Second Lieutenant Larry Foulke (ラリー・フォルク Rarī Foruku), callsign "Pixy" and nicknamed "Solo Wing", was a Belkan mercenary pilot employed by Ustio during the Belkan War. He is best known for his service as Galm Team's number two and later, as a member of the terrorist organization "A World With No Boundaries".
Biography
Early life
Larry was born in Belka in 1967. After reaching adulthood, he left Belka and fought as a mercenary pilot in conflicts across the world, where he became famous as an F-15C Eagle pilot. During a mission in 1993, his right wing was torn off by enemy fire, but he nevertheless remained in control and safely returned to base, earning himself the alias of "Solo Wing Pixy", which he used from then on as his personal callsign.[2] He later painted the lost wing of his aircraft, either the same Eagle or a replacement, crimson to commemorate the incident.
Service in Ustio
In early 1995, Larry traveled to Ustio after the outbreak of the Belkan War to bolster their devastated air force, being assigned to the 6th Air Division at Valais Air Base in the Tyrann Mountains of east Ustio. He was assigned to the 66th Air Force Unit "Galm", where other mercenaries were tasked with defending the base from Belkan Air Force raids.[3]
On April 2nd, Foulke and other pilots launched to intercept a Belkan bombing force approaching Valais. Prior to the mission, he was paired with fellow mercenary Cipher under the 66th Air Force Unit "Galm", and succeeded in foiling the impending attack. Two weeks later, in April 15, the two participated in an interdiction mission at Route 171 in Sapin, allowing the Ustio military to establish a logistics link with the Osean Federation's armed forces.[3]
Five days later, Larry and Cipher were sent on an operation over Area B7R by Ustio's command as a "bait" for Belka to allow the mobilization of the Osean 3rd Fleet for the upcoming Offensive Campaign No. 4101. Contrary to their expectations, the two broke through the Belkan defense line and destroyed an elite squadron informed of the intrusion, earning themselves fame for their victory at B7R.[3] He and Cipher were then deployed as escorts for the 3rd Fleet during its passage through the Futuro Canal, where he was identified by Teufel Hund member Michael Kohl by his red wing.[4]
After the success of the Futuro campaign, the two were diverted to operations pertaining to the build-up before the liberation of Ustio's capital of Directus, serving as defenders for an Osean paradrop mission at the mountain town of Solis Ortus. They played a vital role in the siege of Directus on May 13, sparking a civilian uprising across the capital and forcing the Belkan leadership to relinquish control of the city. The elite Gelb Team then arrived at the town in a desperate attempt to regain air superiority, but Foulke and Cipher defeated them in combat.[3]
Invasion of Belka
With the fall of the Belkan Army's Ustio branch, Larry and Cipher were active in several operations during the Allied Forces' invasion of the Belkan Federation, where they earned fame and notoriety as some of the Allies' most skilled aces. As Cipher's wingman, he was involved in the siege of Glatisant in Mount Ivrea and the campaign to dismantle the Belkan line of defense at the Schayne Plains, and was one of the first people to witness Excalibur in action after its activation. He later participated in the raid on Excalibur, whose destruction boosted his and Cipher's renown in the war even more.
In May 28, Galm was dispatched on an emergency mission to aid the Osean Air Defense Force in a major air battle over Area B7R, who had ambushed a large Belkan aerial force. Both pilots managed to turn the tide of the battle and allowed Osea to gain absolute control of the region, and confronted and defeated the Schwarze Squadron after they blamed them for losing Wolfgang Buchner, who had fled to the Ustio-Belka border. During the battle, Pixy encounter Joshua Bristow of the Wizard Squadron, who commented that "[it] was happening", and suggested that the two "leave" their jobs, to which he replied "Not just yet."[3]
Following the battle of B7R and the surrender of the Belkan territories south of the Waldreich Mountains, the Allied Forces launched a campaign targeting the Belkan Army's industrial infrastructure. His predictions of the war's worsening situation were confirmed during the siege of Hoffnung, where Osean bombers launched an indiscriminate bombing raid on both military and civilian targets. The brutality of the attack led him to a heated argument with Patrick James Beckett, whose motives for fighting Belka put him at odds with Larry's beliefs.[3]
Defection to A World With No Boundaries
On June 6 1995, Galm and the Crow Team were heading to Sudentor in anticipation of the planned siege of the city when they encountered a unit of Belkan bombers armed with nuclear weapons aimed at Ustio. With the aid of Belkan fighters aware of the plot, the mercenaries averted the attack, but failed to prevent the detonation of seven V1 weapons across the Waldreich Mountains. The catastrophe was witnessed by Joshua Bristow, who enigmatically compared the situation to a "birthday" for Pixy.[3]
Disillusioned by the war's sudden turn of events, he turned on Cipher and attempted to kill him before flying towards Nord Belka, disappearing under the cover of the nuclear explosions as Cipher confronted recently arrived Belkan reinforcements. After meeting up with Bristow, he joined Anton Kupchenko's A World With No Boundaries movement, and vanished with the organization following the signing of the Treaty of Lumen.[3]
Pixy briefly resurfaced during A World With No Boundaries' coup in Dinsmark in December 25, where he sent an encrypted message to Cipher and PJ, now his wingman, after shooting down the XB-0 Hresvelgr in Waldreich. The message, "Yo, buddy, still alive?", came as a shock for Beckett, who learned that he was still alive.[3]
On New Year's Eve, Larry was given control of the ADFX-02 Morgan prototype, and received orders to ensure the launch of the V2 missile from Avalon Dam. He arrived to the dam after the Allied Forces' siege destroyed the V2's launch control servers inside the facility and attacked Cipher with a Tactical Laser System, only for Beckett to sacrifice himself by taking the beam. The two fought over Avalon, with Cipher slowly stripping the Morgan of its weapons until Larry activated the aircraft's remote V2 launch systems and electromagnetic shielding. The ADFX-02 was critically damaged in a head-on confrontation with Cipher, forcing Larry to eject from the aircraft, and the V2 to self-destruct in the atmosphere.[3]
Later life
Badly wounded, Foulke left Avalon and arrived at a town near the ground zero sites in Waldreich, where he was nursed back to health by the local townspeople. Still haunted by his doubts over the meaning of borders, he later traveled to Usea in the 2000s, where he served as a soldier for the Independent State Allied Forces. In November 2005, he was found by Osean Broadcasting Corporation reporter Brett Thompson in a border town in the territory of Delarus, who interviewed him for the documentary "Warriors and the Belkan War".[3]
At the end of the documentary, he asked Thompson to relay his catchphrase to Cipher in case he ever met him, having forgiven himself for his extremist past.[3]
Gallery
Galm 2 flying over the destroyed XB-0 Hresvelgr.
Galm 2 and Galm 1 passing head-on during their battle.
F-15E Strike Eagle's Pixy
Pixy flying by Stier castle
Pixy's F-15 Eagle
- ACZERO-ADFX-02.jpg
Solo Wing Pixy arrival, piloting the ADFX-02 Morgan
Pixy flying by Anfang
Larry's coat, muffler, boots and gun
F-15C -Pixy-
hangar
Trivia
- The story of Larry losing his wing in combat and still managing to land the aircraft is based on the real-world account of Zivi Nedivi, an Israeli Air Force pilot who lost his right wing after a collision with an A-4 Skyhawk during a training combat exercise.[5]
- In pre-release concept artwork from Aces At War: A History, Pixy was originally depicted in a more casual attire than his military uniform from Warriors and the Belkan War, wearing an Independent State Allied Forces hoodie and baggy pants.
- If the player watches Pixy at the beginning of the mission Glacial Skies, he can be seen to perform some advanced maneuvers.
- In Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, Pixy's red wing, as depicted on both his F-15C as well as the player's in the "wingman" special color, is painted on the upper and lower sides. However, later depictions in Ace Combat 6, Assault Horizon and Infinity instead only portray the upper side of the wing as colored red. Upon inspection of the game data, it's discovered that this is an error caused by the texture's limit. It is not possible to paint the bottom side of the right wing without painting the left wing as well.
- Pixy's ideals are comparable to Socialism or Marxism, especially in Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto where he discusses the removal of borders and authority.