Jan Templar

Captain and later Colonel Jan Templar (2329 - 2359) was a soldier of the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance in Vekta. He is responsible for foiling the Helghast from taking control of Vekta during the Second Extrasolar War and led ISA forces in attacking the Helghan capital Pyrrhus in Operation Archangel, where Templar ultimately died before crashing his flagship into Helghan's Petrusite distribution grid and deactivating Pyrrhus's defenses.

Biography
Jan Templar was born in 2329 in Vekta. His mother died when he was very young, and he was taken care of by his father, Dirk Templar, who was a soldier in the ISA. Dirk was good friends with the commanding officer of his regiment, Bradley Vaughton, who became a friend of the family.

When Dirk died in the first Vektan war, Vaughton felt responsible for young Jan, and took the boy under his wing. Jan received his values from his mentor, godfather, and friend. Vaughton became aware of Templar's extraordinary potential, and enrolled him in the ISA military academy early.

Vaughton's assessment of Templar proved correct, as the young recruit was soon taking Officer Training Classes alongside grizzled veterans twice his age. He joined the Rapid Reaction Force and eventually became a captain, being one of their most decorated and experienced officers.

Templar met Luger during an RRF training exercise, and promptly fell in love. Their relationship was troubled from the start, as the otherwise vivacious Luger became cold and distant whenever Templar tried to get close. In addition, both proved terribly headstrong around each other, which quickly led to arguments. Jan didn't want Luger to stay in the military, because he couldn't bear the thought of losing her in some war. Conversely, Luger didn't feel like staying home while Templar did all the killing. In the end, Luger effectively broke off the relationship by entering the classified Shadow Marshal program in December 2356.

Templar didn't have time for heartache or self pity, as the RRF intelligence center began receiving reports of an enormous surge in Helghast military activity shortly afterwards. To make matters worse, Templar was the target of an assassination attempt. During a routine defense emplacement inspection, Templar made the narrowest of escapes after being fired upon by an unseen aggressor.

Ballistics experts confirmed that the rounds were fired by an army standard M82-G assault rifle, which suggested that Helghast sympathizers had managed to infiltrate ISA ranks. There was much speculation when it was discovered that the weapon came from the SD weapons platform, as it had been reported that it was stolen recently from a munitions store on the platform. The investigation was put on hold when the Helghast invasion commenced.