| « | Please, 'Dr. Ruce' will be fine. But, we have serious business to attend to, and little time. Ruce introduces himself to Mark Reynolds
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Ivan Ruce was a main character in ArmA 2's Operation Black Gauntlet campaign.
Background[]
Ruce was the former chief inspector of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Prior to becoming chief inspector, he had served as Non-Executive Director of the Chernarus Fossil Fuel Commission (CFFC).[1]
In June 2010[2], long before the outbreak of war and NATO's intervention in Takistan, he was assigned with the responsibility of confirming whether or not the government of Colonel Muhammad R. Aziz was staging an arms buildup after the nation had conducted several ballistic missile tests.[1]
One year after the downfall of Aziz[2], Ruce would be tasked with verifying whether a credible nuclear weapons programme had actually existed under Aziz' government. However, as the nation began to slide inexorably into a second civil war, Ruce and his team were provided a personal protection detail from the U.S.-based ION Services private military company.[3]
He corresponded directly with the detail's leader, Mark Reynolds, whom Ruce's contracts officer spoke highly of.[4] Ruce also worked closely alongside Reynolds' subordinate, Brian Frost, throughout the entirety of the mission.
Operation Black Gauntlet (2013)[]
On June 29th, 2013[2], Ruce would return once more[5] to Takistan as the investigation into Aziz' supposed nuclear programme continued. Upon arrival at the Zargabad airport, he was greeted by Mark Reynolds and his security team. The two briefly exchanged introductions[4] but are cut short when the airport is attacked by insurgents.[6] After an intense but brief firefight, the mercenaries manage to repel the insurgents and Ruce is driven to his desired destination: a factory compound at Nango, south of Zargabad's city centre.[7]
After Ruce's team arrived at the Nango facility, they began searching through the complex for documents. The compound was briefly surrounded by a crowd of angered locals but were driven off by the mercenaries who threw smoke grenades at the protestors to scare them away.[8] Ruce's team soon uncovered important information that pointed to a house in central Zargabad as well as a name - "Abdul".
Exact details were scarce, but Abdul was potentially the missing link that Ruce's team desperately needed if they were to continue their investigation.[9] Ruce asked Reynolds to escort him into the city and the team leader agreed to an extension of their contract[10], though he was slightly hesitant given that the New Takistani Army (NTA) were planning to flatten Zargabad with artillery in little under 45 minutes. Nonetheless, he agreed to escort Ruce into the city to find Abdul.[11]
| « | Reynolds: Dr. Ruce, it's your call: do we fall back until tomorrow? Ruce: With respect, there may not be a tomorrow for our contact.. Ruce urges the mercenaries to press on
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Shortly after they entered the city, they immediately came under sniper fire. Reynolds' men were pinned down and couldn't advance any further, and with the high risk of Ruce coming into harm's way, the team leader asked if they should retreat and wait until tomorrow. Ruce wanted to continue heading into the city, as he feared that they might not have much time left to find Abdul alive.[12] Despite being pitted against the odds, the mercenaries slowly pushed their way into the city and managed to reach the house where Abdul was supposedly hiding.[13]
The mercenaries had just grabbed Abdul and were pulling him to safety when the NTA's artillery barrage suddenly begins without warning.[14] Before they could get out of the kill zone, a shell directly hits the house, killing one of the mercenaries and Abdul in the process.[15]
In spite of Abdul's death, Ruce's team still had another lead on the programme - the "Proving Grounds", which was home to an underground testing facility known only by its designation of "OKB-754". Once again, Ruce asked to have Reynolds escort his team to it. They would be travelling by ground as the U.S. military were still refusing to grant clearance for them to use the airspace.[16]
Ruce's convoy eventually made it past all the guerillas and arrived on the outskirts of the Proving Grounds. However, before they could get any closer, the mercenaries spotted units of the NTA who were seemingly guarding the suspected nuclear weapons facility.[17] After disabling several vehicles and killing off remaining NTA stragglers, the mercenaries moved in to secure the entrance to OKB-754.
| « | Yes, enough to construct a bomb. Preliminary investigations indicate Russian - possibly Chinese - origins, but we can't know for sure yet. Ruce's suspicions are confirmed
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At long last, Ruce's team could now begin their work. They quickly entered the facility and started searching for evidence. By dawn, Ruce's team finally emerged from the compound and confirmed to the mercenaries that they had indeed discovered weaponisable materials, possibly of Chinese origins.[18][2]
Ruce then asked that the mercenaries bring his team (and the secured materials) back to Zargabad, though this would not be an easy feat, as the guerillas were hot on their heels and their attacks were intensifying. For the final time, the mercenaries escorted Ruce's vehicle through Central Takistan but unlike before, they would have some air support this time around.[19]
Death[]
| « | The lives of a few investigators are nothing compared to the consequences... Reynolds justifies Ruce's assassination to Frost and Asano
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The convoy successfully made it back to Zargabad but Ruce was separated from the materials after Reynolds had taken hold of them.
What Ruce didn't know, however, was that Reynolds was personally offered a new contract by an unknown client with one order: silence the inspection team before they can leave the country.[20]
Although hesitant at first, Frost and his partner Asano agreed to disguise themselves as militants and prepare to ambush the UN convoy with Ruce in it. Ruce, still oblivious to the mercenary team's treachery, continued to drive towards the main ION compound in Zargabad. The instant his convoy had reached the outskirts of the city, his SUV was struck by an IED and explodes into a fireball. Ruce was instantly killed in the supposedly "random" ambush, and with his death, the truth behind OKB-754 is buried alongside him.[2][21]
Lark Rising (2013)[]
- The following information stems from Bohemia Interactive's Take On Helicopters
| « | No one above me is anywhere near it - Dr Ruce is no longer a concern. Then-CEO of Vrana, William R.J. Haydon
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More than one month later[2], Ruce's demise would be commented upon by then-CEO of the Vrana Corporation, William R.J. Haydon.[22]
Personality and Appearance[]
Ruce was a middle-aged man with short and partially greying black hair and a horseshoe moustache. His standard attire consisted of a red/yellow flannel shirt, black pants, and a slate grey outdoor vest.
He had a relatively straightforward personality and cared little for decorum; anything other than getting his job done was deemed to be of secondary in nature. Ruce maintained a strictly business relationship when interacting with his escort detail, and generally never detracted from the matters at hand even in the middle of a firefight.
Trivia[]
- It is never publicly revealed as to who specifically contracted Reynolds to assassinate Ruce in subsequent games, though the alternate ending of Operation Black Gauntlet explicitly reveals that it was ordered by the Chinese government (a Chinese official secretly arranges the deal with Reynolds in person).[23]
- In the alternate, non-canonical ending where Ruce does return to Zargabad safely (Termination), his revelations - as predicted by Reynolds[20], results in worldwide financial chaos due to the sudden turn of geopolitical tensions between the People's Republic of China and NATO member states.[23]
References[]
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