- "Gettin' out of the fire with your butt intact is a great feeling, ennitt ?"
- ―Rake (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Private First Class[1] Rake was a member of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. He was part of the undisciplined and insubordinate crew of the USS Melville, reputed as the "worst", to convoy toxic waste to Alphatech's Waste Disposal Facility "SunGun". He perished in the destruction of the Alphatech communication array.
Biography[]
Rake was part of the highly undisciplined crew of the USS Melville, whom Lieutenant Joseph Henry was recently assigned to. Their mission was to convoy toxic waste to Alphatech's Waste Disposal Facility SunGun and to transport personnel from Alphatech to a deep space communication array for a year.
Mission in SunGun[]
- "Ugly might flatline if we don't get him to the Melville soon. Dinkel was right... this yabbo must be half xeno' to still be kickin' in hard vacuum."
- ―Rake to Chen about the BugMan (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Trying to open the Zero-G well.
When arriving in the SunGun vicinity, Henry tried to contact the facility but received no response. Fearing a problem, Henry had Sgt Nyland wake the Marines up from hypersleep. However as his men were disinclined and refused to gear up, Henry was forced to physically discipline them. Once back in line, they boarded the SunGun and explored the interior, eventually discovering that they were dealing with a Xenomorph infestation.
Rake and Chen capturing the Bug-Man.
He was assigned with the others to secure the floor while Henry sweept the operation center. After the Xenomorph assault, he managed to break in the Zero-G well allowing the rest of the group to isolate themselves in. While the others waited, he went spacewalking alongside Henry, Chen and survivor Dinkel to purge the Tox-bay hatch, expelling all Xenomorphs in space. After wiping out the remaining Xenomorphs , Rake and Chen identified and captured a member of the terrorist cult, the Bug-Men, before the group subsequently made a safe retreat to the Melville. In the aftermath, the Marines all congratulated their own survival, though Nyland was outraged by their naivety and lectured them before leaving.
Stopover to Bracken's World[]
- "Pardon my frankness, sir, but we could use a little air support."
- ―Rake during the Bracken's World battle. (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Henry requesting Rake's skills.
Once on the planet, Rake and the group investigated a rogue signal from within in kelp farms, and were ambushed by Bug-Men in an Alphatech listening post. He embarked on the APC that was forced to cross the kelp farms after the dropship was destroyed where they were subsequently stranded. After Carrano was killed by an aquatic Xenomorph he had to keep them at bay until Nyland's dropship picked them up to the planet's main colony, Sector 1. The next day, as Henry reluctantly accepted the colony governor’s request of dealing with the Xenomorphs, Rake was part of Alpha Team during the battle. However, things go awry when acid blood started to eat through the colony's stormwall. He and the rest of the team finally managed to pin down the Xenomorph threat with the assistance of Herk Mondo, but not without ruining the colony. After the battle, under the orders of Henry, Rake and the others got micro-explosives planted in their neck under the guise of a medical review.
War against the Bug-Men[]
- "An then we can get court-martialed for mutiny and then we can get shot. You do what you to. Me, I'd rather go out killing bugs than standing in front of a firing squad."
- ―Rake dismissing Forsythe's mutiny attempt (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Rale befriending Danny.
Rake and Chen saved by the Shop Steward.
After Henry briefed the team about the comm array being overrun by Bug-Men, he revealed to their horror that he had implanted them with micro-bombs within their necks to prevent rebelling. Before Henry was forced to handle an imminent mutiny, Liston suddenly distracted them by informing them of the Melville's destruction, leaving them stranded. After arriving at the Joliet Mining Facility, where Beliveau revealed that he possessed a weapons cache hidden and a FTL capable spacecraft, Rake was teamed up with Forsythe and Vasquez. After Nyland and the Marines stocked up on their new weaponry, they took leave during a Xenomorph ambush on Beliveau's Alphatech Assaultcraft, with the shop steward sacrificing himself to allow the marines safe-passage out of the facility.
En route to Alphatech's research station, despite Henry's interdiction, Rake managed to tamper with Liston's programming, and installed an Asimov subroutine triggered by remote without the lieutenant's name on the list. Rake later dismissed Forsythe's idea of mutiny out of fear of being court-martialled. When the Marines reached Alphatech research station #2378, the base interior had been totally overrun by Xenomorphs. After having Liston download all necessary data, they encountered a large horde of Xenomorphs, which Liston swiftly moved in and slaughtered with ease. The squad returned to the assault craft but witnessed it surrounded by hundreds of Xenomorphs. After the creatures suddenly became disorientated, the group seized the opportunity and boarded the ship to leave, with Henry ordering the abandonment of Sergeant Nyland, who separated from the group. This action caused the crew to despise Henry even more, creating a large rift between him and his men. Rake, concluding that Henry couldn't be trusted, triggered Liston's Asimov subroutine.
Final fight and Death[]
- "Well... Liston's technology is way over my head, but when I was reprogramming him for Henry, I was able to install an Asimov subroutine, triggered by remote later. And I took our lieutenant's name off the "protect" list."
- ―Rake explaining Henry's death from Liston. (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
The marines finally reached the Bug-Men's primary base, the famous Alphatech communication where they were supposed to be haul to. The base interior had transformed into a giant Hive and was infested with Xenomorphs. Henry's plan was to storm the station core with an all-out assault. Rake was assigned to driving an APC whilst Forsythe manned the turret. Arriving at the station core, the APC was badly damaged by heavy fire from the Bug-Men and rendered inoperable. After Henry killed the Father, triggering the station self-destruct sequence, Liston ripped Henry's heart to defuse the micro-bombs, thanks to Rake's subroutine. Rake, alongside Maryland, Forsythe and Liston tried their best to escape the station but ultimately failed and were obliterated alongside the station.
Equipment[]
Beyond his military fatigues, during the exploration of the SunGun facility, he donned a comm headset and an EVA suit. On Bracken's World, he wore a variant of the standard issue M3 Pattern Personal Armor and an M10 Pattern Ballistic Helmet for protection and wore only shoulder pads linked to his belt after leaving Joliet Mining Facility. He was equipped with an unidentified assault rifle equipped with an over-and-under grenade launcher. During the battle on Bracken's World main colony he was equipped with a belt-fed machine-gun and during the last assault he had a machine-gun similar to a Smartgun.
Personality and Traits[]
- "According to your file, you have extensive tech training. You looked pretty sharp back at the railgun so don't deny it."
- ―Henry about Rake's skills (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Rake was one of the more competent marines of his squad, and he showed genuine promise as a soldier. He also had extensive tech training and skill at piloting vehicles.
Appearances[]
- Aliens: Colonial Marines (comic series)
Gallery[]
![Sketch of Rake, by Tony Atkins.[2]](/wiki/File:ACMRakeca.jpg "ACMRakeca.jpg (7 KB)")
