Crusade: People: Captain Matthew Gideon
Matthew Gideon is the captain of the Excalibur, and humanities’ last hope to find a cure for the Drakh plague.
Matthew Gideon is the captain of the Excalibur, and humanities’ last hope to find a cure for the Drakh plague. So needless to say, he has a very high pressure job. Before taking command of the Excalibur, he worked aboard an Explorer class vessel, meeting new species and exploring the unknown universe. Gideon is also a compulsive gambler.
If you were to meet Gideon in a pub, you would see him in the… well actually you wouldn’t see him. That’s because he’d be in the smoke filled back room playing cards. He’d most likely have only a single beer, because anything else would distract him from his game. He’d also be taking everyone’s money, through his uncanny ability to read people and bluff.
Gideon started out as a young enthusiastic ensign aboard the Cerebus. But one day the ship was attacked by the shadows(?) or possibly “the hand”. He was ordered to go outside and help repair the damage, but as soon as he was far enough from the ship, the ship tried to make a jump to safety, instead it was destroyed first. Gideon was left in open space to die, that is until Galen came along and rescued him.
After that incident he started playing with chance a lot, and hence the gambling addiction. This would be a problem almost people except he’s good at cards. In one card game he won an item called the Apocalypse Box. This alien artifact 
tells him lots of information that is useful to him. But it has the downside of lying just enough to throw him off once and a while. Gideon used this box to make contact with the most new species out of any Earth Force captain in history, and currently uses it to help find a cure for the plague.
Gideon is a thinking mans’ captain. Like his card games, he’s constantly finding innovative strategies to overcome problems. He has a very results oriented attitude, and rarely cares what has to happen to get the job done. This is one of the qualities that made Sheriden personally choose him for the position of captain of the Excalibur.
Gideon is played by Gary Cole.
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