Disclaimer: See ch1
Thomas Tempel: Luckiest pilot alive.
Thomas Tempel joined the Erusean air force several years before Stonehenge was built. He proved himself to be an exceptional pilot during training and was noted for his considerable good luck at cards.
He was assigned to a squadron of F-16s who he stayed with for the majority of his military career.
During his early years in the military, he was present at several minor diplomatic incidents and on one occasion was forced to shoot down a hostile spyplane as it attempted to escape.
He was on the verge of retiring when the war began and his term of service was extended for the duration of the conflict.
His first aerial victory during the battle of Stonehenge when he engaged an ISAF Mig 29. After approximately ten minutes twisting and turning, he was able to fire a sidewinder missile into the Migs right tailpipe. The pilot, a Lieutenant Sarah Gardner failed to eject and went down with her plane. He gained his second aerial victory thirty seconds later when an inexperienced Tomcat pilot flew into his sights and was promptly shot down.
During the early stages of the war, he obtained a steady number of aerial victories and had several lucky escapes from experienced ISAF aces, such as Colonel Rachel Jo the Eagle Hunter and Lieutenant William Hale and he became noted in the squadron for his exceptional luck, rather than his skill. In his hometown of Sufftro he was considered to be a local hero and his family were treated like accordingly.
By the time ISAF had retreated to North Point, he was being hailed as the luckiest pilot alive despite the fact that his prestigious skill had played its part. He himself believed in his luck and his callsign Roulette reflected this. His symbol was a roulette wheel on the side of his aircraft.
His squadron was assigned to protect the newly captured radar facilities on Mount Shezna and it was there he encountered the pilot Mobius One. Tempel was pursuing another fighter when he was knocked out of the sky by Mobius One's F-4 Phantom II. After ejecting from his fighter, Thomas Tempel was rescued from the area around Mount Shezna with hypothermia but despite coming close to death he made a full recovery. He rejoined his squadron and obtained fifteen more kills against ISAF. However he never encountered Mobius One again. In an interview after the war, he said he was lucky not to.