Dominic Zubov

"The Bringer of Death"

Dominic "Vulture" Zubov is a Yuktobanian mercenary fighter pilot sided with the Belkan Air Force, and the leader of the Schwarze Squadron. Feared even among the Belkan ranks as an "escapee killer", Dominic and his fellow pilots were infamous for being the only squadron in the BAF who actively hunted & assassinated fleeing allies without hesitation, which led to fellow Belkan disdainfully calling the Schwarze crew "The Vultures".

He is portrayed by D.C. Douglas.

Early military career
In the 1980s, Dominic Zubov flew as a mercenary at conflicts in various regions of Yuktobania, his home country. During this time he flew as a member of the 9th Air Division 112th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which sustained heavy damage during the 1986 Tyumen Dispute in southernn Yuktobania, as well as in the Romny coup d'etat suppression operation. Zubov's team also participated in the Battle of Dimitr, the fiercest battle of the Tyumen dispute, where they managed to eliminate all opposing squadrons from the Republic of Kaluga, at the expense of losing about 80% of their aircraft. All surviving pilots of Dominic's squadron were psychologically devastated by the Dimitr engagement, forcing every last man to abandon the Yuktobanian Air Force. Of them all, Dominic (and possibly Schwarze 2, Sergei Karkov, another Yuktobanian) was the only survivor whose sanity was left untouched.

After the south Yuktobania wars, Dominic left the YAF, continuing to fly as a lone mercenary. Afterwards he was hired by Romny (ironically, the same country the fought years before), then by the Kingdom of Valga. In 1990, Dominic went lone wolf once again, crossing the Ceres Ocean, after which he was found and contracted by the Principality of Belka.

Life as a Belkan pilot and Belkan War (199? - 1995)
After being enlisted in the BAF, Dominic joined the force's resident foreign legion, the Schwarze Squadron. The squadron was of great importance to Belkan High Command, as Dominic and his crew soon found themselves operating as an Special Forces unit, undertaking "surveillance" operations behind the frontlines-- those "surveillance" operations however, were actually the assassinations of any and all defecting personnel, with authorization from high echelon. Said targeted killings were top secret, and were it not for their nature, Dominic would be a major ace in the Belkan air arm. As a "hitman" of the BAF, Dominic chose the MiG-31 Foxhound as his personal plane, taking advantage of the plane's superior acceleration to cleanly fulfill his mission objectives. His role as an special forces operative and the nature of his missions led many pilots of the BAF to call Dominic "Vulture", often with a hateful tone. Dominic joined the BAF right as the force was being generally remodeled, and he was an important part in this process.

When the Belkan War broke out in 1995, the Schwarze team was one of the major ace squadrons participating in the war. Many details about his actions early in the war remain unknown.

In May 28, 1995, Schwarze Team was dispatched on an assassination mission; however, the target this time was not an average pilot but experienced veteran Wolfgang Buchner, also known as "Huckebein the Raven. After disobeying a superior's orders on dropping a nuclear bomb on an unspecified Belkan city, Wolfgang fled through the Belkan skies southward, with Dominic hot on his heels. After evading the Schwarze Team for some time, Wolfgang arrived at the Belkan Air Priority One Strategic Airspace B7R, also known as the Round Table, right as the largest air engagement of the war took place. Buchner flew into the furball in an attempt to lose Schwarze amidst the confusion, but ended up accidentally leading Schwarze into the Ustian 66th Air Force Unit, the Allied Forces' most feared squadron, who just had singlehandedly turned the tables at the Round Table. Enraged at Huckebein's escape, Zubov ordered his team to kill Galm Team at all costs. After an intense duel, Galm Squadron overcame Schwarze's superior numbers, defeating Dominic once and for all.

Post-Belka and later life
After being shot down in Operation Battleaxe, Dominic fled his country to avoid prosecution as a war criminal.

His whereabouts afterwards remained unknown for some time, until he was found and interviewed by Brett Thompson of the OBC as part of his documentary, Warriors and the Belkan War. The interview is confirmed to have taken place somewhere in Osea. His whereabouts after his encounter with Brett Thompson are unknown.

Quotes
"Is the man still alive? Well, I think it's hard for bad guys like us to die. The real heroes always manage to die first, but guys like him, Solo Wing and me, we live the rest of our lives in hell. But, then again, being alive is a proof that we are good."

- Interview quote

thumb|300px|right|4:26 Dominic Zubov - Schwarze 1 tells his experience in the Second Battle of B7R

thumb|300px|right|2:08 Dominic Zubov's final thoughts about Cipher