Jacob Keyes

Summary
SERVICE NUMBER: 01928-19912-JK

Twenty-six years into his military career, Captain Keyes commanded respect as a keen strategist and inspirational leader of his men. He became a minor hero early in his career, when he led a small group of security troops against a Covenant ambush of the frigate UNSC Meriwether Lewis and held the Covenant off long enough for the ship to escape. His many decorations and years of combat experience against the Covenant made him a natural choice to command the Pillar of Autumn and its secret cargo.

Biography
Keyes was born on Earth and attended the Luna OCS Academy on the Moon. During his training, an incident occurred where thirteen ensigns were killed due to an instructor's error during a test. Keyes refused to testify against the instructor, and was noted for it. Eight weeks out of OCS, Lieutenant (J.G.) Keyes was picked to help Dr. Catherine Halsey with her task of searching for able subjects for her SPARTAN-II project. Though after this task was complete, he went back to normal duty and became an excellent strategist when dealing with Covenant. The top brass at HIGHCOM disapproved of him, and he got the nickname "Schoolmaster" from those detractors who thought he didnt belong in command of anything but a classroom, if that. Once promoted to Commander, he assumed command of the UNSC Iroquois and shortly thereafter, he outwitted and destroyed a Covenant destroyer, two frigates, and chased off a Covenant carrier with a daring manuver dubbed the Keyes Loop during the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV. This awarded him the rank of Captain and command of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn.

Unfortunately, Keyes was killed during the events on Installation 04. After being taken by the Flood, he and several Elites were infested and merged into a large mass. Master Chief destroyed his brain after his mind had been absorbed by the Flood infection. His CNI enabled Master Chief and Cortana to start up the Pillar of Autumn's engines so they could destroy the Halo by overloading them.

His surviving daughter, Miranda Keyes, accepted a posthumous Colonial Cross awarded to him for his bravery during the events on Installation 04.

Decorations
There are nine ribbons on Keyes' uniform. US Armed Forces ribbons are worn by order of precedence, from left to right, top to bottom. For the sake of this article, they will be numbered Ribons 1 through 9, in this order.

These Ribbons coencide with the following Modern US Air Force Decorations:


 * Ribbon 1: The Medal of Honor
 * Ribbon 2: Distinguished Service Cross
 * Ribbon 3: The Purple Heart
 * Ribbon 4: Air Force Commendation Medal
 * Ribbon 5: Combat Readiness Medal
 * Ribbon 6: Armed Force Expeditionary Medal
 * Ribbon 7: Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon
 * Ribbon 8: NCO Professional Military Education Graduation Ribbon
 * Ribbon 9: Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon
 * The Colonial Cross (Posthumous)

Note: Ribbon 7 is out of order. In the Modern US military, it would be worn before Ribbon 6. Then again, It is also unlikely that Keyes, a naval captain, won an award for being an enlisted member of the Air Force. We can only assume that the meaning of these ribbons has changed.

Captain Keyes' Rank
Along with the Medal Decorations, Keyes is depicted with Captain's Bars Insignia (Above name tag), a Marine rank of Captain which is much different than a Naval rank of Captain. A Marine ranking Captain (0-3) is a Company Grade or Junior Officer which is ranked three steps lower than a naval Captain (0-6), and has no special authority with respect to a ship and is just another passenger or crew member whilst on board. While a naval Captain is a Senior Officer Postion usually in charge of the vessel he is stationed on. According to his military record, Keyes graduated from Luna OCS Academy, a Naval Academy. Also his daughter, Commander Miranda Keyes is designated as a Commander, which is only a naval rank and two steps higher than a Marine Captain but one step below a Naval Captain. A naval Captain wears the Eagle which is equivilent to a Marine Colonel. Whether it was intended for Keyes to have Marine Captain's Bars or if it was just a mistake is a question for the developers.

Trivia

 * On Captain Keyes' tunic is the Marathon logo. It has also been noted that the text on the tunic states "Hello My Name Keyes". The missing "is" probably did not fit.


 * In the level Truth and Reconciliation (Level) it is possible to kill Keyes when you open the brigs. However, he comes back to life for the cutscene and for the rest of the mission. The only sign of him dying is a patch of blood on his cell floor.

In the level Keyes when you find the Brain Form his pipe is dangling from a tentacle behind the blob. If you zoom in with a Pistol or a Sniper Rifle, you can see the Marathon logo on the end of his pipe.

Appearences

 * Pillar of Autumn
 * Truth and Reconciliation (Brig, and Control Room)

Related Links

 * Commander Miranda Keyes
 * Retrieved from the GNU FDL article Captain Jacob Keyes