Strikers 2016 Character sheet. Much of the work here is derived from the work done for Strikers 89.
Tropes for the whole Team.
- Badass Crew
- Band of Sisters + Morgan, Muninn, and Tessa
- The Dreaded: Well on their way to becoming this.
Lieutenant Morgan Laroux-Bishop
No known callsigns: The Main Character, and son of Strikers 89 protagonist Frank Bishop and Brigitte "Nyx" Laroux. This is the "you" that the second person narrative refers to. 24 years old - roughly the same age as his father was when World War 3 kicked off. Flies the XF-02D Wyvern known as Muninn.
- Ace Pilot: After the first sortie over Korea.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Takes far more after his mother than after Strikers 89 protagonist Frank Bishop - where Frank was describable as "the world's deadliest golden retriever", Morgan has far more in common with a house cat. In particular, where Frank had very little clue what he was doing when interacting with politics, Morgan has been trained to deal with politics, especially coven politics, since an early age.
- Improbable Piloting Skills: Morgan has these
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Kyou's red.
- Significant Name: More so in-universe than out (due to being the son of a famous special forces operative on his mothers side, and a legendary ace on his father's side), but he still has the same last name as the Real Life World War I ace.
Sho-sa Kyou
No known callsigns. Familiar: Wolf. Morgan's Systems Information Officer. Imperial Princess of Japan, although transitioned from the Imperial Japanese Navy to United States Navy service as part of the Wyvern program. Systems Information Officer for the XF-02D Wyvern known as Muninn
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Contrasts with her Strikers 89 counterpart nearly as much as Morgan contrasts with his - where Merlin was shy and cautious, Kyou is bold and aggressive. Where Merlin couldn't operate strikers, Kyou could have chosen to enter the IJN striker force if she'd so desired. Where Merlin was much younger than Frank, Kyou is far closer to Morgan in age.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Morgan's blue.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Not as improbable as Merlin's, due to technology improvements, but Kyou is still able to boost the effectiveness of Muninn's missiles.
- Guy in Back: Handles much of WCT Muninn's radio communications with ground elements, as well as helping acquire and utilize target locks for Muninn's missiles.
- Gadgeteer Genius: While not nearly as gifted as Merlin on the topic, Kyou nevertheless is quite gifted, able to at least somewhat keep up with Merlin's work.
Muninn
The onboard AI of WCT Muninn's Wyvern, and the one after whom the unit is named, Muninn is, in essence, an AI derived from the personalities of their pilot and SIO. While Muninn's airframe started out as a lightly modified version of the USN standard XF-02D, they've since been modified into a Super Prototype flight test unit.
- Guy in Back: Handles a lot of the same roles as a traditional guy in back, leaving Morgan and Kyou free to focus on other tasks.
- Robot Buddy
- Super Prototype: Even before receiving their more extensive upgrades, Muninn's initial configuration fielded non-standard 40mm revolver cannons in lieu of the set of four 25mm Gatling guns standard on the XF-02D, as well as an experimental VLS system similar to those found on some ships. After shooting down the Chinese drone carrier, WCT Muninn is recalled to NAS Miramar, where Muninn undergoes an extensive refit, receiving a brand new molten metal linear cannon (with firepower nearly 12x greater than the EML that Muninn could previously carry), as well as new engines, plus improvements to their MIU hardware.
Captain Wendy Maloney
Familiar: English Bulldog. Previously appearing in Strikers 89 as Frank Bishop's late war wing-witch, Wendy received a promotion for her role in ending World War 3. Following that conflict, she retired, joining the air racing scene and making quite the name for herself on the unlimited circuit. Was at one point a candidate for Morgan's Systems Information Officer, but was instead picked by Merlin for the Valkyrie program - and later, was assigned to WCT Muninn as their first Valkyrie operator.
- Wing-Woman: Wendy's biggest strength is her ability to stick with a flight lead no matter what.
- Cursed with Awesome: While Wendy's time with the RAF was... unpleasant, to say the least, it did lead to Wendy being incredibly skilled due to being held to impossible standards.
- Famed In-Story: Wendy was there for some of the most important sorties of World War 3, flying as the wing-witch to Lt. Cmdr. Frank "Warhound" Bishop.
Tessa
The onboard AI of WCT Muninn's first Valkyrie, Tessa is named after an old friend of Wendy Maloney. Much like Muninn, Tessa's personality and mindset is based off of the humans linked to her via MIU. While Tessa started as a standard Valkyrie, the Valkyrie starts as a Super Prototype, due to its early development status.
- Guy in Back: Operates as this for Wendy, handling much of the duties that would normally be assigned to a RIO in a more conventional aircraft.
- Robot Buddy
- Super Prototype: One of the first four operational Valkyrie units ever constructed, and serving as part of the early flight and combat testing of how Valkyrie integrates into a Wyvern Combat Team.
RADM Samantha "Merlin" Wells, USN
Familiar: Seagull. Formerly the RIO of Frank "Warhound" Bishop, Samantha Wells has made a name for herself as one of the pioneers of modern air combat - in particular for her work with the Wyvern superfighter program. Having reactivated her commission with the US Navy to allow her to work more closely with Morgan and his crew, Merlin is effectively Morgan's direct superior officer, although she primarily serves to sign off on assigned missions and to ensure that WCT Muninn is equipped with the latest and greatest equipment that's ready for flight testing.
- Guy in Back: While she doesn't fill this role anymore, she served as this up until very recently in the story - operating specifically as Frank's Systems Information Officer aboard their specialized flight test Wyvern - the same airframe they flew during the events of Strikers 89, in addition to her actions in Strikers 89 itself.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Easily a rival for anyone short of Nikola Tesla in the field of technology, Merlin is often seen as the brains behind much of the Wyvern Program. Chance-Vought is widely seen as having made an excellent investment when they convinced Merlin and Frank to work for them.
- Famed In-Story: One of the greatest geniuses of the late 20th/early 21st centuries, and backseater to Lt. Cmdr. Frank "Warhound" Bishop from the start of World War 3 right until its end.
Maman Brigitte Laroux
Familiar: Cat. Formerly a US Navy SEAL, Brigitte Laroux, commonly known as either Nyx or as "the Mother of Night", is still heavily regarded as one of the most capable members of the Special Operations Community. Often called upon to consult for various US and US-aligned intelligence services, Laroux is also Maman of the Bayou Covens - defacto the leader of one of the largest witch power blocks in US coven politics. Mother of Morgan Laroux-Bishop and Elizabeth Laroux.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: While no longer on active duty (in theory), she's still trained as a SEAL on top of being a Witch.
- Famed In-Story: Within the special operations community, anyhow. There are very few people who don't own Maman Brigitte a favor or two. Not to mention, even those outside the community are at least tangentially aware of her capabilities.
- Funetik Aksent: Speaks with a Louisiana accent.
- Retired Badass: Nominally retired, although she still does consulting work for various US and US-aligned special operations and intelligence agencies around the world.
- White-Haired Pretty Girl: When her familiar manifests.
Frank Bishop
Callsigns: Warhound and Revenant. Lt. Cmdr. (ret.), USN. Protagonist of Strikers 89, currently operating as the person in charge of Chance-Vought's test pilots (due to Merlin being busy working more closely with WCT Muninn). Is well known as being one of the most capable fighter pilots in the world, a record only really being challenged by his son, Morgan Laroux-Bishop.
- Ace Pilot: After his first engagement.
- Berserk Button: While still protective of Merlin, Frank has generally earned a reputation for taking his title as Guardian of Witches incredibly seriously. To the point that it even colors opinions of his son amongst the more covert portions of the US Government.
- Commanding Coolness: While retired, Frank still held the rank of Lieutenant Commander by the end of the war.
- Cast from Hit Points: Frank's gnome abilities, while giving him the ability to push an aircraft well beyond the point where it would normally snap in half around him, comes at an increasing cost to his health the harder he pushes the ability - to the point where he was briefly dead. Needless to say, concerns that this got passed down to Morgan abound in the family.
- Improbable Piloting Skills: Frank has these. Merlin's magic allows her to talk to machines and she said that several times the planes themselves thought that what he was doing was impossible.
- Hero of Another Story: Frank Bishop was the primary view point character for Strikers 89, and his exploits during the 3rd World War are the sorts of things that you study when learning to be a fighter pilot.
- Significant Name: Despite not being related to those Bishops in universe, he is still named after a World War One fighter ace.
Captain Tabitha "Ice" Kazanski, USN
CO of the USS Saratoga, CVN-74 (OTL's USS John C. Stennis), Tabitha "Ice" Kazanski was the former CO of VF-3 Spellcaster during the events of Strikers 89. One of Frank's wives, Ice is as much married to her career as she is to Frank Bishop. Mother of Anastasia and Christina Bishop.
- Ace Pilot: One of the members of VF-3 Spellcaster during World War 3. Not much more needs saying, considering that VF-3 was in the thick of the fighting quite often.
- Famed In-Story: CO of the famous VF-3 Spellcaster squadron during World War 3, as well as Captain of the successor to USS Saratoga CV-60.
Rachel "Slider" Kerner
Familiar: Boa Constrictor. Lt. (ret.), United States Navy. Former XO of VF-3 Spellcaster. One of Frank Bishop's wives, Slider is the one who settled into being the stay-at-home domestic mom. Mother of a set of quintuplets known collectively as the Sneks, including Cassandra Bishop.
- Team Mom: Is this for the bulk of the Bishop family, due to having settled the most into her retirement and family life.
Katya Litvyak
Familiar: White Bengal Tiger. Grandaughter of Sanya Litvyak, and Soviet defector. One of Frank Bishop's wives, Katya has wound up more akin to "cool older sibling" than parent for most of the Bishop family, due to her heavy use of upkeep magic making her appear much younger than the others.
