Brenner

Captain Brenner in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.
Captain Brenner
Species	Human
Hair color	Blonde
Debut	Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Captain Brenner (or O'Brian in the PAL release) is the leader of the Rubinelle Armed Forces 12th Battalion before and following the Meteor Crisis in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.

Background

Pre-Crisis

Before the Meteor Crisis, Brenner was the Captain of the 12th Battalion of the Rubinelle Army. His father had died the previous war twenty years earlier against General Forsythe of the Lazurian Army. He had fought for a hundred days with honor and dignity, though after his defeat Rubinelle blamed the failure on him - and only the Lazurians ever recognized him as being a great man.

Brenner held many of his father's ideals as a captain. He was offered several opportunities for promotion, but regularly refused them. To many he was seen as idealistic and incompatible with the Rubinelle government. During his time, he had earned Lin as his second in command and at one point had Davis in his division. He was especially reliant on Lin's superior tactical knowledge, which contrasted against his humanitarian - though sometimes reckless - war efforts.

The Meteor Crisis

When the meteors struck, Brenner and his battalion survived and unlike many of his peers, dedicated his forces to helping and protecting the survivors. One of these men was the Mayor of Freehaven, who vowed to provide a safe place for other survivors. He also came to the aid of a young boy named Will, who was a Rubinelle cadet who also survived. However this came at the cost of fighting The Beast, a rogue soldier who was using his military experience to exploit and kill survivors. Soon after they picked up a young girl named Isabella who despite having no memory, had an extensive military knowledge.

However Brenner had no desire to drag children into the war and tried to leave them with the Mayor of Freehaven. However despite the man's promise, he refused to take them in - though later he said he would consider it if Brenner wiped out The Beast's forces. However he later reneged on his vow, saying that he only promised to consider it. Although angry, Brenner refused to do anything about it, a characteristic that the Mayor openly exploited. By then though, Will had become quite attached to the unit to the point of idolizing Brenner. As a result both Will and Isabella became permanent members of the 12th Battalion.

When they arrived in New Wolfington, they met up with Dr. Morris, a civilian representative. They were told of a crop factory nearby that would be able to feed them - at least the population of New Wolfington - if they could reach it safely. But by the time they had reached it, the factory had been destroyed by a mysterious faction - one they'd later find out was the Intelligent Defense Systems. But in a stroke of fortune, Isabella knew of another factory to the south - one that was built for the higher ranks of the Rubinelle government that not even Brenner knew about. With nothing else to go on, Brenner led his army and the people of New Wolfington south while dealing with The Beast a few more times. He also chanced a meeting with Waylon, a fellow Captain who instead of protecting survivors, had been living the high life due to having no superiors. After rescuing him from Lazurian soldiers, Brenner offered to let him join his Battalion. Waylon refused, thinking Brenner overly sentimental and left to find a better life.

They ultimately crossed paths with the mayor of Freehaven again and despite his past shady dealings, Brenner allowed him to join their group. At the same time, Isabella became infected with the Creeper, a dangerous disease that targeted only young people. The mayor demanded that Brenner abandon her, but he was adamant that he never left anyone behind. Ultimately their efforts paid off and they reached the complex safely. There was one final battle with The Beast, but afterwards they were able to cure Isabella and move into the government facility safely. However before they could get settled in, the mayor attempted to force Brenner to leave, knowing that if the majority demanded it, Brenner wouldn't stay where he wasn't welcomed. However the efforts of Brenner and his soldiers had won the loyalty of the civilians and they were allowed to stay.

Rejoining Rubinelle

After securing the facility, Brenner continued to patrol the area for survivors. Eventually he located Davis, one of his former subordinates, who was being attacked by the Lazurians. Brenner came to find out that Admiral Greyfield had reorganized the Rubinelle army into the New Rubinelle Army and that he was calling all Rubinelle military to him. With the promise of ample supplies, Brenner answered the call and brought the civilians with him. He was then able to meet Greyfield as well as reunite with Waylon, who had joined up as a mercenary. Greyfield was not overly impressed with Brenner's old fashioned sentiments, but readily sent him into the front lines of the war.

After Brenner's unit scored their first victory, Greyfield sought to test Brenner's loyalty as well as to undo him by putting him in a battle where extremely unusual orders were given, such as forbidding the use of certain units. Despite these limitations, Brenner still scored a victory over the Lazurians. he was then placed in a battle where he was up against Forsythe on the same battlefield his father had died on. Though the NRA was expected to back him up, Brenner decided they couldn't be counted on and used his own forces to take on Forsythe alone.

During the course of the battle, he contacted Forsythe and spoke of his father's battle against him. Forsythe related that he thought of Brenner's father as a great man - though he never knew his name - and was proud to fight his last battle against his son. When the battle was over, Forsythe agreed to a surrender as long as the lives of his men were spared. Brenner agreed and promised to protect them, but as soon as Admiral Greyfield arrived, he had Forsythe executed and announced the execution of the Lazurians within three hours.

Because of his promise to Forsythe, Brenner ordered Lin to take the surviving Lazurian COs - Tasha and Gage and get them to safety. He stayed behind in a Medium Tank to hold off the enemy, despite Will pleading for him to come with them. Eventually his unit was destroyed and he had to continue on foot with only a pistol. He managed to elude the New Rubinelle forces long enough to find a place to hide, though he had been wounded by this point. He eventually made radio contact with Will. He related to him what had happened so far, but told Will to go on without him and that he'd try to catch up with him. During their final conversation, Greyfield used a fiery weapon supplied by Caulder to wipe out the entire area, killing Brenner and the NRA troops hunting him down. Brenner's last sight was a beautiful light, like that of the sun.

Gameplay

• CO Zone: 3
  • Boosts: All units
  • Effect: Defense up **
• CO Power: Reinforce
  • All units recover 3 HP.

Trivia

• Brenner is the first CO in Campaign Mode to be able to use CO Powers, CO Zone, and CO Units. However this is the last mission before he dies, in which his unit is disabled. This means that his abilities can only be used in Free Mode and Multiplayer.
• Brenner's theme is Hope Never Dies, and Power Up plays when he uses his CO Power.