- "You truly are the pride of Martinez."
- ― Fredric Burford after Antares defeats the Varcolac Squadron
Antares Seal
Antares One (アンタレスワン Antaresuwan) is a main protagonist of Ace Combat: Joint Assault. Not much is known about this mercenary pilot, other than he has a prior military background and possessed exceptional skill and prowess. His official aircraft are the F-4E Phantom II, F-22A Raptor, and Su-37 Terminator (ending cutscene of Joint Assault). His wingmen are simply known as Antares Two, Antares Three, and Antares Four.
History
Midway maneuveres and assault on Tokyo
Antares One first appeared when he signed up for Martinez Security and participated in the Martinez-USN-JMSDF exercise at Midway Island. His commanding officer Fredric Burford, onboard AWACS Canopus, introduced him to the tutorial session prior to the exercise. He became acquainted with the allied Rigel Squadron and its members, Milosz Sulejmani, Daniel Oruma, Faryd Gaviria, and Tolia Kiriakov. He passed the tutorial, but Canopus detected unknown contacts from the east. Some of them broke off to engage Antares and his allies while the others continued west. Antares One destroyed all the attacking planes, but Burford got word that Tokyo, Japan was being attacked. Antares and Rigel Squadron proceeded to the city, to find that it was being attacked by an aerial base, the Spiridus. The fortress ripped a massive hole in Tokyo Bay with its supercharged railgun. Canopus told Antares that the heat vent in the rear of the Spiridus was the weak spot, so the PMC ace hit the vent 3 times to disable the railgun. He and Rigel went to mop up the rest of the attackers while Spiridus retreated over the Pacific, disappearing from radar. The terrorists, known as the Valahia, raided Tokyo a second time. Antares One and Rigel Squad held the JSDF lines in the south, then returned to the city to counter the northern attackers, who were using a smaller airborne fortress, the Orgoi. He dismantled the fortress' AA weapons slowly, and witnessed the Orgoi's astounding agility in the process. Meanwhile,Valahia leader Nicolae Dumitrescu, promised Sulejmani a better wage in exchange for his loyalty. Sulejmani, stating that money in exchange for enemy lives was all he valued, defected with the rest of Rigel Squad and flew south, to Burford's dismay and protesting. Antares One continued the mission and destroyed the 'Orgoi' engines, dropping it into the bay.
Mission to Europe
He then flew to Egypt under orders of the IUPF to eliminate Valahia ground forces. Meanwhile, the Spiridus slipped past Antares and disappeared again over the Red Sea. However, Mr. Leblanc of the IIAO had been kidnapped in the Middle East and had to be rescued. Antares escorted rescue helicopter Paper Wasp to extract the official and rescue team while fending off enemy forces and putting out pipeline fires that resulted from sabotage. Then the Mora Jammer in the Turkish Mountains was hindering commerce in the Black Sea. Antares and the IUPF proceeded to attack the industrial facilities and substations supplying power to the jammer then destroyed the jammer and its airburst artillery. The Valahia then declared an attack on London, United Kingdom, using the airborne fortress Spiridus. Antares flew across the Adriatic Sea to London, shooting down Valahia aircraft that came his way. It was then that he encountered Sulejmani and his men, now Varcolac Squadron. The traitors engaged the Martinez ace and surrounded him. Antares fended off the squad. A Valahia submarine then surfaced and attacked the PMC pilot with the new Hi-TASM. Antares evaded the weapon and sank the sub. He arrived at London just in time to engage the Spiridus. The Spiridus activated its electrolaser cannons, only for Antares to blow them up. The Spiridus then aimed an AA electrolaser cannon at the PMC ace. It missed but killed 2 other IUPF fighters. Antares stripped the fortress of its guns and destroyed the last cannon, destroying the fortress, which crashed into the Thames River. Valahia announced its plans for a new nation and a nuclear scorched earth policy.
The IUPF formulated an operation to destroy Valahia and its nuclear missiles. Antares proceeded to Serbia to destroy Valahia's radar sites, and encountered Varcolac Team. He forced the Varcolac to retreat, showing how he had improved. The next target was the Balaur railgun in southern Romania. Despite defensive fire, jamming, and fire from the Balaur itself, Antares bypassed the defenses and destroyed the complex. Afterwards, he was assigned to fly the airliner of IUPF benefactor, Andre Olivieri, through the former location of the Mora Jammer. Valahia forces attacked, and forced Antares into the canyon. Antares managed to fly to the end of the canyon, evading enemy fire, only to encounter more AA guns, helicopters, and stealth fighters. Despite the odds, he and Olivieri make it to safety.
Valahia Headquarters and the Golden Axe Plan
Next, the IUPF was to intercept a Valahia helicopter/sea transport unit transporting nuclear fuel to Valahia HQ. Antares delayed the transportation by attacking their escorts to the point that IUPF navy ships were ready to surround the cargo ship and secure the fuel. Antares One arrived at the Valahia's missile silo/HQ, a old Russia missile silo. The Varcolac Squadron showed up again and engaged Antares One. Oruma then revealed that Olivieri had set up both sides for profit, as part of a corporate spy organization called the Golden Axe Plan. Antares eventually shot down Sulejmani, with the rest of Varcolac Squadron following. However, there was little time to disable the launch, so Antares One flew into the nuclear missile base to disable it personally. While they were inside, Dumitrescu confirmed the GAP's existence and announced that it was next set in America. Antares destroyed the silo's control's, escaping the facility as Dumitrescu was killed in the ensuing explosion.
Martinez left the IUPF and made preparations to stop Olivieri from completing his plans in the United States of America. The Golden Axe Plan Private Army attempted to assassinate Antares One and Burford to hide the truth. However, Antares managed to protect Burford and his forces from the enemies, including 3 Orgoi-class battleships. Martinez proceeded to Nevada to eliminate Private Army at abandoned airport. A new Spiridus fired the Hi-TASM at Martinez, but failed to score any hits. Antares and the ground forces managed to take the base from the enemy. Antares flew to Lake Tahoe to destroy the Spiridus. Allied forces in Nevada launched missiles to disable the radiation shield that was protecting Spiridus' missile ports. Antares took the chance to destroy the Hi-TASM and engines. He finally disabled the electrolaser cannon and the ground forces launched a cruise missile, bringing down the fortress. All that was left was to defend San Francisco from the remaining of Olivieri's private forces.
Defense of San Francisco and End of the War
With the back up from the US Navy, Antares One managed to defend the city. Then the Varcolac Squadron challenged Antares One last time, with the new GAF-1 Varcolac. But, even with superior aircraft, Antares managed to defeat the team, leaving Sulejmani the only enemy left. Sulejmani started to actively challenge the PMC ace, trying to buy back what he lost when his parents sold him. Antares One ultimately shot him down. Finally, he helped Dog Bear Unit break into OLI's underground data center by targeting the gates. Outside the skyscraper, Olivieri defiantly screamed at Antares, saying that he would not be stopped, only to be killed by Antares One himself, putting an end to the Golden Axe Plan and Valahia Crisis once and for all.
After the War
Antares One makes one final appearance at the game's ending sequence, where he is seen taking off in an Su-37 Terminator towards another mission.
Trivia
- His F-22 uses the same colors as Gryphus One from Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, albeit with different roundels.
- When Burford debriefs Antares on the destruction of the Golden Axe Plan, he refers to the US as "our country", possibly implying that Antares One is an American.
- Similar to Mobius One and Gryphus One, they started off on an F-4E Phantom II, and then their main aircraft became an F-22A Raptor after.