It’s been more than a century since man was the dominant force on the battlefield.
Where victory was once achieved through the brute strength of a bayonet charge, wars are
now won by ever more sophisticated machines.
How much longer the human element remains, and with it concepts like honor and glory,
can only be guessed at.
It could be that in the future, there’ll be no more need for pilots like a man who
fought a war with courage but without hate, pilots like Yellow 13.
Within the first few weeks of the Usean Continental War, Yellow 13 had already earned his status
as a living legend within the Erusian Air Force.
The flight leader of the 156th Tactical Fighter Wing "Aquila", famously known as Yellow Squadron,
Yellow 13 was often cited as being almost solely responsible for clearing the skies
over San Salvacion and driving the Allied Air Forces off the continent.
While such claims have been embellished by his admirers, Yellow 13 was unquestionably
one of the most talented and formidable fighter pilots ever to have seen action.
Even compared to the members of his elite squadron, Yellow 13 distinguished himself
with almost superhuman skill.
When the Independent State Allied Forces, or ISAF launched a surprise attack on the
Stonehenge Turret Network, Yellow 13 with just four other wingmen shot down twenty-four
ISAF veterans, ending the attack before it could even begin.
It is something of an irony then, that despite his almost unmatched skill in aerial warfare,
Yellow 13 found no joy in his kills, nor was he motivated by his nation’s cause.
Instead, he prided himself on never having lost a wingman.
As the war seemed to be coming to a close, Yellow 13 spent his downtime playing guitar
in a bar frequented by Erusian soldiers.
Here he developed a quiet friendship with a young boy, who often accompanied him on
the harmonica.
When the tide of the war began to turn, news of major ISAF victories in the east reached
Yellow 13.
Above all, he was impressed with the actions of an enemy pilot, known as Mobius One.
While often surrounded by an air of melancholy, the chance to face a rival who might challenge
the limits of his skill in a dogfight seemed to lift his spirits.
He openly praised the accomplishments of Mobius One and longed to face him on the battlefield.
As ISAF counter-offensives retook territory across the continent, pilots were rotated
out of Yellow Squadron to shore up other air-wings.
Yellow 13 and Yellow 4 were soon the only pilots to consistently remain with the squadron.
Yellow 4 was perhaps 13’s only true friend, his wingman in the air, and his constant companion
and protector on the ground.
When Yellow Squadron and Mobius One finally met in the skies over Stonehenge, Yellow 4
was shot down.
Despite his first defeat and personal loss, Yellow 13 commended the actions of Mobius
One, now undoubtedly his true equal.
In one final bid to reclaim air superiority over their besieged capital of Farbanti, Yellow
13 and his squadron were scrambled, but in a tragedy of timing, arrived over the city
just as Erusian ground forces surrendered.
In one final stand, Yellow Squadron engaged ISAF forces, and Yellow 13 got his wish of
facing Mobius One.
Yellow 13’s body vanished into the blue skies, never to return to earth.
Only a handkerchief that had belonged to his fallen wingman fluttered down from where he
disappeared.
It was buried in an unmarked, makeshift grave, though whether it was 4’s or 13’s no longer
mattered.
If Yellow 13 found unexpected joy in the final moments of his life, engaging an opponent
that pushed his skills to the limit, those who knew him best, or perhaps only the man
who shot him down, can say for certain.
Or maybe Yellow 13 was truly nothing more than a callsign, and the man beneath it still
lives, satisfied, for now, in his defeat.
The conflict over Stonehenge was not the first time a pilot whose plane bore yellow markings
found honor in a senseless war, and perhaps, he might be seen again.
Attention pilots!
The Templin Institute will be scrambling our aircraft tomorrow, January 18th, as we take
to the skies in Ace Combat 7.
Catch all the action on our Twitch channel, you’ll find the link in the description.