Commander Rourke, also known by the codename Paladin One, is the leader of Trinity's military forces and second-in-command to Dr. Pedro Dominguez.
He is the secondary antagonist in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Rourke was a highly decorated U.S. Special Forces soldier with a spotless record of successful black ops around the world. Trinity approached Rourke to recruit him to lead their military forces based on his reputation alone. In his new position, Rourke answered only to Trinity's High Council and served as the second-in-command to Dr. Pedro Dominguez. Though he did not always agree with Dominguez's orders, the two developed a grudging mutual respect for each other.
Rise of the Tomb Raider[]
Rourke was in contact with Konstantin during the search for the Divine Source, warning him of what would happen should he fail. Upon the destruction of the Divine Source, he ordered the assassination of Ana for her failure. Though on Dominguez's orders he was told not to have Lara killed yet, which he relayed on to the shooter via a radio[1]. He deeply regretted following this order.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider[]
Rourke traveled to Cozumel, Mexico along with Dr. Dominguez in order to retrieve the Key of Chak Chel. Ordering his men via radio to keep an eye out for Lara. Upon finding Lara, he took the Key of Chak Chel from her, leaving Lara alive on Dominguez's orders.
He traveled to Peru with Dominguez and several battalions of Trinity's soldiers, becoming more and more enraged at Lara's continued success at slaughtering his men and thwarting Trinity's plans.
Rourke was sent after the Shield of the Age Maker by Dominguez, as it would assist him solidify his rule in Paititi. While searching for it, Rourke again ran into Lara, who had managed to reach the shield first. Rourke ordered his men to kill Lara and left[2].
When Lara and Unuratu investigated the tomb of Paititi's emperors in search of clues to the Silver Box of Ix Chel, Rourke and a squad of Trinity troops arrived and tried to eliminate them. Unuratu managed to kill the Trinity soldiers with her bow, but was shot and killed by Rourke.
Later, after Lara and Jonah Maiava were ambushed by a Trinity Cardinal attack helicopter, Rourke identified Lara's comms channel and took the opportunity to taunt her while his forces hunted her through the Porvenir Oil Fields. Lara proved resilient, so Rourke lied to her that his forces have tracked down and killed Jonah in order to lure her into a trap. Rourke is eventually called away by Dominguez and left Winters to deal with Lara, but he ultimately failed.
When the final battle with Trinity begins, Rourke takes part in the defense in City of the Serpent, rallying Trinity to protect Dominguez and the High Council during Dominguez' final ritual. He manned a paladin tank, and once again encountered Lara, who had brought the Yaaxil and Crimson Fire as reinforcements. Lara killed the Trinity soldiers surrounding Rourke's tank, and he quickly ran out of ammunition while trying to fight off the Yaaxil. As he tried to reload, Crimson Fire and the Yaaxil swarmed Rourke, mauling the commander to death as Lara looked on.
Gallery[]
