Jack Weeks

Shay: "Is it just me or did the boss tell us to make trouble?"

Weeks: "Enjoy it while you can, Shay."

—Shay Cormac and Jack Weeks, 1759.

Jack Weeks (born 1723) was an African-American member of the British and Colonial Rites of the Templar Order. He was also an ancestor to James Weeks, the founder of Weeksville, Brooklyn.

Born to escaped slaves, Weeks became a thief in his youth to survive on the streets of Albany, until an encounter with the Templar Christopher Gist, who took Weeks under his wing and introduced him to his Order. Initially working for the Templars as an errand boy, Weeks was formally inducted into the Order in 1751 and served under Master Templar Lawrence Washington.

After Washington's death, Weeks began assisting Colonel George Monro, who introduced him to Shay Cormac, a former Assassin who had turned his back on his Brotherhood. Weeks worked alongside Shay on several occasions throughout the Seven Years' War and, following Shay's departure from America in 1760, took part in the purge of the Colonial Brotherhood.

Biography

Early life

Weeks was born in Albany in 1723 to escaped Virginian slaves. His parents taught him to be independent and use any opportunity to improve his own conditions. At the age of ten, Weeks became a pickpocket and thief at the local markets.

At one point, Weeks attempted to pickpocket the explorer and Templar Christopher Gist. Although Weeks was caught in the act, Gist was impressed by the boy's audacious attitude and hired him as an errand boy. Gist brought him along on his travels and taught him about trading as well as how to imitate people of various social status and origins.

In 1750, Gist was hired to explore the lands west of the Thirteen Colonies, and therefore introduced Weeks to his fellow Templar, Colonel George Monro. Gist suggested that Monro take on Weeks as his assistant. Impressed by Weeks' cleverness and flexibility, Monro taught him about the Templars and their goals. Weeks appreciated Monro's intelligence and agreed with the Templar ideals of order and purpose.

When Gist was officially inducted into the Templar Order in 1751, Monro agreed to induct Weeks as well. Although Weeks was appreciated by his fellow Templars, according to Gist, he had trouble getting along with James Wardrop.

Meeting with Washington

Lawrence: "My brother is a bright spot in a troubled land. If I may make one request before I depart this life, please leave him in peace. He should have nothing to do with the troubles of the Templar cause."

Weeks: "We all respect that sentiment, sir."

—Lawrence Washington and Weeks during the meeting at Mount Vernon, 1752.

Weeks and his fellow Templars meeting with Lawrence Washington

In July 1752, Weeks, Wardrop and Samuel Smith met with their leader, Lawrence Washington, at his home in Mount Vernon. Already dying of tuberculosis, Washington asked his fellow Templars to keep his brother, George, out of the affairs of their Order. Weeks assured him that they all respected his wishes.

Washington had previously entrusted the Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript to Smith and Wardrop, respectively. The two informed him that they were fully occupied with making the artifacts work.

As Weeks, Smith and Wardrop left, Washington was killed by the Assassin Shay Cormac. With Shay preoccupied with Washington's death, Weeks and the others narrowly escaped him. Following this, Weeks remained in the company of Monro most of the time.

Meeting Shay Cormac

"Shay, was it? Congratulations, you just burned a whole lot of rats out of New York. I'm Jack Weeks, this is William Johnson. I don't know about him, but I'm pleased to meet you."

―Weeks introducing himself and Johnson to Shay, 1756.

Weeks meeting Shay Cormac

In 1756, following a disastrous mission to Lisbon, Shay betrayed the Assassin Order and was severely wounded in the process. Men from Monro's regiment found him unconscious and he was brought under the care of Barry and Cassidy Finnegan in New York. While Weeks and Monro's fellow Templar William Johnson strongly objected to rescuing the Assassin, the Colonel suspected that he had left his Order behind.

After Shay began working with Monro and Gist, he destroyed a poison manufacturing facility in New York belonging to the gangs allied with the Assassins. As Shay met with Monro and Gist on a nearby rooftop, they were approached by Weeks and Johnson. Weeks introduced himself and Johnson to Shay, congratulating him on destroying the factory. The Templars then went to a tavern to celebrate their victory.

Siege of Fort William Henry

"The Abenaki are restless. They don't understand the terms of surrender and refuse to heed Montcalm. The Colonel and his men were released this morning. They're walking into an ambush..."

―Weeks meeting Shay at Marais Rocheux, 1757.

Weeks meeting with Shay at Marais Rocheux

In August 1757, Monro and his men were forced to surrender after the siege of Fort William Henry. The French commander Louis-Joseph de Montcalm allowed the British to retreat with full arms. However, the French's Abenaki allies under the Assassin Kesegowaase soon broke the terms of the surrender and prepared to ambush Monro and his men.

At this time, Weeks camped at Marais Rocheux, awaiting reinforcements from Johnson. As Shay arrived, Weeks explained the surrender and that Monro was walking into an ambush. While Shay went to rescue Monro, Weeks stayed behind to wait for Johnson's reinforcements.

As Shay and Monro boarded the former's ship, the Morrigan, Weeks and Gist waited aboard. Seeing Kesegowaase and his men headed towards the ship, Weeks threw a powder barrel at them. Shay shot the barrel, scarring Kesegowaase's face. As they sailed away, Weeks told Monro that he would accompany him to Johnson's trading post at Onaquaga.

Weeks informing Shay of Kesegowaase's plans

Some time after, Shay met with them there. Weeks informed Shay and Monro that Kesegowaase was preparing an attack on Albany, and his men were holding an Oneida village hostage, while the French had entered British territory. While Weeks and Monro prepared the defenses in Albany, Shay gathered allies by freeing the village and delaying the French forces.

During the attack on Albany, Shay killed Kesegowaase, although Monro himself was killed by the Assassin Liam O'Brien, who took the Voynich manuscript from him. After Monro's death, Weeks was present at Shay's induction into the Templar Order.

Bringing down the Assassins

Weeks: "The fort holds many prisoners... Get in and hoist the gang's colors. When you do, I'll free them."

Shay: "You're going to free a bunch of criminals working with the Assassins?"

—Weeks and Shay discussing the former's plan, 1759.

In October 1759, Shay learned that the Assassins were preparing to launch an expedition to another First Civilization site. He informed Templar Grand Master Haytham Kenway, who insisted that they be stopped. Shay explained that the authorities were doing little to bring down Hope Jensen's Assassin-allied gangs.

Weeks then suggested that they impersonate Hope's men and commit a large-scale robbery in order to receive the attention of the authorities. Haytham approved the plan, and Weeks instructed Shay to kill the gang members so they could take their clothes.

Shay and Weeks in their disguises

Changing into their new outfits, Weeks told Shay to steal the British soldiers' salaries from Fort George and raise the gangs' flag, while Weeks himself freed imprisoned gang members. The plan worked, and the gangs were brought down once and for all. This allowed the Templars to chase down the Assassin expedition.

After a confrontation at an Isu temple in the Arctic, Liam O'Brien was killed and Achilles Davenport was left crippled and without a Brotherhood. While Shay was assigned with recovering the Precursor box, Weeks was tasked to help Gist in eradicating any remaining traces of the Assassins in the colonies.

One of Weeks' descendants, James Weeks, would go on to found a neighborhood in New York called Weeksville in 1838.

Personality and traits

Weeks: "What if we were to impersonate her men? We could commit a crime so big, they couldn't ignore those damned brigands anymore."

Haytham: "That sounds like an excellent plan, Jack. Make it so."

—Haytham approving Weeks' plan, 1759.

The son of two escaped slaves, Weeks was raised to be independent and use any opportunity to improve his own conditions. As a thief, Weeks was streetwise from an early age, and had a haughty attitude during his younger days. This impressed Christopher Gist enough for him to take the young man on as a protégé.

Weeks relaying his plan to Shay and Haytham

Under Gist's tutelage, Weeks learned how to imitate people of various social status and origins. When Weeks was introduced to George Monro, the Colonel was likewise fascinated by his wit, and told the young man about the Templars and their ideals. Admiring the Colonel, Weeks found himself agreeing with the Templar goals of order and structure. Unlike Templars such as William Johnson, Weeks was quick to see Shay Cormac as a valuable and trustworthy ally, despite his former allegiance to the Assassins. Upon meeting him after the siege of Fort William Henry, Weeks voiced his relief at seeing Shay, and trusted him to protect Monro from a native ambush.

Despite living in a time of great prejudice against men of color, Weeks was accepted among the Templars, who valued his intelligence and cunning. Weeks was a capable tactician, able to gain a quick overview of a tactical situation. When Kesegowaase planned an attack on Albany, Weeks assisted Monro in preparing the defenses of the town.

Weeks' great tactical acumen was demonstrated when he almost immediately formulated a plan to provoke the authorities to action against the Assassin gangs by robbing a fort under the guise of gang members, while also freeing actual gang members.

Behind the scenes

Jack Weeks is a character created for the 2014 video game Assassin's Creed: Rogue, where he was portrayed by American actor Ralph Prosper.

Gallery

• 
  An untextured render of Weeks' head
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  Database image of Jack Weeks
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  Weeks speaking with Monro aboard the Morrigan
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  Shay meeting with Weeks and Monro at Onaquaga
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  Weeks at Shay's induction into the Templar Order
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  Weeks and Shay observing their successful ruse

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Rogue

References

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