- "Took your sweet time, Marine?"
- ― Sergeant Kelly greeting the player [src]
Master Sergeant Thomas Kelly is a major character in Doom 3. A strict military sergeant who expects a lot from his soldiers, he provides the protagonist with his objectives during the first two thirds of the game.
Background
Master Sergeant Kelly is at the top of the enlisted chain of command at the UAC Mars Base operating from Marine HQ.
A decorated veteran with a very seasoned military background, Sergeant Kelly is known to be a very stern commander, as he has little patience for those who are unable to carry out their orders properly. That being the case, he has no problem assigning such unreliable soldiers to the worst duties as punishment (i.e. in the solid waste facility). Despite being strict, he is well respected for his leadership and discipline, as he only wants his soldiers to get better. Thus, he maintains a very fair treatment towards his men, giving words of encouragment to those who fulfill their duties correctly and motivating those who have potential.
Sergeant Kelly is known to keep a stoic mindset when things are at their worst. His sharp tactical mind allows him to flawlessly direct his squads to a brilliantly conceived battle tactic. He is cool, calm and collected and doesn't let emotions or panic take over his judgement or distract him from his military interventions.
Doom 3
Once the transferred Marine arrives on Mars, Kelly urgently orders him to report to Marine HQ where he is waiting. Once the Marine arrives to HQ, Kelly expresses brief annoyance at him for taking so long. He eventually shrugs it off and provides the Marine his first assignment which is locating Dr. Ishii, a missing scientist who was last seen at the Old Communication Facility, and bringing him back safely to HQ. Sergeant Kelly then sends a Sentry Bot ahead to guide the Marine to the Mars Underground Area.
Right after the Marine locates Ishii, the demonic outbreak begins, possessing Ishii and wipeing out more than half of the entire base. Sergeant Kelly reports to all marine units on Mars that the base is going through a full blown attack by an unknown enemy force. He orders all marine squads back to to HQ to re-group and wait for further orders.
During this process, Kelly tries to obtain as much intel as he can. His troops are being overwhelmed and cut off from one another, preventing them to re-group or fortify their positions. Kelly eventually discovers that only one marine squad is left fully operational as a unit: Bravo Team. In desperate need for reinforcements, he orders them to have a distress call sent to Earth and continues to fight against the hostile forces.
Meanwhile, the protagonist successfully makes it back to HQ, being the only soldier present there. He then approaches a comm monitor, establishing a connection with Sergeant Kelly. Surprised and relieved to see the Marine still alive, Kelly gives him his next mission: to link up with Bravo Team. Kelly then labels the Marine's path to the Alpha Labs as the quickest way to get to them.
Kelly spends the next several levels monitoring the Marine's progress, warning him of some potential dangers he will encounter and reminding him how close he is to Bravo Team. Eventually, once the Marine makes it to the Enpro Facility, Bravo Team gets ambushed, leaving their operational status unknown. Kelly gives the Marine a new mission: locate the fallen Bravo Team and obtain the transmission card. Once the Marine arrives where Bravo Team has fallen and obtains the card from the last survivor of the squad (who is then killed by a Wraith ), Kelly asks the Marine to take the card to the Communications Tower to have the distress signal sent to Earth for more reinforcements. Kelly also asks the Marine to be wary of Elliot Swann and Jack Campbell, as they are hindering their progress of getting the transmission sent by attempting to shut off all communication channels to Earth.
When the Marine makes it to the Satellite Control Room, he prepares to have the transmission sent. Swann, however, suddenly contacts the Marine, and urges him not to do it, as Swann thinks it's better to keep the situation quarantined on Mars until it can be contained.
The Marine then decides if he should either send or cancel the transmission:
If the Marine sends the transmission, Kelly will commend him for his efforts and asks him to rendezvous at the Delta Labs, as Kelly discoverd that the main portal in the Delta Labs was in fact responsible for the start of the invasion.
If the Marine cancels the transmission, Kelly will angrily blast him for insubordinate conduct, and firmly orders him to return back to the Satellite Control Room to send the transmission before being inexplicably cut off. (This decision is eventually negated by Dr. Malcolm Betruger, who will fulfill Kelly's request by himself.)
From this point on, no matter how the player decided, Kelly no longer contacts the Marine. By the time the Marine arrives at the Delta Labs, Kelly is nowhere to be found, but a video-link up request is pending at a communication terminal, forcing the Marine to set up a connection. Kelly appears on the screen, saying that their original rendezvous point has been overtaken by demons, and thus compromised. He instead sets up an alternate route and requests the marine to rendezvous with him nearby in Security Service Tunnel One. However, when the Marine reaches the location, Sgt. Kelly isn't there. In some storage area in that same sector, Betruger will taunt the player saying "your friends are with me now and soon you will join them".
It is eventually revealed that Kelly has been possessed by the demons. He ambushes Campbell and Swann in the Delta Labs, gravely injuring Swann in the process and forcing Campbell to leave him behind wounded while he goes after the Sarge by himself. Campbell dies after having his weapon acquired by Kelly. Once the Marine discovers Campbell lying on the ground dying, he tells the Marine with his last breath to go after Kelly and that he has his BFG. He then dies and Kelly taunts the Marine that he will come for him next.
The Marine finally meets up with Kelly in the CPU Complex. Seeing that his former commanding officer is now a large tank-like cybernetic monster, armed with Campbell's BFG9000, the Marine fights and then kills him, finally putting the once proud military veteran out of his misery.
Trivia
- In the BFG Edition, Kelly has brown hair.
- In the French version of Doom 3, Sarge's "final warning" is in English.
- Kelly's circumstances surrounding his transformation are left ambiguous.
Quotes
Gallery
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