Samuel Ackerman
S.C.A.F. Soldier of Tau Volantis
Private Samuel Ackerman was a Sovereign Colonies soldier who survived the 2314 Necromorph outbreak on Tau Volantis long enough to help retrieve the Codex before he was killed by falling wreckage.
Private Samuel Ackerman was a soldier of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces present during the Necromorph outbreak on Tau Volantis in 2314. In the colony's final days he survived a bunker siege and helped retrieve the Codex sought by Dr. Earl Serrano, only to be killed by falling wreckage.
Tau Volantis#
Sam Ackerman was assigned in 2311 to the 41st Engineering Unit on the Sovereign Colonies colony of Tau Volantis, where the S.C.A.F. supported the archaeological and research work on the frozen world. When the Necromorph outbreak tore through the colony, Sam and other survivors set up a defensive perimeter in Facility RS-9, believing they could outlast the outbreak within the bunker. After they cleared the facility of Necromorphs and piled the bodies to prepare their defenses, Sam realized the group's rations had spoiled, leaving them with no food.
The siege and the Codex#
As his comrades succumbed and began turning into Feeders, they begged Sam to let them in so they could eat him. He barricaded himself in a communications room near the bunker's elevator and sent out a distress call to anyone left alive in the colony, then disabled the elevator to trap the infected behind him. Dr. Earl Serrano answered and asked him to link up with Private Tim Caufman, who was on a mission to recover the Codex. Sam met Caufman, and the two pressed on together. After hours of fruitless searching, Sam doubted that anything they did could stop the outbreak, but Caufman pushed forward, following Serrano's waypoint up a mountain to a crashed ship called the Mule. Despite the infected aboard the wreck, they located and secured the Codex.
Death#
The moment they recovered the Codex, the Mule began to break apart from the damage of its crash, forcing Sam and Caufman to rappel down the cliff. The disintegrating ship sent debris raining down and severed their lines, sending the two tumbling down the mountainside. Though Sam dodged most of the burning wreckage, including a piece of the ship's engines, he was killed by falling debris near the bottom of the cliff. Caufman was executed by General Spencer Mahad moments later, who then purged the Codex's information and took his own life as part of Scenario Five.
Character#
Sam was above all a cynic. He called the search for the Codex hopeless, judged that he and Caufman were both too inexperienced for it, and joked that when they found ammunition at least they could shoot one another before they froze to death. For all his complaining he was resourceful and determined, having survived several days trapped in a confined bunker, hiding from his infected comrades with little or no food, before setting out to find the Codex.
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Samuel Ackerman?
- Private Samuel Ackerman was a soldier of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces assigned to the 41st Engineering Unit on the frozen world of Tau Volantis, in support of the archaeological and research operations there. He was present during the Necromorph outbreak that overran the S.C.A.F. colony in 2314.
- How did Samuel Ackerman survive the outbreak?
- Sam and other survivors fortified Facility RS-9, but after they cleared it the group's rations spoiled and his comrades, turning into Feeders, begged to eat him. He barricaded himself in a communications room, disabled the elevator to trap them, and held out for days until he answered a call from Dr. Earl Serrano.
- How did Samuel Ackerman die?
- Linking up with Private Tim Caufman, Sam helped retrieve the Codex from the wreck of the ship called the Mule. As they rappelled down the mountain, the Mule exploded and rained debris on them, severing their lines, and Sam was killed by the falling wreckage near the bottom of the cliff.
Sources
- WikiSamuel Ackerman — Dead Space Wiki entry
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Related entries
Earl Serrano
Doctor Earl Serrano was the Sovereign Colonies Science Division''s Civilian Head of Archeology who led the Tau Volantis expedition from 2311 to 2314. He uncovered the truth of the alien Machine and the Brethren Moons before dying on the frozen world, leaving behind logs found two centuries later.
Spencer Mahad
Spencer Mahad was a Major General of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces who commanded the military forces of the Tau Volantis Expedition. When the Necromorph outbreak spiraled out of control, he carried out the Scenario Five kill order and took his own life.
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