Emmeria
Talisman
Talisman is the PC of Ace Combat 6, Callsign Garuda 1. Nothing else is known about him, except that he was assigned to Gracemeria Air Force Base in 2013 and has been mentioned in the game as being a "him". Talisman was last seen in the evacuation of the Emmerian military from their capital of Gracemeria in the face of overwhelming Estovakian numbers. During the uprising of Emmerian forces against Estovakian rule, he becomes a pillar of hope and the backbone of their push back to Gracemeria, and a symbol of fear to Estovakian opposition. During the liberation of Gracemeria he and Garuda 2 "Shamrock", along with other Emmerian squadrons, did battle against the new leader of the Estovakian Strigon aces, Ilya Pasternak in his CFA-44 Nosferatu. After a tough battle against the agile and deadly aircraft, Talisman managed to shoot down and kill him, finally liberating Gracemeria in the process. On the night after the city's liberation, he joins the rest of the Emmerian squadrons in patrolling the area, even if they believe hostilities have ceased. During the sudden surprise attack on the city by long range cruise missiles, he successfully shoots them down and defends the city once again. The next day, he and the other squadrons set off to attack Estovakia's long range rail cannon system, the Chandelier, responsible for the missile attack. Using exceptional piloting skills he destroys the weapon's cooling units and the primary core inside the cannon itself, destroying it and bringing the war to a close. Chris Matel noted that the "only kind of character development you’re going to get on Talisman is how you perform in missions, and this setup actually works."
Marcus "Shamrock" Lampert
- Voice Actor: Sam Riegel (US) / Rikiya Koyama (JP)
Shamrock is shown in the introduction of Ace Combat 6, being attached to the nascent Garuda team as Garuda 2. As Talisman's wingman, the player can give him commands. He has a wife and a daughter who reside in Gracemeria, being shown to be concerned about them by saying to himself "Please be safe" due to the ruthless tactics used by the Estovakians in their offensive (bombing of civilians, destroying infrastructure, etc.). He joins the rest of the Emmerian forces in the evacuation Gracemeria, though not without promising to be back soon. He proves to be a valuable asset to Garuda 1/Talisman as his wingman and they complete many missions together. During the game it is shown that Shamrock would do anything to get back to Gracemeria and free his people, this includes disobeying a direct cease-fire and continuing to dogfight several members of the Strigon team while being pressured to retreat, ending in Garuda Team's suspension from active duty until the mission "Weapons of Mass Destruction." After the liberation of the city of Gracemeria he learns that his wife and daughter died during the conflict, cursing himself for being unable to protect them and vows to 'turn in his wings'. However, due to the threat of the Estovakian-controlled Chandelier railgun, Shamrock remains on active duty. During the strike on the Chandelier, he single- handedly flies through the trench loading the cruise missiles and then into the weapon itself, while under heavy fire, to give AWACS Ghost Eye the position of the internal Cooling Unit. His plane is severely damaged in the recon flight, though he ejects offscreen before his aircraft is destroyed. The injuries that he sustains during his ejection temporarily confine him to a wheelchair forcing his retirement from the Emmerian Air Force. He is shown in the ending cinematic enjoying a meal with Melissa and the children in full view of the King's Bridge, which is undergoing repairs.
Louis McKnight
- Voice Actor: Kirk Thornton (US)
A sergeant in one of Emmeria's tank battalions, McKnight is first seen guarding a bridge and directing Emmerian refugees across it. However, McKnight and his tank unit are ambushed and annihilated by Estovakian planes, with McKnight and two other sergeants being the only survivors. He manages to link up with the rest of the Emmerian forces and becomes the unofficial captain of his tank after drawing straws. Shortly before the Emmerian landing operation on the mainland, McKnight and his crew devise a plan to loot the Gracemerian central bank, believing that the Estovakians haven't been able to open the vault yet and because one of the crew, Donnie, insists that he had dug a tunnel to the vault. They desert their unit in the midst of one of the battles and make their way to Gracmeria. On the way, they come across and pick up Melissa and Ludmila and kindly give them a ride to the outskirts of Gracemeria before going their separate ways. During the liberation of Gracemeria, McKnight and his crew attempt to break into the vault, but end up inadvertently rescuing Voychek, Matilda, and the statue of the Golden King. Instead of stealing it, McKnight and his crew strap the statue to their tank and parade it around Gracemeria as a symbol of liberation. As a tribute to their country, the tank is left in the town square.
Melissa Herman
- Voice Actor: Cindy Robinson (US)
The wife of an Emmerian fighter pilot and Matilda's mother, Melissa finds herself caught in the middle of the war when the Estovakians attack Gracemeria. Believing that Matilda was killed in the attack, Melissa leaves the city along with other refugees, where she then comes across the remains of her husband's crashed plane, showing that he was killed in battle. Later, at a refugee camp, Melissa hears Matilda's voice on the radio and realizes that she had survived. Determined to reunite with Matilda, Melissa makes her way back to Gracemeria. On the way, she meets an Estovakian named Ludmila who is looking for her lover, who is turn out to be Toscha Majasik of the Strigon squadron, and the two women begin to form a bond of friendship as they travel to Gracemeria. When they reach the city, Melissa manages to find Matilda, who introduces her to Voychek. After the cruise missile attack on Gracemeria, Voychek gives Melissa the blueprints to the Chandelier and she transmits the information to Emmerian forces conducting an airstrike on the cannon. After the war, Melissa moves back to her old home and is seen caring for war orphans.
Matilda Herman
- Voice Actor: Erin Fitzgerald (US)
Matilda is separated from her mother after going on a field trip to see the statue of the Golden King on the first day of the war. When the Estovakians attack, Matilda hides out in the basement of the city's old palace along with a group of war orphans and helps them protect the statue of the Golden King. During this time, she is welcomed to speak over an Estovakian radio broadcast. She does not take very kindly to this and confronts the broadcaster to "Dance with the angels", which soon becomes a morale-boosting catchphrase among her fellow Emmerians. When Voychek discovers the group and is trapped with them after a booby trap is inadvertently set off, Matilda quickly befriends him. After she is rescued by McKnight and his tank crew, Matilda reunites with her mother and is seen playing with her friends after the war.
Estovakia
Victor Voychek
- Voice Actor: Paul St. Peter (US)
Voychek is the commander of the Estovakian Air Force's famed "Strigon Team" and a highly respected fighter pilot. He appears soon after the Nimbus' midair impact that destroys the already-atrophied Emmerian Air Forces and Navy, and proceeds to attack. He has the full respect of his team and is known to have suffered leg injuries during the conquest of Gracemeria (even if the PC shoots down Voychek's plane, it is revealed via radio communication between the various members of Strigon that he managed to recover in his badly damaged plane and limp back to base) that prevented him from flying again. He is then reassigned to intelligence duty with the Estovakian Air Force, having the blueprints for the Estovakian Rail Gun, the Chandelier, stored in his laptop. It is shown that he mentored both Toscha Mijasik and Ilya Pasternak before "losing his wings" during the conflict, and is greatly respected by both. During the war, Voychek comes across Matilda and a group of war orphans, and begins to have a change of heart about the war. After he reveals Estovakia's plan to destroy Gracemeria with the Chandelier, Voychek hands the blueprints over to the Emmerian armed forces, allowing Talisman and Shamrock to find the weapon's weaknesses and destroy it. Voychek then spends the rest of the war in an Emmerian prisoner of war camp and is the best man at Toscha and Ludmila's wedding. Voychek is an anomaly in the Estovakian ranks, as while the two names that are recognizable in the Estovakian side (his and Toscha's) are Slavic, he alone has a Russian/Slavic accent, whereas the majority of the Estovakians (including all the rankers without exception and everyone else in Strigon team) speak in American-accented English, like their Emmerian opponents.
Ilya Pasternak
- Voice Actor: Steve Van Wormer (US)
Ilya Pasternak was a member of the Estovakian Central Forces Precinct Air Force 370th Aviation Regiment, 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron, also known as Strigon Team. He gained fame and popularity during the Estovakian Civil War that eventually brought the country under military rule. Ilya Pasternak was Victor Voychek's most promising student and he has great faith in him, as evidenced by him saying upon his arrival at Central Station 2 in Gracemeria that "he'd be sure to be a thorn in the side of the Emmerian military" with him as the new Strigon lead. Pasternak is gifted with a cool, confident and calm demeanor even when facing insurmountable opposition, and is an incredibly talented pilot. He holds a burning sense of rivalry with the Garuda Team, one that makes Voychek regret that he cannot join in the fight with him. Toscha Mijasik had also noticed that he preferred to listen to the pirated Emmerian radio broadcast, and upon asking whether or not he had a girl waiting for him Pasternak replied that he didn't. He also replied that he could get any woman he wanted, if he tried, which Toscha amusingly agrees upon. Pasternak flew the CFA-44 Nosferatu alone against the combined might of the Emmerian forces during their liberation of Gracemeria, so as to save the rest of his comrades from death. Using the Nosferatu's incredible speed and agility he proved to be well enough a match for the forces by himself, on top of the plane's advanced All Direction Multi-Purpose Missile (ADMM) system, reinforcement UCAVs, and its stealth capabilities. He was eventually shot down by Garuda 1 Talisman, glad that his comrades had made it out of the battle alive, and dies when the plane explodes.
Toscha Mijasik
- Voice Actor: Yuri Lowenthal (US)
At just 26 years old, Mijasik is the youngest member of the Strigon Team. His flying skills, however, are of such quality that he is even praised by his flight leader, Victor Voychek, during the invasion of Gracemeria. Before the war, he was still in high school, and also had a relationship with a woman called Ludmila Tolstoya. He prefers the brotherly nature of his new flight lead, Ilya Pasternak, to Voychek's reign, going so far as to refer to the latter as a 'pushy authority figure'. He also appears to be triskaidekaphobic; although being the 13th member of his squadron, he sticks with the callsign 'Strigon 12'. When the squad returns from a patrol mission only to find that Gracemeria had been lost, he feels a sense of guilt, inside his heart begging for Ludmila's forgiveness. However, Pasternak urges his wingmen to return to Estovakia and defend their country's future while he sacrificed himself. Instead of joining in the defense of the the Chandelier railgun, he surrenders as his love for Ludmila is too great, and marries her in the game's epilogue (in a prison). It is implied that out of all the Strigon Team members, he is the sole survivor (besides Voychek).
Lorenz Riedel
Lorenz Riedel, callsign, Feniks; was born in Belka and eventually joined the Air Force before the outbreak of the Belkan War in 1995. Lorenz was assigned to the Belkan Air Force's 18th Air Division, 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Gault". His position being Gault Seven; the squadron was sent to the front lines in January of 1995. Being led by Anton Kupchenko, the Gault Squadron was active until March of that same year, when all members suddenly disappeared without a trace. The Belkan Air Force pronounced them as killed in action, with no new information or reason for their disappearance. During this time, it is believed that the Anton Kupchenko had founded "A World With No Boundaries", a multi-national group of military personnel which aligned itself with no nation(s). On December 31st, 1995, A World With No Boundaries planned to use the Belkan-made V-2 rocket to strike multiple capital cities around the world to achieve their plan of a conflict-free world. As the 66th AFU Galm of the Ustian Air Force's 6th Air Division flew towards Avalon Dam, the V2 launch facility, the Gault intercepted the Galm Team. During the battle, the unit was shot down. However, his body was not found at his aircraft's crash site. After the war, in 1996, reports of Lorenz Riedel being sighted began to arise. He was believed to have been seen in Oured, the capital city of the Osean Federation. Osean Special Operations began to investigate, however, his whereabouts were never confirmed. Lorenz had managed to evade Osean Special Operations and escape from the Osean Continent, making his way to the Anean Continent. He arrived in the Federal Republic of Estovakia, during the nation's long lasting civil war. During this time, Lorenz became a key part of the Estovakian Military. Riedel, like other defectors, brought technology from their homeland, and this technology became the deciding factor in the outcome of the Estovakian Civil War. Details on this technology remains undetermined as of 2015. Lorenz Riedel provided information on the XB-0 'Hresvelgr' and other support which lead to the construction of the P-1112 Aigaion 'Aerial Aircraft Carrier and Heavy Command Cruiser' and later, the P-1114 Gyges 'Fire Support System' and P-1113 Kotos 'Electronic Warfare Platform'. These P-111X models would become the Estovakian Aerial Fleet. After "The Generals" took power in Estovakia and with the outbreak of the Estovakian-Emmerian War ("the Anean Continental War"), the P-111X models were deployed into combat. During the war Lorenz was leading the Estovakian Central Forces Precinct Air Force 6th Aviation Regiment 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron. During the Emmerian counterattack, the Estovakian Aerial Fleet was ambushed by multiple Emmerian Aircraft, most notably of which was the by-then legendary pilot Garuda 1. During the battle, the P-1112 Aigaion lost many of its engines, and it was at that time that Lorenz Riedel launched from the Aigaion in an Su-33 'Flanker-D' and attempted to defend the massive aircraft. However, in the end he was shot down by the Emmerian Air Force's 28th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Garuda". His current status is unknown.