Rebecca Crane

"The Templars might have deeper pockets than us, but they've got no ambition, no passion, no competitive edge! That's why, even with all their resources, anything they can do, I can do better. Faster too."

- Rebecca Crane.

Rebecca Crane was a modern-day Assassin and the creator of the Animus 2.0 - which she affectionately referred to as "Baby."

She was a part of Lucy Stillman's team, who concentrated on acquiring the Pieces of Eden before Abstergo Industries would, as well as training Desmond Miles through the use of the Bleeding effect. She was the person who provided technical support for the other members of the Assassin Order alongside her fellow Assassin, Shaun Hastings.

Early life
"Nah, I was into sports, but then I broke my leg and started playing with computers. Who knew that coding could be just as exhilarating as strapping on a board and dropping out of a helicopter?"

- Rebecca Crane

Rebecca was one of the few Assassins who weren't born into the Assassin Order, but were recruited instead. Prior to joining the Order, Rebecca engaged in sports, including extreme snowboarding and skydiving. However, when she broke her leg, she began pursuing an interest in computers during her recovery, and found coding to be as exhilarating as her previous hobbies. Rebecca also dated an electronics engineer before she was contacted by the Assassins.

Some time after her own recruitment into the Order, Rebecca was responsible for the recruitment of Shaun. Since he had discovered the Abestergo's secrets, Shaun had begun spreading the word about their plans, thus provoking unwanted attention. Rebecca attempted to warn him off, saying that he was "messing with the wrong people," though Shaun did not believe her and continued his work. Shaun later admitted that he would have wound up at the bottom of a river had Rebecca not stepped in to save his life, and bring him into the Order.

Rebecca was also an old friend of Lucy Stillman, though the two did not see each other for seven years after 2005, during which Lucy worked at Abstergo. The two only reunited in 2012, after Desmond's and Lucy's escape from Abstergo's laboratories.

At one point, Desmond asked Rebecca if she had ever used the Animus to learn about her ancestors, at which she commented that the lives she had relived were "lame" compared to those of Desmond's ancestors. She elaborated on this, complaining on how boring it had been spending the whole day firing guns as a Prussian mercenary.

Hiding out
"Here we go. I've got you all hooked up. Got a long drive ahead of us. Figured you might want to play around with the Animus on the way."

- Rebecca after leaving the Hideout

In the Hideout, Rebecca served as technical support for the Animus 2.0, ensuring that nothing went wrong with the machine, or with Desmond's interaction with it. She often left notes within the Database articles that Shaun created, usually when the entries were locations that held Glyphs or Assassin's Tombs.

After Lucy had given her the memory core of the Abstergo Animus, Rebecca excitedly integrated it with her own; successfully - albeit accidentally - also transferring the encrypted files that Subject 16 had left behind in Ezio Auditore da Firenze's memories.

At the irregular moments when Desmond exited the Animus for a break, Rebecca would speak to him about the Order, and his progress with the machine; once approvingly telling him that he was a natural.

Shortly after Desmond received the warning from Minerva, Abstergo found and broke into the hideout. Rebecca helped Shaun pack up the Animus gear, while Desmond and Lucy held off the Abstergo guards. As they escaped in a van, Rebecca managed to set up the Animus within it, which allowed Desmond to enter the Animus again, finishing any remaining memories while on their way to a safe location up north.

Stay in Monteriggioni
"Wait a minute guys. We need power down here. There's a line nearby that I can hook into but the wattage is weak."

- Rebecca in the Sanctuary

After the team had arrived at Monteriggioni and gained access to the Sanctuary, Rebecca was again responsible for the Animus and their other equipment. To power the underground chamber, Rebecca gave Desmond several devices of her own making, which would re-route small amounts of power to their new base, upon being attached to circuit boxes across the town.

Throughout their stay in the Villa Auditore, Rebecca regularly sent e-mails to her teammates, usually involving minor matters, such as her missing MP3 player, and how Shaun had stolen Lucy's yogurt. She also informed Lucy, seemingly worried, that Desmond had been yelling in his sleep.

Journey to the Colosseum
"Those beams poking out of the wall look like switches. If you hit all of them, you might get some power to the central platform."

- Rebecca in the Colosseum vault

When Desmond found out the location of the Apple, and the team had arrived at the Colosseum, Lucy took Rebecca and Shaun on an alternative route through Capitoline Hill at Shaun's suggestion, as he and Rebecca did not possess the necessary free-running abilities to reach the Apple's location. When Juno spoke to Desmond, Rebecca - along with Shaun and Lucy - could neither hear nor see her.

As Desmond retrieved the Apple, he was taken over by the "goddess," and forced to stab Lucy. However, once Juno relinquished her control, Rebecca and Shaun appeared physically unharmed.

Presiding over Desmond
After Lucy´s death and William Miles's arrival, Rebecca presided over the comatose Desmond, who had been placed back into the Animus. After Desmond had relived Ezio's search for Da Vinci and his adventures in Constantinople, Ezio managed to regain his conciousness. When he woke up, the Animus had once again been placed inside a van, and Rebecca occupied her usual spot besides him, keeping an eye on the machine and Desmond's health.

Characteristics and personality
"Look, it's not ideal. And taking a life is never easy. But sometimes there's no other way. Sometimes, Desmond, people have to die for things to change."

- Rebecca speaking about an Assassin's duties.

Rebecca was an energetic, and somewhat immature young woman. Also, despite the fact that she had saved his life multiple times, Shaun was quick to belittle and gibe at her; though she would rarely be provoked. At one point, when she commented about a movie as Shaun was speaking of the historical background of the Bonfire of the Vanities, he irritably told her to be quiet since "the grownups are talking."

Rebecca was rather tolerant and optimistic, representing a foil to Shaun's more cynical and brash personality. As the polar opposite of her colleague, she was friendly and talkative. She showed great pride in her work, praising her redesign of the Animus as having a far more enlightened and creative construct; a "competitive edge" as she called it.

She also remained convinced that, despite Shaun's dubiousness of their methods, the Assassins were, as Desmond put it, "the good guys."

Trivia

 * The name "Rebecca" is derived from the Arabic name "Rifqah," which means "company."
 * When in the Animus 2.0, Rebecca adds information to the database using the name REBECCAC84. This username holds her first name and the initial of her last name.
 * Her e-mail password is Snowmass84, likely to reflect her previous hobby.
 * Based on her usernames, she may have been born in the year 1984.
 * In one of her e-mails, Rebecca talks about sometimes missing her family, and her dog.
 * Rebecca was originally intended to have shorter hair in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, though this was reverted for the actual game.
 * In Brotherhood, it is suggested that Rebecca is a reckless driver, as when she offers to drive the van, Shaun refuses, saying, "Ah, nice try. I've seen your car."
 * It is implied that Rebecca is either a vegan or vegetarian, as she calls Desmond a "carnivore" after seeing him eat a burger.