*Appears out of thin air.* Did I hear "fighters"?

[hider=Character Sheets]
[hider=Pilot]

[b]Name:[/b] Astrid Weiss

[b]Callsign:[/b] Wildfire - Obtained rather unceremoniously when she stumbled during a squadron cookout, tipped the grill over and set herself on fire.

[b]Age:[/b] 31

[b]Born:[/b] 21/10/1994, Hamburg, Germany

[b]Species:[/b] Human

[b]Nationality:[/b] German

[hider=Appearance]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/TLpSsoW.png[/img]
Standing at 168 cm (5'5") and weighing 59 kg (130 lb) with a wiry build. Frequently seen looking like she just rolled out of bed.
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[b]Personality:[/b]
Outside of a cockpit, Astrid is a stout patriot with a sarcastic streak and a brain to mouth filter that works on a part-time basis. Heard sooner than seen, Astrid takes her extroverted nature and makes it everyone else's problem, especially her WSO who "...needs to get out of his damn comfort zone". Shaped by the fighter pilot culture, she sees her peers as a caste above others, something that usually shines through when she runs out of patience with someone.
Inside a fighter or during other life threatening situations, Astrid becomes quiet and laser focused, the letter being equal parts good and bad as she may fixate less important things when left without direction.

[b]Personal History:[/b]
Born to a Bundeswehr Tiger pilot and a historian, there was little doubt of where Astrid’s path would lead. Names of superheroes and fairy tale characters meant little to her, her childhood heroes were the likes of Yi Sun-sin and Franz Stigler. It was the latter’s tale - and her father’s stylish uniform - that first paved the way to museums and airshows since 4, a nearby general aviation field for ultralight pilot’s license at 15 and a private pilot’s license at 17. She obtained a bachelor's degree in information technologies and finally joined the Luftwaffe at 21. Astrid was an average student in the classroom, but she led the class whenever she was in the flight seat and graduated to active status in 2016, flying the Panavia Tornado IDS.

Astrid had been airborne when the asteroids hit, her squadron relocating away from expected impact sites. After landing, she and her WSO Gerhard didn't even have time to get out of the plane. Instead a refueler threw a bag with water, sandwiches and some maps into the cockpit and asked for current fuel status as armorers were outfitting the fighter for combat, something that would become an unfortunate trend during the Eltherian-Human War.

Astrid was forced to sit out the early stages of Operation Prometheus due to appendicitis, only joining the efforts once she'd been cleared by doctors and SaR found her MIA copilot, in Switzerland of all places. They continued to fly without incident for the remainder of the war, but their squadron fell victim to postwar reorganization and both were recommended for the Knights.

[b]Personal Weapons/Gear:[/b][list]
[*]H&K USP Compact (9x19 mm)
[*]H&K MP7A1, taclight
[*]KM2000 combat knife
[*]Location-appropraite dictionary[/list] 
[/hider]
[hider=WSO]
[b]Name:[/b] Gerhard Hauer

[b]Callsign:[/b] Magellan - Awarded due to his atrocious sense of direction.

[b]Age:[/b] 34

[b]Born:[/b] 11/08/1991, Regensburg, Germany

[b]Species:[/b] Human

[b]Nationality:[/b] German

[hider=Appearance]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/IPutifY.png[/img]
183 cm (6'0") and 77 kg (169 lb) of German steel, easily mistakable for a gym rat out of uniform. Puts a lot of effort into his appearance.
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[b]Personality:[/b]
A studious, methodical type, Gerhard is never in a hurry, or at least appears that way. On the quiet side for a fighter jock, though no stranger to the odd verbal spat as anyone disparaging backseaters within earshot would attest, he's of the opinion that his extroverted pilot should "Shut up for a minute and make the zone comfortable."
His biggest asset is retaining his cool when things start moving fast, having in fact been paired with Astrid to reign her in when she starts going blood-knight in the cockpit and focusing on the wrong things. Strangely, he becomes more talkative in a fight in order to ensure everyone has all of the necessary information and nothing is skipped.

[b]Personal History:[/b]
An aviation enthusiast since an early age, Gerhard's been building model kits with his father and older brother as soon as he could read the instructions. After obtaining a master's degree in meteorology at 23, he joined the Luftwaffe, seeing it as an easy way of getting the qualifications necessary to become an airline pilot. Although he completed pilot training in 2015, there wasn't enough demand for pilots and he ended up in the back seat of a Tornado instead.

In 2016, his pilot retired, freeing up the position he wanted. Much to his dismay, a rookie was instead put in that seat. Any bad blood was quickly put on hold by the asteroid impacts and the following alien invasion. Despite his desire to fly in front, the pairing of a more hot-headed pilot and a calmer WSO worked too well to be disrupted and Gerhard grew to enjoy his role with time.

When the start of Operation prometheus caught him with his pilot out of action, Gerhard had to make due with a different one. Unfortunately, an electrical failure disabled communications and navigation on the operation's first sortie, forcing them to RTB from their intended target near Luxembourg. It was then that Gerhard got his latest callsign, the aircraft somehow crashing in Northern Switzerland after running out of fuel. Although both pilots ejected safely, the ejection compressed the pilot's spine, leading to several herniated discs and requiring Gerhard to carry him, first until they found a stream, then downhill until they found a town whereupon they finally oriented themselves and arranged a pickup. Surviving the rest of the war without any incidents, Gerhard was sent to the Knights following his squadron's disbanding.

[b]Personal Weapons/Gear:[/b][list]
[*]H&K USP (9x19 mm)
[*]H&K MP7A1, red dot sight, taclight
[*]KM2000 combat knife
[*]Garmin GPSMAP® 65s handheld GPS[/list] 
[/hider]
[/hider]
[hider=Aircraft Sheet]
[b]Aircraft Name:[/b] McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D (RC) Hornet

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F/A-18_Hornet#F/A-18C/D_Hornet][b]Specifications[/b][/url]

[b]Modifications:[/b][list]
[*]Thrust-vectoring nozzles.
[*][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmet-mounted_display#Joint_Helmet-Mounted_Cueing_System_(JHMCS)]Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System[/url]
[*]Large area cockpit displays.
[*][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROVER]Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver[/url] antenna.
[*]APG-79(V)4 AESA radar.
[*]Integration with modern Western weaponry.[/list]
[b]Colour Scheme:[/b]
[img]https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/916/307/686/fighter-usaf-f-a-18-hornet-aggressor-squadron-hd-wallpaper-preview.jpg[/img]
Named after the operation that first saw German and American forces fight together, "Cowboy" sports an aggressor squadron camouflage styled after RF fighters, sans the red stars, and mandatory red leading wing edges and rudder. The left side of the nose below the canopy bears the names and personal callsigns of its crew as well as two pieces of noseart: A burning grill and a compass with "North" in all directions.

[b]Preferred weapons:[/b][list]
[*]Cannon replaced with [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Tactical_Airborne_Reconnaissance_System#]ATARS[/url] when mission-appropriate.[/list]
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