Name: Staten, Amanda Kathryn (“Kat”)
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Origin: New York City, United States

Appearance: At five feet and ten inches in height, Amanda Kathryn Staten is pretty difficult to miss. If her height doesn’t do it, the blond hair and bright green eyes probably will. If neither of those factors clues you in, look for the boisterous woman in the athletic wear. She usually wears her uniform or something she can move in, without a whole lot in between the two extremes. Anyone she’s stationed with gets used to seeing her in training clothes on her way to or from the gym very quickly.

Kat doesn’t look a whole lot like a pilot at first glance, enough so that more than one unfortunate soul has mistaken her for support personnel. She certainly wouldn’t look out of place as a civilian secretary, though her hair is kept short enough to fit inside her helmet and meet regulatory requirements. It’s a little easier, up close, to see the fit physique required of her career. Despite her youth, she isn’t easily mistaken for a rookie; though largely faded, the scars on her left side and just above her left eye are proof of her history.

Callsign/Codename: Centerfold, gifted by peers during training. Explanation given on request.
Kills: 7. 4/7 in one skirmish, 2005.
Veritech Specs:
Preferred Loadout:
-UUM-7 x2 (One left, one right)
-AMM-1 x1 (Left)
-RMS-1 (Right)
-Strike FAST Pack

Kat was trained as the pilot of an air superiority fighter and that preference bleeds through to her Veritech. She largely eschews air-to-ground capabilities in exchange for a varied and potent air-to-air loadout, maintaining a degree of air-to-ground capabilities solely in the form of her UUMs and FAST Pack cannon. Though she chafes a little at the mandated red and white paintjob, she has taken the liberty of painting kill tallies on her craft’s wings and a rabid-looking rabbit on the nose.

Psychological Analysis: Incredibly energetic. Kat Staten is, in a word, boisterous. She’ll laugh the hardest, yell the loudest, and fight the happiest. She takes a fierce pride in her country and her original branch of service, and will contest anyone claiming to be better. She makes friends easily, brushes off adversity with complete irreverence, and never takes things particularly seriously. ‘Irrepressible’ would be a good adjective, as would ‘stubborn’. It doesn’t matter how silly the contest, Staten never gives in.

A deeper familiarity shows that, while the demeanor she projects isn’t false, there is more to it. The American possesses a keen tactical mind, and an almost ruthless determination in the face of opposition. Anyone that threatens her squadmates or her home is to be eliminated, if they fail to take their chance to back down. Her tactics have been called reckless many times, and tend to demonstrate a distinct lack of fear for her own safety. As much as it tends to get her in trouble, it has also been (grudgingly) admitted to be what makes her an excellent pilot. It doesn’t seem to be unintentional; Kat’s brushes with mortality seem only to have reinforced her convictions. Her all-or-nothing attitude is born of determination rather than ignorance.

No matter what, the people Kat serves with are her family. Anything they need she will go to hell and back to provide, whether on or off the battlefield.

Military Record: Amanda Kathryn Staten was born on December 29th 1984, destined to grow up in a world wracked by the Global War. Anthony Staten, her father, served as a fighter pilot before and after she was born. He was an immense influence on her life, and a significant part of her choice to serve in the military came from following in his footsteps. She was raised to be proud, resolute, and unwavering. Kat excelled in high school, took part in extracurriculars, and did everything she could to ensure that she would be able to follow the path she wanted.

Her enlistment and subsequent training, naturally, was a little hectic. Her enthusiasm tended to net her almost as many lectures as it did commendations, if she got a little too heated, thought a little too far outside the box, or otherwise questioned what she was being taught. Still she avoided any real disciplinary action (if only by knowing which lines to toe), and was able to face her role model with the utmost pride when she was accepted as a pilot candidate. The Global War had died down following the crash on Macross Island, something that had only strengthened her resolve, but she still went into active service as a pilot in a chaotic time. Not everyone was on board with unification in the face of extraterrestrial adversity, and though relatively small in number, these forces were enough to cause problems when they put their mind to it.

Kat was the pilot of an F-16, an air superiority fighter tasked with just that; achieving and maintaining air supremacy for the USAF. Much of her early service was without incident, though she displayed excellent ability in the line of duty. That changed when she was twenty one, near the end of the Anti-Unification forces’ decline.

Acting on orders, Kat and her squadmates were dispatched to neutralize a hostile enemy air force discovered in Indonesia. Their superior’s underestimated the size and capability of the force present, and in the ensuing skirmish with the entrenched AU forces the entire squadron was shot down. Not without inflicting losses on the enemy, but the entrenched resistance was made up in large part of Global War veterans. Staten was the last of her squadron to be shot down, only after shooting down five of the AU aircraft during the course of the battle. After-action reports from her surviving squadmates described her maneuvers both as innovating and “[CENSORED] insane”.

It took four days for US forces to subdue the hostile parties, hidden in Indonesia’s rainforests, as well as recover the surviving pilots from her squadron. Kat herself employed what they had been taught in USAF SERE Training to survive and evade capture.

Her high performance marked her for recruitment as a Veritech pilot, and later for assignment to Fox Squadron.

Name: McKnight, Samuel
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Origin: Manchester, England

Appearance:
Samuel is a fairly tall pilot, standing in a 6' flat. A lean and sinewy pilot possessing a fairly athletic build, with lightly tanned skin. His brown hair is often cut short and out of the way, somewhat longer on the top than the sides, but not by much, and his face is sports a full, but trimmed beard- as not to get too long to interfere with the breathing apparatus that pilots use. Tattooed onto his left temple is a pair of missiles, and on his right shoulder is the phrase 'Queen and Country' along with the wings and wreath of the English Royal Air Force.

Callsign/Codename: Vapor
Kills: 9 Confirmed Kills
Veritech Specs:
McKnight's Valkyrie is painted the standard red and white, with a black stripe going across the center of its body and wingspan. The nose itself has no artwork, but a big arrow is painted on the fuselage pointing at the fuel port.
- Super FAST Pack
- UMM-7 x2
- RMS-1 x4

Psychological Analysis:
Relaxed and laid back, yet competent and acceptably professional, Samuel McKnight is a confident and efficient pilot and current leader of Fox Squadron. A generally good natured man with strong feelings of camaraderie towards teammates, McKnight is fairly friendly, and talkative, often making sarcastic jokes or face-palm worthy puns, but is generally all business with a small side of sass when on the job. McKnight cares little about the for politics and regulations and puts the survivablity of his team above all. As a result, McKnight runs his squadron with considerably less regulation and rules that most squadrons possess. Casually boastful of his abilities, Samuel has a can-do attitude towards most tasks, and expects the rest of his squadron to be able to keep up.

Military Record:
- Born Manchester, England
- Joined the Royal Air Force after College
- Earned callsign "Vapor' after landing a practice jet with less than 100 lbs of fuel in the tank.
- Quallified with the GR4 Tornado, and flew a variety of combat and patrol missions against the Anti-Unification League.
- Was pulled from the RAF and integrated into a new international unit on Macross Island in 2005
- Placing high on most tests, and was placed into Fox Squadron in 2007
- Promoted to Squadron leader in September of 2008 following death of previous squadron leader

Name: Casablancas, Cairo Quince

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Origin: Tel Aviv, Israel [raised maternally in Iruñea, Basque Country)

Appearance: Relatively unassuming in height at only 1.65 meters, Cairo Casablancas nonetheless can manage to overcome her unimpressive stature and muster the aura of "cool fighter pilot." This middling (at best) height, mixed with a love of the squat rack during training, has been a source of constant consternation with Cairo as she aged into the proper harassment years. The multitude of Israeli insignias on her spanking-new bomber jacket, the gigantic tinted lenses of her Aviators, and the brisk, competent nature of her posture, however, are all evidence that there is at least a streak of confidence, pride, and even danger within the young rookie.

Underneath the attire and posturing, Cairo is a pretty, if sullen and unresponsive, young woman, with clear amber skin, straight black hair, and smoldering dark eyes that always seem to be staring balefully at someone in dismay, as though constantly in the process of taking offense or having her fragile ego trampled upon. Her nails are usually painted a black or russet color similar to that of her eyes or skin, and one of her small concessions to vanity is constant, devoted care of her nails and skin health.

Callsign/Codename: Flamenco

Kills: 1

Veritech Specs: Cairo prefers a dogfight and air-to-air capability, utilizing the Dual Strike pack and FAST packs. As much of her Veritech that can be painted red without eschewing the white of Fox Squadron is painted red, and the verse "JUDGES 15:16" printed upon the nose.

Psychological Analysis: Cairo Casablancas isn't sure what to make of people. Through a mix of a naturally aloof personality, personal failures at socialization, and her highly professional way of thinking, the Fox Squadron rookie is her own one-woman circle of trust that seems impossible to pierce. Any trials, tribulations, or secrets she holds in her memory are stored there under lock and key, and any attempts to pry them out will be met only with an icy stare through the lenses of her "prescription" sunglasses. Though she keeps a veneer of politeness up when confronted with the prospect of human company, it is easy to tell that she is not a young woman easily coaxed into displays of extroversion.

It is surprising, then, that Cairo is such a self-assured and confident girl from the cockpit of her VF-1. She communicates calmly and concisely with her fellow Fox pilots and, though careful not to defy orders or needlessly risk a mission, is not above engaging opponents. As dogfights and engagements are her only publicly disclosed hobby, she will gladly open up to the other pilots on the carrier whenever she is asked for her opinion of their battle prowess.

Privately, Cairo Casablancas enjoys boom-bap hip hop, punk music, black comedy, reading science and technology publications, and drinking sambuca or paxtaran with seven coffee beans per shot. She will sometimes break out a bottle of sambuca from her private stock in order to produce a caffè corretto with the help of the coffee makers in the ship's galley.

Military Record:
-Born in Jerusalem, spent childhood back and forth on maternal business trips between Tel Aviv and Basque Country in Spain
-Lived in Tel Aviv full-time at age of thirteen after bullying incident in middle school
-Attended private high school in Tel Aviv; high marks in geometry, history, physical education, and literature, but low marks and disciplinary action regularly taken for lack of participation. No extracurricular clubs or activities
-Caught faking eye condition (fixed due to early adolescent Lasik) to attempt to avoid mandatory military service; nonetheless, test scores, school transcript and physical examinations qualified her for IAF training in Negev Desert
-Successfully completed training and advanced training over three years in F-16 Fighting Falcon test aircraft
-Two IAF flight sim records, one IDF physical fitness record (most squats)

Other Quirks:
-Before job, had part-time job making money in video game tournaments
-Voted "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Craziest Driver" in yearbook superlatives for graduating class of 3400 students
-Despite amount of time spent in Tel Aviv, still speaks with maternal Spanish accent

Name: Ryan Goldman
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Origin: USA, San Francisco

Appearance:
5' 7" tall with short, dark hair that seems to be slightly longer and more messy than regs strictly permit at the best of times. Permanent 5'o'clock shadow. Tanned complexion with a little acne scarring on his otherwise rugged and square-jawed face.
Has a fairly robust build; thick-limbed and wide-shouldered but not fat; just one of those people with a large frame. He's not ugly, he's just not necessarily conventionally handsome and certainly not 'beautiful' to most.
His eyes are a dark green, and have the gleam of his intelligence and smarts to them, and are very expressive.
He has a warm, confident and strong voice with a distinct Californian accent.

Callsign/Codename: Lawnmower

Kills: 5 confirmed enemy kills; two unconfirmed/partial kills; only two of his kills are with missiles against jets, the others are with cannon against rotary-winged aircraft; and one notable one with a laser-guided bomb against a helicopter (based on a real incident!)

Veritech Specs:
Standard VT Loadout; Ryan will always opt for bombs if attacking ground or fixed targets, however, and usually uses the dual strike configuration in space combat.
His veritech has a 'shark mouth' painted on the nose, and 'feed me' written on the gunpod, but otherwise has a standard paint-scheme

Psychological Analysis:
Ryan is a fairly upbeat and positive man. He enjoys the company and camaraderie of military life, and makes friends easily, due to his easy-going nature, politeness and enthusiasm. He also generally likes people, and has a somewhat kindly and empathic outlook, believing that helping those who cannot help themselves and protecting others is a worthy cause. Some would say that this makes him naive in his approach to military life, and he might agree on some days. More often, he sees his duty as the necessity that sometimes you just have to do things you don't like so that others can have a better life.

Ryan is somewhat thoughtful, and has a fair level of intelligence and aptitude. While he is no genius, he is good at reading situations, and often acts as a voice to cut through speculation, complication, and to bring discussion back to the 'here and now' and deal with the immediate situation. Occasionally this means he misses the bigger picture, but often, acting as the voice of reason helps.

He has a good sense of humour and a pleasant demeanour overall, and little patience for those who are cruel to others. He will often be something of a background player in a group, but enjoys being involved and part of any situations, and has a reputation for being doggedly determined, dependable and reliable, both in and out of the cockpit. This somewhat matches his flying style; it isn't fancy or overly elaborate, but is adaptable, driven and determined, and he will always find a way to get through to the target, often breaking the complexities of a mission down into individual goals to push through to gain a successful result, while supporting his allies and wingmates.
He is still somewhat phased and uncertain against aerial targets, and his lack of skill in that arena sometimes gives him pause, or causes him to lack behind his comrades, but his skill and aptitude in facing down ground targets and in interdiction or close-air-support operations is exemplary, given his experience comes from flying ground-attack jets. He is often somewhat defensive of his kill record in this regard as well, as while he hasn't shot down many enemy planes, he often states that if he was able to paint his ground kill record on his jet, it'd be a different story. All the same, he embraces the learning experience, and strives to do well to support his wingmates, and to do all that's asked of him when needed.
He ended up with his callsign from operations during the civil war and afterwards, due to his frequent use of low-altitude flying combined with generous use of his A-10's cannon, his fellow pilots' comments being that if he'd been any lower he'd have been mowing the lawn with it. The name - unfortunately for him - stuck.

Military Record:
- Born in San Francisco USA
- Joined the USAF out of college
- Flew A-10's during the closing days of the Global Civil War
- Interdiction and air-policing missions against the Anti-Unification League after this
- Cross-trained to VF-1 late 2007
- Graduated conversion training 2008 and assigned to combat tactics & evaluation squadron
- Only assigned to Fox Squadron within last few weeks/days

Name: Montgomery Joe

Age: 35 (b. 4th Jan, 1974)

Gender: Male

Origin: Saint Helena and Dependencies, British Overseas Territories

Appearance: Standing at a height of 1.80m, the well-built Montgomery is a very picture of health despite his many years serving in the military. While not conventionally slender, he is in possession of a more athletic, gracile build than robust, and he maintains his shape quite well. His features are noticeably mature and sharp, and the lines from age give him a certain fatherly aura. His eyes are a kindly blue, and his hair a dirty blonde.

Callsign/Codename: Latté

Kills: 10

Veritech Specs: Montgomery's machine is the standard "A" variant of the VF-1 piloted by members of Fox Squadron, with the only major difference between his Valkyrie and those with the standard loadout being the addition of a second fixed Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon, a trait shared with the less common two-seater "D" variant. This minor modification, coupled with his preference for deploying with the FAST Pack, are emblematic of his preference for overwhelming the enemy with as much fire as necessary, and the stereotypically-drawn bomb painted on the nose of his Fox-colours Veritech only serves to reinforce this.

Psychological Analysis: Montgomery Joe is a pretty chill bloke. He's been in the flying business since '95 when he was a RAF lad, so there's not much that phases him after serving in the Global War and against a Birdman the Anti-Unification League. Sure, aliens weren't really on his to-do-list even after transferring into the Spacy, but he sees little difference between them and any other enemy he's faced before. He originally jumped in a plane for the sheer thrill back when he was still wet behind the ears, and there's nothing about the alien threat that would keep him from enjoying the risk and action to his fullest.

It might be off-putting, knowing that his motivator was such a selfish one, but to be putting one's life on the line against an enemy who is doing the same, with a single hit meaning the difference between life and being incinerated beyond recognition as his fighter disintegrates into pieces ... it's just too big of a rush to ignore.

But even if he didn't find it fun, there is one reason that drives him to stop the alien threat no matter what.

Montgomery Joe loves his family. He loves his wife and beloved children. He talks about them all day long. They're his pride and joy, and even though he knows his decisions could easily leave them without a husband and father, he still fights so that their safety is completely certain. He wants to make a world where they won't need to worry about an alien invasion. He's definitely one of the more devoted family blokes you'll see, although his sparkly-eyed recounts of what amazing new thing his baby daughter has pulled off might get a tad annoying from time to time. You'll get used to it, but also make sure not to diss anything relate to the Joes. The guy's a real papa bear when his family is slighted, and you don't wanna see the guy angry.

Otherwise though, he's just an easygoing, casual middle-aged dad, although because he is a dad, he feels like it's his duty to make stupid dad jokes. He knows they aren't funny, but he has to make them. It's the law of the dad. And as a dad, he seems to just have an air of reliability about him that makes him really approachable for advice. And while he doesn't know if his advice might be the best, he'll always be there to give you a push if you need it and help out with whatever ails you. He's a guy you can definitely trust with that.

He drinks a lot of coffee.

Military Record:
-Born in Saint Helena
-Hopped on the first ship out to the United Kingdom when he was 17 and signed up for the RAF
-Trained for four years and graduated as a fighter pilot at 21
-Fought in the Global War under the aegis of the United Kingdom
-Flew missions against the Anti-Unification League up to and until their final defeat in 2005.
-Married in 2001 to long-time girlfriend
-First child was born in 2002
-Second child born in 2007

Name: Dragomira, Kalina
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Origin: Kraków, Poland

Appearance: Kalina stands at just a hair under five feet, or as she strongly insists, "five foot one". Despite her small stature and skinny frame, Kalina is deceptively agile and can move around in tight cramped spaces with ease. Lightly tanned with hazel eyes, she likes to wear her hair to her shoulders, the back end tied off in a ponytail, and when not in uniform she can usually be seen wearing one of several novelty t-shirts. She also has a tattoo depicting the insignia of the 1st Armored Division of Poland on her right shoulder, in honor of her grandfather.

Callsign/Codename: Hyena
Kills: 3 confirmed.
Veritech Specs: Kalina isn't picky about her Valkyrie's loadout and prefers to adapt to the situation, although she has a clear preference for missiles and favors the standard Super FAST Pack. Besides making the red and white paintjob into more of a checkerboard design to imitate the colors of her native country, the color scheme of her Veritech is largely the same, with the addition of a snarling hyena on the nose and the phrase Za wolność naszą i Waszą written underneath.

Psychological Analysis: Kalina is a chaotic good if there ever was one. Fiendishly clever and charming, she is constantly on the move and doing something, whether it's fine-tuning her equipment for the next battle, hanging out and training with her squad, or just adding to her impressive collection of comic book and movie ephemera. Possessing clear talent but somewhat lacking in real experience, she can always be counted on to tackle a problem in an unexpected way, both in and out of the cockpit of her Veritech. While this has lead to her reputation for being unruly, as she will happily ignore orders from distant authorities to complete an objective if she spots an opening, she is still fiercely loyal to her squad-mates and to anyone who fights for freedom like she does. That sort of respect, coupled with her natural ability and unpredictable tactics, make it easy to overlook her impressive record of insubordination.

Her nickname is a holdover from her service in the Air Forces of Poland. On one of her first missions during the Black Sea Crisis, she saved her squad leader by performing an extremely dangerous dive bomb maneuver on an enemy fighter to attack from an appropriately unpredictable angle, scoring her first ever kill. The stress of combat combined with the stress of the G-forces she was subjected to pulling out of said dive caused her to burst into manic laughter, earning her the call sign Hyena.

Military Record:
-Born and raised in Kraków. Her Father served with distinction in the Land Forces while her Grandfather was a member of the 1st Armored Division.
-Enlisted in Land Forces and initially trained as helicopter pilot.
-Nearly discharged for insubordination but was instead transferred to Air Forces. Excellent test scores in spite of behavior qualified her for training.
-Flew MiG-29's in the later wars of the Anti-Unification League. Served with distinction in the Black Sea Crisis and the Battle of Zosin.
-Began training for VF-1 after recommendation from superiors, selected as potential recruit for Fox Squadron after training was finished.