Jake Morrison is a member of the Earth Space Defense. He was an orphan after his parents were killed during the War of 1996.
Biography[]
Background[]
Jake Morrison lived in Los Angeles. On the eve of the War of 1996, he was sent to a summer camp outside the city by his parents, apparently against his will as the last thing he said to his parents was that he hates them. Thus, Jake survived the destruction of the city, but his parents were killed. Jake was also present to witness the Black Knights' disastrous counterattack against the City Destroyer that destroyed L.A.[1]
After the war, Jake spent his life living in an orphanage while also deeply regretting his last words to his parents. Despite his losses, he was not without hope, and he was inspired to become a fighter pilot in the same vein as the War of 1996 heroes Russell Casse and Steven Hiller. He befriended a fellow orphan Charles Miller after saving him from local bullies.
Enlisting in the E.S.D.[]
By 2004, Jake worked part-time as a mechanic while trying to enroll into the STEP academy entrance exam. Within a year, he finally achieved his enrollment to a STEP academy in Nevada. Furthermore, Jake decided to take Charles with him. There he met and befriended Dylan Hiller and fell in love with Patricia Whitmore, the daughter of former President Thomas Whitmore. Through this relationship, he also befriended ESD Director David Levinson.
By 2013, Jake was applied to the ESD Academy and became a potential candidate for Legacy Squadron. However, Jake's cocky and anti-authority demeanor brought him into trouble with his superiors and even his wing-mate Dylan. During the decisive exercise from which the leader of the squadron would be picked, Jake flew with Dylan in a training scenario that replicated Steven Hiller's flight in the Grand Canyon. He attempted to get before Dylan, but only to consequently clipping Dylan's wing and causing his fighter to crash to the canyon's walls; Dylan safely ejected in time. As a result, he was forbidden to fly a fighter due to bad judgment attested by Dylan, who refused to file a complaint against him, and was reassigned to the ESD Moon Base as a moon tug pilot.
Jake's hot temper brought him into consternation with Commander Jiang Lao. Against regulations, he stole a moon tug just to spend time with Patricia for two minutes, resulting in his punishment and the extension of his tour to an additional month.
War of 2016[]
During the upcoming 20th anniversary of the War of 1996, Jake and along with Charlie were tasked in installing an energy cannon to the Moon Base. An accident caused by Charlie almost cause the cannon to fall onto the base, which Jake made an improvisational maneuver with his tug that pushed the cannon back into its place. Jake then took responsibility for Charlie's mistake.
Shortly before the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the War of 1996, an unknown alien ship appeared over the Moon and was shot down after the ESD declared it to be hostile. Director Levinson was vocal against the decision and summoned Jake, who, along with Charlie, went against ESD orders and commandeered a tug to pick him up from Umbutu. Along with Levinson, he picked up Catherine Marceaux, Dikembe Umbutu, and Floyd Rosenberg and traveled to the wreckage of the alien ship at the Van de Graaff crater. Jake and Levinson explored the wreckage and discovered an intact container.
Just as they recover the object, a massive alien mothership suddenly appeared. Jake and the group barely recovered the container, but their space tug was caught in the mothership's gravitational pull. The group helplessly watched the mothership destroy the ESD Moon Base and Earth's planetary defenses. Upon entering the Earth's atmosphere, the mothership lifts objects from across Asia. The resulting debris fell across Europe, causing the space tug to come loose as well, forcing Jake to hectically fly through the falling debris over London.
After fleeing to Area 51, Jake gave his sympathies to Dylan after the latter suffered the loss of his mother during the aliens' attack. Jake later participated in the ESD's assault on the mothership in which he fought alongside with Legacy Squadron. However, the assault turned into a failure, as Jake and several other pilots were left stranded inside the ship. He and the surviving pilots managed to escape by hijacking alien fighters; in which Jake provided a very lewd distraction in front of the aliens. He along with Dylan, Charlie, and Rain Lao flew back to Area 51 and arrive on time in participating in the defense of the base from an alien assault led by the Harvester Queen and saving Patricia in the process.
The pilots were then caught in the Queen's telekinetic control which formed a massive shield of other fighters that protected the Queen. However, Jake found a way to escape the Queen's control radius by overheating their fighters' engines. With the Queen left vulnerable to their previous attack, Jake and the other pilots fatally gunned down the Queen and caused the end to the invasion.
Gallery[]
Memorable Quotes[]
- "He's meeting the President and I'm stuck on the moon."
- ―Jake complaining about Dylan.
- "Excuse me! Down here! There you go. Listen, I usually don't hold a grudge...but you killed my parents. So...I'm gonna make an exception for you guys. Been holding that one for a while."
- ―Jake flipping the bird and urinating in front of the aliens.
- "Probably should have kept running."
- ―Jake failing to punch out an alien.
- "Woah, woah, babe! It's me! Trying to shoot your fiancé already?"
- ―Jake to Patricia when she is about to shoot the spaceship he is exiting.
Appearances[]
- Independence Day: Crucible (first appearance)
- Independence Day: Resurgence/novel
References[]
- ↑ Greg Keyes. Independence Day: Crucible, p. 17-18 (Titan Books, 2016), Apple Books.