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"I hate not being able to move in three dimensions. Cramps my style."
― Jack Bartlett[1]

Captain Jack Bartlett (ジャック・バートレット Jakku Bātoretto), callsign "Heartbreak One", was an Osean pilot, captain, flight leader, and training instructor of the Osean Air Defense Force's Wardog Squadron.

A veteran of the Belkan War, Bartlett possessed a distrust of authority and an unwavering loyalty to his trainees, whom he affectionately referred to as "nuggets". In 2010, Bartlett played an important role in both the outbreak and resolution of the Circum-Pacific War between Osea and Yuktobania.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Bartlett was born in 1968[3] in the Osean Federation; he enlisted in the Osean Air Defense Force at an unknown age. At some point, Bartlett met and became romantically involved with Nastasya Vasilievna Obertas, a reconnaissance officer in the Yuktobanian Army, who eventually left him, causing him to adopt the callsign "Heartbreak One".[4] During his early career as an Osean airman, Bartlett was known by the nickname "Kid".[5]

Belkan War[]

Bartlett F-14D

Bartlett over Area B7R

On May 28, 1995, Bartlett participated in Operation Battle-Axe, Osea's large-scale air assault on Area B7R ("The Round Table"). Shortly after an elite Belkan squadron arrived to bolster Belka's forces, Bartlett was shot down by Ashley Bernitz, who had come to the border in pursuit of Wolfgang Buchner.[6] Bartlett ejected from his F-14D and hit the ground, where he met Buchner, who also had been downed by Bernitz.[7]

The two men made their way back to Osean territory,[8] and Bartlett vouched for Buchner, allowing the Belkan to defect to Osea.[9] Bartlett later returned to piloting, while Buchner secured a false identity and joined the 703rd Maintenance Company as a flight engineer.[5]

Sometime after the Belkan War, Bartlett achieved the rank of Captain. However, his distrust of authority often put Bartlett at odds with his superiors, and despite his respectable service record, he received no further promotions in the 15 years following the war. Bartlett eventually came to believe that he was going to be "stuck at [the rank of] Captain forever."[4] At some point, he began serving as a flight instructor at remote Sand Island Air Force Base. Although his primary aircraft became an F-4G Wild Weasel, Bartlett also maintained a spare F-5E Tiger II adorned with his personal emblem, a playing card (the ace of hearts) cleaved by a dagger.[4]

Circum-Pacific War[]

Early engagements[]

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Cpt. Bartlett and 2nd Lt. Nagase after the September 23 engagement

"But it doesn't matter, soldiers like us are too stupid to think for ourselves, so we just gotta keep our mouths shut when they [superiors] tell us to."
― Barlett to Albert Genette[4]

On September 23, 2010, Bartlett and two other Sand Island instructors were assigned to perform a training exercise over Cape Landers. Bartlett was accompanied that day by reporter Albert Genette. At 1109hrs, Bartlett received a communique from base informing him that several unknown bogeys were inbound to the area. However, base control gave Bartlett incorrect information, and the trainees were put on a direct course with the hostile fighters. During the resulting furball, the three instructors struggled to protect the inexperienced pilots. In the end, only Bartlett and one trainee, Kei Nagase, survived the engagement. All information regarding the event was later classified by Sand Island's command.[4][10]

The following day, Bartlett—accompanied by Nagase (Wardog 2), Alvin H. Davenport (Wardog 3), and "Blaze" (Wardog 4)—flew once again over Cape Landers to intercept an unidentified reconnaissance aircraft. As they made contact, Bartlett and his Wardog rookies were ambushed by another group of unknown bogeys. Bartlett disregarded the standing order not to fire and ordered his wingmen to engage. The unknown hostiles were shot down, and Bartlett was summoned back to base for debriefing and a formal reprimand.[11]

Missing in action[]

Three days later, on September 27, an unidentified ship appeared in the Ceres Ocean, west of Sand Island. Bartlett and Wardog Squadron scrambled to shoot down the reconnaissance drones that had been launched by the vessel. After downing the recon drones, multiple hostile fighters appeared, and Bartlett ordered his strategically disadvantaged squadron to withdraw from the area. When the hostiles ran down Wardog, Bartlett once again disobeyed orders and engaged the bogeys, which were also shot down.[12]

Suddenly, the spy vessel launched a surface-to-air missile at Nagase; Bartlett flew into the missile's path, causing it to pursue his fighter instead. Bartlett was subsequently hit and bailed out over the Ceres.[13] After the remaining Wardog fighters left to respond to the bombing of St. Hewlett, Bartlett was retrieved and captured by the spy vessel, which withdrew from the area before the Osean search-and-rescue team could arrive.[14]

Aiding the Yuktobanian resistance[]

Bartlett became the first known POWs of the war. When the ship returned to Yuktobania, he escaped capture before he could be placed in an internment camp.[15] Sometime later, he joined the Yuktobanian resistance movement, which had arisen to oppose the military regime that had usurped control of Yuktobania. After learning of the Grey Men's plot to use nuclear weapons against civilian targets, Bartlett began assisting the renamed Razgriz Squadron with encrypted messages—intended for President Harling—directing them to the location of the nuclear warheads.[16] When one of the warheads was seized by the Yuktobanian resistance, Bartlett covertly relayed their location to the OFS Kestrel.[17]

Freeing Nikanor[]

Bartlett Kestrel

Bartlett aboard the Kestrel's flight deck after his escape from Yuktobania

"Get the wax outta your ears and listen up. We found Nikanor, the leader of Yuktobania, and we broke him outta prison. This war wasn't his doing at all!"
― Jack Bartlett[18]

On December 22, at 2100hrs, Bartlett joined the Yuke resistance forces in liberating Prime Minister Nikanor from the Shtil Internment Camp,[19] northeast of Okchabursk. During the operation, Bartlett was reunited with Nastasya and his former "nuggets". With their aid, he escaped with Nikanor and the rebels in a convoy to nearby Krylo Airfield, where he commandeered a C-1 Trader to make his escape. Despite the arrival of Grabacr Squadron, Bartlett and the prime minister successfully escaped[1] to the Kestrel; he was soon reunited with his old squadmates.[15]

Battle of Sudentor[]

On December 30, during the Osean-Yuktobanian siege of Sudentor, Bartlett aided Blaze and his wingmen by flying into the Gründer Industries tunnel from the north and destroying the second SOLG control node.[20] The last mention of Bartlett was his flyby past the Razgriz Squadron; his ultimate fate is unknown.

Gallery[]

References[]

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