin construction of more weapons of war, but PRGA scientists built a backup kill-switch into the design.

When Connelly and his forces reclaimed Nairobi, the last PRGA defenders retreated to the power plant. When they asked to negotiate their surrender, he obliged but secretly sent a strike team consisting of Jewel Mondragon, Sergei Chernov and Nestor McKellen to eliminate all defense forces in secret while he 'negotiated.' As he predicted, the negotiations were a trap, and his strike force was able to eliminate all above-ground forces in the complex. Unfortunately, one PRGA scientist was able to redirect facility control to a terminal in the tunnels below the reactors. After they moved in to assist Connelly, the strike group was able to make their way into the tunnels beneath the reactors.

They were too late, however, and barely managed to flee before the power plant self-destructed, causing a collosal nuclear meltdown that bathed all of Central and Southern Africa in deadly levels of radiation. In 2040, this still remains the worst event in human history, and the PRGA is still condemned for their actions in taking so many lives. The fallout rendered most of Central and Southern Africa unlivable, forming a massive exclusion zone.

Connelly was slightly irradiated in the disaster, alongside his strike team.

The Hyperion Project
After a check-up revealed Connelly and his strike team's radiation exposure, their DNA was examined and Atlas Scientists discovered that it had been mutated slightly to what they called 'the Goldilocks Zone.'

They were quickly flown to Area 51, where they were subjected to genetic experimentation that left them more than human. Their modified DNA was kept and used to create 7 metahumans, Hyperions I through to VII. While Connelly was not comfortable with the concept, he undertook the experimentation for his country and because of his guilt after the Cobalt Hue Disaster.

After the initial experimentation, Connelly slowly became far stronger and faster than before. Immediately before the experiment, he was measured to have a reaction time of around 180ms, which is remarkably quick for a human. 10 years later, he was measured at 90ms, making him the quickest man alive by current standards. This was of course, utterly wrong, as the Hyperion Soldiers had managed to surpass even that.

After the War
After the war, Connelly went home to his wife Anna and told her everything that he had seen. He loved and trusted her more than anyone, and he needed to get the horrors he had seen off his chest. She was horrified by what had happened, but was able to help him manage the PTSD.

He started a family with her, becoming the proud father to two daughters, Zoey and Eliza.

Resistance Attack
On February 5th 2032, while Eric Connelly was at a meeting, his Washington DC apartment was attacked by the notorious Resistance agent Kirill Sokolov. It is unknown what happened on the rooftops above his apartment, but when police arrived upon the scene they found Anna Connelly dead from gunshot wounds, as well as Connelly's current assistant Lt Michael Crow barely alive with several gunshot wounds to the chest. Upon being transferred to hospital, he managed to wake up and tell authorities that Sokolov had taken Connelly's eldest daughter Zoey.

Connelly returned home from his meeting to find his life destroyed, with his wife dead and his daughter missing. Despite the best efforts of authorities, they never found her.

The Valentine's Day Disaster
The Valentine's Day Disaster was Connelly's greatest mistake. In allowing Jewel Mondragon to pass through to get to VI, he accidentally allowed her to take her away. After his offer of compassion was taken advantage by Mondragon, he relentlessly pursued her deep into the depths of Area 51. He managed to catch up to Scotty Ross' team first, engaging in a vicious battle against them. After tearing the mechanical arm off Ross' Power Armour when he tried to engage him in melee, Connelly proceeded to launch Karl Jensen across the room with a single blow. He then stepped back as Phillipe Videlle turned on the group, killing William Peterson. Connelly then began chasing down Jewel Mondragon's group, catching up to them at the entrance to a service elevator.

The Death of Russel Giles
"'...Nice Try.' - Russel Giles' last words."As Connelly arrived at the entrance to the elevator, he was met by Russel Giles. Giles attempted to stall and misdirect Connelly, but his ruse was seen through. Connelly grabbed him by the neck and broke it in one hand. As Connelly crushed his neck, Giles managed to hurl a knife into the lift controls, breaking them beyond use. Connelly was forced to run to another elevator, wasting precious time he did not have to spare.

Hallway of Death
Connelly caught up to the infiltrators in a hallway. He immediately bore down upon them, viciously battering Maria Lexi and Scotty Ross. Ross was torn from his Power Armour, ripping out a portion of his spine. To buy time, Jewel Mondragon stepped in the way to attempt to halt Connelly, who had just hurled Maria Lexi away and was about to deal the final blow to Ross. Connelly pulverized her with punches, but she held the line. Bill Travis attempted to pepper him with bullets, but he made the mistake of taunting Connelly about his failure to protect his family. Connelly turned him to ash with a roaring blast of flame, before turning his attention to Jewel, caving her chest in with a barrage of punches. At this point, Karl Jensen and Hyperion VI had fled to the elevator and had begun calling it. As Connelly finished off Harrison Parker, the Australian sliding down the wall with the back of his skull shattered, Maria Lexi re-engaged him in combat. As he turned his attention to her, Samantha Ko lowered a blast door, sealing off the two combatants. Connelly desperately tried to break through the door, but when he finally broke through he found the four remaining infiltrators gone.

Present Day
Currently, Connelly resides in New York. His remaining daughter Eliza Connelly currently attends the University of New York.

Eric harbours a deep hatred of Resistance forces, and shows zero mercy or remorse when sentencing them to death; either at the hands of his soldiers, or in the cold embrace of the Atlas Justice System.

Metahuman Powers
General Connelly is one of the most powerful men on the face of the planet, and not just through political power. All assassination attempts against him have failed, including one in which a rocket was fired directly at him. He caught the projectile. Connelly is confirmed to have grown exponentially taller over the decades after his intial modifications.

During the Valentine's Day Disaster, it was noted by Russel Giles in his last moments that even had he struggled against General Connelly's grapple, he knew with full certainty it would not have done anything. In addition to that, General Connelly was able to break Giles' neck with one hand. This was an impressive feat as Russel Giles was exceedingly well versed in CQC and was tough enough to shrug off melee strikes from trained Atlasian Elite Forces. This would point towards Connelly possessing some major form of super strength, at the very least super strength in his arms.

It was later discovered in the Hallway of Death that Connelly possessed the strength to hurl a fully-grown soldier up to 50ft down a hallway whilst they resisted. He is also proven to be incredibly fast, as he covered the distance towards the infiltrators ar speeds exceeding 80km/h. He possesses the ability to wreathe himself in a powerful flame aura that incinerates those around him at a temperature that far exceeds flamethrowers and standard incendiary equipment. He can project this flame and hurl it at his foes, such was the fate of Bill Travis. His punches can easily fracture and shatter bones, as he easily caved in the ribcage of a fellow Metahuman with Jewel Mondragon. He possesses the ability to let out a powerful breath attack that blows enemies off their feet, and it is powerful enough to kill as with the case of Harrison Parker.