Jason “Carbon” Steele was head of the L5 Special Response Unit during the Coriopolis Bombing Crisis of 2118, and is the officer credited with preventing the third detonation.

Career#

As head of the Unit, Steele’s standing brief covered threat assessment against groups operating in the L5 region. He was closely familiar with the motivations and tactics of the Gaia Preservation Front well before the attack, at a time when the group’s record consisted of property damage and public nuisance and when a majority of poll respondents thought its designation as a terrorist organization excessive. He was among those who read the group’s escalation through the preceding months — the shift of operations from Earth to L5, and the destruction of atmospheric scoops — as preparation for something larger.

Role in the crisis#

Steele was returning to Coriopolis from assignment when the crisis began. Following the analysis produced by the Unit’s engineering section, which located the remaining device by the reciprocal relation between detonation sites and seismic convergence zones, he pursued and confronted the surviving operative in the sub-level service galleries beneath the southern end-cap, in conditions of extensive blast damage and uncontrolled flooding from ruptured water mains and lakebeds.

Personal#

Steele was married to Margaret Steele, with two sons, Alex and Andrew. A keen glider pilot, he flew the southern ridges regularly with Ian Fuller; the nickname “Carbon”, generally shortened to “Carb” by those who flew with him, dates from this period. Like most serious pilots he flew with his navigator and wind display switched off. See human flight.