Rico Ortega
Rico Ortega, generally known simply as "Ortega", is a Deputy Marshal of the US Marshal's Office and is assigned to the Saint's Crossing Sheriff's Department.
History
Early Life
Rico Ortega was born in New Austin, on a small ranch outside of Armadillo. His mother disappeared for unknown reasons a few months after his younger sister Elena was born. Heartbroken, his father did his best to raise the two children alone while taking care of the ranch. After an especially harsh winter killed many of their cattle, his father needed to borrow money to keep the ranch running. A man named Joseph Duffy approached him in Armadillo and offered him the money he needed to keep things afloat, but at a steep price. When his father was unable to repay his debts, Duffy and his gang stormed the ranch and looted their family home. Rico and Elena managed to run to the barn and hide, only to see their father executed by Duffy, and the ranch was set ablaze. Narrowly escaping, the two children made their way to Armadillo to seek help. The people of Armadillo helped bury his father, but with no other family and no idea where their mother had gone, Rico and Elena were sent to an orphanage in Saint Denis.
Reeling from the loss of his father and in a place so different from anything he had experienced before, Rico had significant difficulty adjusting to his new life. To make matters worse, the orphanage split the siblings up and Elena was quickly sent to a new adoptive family. Lonely, angry, and often left hungry from the meager rations provided by the orphanage, Rico began participating in petty crime with some of the other teenagers. After one too many nights in a jail cell for pickpocketing, he was approached by a man named Curtis Cunningham who promised him a new "family" and a better life.
Gang Involvement
When Rico first joined the Star City Gang, Cunningham assured him and the other young men and women he had recruited that they would just participate in simple robberies and scams. They would often hold people up for their belongings but do their best to make sure none of the victims were harmed in the process. Over time, Rico became very close to the other gang members, especially a boy his age named Tommy. He eventually told them about what had happened to his father and his desire for revenge on Duffy. Cunningham assured Rico that revenge is the purest form of justice, and mobilized the gang to begin seeking out their enemies, including Duffy. Over the coming months, the gang's activity began to escalate, taking on riskier robberies and becoming increasingly violent despite Cunningham's initial promises. Determined to get his revenge, Rico ignored this and dedicated himself to the gang.
In time, the Star City Gang eventually caught up to Duffy and his men. Rico and the rest of the gang gunned down most of the members, keeping Duffy alive for Rico to kill personally. After being beaten by Rico and Tommy, Duffy finally admitted that he knew who Luis Ortega was and that he had killed him. Duffy claimed he had no idea Luis had any children and begged for his life, but Rico insisted he was a liar and slit his throat. Shaken by the turn of events and by the act of deliberately taking a life, Rico began to doubt his position in the gang despite Cunningham's insistence that he did the right thing. Unbeknownst to the rest of the gang, however, Cunningham had an ulterior motive for targeting Duffy. Armed with Duffy's plans for a bank robbery, Cunningham rallied the gang to prepare for their biggest job yet.
When the law attempted to intervene in the robbery, Cunnigham insisted the gang would shoot their way out of the bank and refused to back down. In the mayhem, they managed to commandeer a nearby wagon to make their escape. Rico was nearly shot by one of the deputies, only for Tommy to step in front of him at the last moment. To Rico's horror, he was shot in the head and killed. Suffering a number of casualties on both sides, Cunningham and the surviving members made their way back to their hideout. Disillusioned and mourning the loss of his friend, Rico slipped out of the camp in the dead of night to turn himself in and face his punishment.
Bounty Hunting
During Ortega's first year in prison, Cunningham and the remaining members of the gang continued to escalate. They had upgraded from petty robberies to higher-stakes heists and murders, often getting into violent clashes with the law. With the law struggling to detain them, Ortega was offered a deal - he would be released early from prison if he would work with the law to track down and capture the rest of the Star City Gang. Wracked with guilt, Ortega agreed to the terms and began the hunt. His knowledge of the gang's habits led to the capture of many of the members, before Cunningham and a few of his most trusted men and women went deep into hiding. His contract fulfilled, Ortega found he had a knack for tracking down criminals and pursued a full bounty hunting license. He spent the next decade chasing various bounties across the country but refused to return to Saint's Crossing, unable to reconcile with his past. In 1898 he became very close to a sheriff and his wife in Wisconsin, eventually developing romantic feelings for her. Not wanting to interrupt the relationship, he kept his unrequited feelings private but decided to settle down for a period, helping the local law and taking a job at a ranch to take a break from his nomadic way of life. After a conflict between the local law and an outlaw gang, both the sheriff and wife were brutally murdered. After this Ortega decided bounty hunting was not enough anymore and wished to become a lawman in honor of his friend and his friend's wife.
Events in Saint's Crossing
Beginnings as a Lawman
Missing his former home deeply, Ortega decided it was time to come home and reconnect with his roots. After being sworn in by Sheriff Woody, he received his badge and began his new life. Fearing his deputy application would be rejected, he left out the more sordid details of his past. Upon joining the department, it was explained to him that due to the events of The Battle of Saint Denis the Lang Gang had claimed control of Armadillo and declared it an outlaw town. By order of the law, anyone caught traveling to New Austin would be considered a potential associate of the gang. Knowing full well his allegiance would be questioned, Ortega decided to keep his visits to his father's grave and family ranch a secret as well. He spent many nights fending off the Lang Gang and attempting to keep the citizens of Saint's Crossing safe, growing closer to Sheriff Wynn in the process as the two would often patrol alone.
Capture of the DiCenzos
Migration to Saint Denis
Investigation of the Rhodes Incident
Return of the Lang Gang
Del Lobos Conflict
Rise of the Summers Gang
Cunningham's Revenge
Blood and Shine
Character
Personality
Gruff, quiet, and to the point, Ortega is often a man of few words. He enjoys keeping to himself and spent many years with very little in the way of a personal life outside his work. His history as a bounty hunter has him take a very direct approach to crime, and as such he has little interest in or patience for mysteries and puzzles. Although he tries to be friendly to everyone, it takes quite some time for him to form deep connections with people due to his avoidant nature and heavy dedication to his job as a lawman. He has a very strict code he follows unwaveringly, which includes things such as never deliberately lying to anyone, including criminals. Unlike some of his fellow law officers, he is strongly in favor of rehabilitation and believes anyone can change their ways if they want to. Because of this he frequently tries to reach out to criminals and encourage them to choose a new path in life.
Appearance
Meticulous about his grooming and clothing, Ortega's signature cream hat and bright red, eagle-embroidered coat make him stand out in a crowd. He keeps his dark hair slicked back, and facial hair carefully trimmed into a thick mustache and goatee. He has a large scar on the left side of his face, not far from his eye from the time Robbie Gold shot him. He prefers wearing fairly bright color schemes when it comes to clothing, with lots of details, embroidery, and embellishments.
Relationships
Trivia
- Ortega is a heavy smoker and often leaves cigarette butts and ash in his wake.
- Despite claiming to not be well-read, Ortega will occasionally reference works of literature such as The Monkey's Paw.
- He is equally meticulous about his horse as he is about his own cleanliness, and will be seen brushing the coat nearly every time he dismounts.
- Ortega's pre-Crossing history was only lightly outlined, and has since been fleshed out through improvised conversations on the server
