Tychus Findlay

"Hell, it's about time!"

- Tychus Findlay

Tychus J. Findlay was a terran marine with a larcenous attitude. He was an old friend of Jim Raynor.

Early Life
Tychus Findlay was born on Mar Sara in a very small, boring town where truckers often stopped.

Operation Early Retirement
By 2488, midway through the Guild Wars, Tychus Findlay, based on Raydin III, had reached the rank of staff sergeant. He had little love for the military however, seeing the Terran Confederacy government it served as corrupt and the people as weak for allowing the government to fool them.

Findlay was the second-in-command of Captain Jack Larimer's Tactical Response Squad, a position which enabled him to monitor Larimer's communications and gave him access to valuable information, such as the movements of materials captured from the Kel-Morian Combine at Prosser's Well. The treasure had yet to be inventoried, so he hatched a deal with Master Sergeant Calvin (commander of a military transportation company) and Gunnery Sergeant Sims (the supply sergeant in charge of the treasure). Findlay would be paid in silium crystals.

However, Findlay was dragged into one of Captain Larimer's schemes. The Tactical Response Squad flew a Kel-Morian-marked dropship to a civilian dissident's house and attacked, making it seem as if the Combine was opposed the the dissidents as well (or at least covering up Confederate involvement). Larimer's tactics put the squad in severe danger, prompting Findlay to punch him. Loyal Corporal "Troll" Wasser and other marines captured Findlay.

Down and Up
After a tribunal, Findlay was demoted to private and ordered to serve three months hard labor at Military Correctional Facility-R-156, a converted mine. He was singled out for punishment by Sergeant Bellamy, who liked to use a swagger stick to punish larger inmates. Findlay was ordered to pull a mine cart by himself. Bellamy also drew the ire of Sam Lassiter, whom he had imprisoned in a box for several days. Lassiter used a fork to stab Bellamy, causing him to temporarily retreat. Findlay used the opportunity to steal Bellamy's swagger stick and place it on the cart's rail path. When Bellamy returned, he began looking for his stick. When he found it, Findlay shouted out a "warning" and disabled the cart's brake (ensuring another prisoner would draw the blame). Bellamy was killed. The other prisoner was boxed as punishment and died as a result.

Findlay was eventually released and sent to Fort Howe, Turaxis II. Once there, he tried to resupply himself, but was ordered to come back later by a young lance corporal, Jim Raynor. Findlay's attempts to intimidate Raynor failed, in part because Raynor's friend, Hank Harnack, pointed a weapon at Findlay's head.

Findlay was later ordered to report to Lieutenant Colonel Javier Vanderspool, the commanding officer at Howe. Vanderspool threatened Findlay with being made a prisoner in his own body but decided to give him another chance, "promoting" him to sergeant (one rank below his original position).

Now-Sergeant Findlay found himself in charge of Raynor and his friends – Hank Harnack, Ryk Kydd, Connor Ward and Max Zander – and immediately set out to make their lives miserable. They were interrupted by an announcement from Vanderspool, reporting a Kel-Morian attack. Raynor suggested heading for the armory, and Findlay, while taking charge, agreed. During the battle, Findlay used his rifle to beat Kel-Morian ripper foreman Oleg Benson to death. At they armory they discovered Confederate marines loading civilian-driven trucks with valuable equipment. Findlay and Raynor captured the trucks and were surprised to be let free. Findlay reported that the enemy had looted the armory and his troops were in pursuit of the trucks. "Hotel-One" ordered him to stop but Findlay claimed technical difficulties. The two trucks were driven to Whitford where the treasure was hidden in a chapel.

Raynor realized that Findlay had simply stolen another criminal's scheme but couldn't find a way out of his dilemma. He suggested returning one truck to allay suspicion, while the 8 million credits worth of stolen jammers would be sold off.

Newly promoted Colonel Vanderspool began a new initiative, creating a Special Tactics and Mission Platoon within the 321st Colonial Rangers Battalion that he led. Lieutenant Marcus Quigby ended up in charge. However, Vanderspool didn't trust Findlay or his new friends, so he sent a spy, crab-addicted Petty Officer 3rd Class Lisa Cassidy, a fleet medic, to watch over them.

The platoon was introduced to the CMC-230 XE armor by Technician Hiram Feek. The armor was capable of "jumping" great distances and slowing down falls from dropships. Findlay easily adapted to the new equipment. He also struck up a romantic relationship with Cassidy.

Findlay arranged to sell the jammers in Whitford. While the trade was successful, hijackers attempted to rob them afterward. However, Findlay and friends fought them off.

Betrayals
Max Zander sold his take of the proceeds of crime for food, which he would give to the refugees. He took Connor Ward and Hiram Feek with him for assistance. They were captured at the town of Finner's Crossing by Silas Trask's bandits, although Feek escaped.

Jim Raynor proposed going to a pub, Hurley's, to collect information about their missing comrades. Feek armed the squad with experimental weapons. The off-duty troops raided the house, killing bandits and rescuing their friends. Days later, Findlay returned to Hurley's and nearly beat the proprietor, Hurley, to death for ratting them out to the bandits. Meanwhile Cassidy reported the squad's "earnings" to Vanderspool, who plotted revenge. However, the squad was too valuable to immediately throw away (due to their specialized armor training).

A Legend is Born
"Hello. That was for Captain Hobarth. No need to get up...I'll let your boss known I'm here."

- Sergeant Findlay, upon landing at the camp and shooting a Kel-Morian guard.

Now-Colonel Javier Vanderspool presented the Special Tactics and Mission Platoon to Captain Clair Hobarth, a dropship pilot who had been captured by the Kel-Morians and taken to Kel-Morian Internment Camp-36. She had escaped and brought intelligence on the facility.

The platoon was given special training at "Camp Crash" to prepare for assaulting it. During training, Findlay clashed with Mas Speer, a recently-arrived embedded UNN reporter. Meanwhile, Jim Raynor planned on infiltrating the facility. Findlay brought the plan to Vanderspool, who agreed with it. At the command center, Findlay encountered Private Sam Lassiter, who was acting "too" politely and couldn't even remember his previous imprisonment.

The special platoon dropped out of the sky and assaulted the internment camp. Findlay and his friends in the First Squad rescued Raynor and Cole Hickson, another prison, from their public torture. However, they were unable to bring in other dropships to rescue the hundreds of prisoners due to Kel-Morian Hellhound counterattacks. Instead, Raynor suggested stealing the Kel-Morian vehicles and traveling into the disputed zone. During the journey, they were attacked by the Snakehead Kommando as well as Hellhounds, but held out long enough for Confederate Avenger support and troops dropped off by dropships to rescue them. The Snakeheads were wiped out and the prisoners rescued. The media began publicizing the "Heaven's Devils" as a result.

Sacrifices
Colonel Javier Vanderspool planned the third assault on Polk's Pride, a city split by the Paddick River. The Kel-Morian Combine controlled the north, while the Confederacy controlled the south. The STM platoon, now led by Lieutenant Samantha Sanchez, would fight near the front, crossing the river and aiming for a strategic resources depository which fueled the Kel-Morian war effort.

The platoon fought its way past numerous Kel-Morian barriers. Findlay, sometimes toting a gauss cannon, displayed his own heroics, in one case throwing a grenade into a dropship's air intakes, causing it to explode. After a sniper killed Sanchez, putting Findlay back in command of the platoon, they reached the repository itself. It was defended by Guild Guards, who were renowned for their martial arts training. Findlay managed to defeat their taskmaster by shoving a grenade into his helmet, sealing it and watching the resulting explosion. Eventually the Confederates captured the repository but at great cost in neurally resocialized troops. In celebration of victory, Findlay's squad had their picture taken.

Devils' End
Max Zander and Ryk Kydd had overheard a conversation between Colonel Vanderspool, Old Family member Errol Bennet (the father of Kydd) and Kel-Morian overseer Aaron Pax. They intended to hijack a Kel-Morian ardeon crystal train shipment at the town of Korsy and split the proceeds. Vanderspool planned to murder the Heaven's Devils platoon after the fighting.

Findlay and Raynor plotted revenge; they would steal the crystals for themselves. Findlay coopted Second Squad leader Sergeant Pinkham and even found a buyer at Free Port. Pretending not to know anything was amiss, they cooperated with Vanderspool as they took control of Korsy's small starport. Vanderspool ordered the Heaven's Devils to sweep the western part of town while his team, including Lieutenant Fitz and numerous neurally resocialized marines, would take control of the train station. While he was gone, Findlay disabled his platoon's dropship and put it under the control of Private Haster.

The Heaven's Devils sweep went easily for the most part, as their opposition consisted of unarmored guards who were being used to control the civilian populace. In one engagement however, Pinkham was killed.

Reaching the train station, the Heaven's Devils were put in front of the resocialized marines. When the train arrived, Overseer Pax executed a double cross, forcing Vanderspool's troops and the Heaven's Devils to fight side-by-side against the Kel-Morians. The train escaped, taking with it the treasure.

Enraged, he turned on the Devils. He knew much of their plotting, as Petty Officer Lisa Cassidy had betrayed them in return for access to crab. Findlay tried to attack, but Fitz stopped him by taking Cassidy prisoner and threatening to kill her. The First Squad escaped, with an enraged Findlay providing covering fire.

The retreat to the starport was a disaster, with several members of the squad being killed; only Findlay, Raynor and Kydd made it alive. There they found Vanderspool and Cassidy, who had been captured by Overseer Pax and a small number of rippers. During the firefight Pax, the rippers and Cassidy were all killed.

Raynor and Findlay went AWOL. The Confederate military charged the duo in absentia with manslaughter.

Outlaws
Following the Guild Wars, Findlay and Raynor became outlaws, pulling off thefts across the Koprulu Sector. Findlay developed a habit of exaggerating his exploits. One of their most regular targets was the Shale Express, hitting it at least a dozen times. Not even the deployment of outriders could stop them. Eventually the law caught up to the pair, Tychus caught after a heist. Raynor escaped and remained free when Tychus took the blame upon himself. Raynor did not forget his friend's sacrifice.

New Folsom Prison
"They say a man never really knows himself...until his freedom's been taken away. I wonder...how well do you know yourself?"

- Arcturus Mengsk on the day of Findlay's release.

Findlay was sentenced to cryonic imprisonment, designated as Convict 626. His rap sheet included convictions for narcotics violations, theft, jailbreak, piracy, grand larceny and murder, and he was a suspect in other murders. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to solitary cryogenic incarceration for life. He was still a prisoner after the fall of the Confederacy, in the era of the Terran Dominion.

Eventually, in 2504, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk offered Findlay a deal. In exchange for freedom, Findlay would assassinate Infested Kerrigan. Findlay agreed and was released in a sealed suit of CMC armor; only upon completing the task would he be freed from the armor. If he refused to follow his orders, the armor would shut down his major organs. The release was masked as another convict becoming an indentured marine.

For his part, Findlay initially claimed to have escaped from New Folsom Prison while being transferred and killing a dozen guards with his bare hands. Raynor, when told this tale, was skeptical. Later Findlay admitted he had had some help, and he was forced to stay sealed in the armor until his debts were repaid.

Wings of Liberty
"Mr. Findlay, your freedom awaits."

- Arcturus Mengsk

Tychus Findlay found Jim Raynor again in Joeyray's Bar on Mar Sara. The rebel was surprised to see his old friend out of prison. Findlay offered to act as a middle man set up a business deal between the formerly legitimate and Raynor's Raiders. The Foundation was willing to pay handsomely for any alien artifacts recovered by the Raiders. As the Terran Dominion had outlawed all trade in alien artifacts and made efforts to procure them for themselves, this meant fighting and stealing from the Dominion. Raynor agreed and after some wrangling allowed Findlay to have 30% of the proceeds. Findlay's deal with Mengsk remained a secret from Raynor.

The first artifact found was stolen from a Dominion dig site on Mar Sara. Findlay and the Raiders fled the world aboard Hyperion when the zerg invaded, sparking the Second Great War. From the outset, Raynor's second in command, Matt Horner, became suspicious and antagonistic towards Findlay. Regardless, Findlay directed the Raiders to another artifact on Monlyth, located in a protoss shrine guarded by the Tal'darim. Afterwards, Findlay hacked into ships databases to research his target, Infested Kerrigan. The ex-convict was unaware of the Queen of Blades' personal relationship with Raynor. The unauthorized access was discovered by Horner. . Horner tolerated Findlay as Raynor continued to vouch for his old friend.

In general, Findlay was more concerned with amassing credits than assisting the besieged Koprulu Sector. He thought it best if Raynor was less concerned with the Terran Dominion. He pushed Raynor towards cutting corners and acting like a pirate. Still, he did help the Raiders capture the Odin from the Dominion and piloted it in their mission to seize UNN Studios.

Eventually, payday arrived. However, instead of meeting the Foundation at the given co-ordinates, the Raiders were confronted by Dominion Minotaur-class battlecruisers, led by Mengsk's flagship, the Bucephalus. Findlay boarded it with Raynor, the pair fighting their way through it. However, it wasn't Emperor Mengsk aboard, but his son, Prince Valerian. He was the one behind the Foundation, having sent the Raiders to retrieve the components of a xel'naga device that could de-infest Kerrigan.

When Raynor agreed to partner up with Valerian to assault Char, a drunken Findlay accused Raynor of being a coward to Rory Swann and fellow crew members inside the Hyperion's cantina. Swann defended Raynor, which caused Findley to go in a rage, lifting Swann into the air. Raynor stepped in and the two had a brief fight, Findlay throwing various objects at Raynor, which the commander all evaded. Findlay was defeated when Raynor electrocuted him with a displaced cable. The crew regained their faith in their commander and Findlay was left to clear up the damage.

On Char itself, Findlay stayed in Raynor's command group, keeping the zerg at bay with a gun turret in the "biggest turkey shoot in the galaxy. As the battle for Char progressed, Findlay suggested the Raiders target the nydus worms while Dominion General Horace Warfield preferred to strike a blow against enemy air support. Findlay and Raynor arrived in time to save a wounded Warfield when zerg overran his position.

The Dominion finished assembling the artifact and presented it to Raynor. Findlay was not keen on putting his faith in such an unproven device. Regardless, the device worked, defeating the zerg assaulting their position.

Raynor, Findlay, and a team of marines advanced into the area cleared of the zerg and discovered a deinfested Sarah Kerrigan. With Arcturus Mengsk observing remotely through his suit, Findlay at last had his chance to kill Kerrigan and regain his freedom. The ex-convict finally revealed to his old friend of his debt to Mengsk and his true mission. Raynor shielded Kerrigan from the would-be executioner's bullet, before turning and shooting Findlay with his revolver.

Personality
Findlay's true personality is a matter of debate-some describe Findlay as a scoundrel who would sell his own mother to the Kimeran Pirates for the right sum while others see him as a loyal soldier who risked his life for fellow marines in the Guild Wars. Not even Jim Raynor can say for sure, though believed Findlay to have a "heart of gold" due to several friendly gestures Findlay made during the Guild Wars. He has shown xenophobic tendancies and isn't afraid to speak his mind.

Appearance
"My appearance is an incredible asset."

- Findlay replies to a comment from Gunnery Sergeant Sims

Physical
Findlay masses 165 kilograms (363 pounds). On the knuckles of his left hand there is a tattoo of the word "PAIN", as well as a snake around a cross above his index finger. Additionally, he has a scar across his stomach, as well as a tattoo on his back and shoulders which is believed to say "HEAVEN'S DEVILS". His shoulders are nearly 40 inches across.

Armor
Findlay appears to have been "sealed" into his armor (he wears only prison pants underneath). His armor number is displayed as 435 and appears to have a picture of a pin-up model painted onto the left shoulder pad. There is a tally mark of 13 on his left wrist and his armor has many other decorations, including a skull and bones insignia (very similar to the insignia of Omega Squadron).

Game Unit
Tychus Findlay appears in Wings of Liberty as a hero unit. Findlay's marine unit appears to have the Stim Pack ability. , and uses a minigun instead of the normal gun.

Merchandise
Blizzard Entertainment announced the Tychus J. Findlay Limited Edition Statue. The polystone collector's item is 18 inches tall and portrays Findlay standing atop a freshly killed hydralisk. The statue was available for pre-order but has since sold out.

A Tychus Findlay toy is also available.

DC Direct announced a Tychus Findlay collectible statue at Comic Con 2010, expected to be released Q2 2011.

Related videos
thumb|left|300px|Findlay suiting up.