Melanie Bronson

Melanie Bronson
Vital Statistics
Gender	Female
Race	Human
Faction	TriOptimum Corporation The Resistance
Status	Deceased
Location	Von Braun − Operations
Game(s)	System Shock 2
Voice Actor	Erin Coughlan
[Source]

Sergeant Melanie Bronson was the chief of security of the Von Braun. Unlike most of the crew, she evaded infection by the Many, eventually being fatally wounded during a firefight.

Biography

Chief of Security

Bronson's strict and uncompromising approach to ship's security led to her being unpopular with much of the crew, especially as the situation aboard the Von Braun deteriorated after first contact, during the spread of the influence of the Many.

She had checkpoints and computer-controlled turrets installed across the ship, enforcing a sort of martial law. Infected crew members hacked into XERXES security sub-systems, turning the turrets against the security forces. Bronson lost several of her men and those that were sent to recall the defective turrets never came back.

End of the Rent-a-Cop

With the captains of both the Von Braun and the UNN Rickenbacker compromised, Bronson became the most prominent obstacle during the Many's takeover of the ship.

At some point between midnight and 05:00 hours, the late night of July 7, security chief Melanie Bronson manages to get onto the ship-wide PA system and declares a state of emergency, and that she is imposing martial law. All primary sub-sectors are to undergo lockdown, and any crewmen who resist security personnel will be shot on sight. With most of the heavy weapons and security measures already compromised, Bronson rallies what security personnel she can (about fourteen or so) with what armaments she can at 05:00 hours, and attempts to storm the Operations Deck at 06:00 hours. For the next two days, the Operations Deck turns into a war zone between Bronson's security team and the Many.

Bronson and her security team tried to terminate all compromised crew members, such as Malick. As the situation deteriorated and they didn't know who to trust, Bronson's team ultimately began to shoot anything that moved. This briefly stemmed the plans of the alien infestation for a while, though several unaffected crew members such as Yount were killed, and Bronson gave orders to finish off survivors rather than take chances that they might be infected. Bronson and her team gunned down an entire crowd of uninfected crew members in the Operations Deck mess hall.

As a consequence of her retaliation against the Many's influence, she enraged the already seriously compromised Captain William Diego, who eventually led forces to destroy Bronson and her team. In her last voice Mail, she is fatally wounded as the firefight continues in the background.

Impact on the Player

Bronson's security access doors present both a major obstacle and a reassurance that the player will not have to face whatever is beyond the door until they are ready. Her turrets can also be a pain, but a hacking-focused character can easily use them to their advantage.

Audio Logs

Engineering Deck

• Turret Problems
• Hacking Turrets

Operations Deck

• MedSci Armory Code
• Sabotage
• Martial Law
• No Shirkers
• Resist

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