Jason

The son of Fredrick, the first Crusader, Jason was the second Crusader and one of the greatest swordmasters in history. Back to index

Biography
Born on Eridua to Fredrick and Elanor, Jason grew up hearing grand tales of his fathers exploits. Inspired, Jason was eager to follow in his footsteps, although his parents were considerably less so. Frustrated, a 19 year old Jason departed his home in a refitted gunship, with news eventually reaching Fredrick that he had joined a star cult. However, upon arrival and after a brief duel, Jason reviles he was actually infiltrating the cult, and father and son worked together to bring them to justice. Impressed, Fredrick eventually allowed Jason to take up the mantle of Crusader when he retired.

Jason was soon joined by the genetically engineered solder S.k.i.d (On orders from Fredrick to protect him) and together the two took part in many different adventures, including there first encounter with the Snow Queen. At some point, Jason and Skid arrived on the mostly pre-industrial planet Charon, where they quickly ddecidedto oppose the local would-be-interstellar-warlord Gisborn. Not long after, they were joined not only by Skid's "brothers" (Kid, Jobe & Boe) but also the local revolutionary Kate. Together, the newly dubbed "Red Star Revolution" would not only oppose Gisborn, but also serve in many other regards, such as constant battles with the Assassins Guild, the leader of whom had a personal grudge against Jason's family. Despite there close connection (Not to mention mutual attraction) Kate and Jason found themselves at constant odds, especially other matters sush as the inclusion of Ex-assassin Wryven in the RSR and the handling of the revelation that there was a traitor in there midst. This eventuly resulted in Jason leaving the RSR and joining up with the Alliance to fight the Shadowmen, becoming close to a commando by the name of Christina in the process. However, Jason saw a good chunk of the Alliance force under his command eventually wiped out (Including Christina) leading to his father rescuing him and Jason reconciling with and rejoining the RSR. After the traitor (Boe) was found out, the RSR finally defeated Gisborn. Joined by two new Skid's (Yard & Ray) the RSR operated for a few more years (Facing off against the Assasins Guild many more times and a final encounter with the Snow Queen, among other such adventures) Before Jason proposed to Kate, leading to the entire group retiring to sanctum, alongside the Explorers.

However, after she passed away, Jason took back to adventuring (Eventually traveling as far as the other side of the Galaxy) and even remarried twice, although he outlived them both as well. Centuries after he "retired" Jason returned to the Crusaders traditional area of space, just in time to join the Trimitive Council. Although his eventual fate is largely unknown, it is known that Jason died and that a "copy" of him was uploaded into the Crusader Sanctuary before Samantha.

Odds & Ends
Jason was, naturally, an Eternal, a humanoid species with century's long lifespan and natural skill with telekinesis. Early on, Jason was very head strong and fiery, but after some major tactical mistakes with tragic results, he became the almost exact opposite, being calm and level headed. As a intergalactic mercenary and often front line solder, as well as a practiced martial artist, He was much faster and stronger than a normal person,although not to the same extent as his father. Also, Unlike his father, Jason had very little natural raw power with the supernatural, relying on telekinesis built up by training rather then raw skill, and using an energy attack exactly once. Jason was also very skilled with many different types of blades, ranged weapons and power armor.

By far and away, Jason's most well known skill was with the blade. A natural with such weapons and martial arts, Jason was capable of out-dueling both Fredrick and Andrew before even becoming a Crusader. Once claiming the title, Jason became an almost unmatched duelist, taking on and defeating large groups of phaseblade wielding assassins at once, as well as out dueling Chang and the Snow Queen. All this being said, there was far fewer dueling opponents for Jason's time as a Crusader then there was for Fredricks. Of course, Jason returned for the battle against the Heretics and demonstrated there that his skill was almost second to none. Felling that an artistic or nostalgic approach to building a weapon was foolish and a waste, Jason built a very simple orange bladed weapon, even when compared to his fathers. However, following this mindset, Jason built the most effective form of weapon available: paired blades. By themselves, the two weapons could be wielded individually or as duel wields. However, they could also be joined together, creating a double bladed weapon or just a long handled weapon, giving Jason many more options on the battlefield then many others.

Authors Notes
The idea for a "Next Generation" Crusader is almost as old as Horizons itself, although it took quite some time before it was introduced proper. In fact, Jason's run on the series was at the same time as Kanos's, the Author splitting his time between the two.

Although the Watchmaker does not consider him one of his favorites, Jason has still popped up several times in alternate Universes. In the "Beta" Universe Jason serves as a double agent in the insurgent faction. In the "Gamma" Universe, Jason's story is practically identical to his "Delta" self, albeit in a fantasy setting. In the "Epsilon" Universe Jason originally ruled alongside his father, before the assassination of his fiance caused him to join the resistance. Although he does not appear proper in the "Alpha Universe", several elements of his own story are recycled for Fredrick's back-story.

Jason, from a young age, was a martial arts enthusiast. Before he even became a Crusader, Jason was capable of defeating his father in a duel and by the time of his life Jason had "Mastered almost a hundred forms, a few dozens of which he helped create" and was generally considered the greatest sword-master in the Universe. As a trade off however, Jason spent very little time developing his supernatural powers and, lacking his fathers strong connection with them, had something of a weakness in this area.

Although Horizons: Revolution mostly focused on Jason's time as a Crusader, a majority of the more interesting portions of his life (Such as his traveling of the Universe and later marriages) actually happened after the fact, some time between his "retirement" and as of yet undocumented death at the age of 48. Like his father before him, Jason was about six feet tall with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. Jason also preferred to dress in traditional Crusader garb, even after his retirement from the order. Favoring practicality over aesthetics, Jason wielded twin orange bladed Phaseblades with industrially designed handles that could be joined together to create a Phase-poll.

In his youth, Jason was hot headed to the point of recklessness, preferring action over careful planing. This had a habit of alienating him from others, although he did have his calmer moments. After his disastrous defeat against the Shadowmen however, a shell shocked Jason became conservative to the point of inaction, carefully evaluating every decision in order to avoid unnecessary damage. After the death of his first wife, Jason balanced calm rationality and his natural hot blood to become a more effective warrior.

In his youth, Jason's relationship with his father was strained. Fredrick's obligations as a Crusader caused Jason to idealize them, while Fredrick reacted to Jason's recklessness by becoming overprotective. By Horizons: Warfront however, the two had reconciled and thanks to there shared experience had come to see each other as equals and good friends.

Jason's "keepsake" was the hilt of Trident, a sword gifted to him by Kate.