- "I think... I see the Reaper coming for me."
- ― Aigaion pilot during Far Eastern Front
Reaper (リーパー ri-pa-) is a mercenary fighter pilot and the player character in Ace Combat Infinity's single-player campaign. He joined Bone Arrow Squadron in early 2019, which was reformed under the United Nations Forces's Task Force 118. Upon Viper's retirement, Reaper became the flight lead of Bone Arrow Squadron.
Biography
Service with Arrows
The history of Reaper prior to joining Arrows Security is unknown. In early 2019, he participated in a training mission at the former Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, which had been repurposed as a mercenary training facility, before formally joining the PMC as the fourth member of Bone Arrow Squadron. His position had been formerly assumed by another rookie, whom Viper accused Goodfellow of killing in a previous operation because of excessive pressure over performance.
Reaper's first mission with the squadron took place in May 2019, when he was deployed along with Omega to intercept unmanned drones over Tokyo, preventing further damage to the city during the following MQ-90 Quox attack. Days after the incident, he and his comrades were sent to intercept Il-76 Candid cargo planes of unknown origin over the Comona Base aerospace center.
During operations in Eurasia, he assisted in the UNF's attempt to free the Greymen held in Iyuli, which was later revealed to be a ruse devised by the terrorists. The anti-asteroid weapon Stonehenge Type-3 was taken down by Reaper shortly after. In Operation Override, he was one of a number of fellow UNF pilots launching the attack against the newly-formed USEA Federation. During the operation, he took down one Aigaion-class heavy command cruiser and a mysterious white CFA-44 Nosferatu which happens to have a number of laser-equipped MQ-90s as its escorts.
Task Force 118
Shortly after Viper's retirement, he became captain of the Bone Arrow Squadron, which was merged with the rival Ridgeback Squadron under the unit of the newly-formed Task Force 118. During Operation Point Blanc, he succeeded in stopping USEA from launching an intercontinental ballistic missile onto Washington, D.C. from the Avalon Dam missile facility in Russia. In Operation Battle Axe, he took down another mysterious Nosferatu (which was later revealed to be an unmanned aerial vehicle called the QFA-44 Carmilla). In Operation Bunker Shot, he became one of the spearheads for the invasion of USEA territory.
Gallery
Reaper's emblem
Reaper's emblem after Far Eastern Front
Trivia
- Reaper contains several references to Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies protagonist Mobius 1.
- Both pilots were referred to as the "Grim Reaper".
- Both pilots were referred to as "Ribbon".
- Both pilots flew the F-4E Phantom II in their first missions.
- Both pilots eventually acquired and piloted the F-22A Raptor (with their personal modifications)
- Reaper also has some similarities with the main protagonist Blaze from Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, in which both started as number four in their respective squadrons and became flight leader after a certain point in the story.