[b]Character Name[/b]: Lonnie Fall

[b]Nickname/callsign[/b]: “Argo”

[b]Age[/b]: 31

[b]Nationality[/b]: British South African

[b]Gender[/b]: Male

[b]Bio[/b]: Lonnie was born the only child of British missionaries working in South Africa. His father was a pilot who flew small turbo-props for a larger international, Christian relief organization while his mother worked as a nurse and aid. However the increasing violence of the area caused them to flee while Lonnie was still at a very young age. They transferred to another charter working in New Dehli, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.

Lonnie’s father eventually gave up the mission work as more steady income was available from the various Himalayan tourist charter and cargo companies. It was in this atmosphere that he gained his first fascination and experience with flying as he rode the jumpseat in turbo DC-3’s and Twin Otters as his father navigated mountain passes and the rapidly changing conditions of mountain flying.  

In this isolated world, Lonnie learned to fly young under his father’s tutelage and began making his own passenger and cargo runs daily after homeschooling sessions from his mother. The Dehavilland Beaver was his first steady mount and he regularly looked forward to the dirt strips and crosswind landings. He found that strangely he personally cared little for the cargo or even the passengers from time to time. It was a fault in himself that he kept isolated. Only the sound of engine and the challenge of the flight was what kept him rapt though his Christian upbringing taught him better. 

Continued experience brought him up to true mountain flying and the turbo PC-6. He became a master of the passes as a teenager, but though he enjoyed the flying he continued to feel less satisfied with the work and went on through the few channels available to get into jets. The training took him away from home, but he found the complex systems more to his liking and enjoyed the added challenge of true instrument flying. 

During the early outbreak of the Yerril war, Lonnie was flying a regular business charter across China and Southeast Asia ferrying businessmen and dignitaries in a Gulfstream G5. He was forced to evade a group of Yerril attackers and using every ounce of maneuverability the business jet could muster, sheer luck and heavy cloud cover, managed to land the over-stressed frame in Paro, Bhutan. One of the shaken, but grateful dignitaries on board insisted that his abilities were being wasted in private aviation and made the appropriate connections to have him absorbed into a Russian training squadron flying the Mig-29.

Lonnie was apprehensive at first. He had no experience in pure, high-performance aircraft, but the early war effort had claimed many of the Asian world’s most skilled pilots. He was neither intimidated nor afraid of the Yerril, but more concerned that he alone would not be the “best”. For the first time in his flying career he would encounter those that were just as good, if not better than he was at flying a plane.

Training was hasty and brutal at the hands of Russian instructors and he questioned whether or not he had made the right decision, but the flying was incredible. The Mig-29 was not nearly as sophisticated as the Gulfstream, but the speeds were blinding. It was a simple machine and they emphasized hit and run tactics using ambush and surprise. The Dicta Boelke was strictly enforced and they flew in flights of four.  

The rugged cynicism of the commanders and his growing distance from home life had taken him far from his Christian roots as a missionary kid flying cargo runs after classes for extra spending money. His demeanor became grim and shaped by pulling the nose on Yerril at every opportunity. He came to enjoy slaughtering them and his squadron nicknamed the the [i]Bratva[/i] or "Brotherhood" became increasingly notorious known primarily for their fast angular attacks and high ambushes out of the sunlight. In the last year of fighting before the Yerril were forced back through the portal, the squadron was consolidated and upgraded to Mig-31s to match their tactics. 

In the formation of the Expeditionary units, Lonnie was selected to be pulled for various reasons both professional and political. As a quasi-mercenary his continued employment by the Russian and Chinese governments was considered a small blemish in need of remedy to Western selectors. He initially rejected the posting and threatened to return to the bush. The compromise was that he keep the Mig-31 and continue on through the portal, which was precisely what he wanted- to be the fastest man on the other side of the gate.

[b]Personality[/b]: Lonnie's excitement for the military has faded and after years in the coalition forces he has become jaded. Not to be considered a stick in the mud by any means, he enjoys the same pursuits as most males of his age: women, alcohol, competition, but he has come to love war better. In short, the continuing conflict on the other side of the portal was the best thing that could have happened for him. 

His humor is often dark and sarcastic and will play a large role in his seemingly terminal rank as merely a group CO when others of his age, qualifications and seat-time have moved on to division commander or higher. New pilot recruits often find him and his methods unusual, but his piloting experience invaluable. A senior officer once described him as, "a thoroughly unscrupulous young thug... he would be just as happy fighting for the Yerril against the Expeditionary." 

[b]Appearance[/b]: Lonnie stands about 5’11” and is of a well-built body type. He tries to work out fairly regularly and most people would comment that he takes decent care of himself. He has some visible muscle definition around his arms and midsection. Forearms are very taught from handling control surfaces for years. Women tend to notice that he has one green and one brown eye that are sullen from years of scanning horizons and squinting against the sun. There are already visible lines showing around the edges. Facial features are proportionally framed, but he has a slight hereditary crook in his nose. There’s often a layer of stubble every other day as daily shaving aggravates his nickel allergy. Hair is unkempt dirty-blonde and often tousled to one side or the other from a slight widow’s peak He only gets a haircut about every two to three months. 

[b]Personal Gear[/b]: Wears an old, very worn dark blue Dehavilland Canada baseball cap when he’s out of flying kit. One of the few things he holds on to religiously. Flight suit is the standard Russian grey/green g-suit and a powder blue helmet with the same artwork on the back as carried on the side of the plane along with various other decals from his travels.

[b]Aircraft[/b]: [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-31]MiG-31BSM[/url] 

[b]Aircraft Colours[/b]: [url=http://www.hispaviacion.es/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/MIG31.jpg]Standard Russian Ghost-Grey with matte black around the cockpit and vertical stabilizers, dark grey nose cone.[/url] Number “85” in red on the side of the nose, heat baked paint from high-speed operations, faded Russian red star on the tail and Expeditionary markings, [url=http://mototraveller.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/171398204.jpg] a grey/weathered image of the Norse god, Surtr, sitting on the sun holding a sword[/url] on the portside intake.

[b]Character Theme[/b]: R.E.M. – [i][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN6COMGXurk] The One I Love[/url][/i]