Patrick James Beckett

Patrick James Beckett
Biographical Information
Ranks/Titles	Second Lieutenant
Other Names and Callsigns	PJ Crow 3 Galm 2
Aircraft #	020
Birth	1973 or 1974
Death	December 31, 1995 Operation Point Blank
Nationality	Osean
Relatives	Unknown father Unknown mother Unknown sister
Affiliations	Allied Forces Ustio Air Force Crow Team Galm Team
Equipment	F-16C Fighting Falcon F-16C -PJ-
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Actors
English Voice	Johnny Yong Bosch
Japanese Voice	Masakazu Morita
Appearances
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War

"I fight for peace, that's what I'm up here for."

― PJ during Operation Battle-Axe

Second Lieutenant Patrick James Beckett, TAC name and common nickname PJ, was an Osean mercenary pilot who served in the Belkan War. He was originally assigned to the Ustio Air Force 6th Air Division's Crow Team; however, following Operation Ravage, he was officially transferred to the Galm Team.

As part of Galm Team, PJ flew under the position of "Galm 2" with Cipher as his flight lead. He was killed by Larry Foulke on December 31, 1995 over the Avalon Dam during Operation Point Blank.

Biography

Early life

Shortly after graduating high school in 1991, PJ embarked on a journey across Osea on a motorbike. While on this journey, he met a highly renowned Osean Air Defense Force pilot who was about to retire. Inspired by this pilot, PJ immediately applied to be a mercenary and entered flight school upon returning from his trip.

By December 1994, PJ had officially joined Crow Team, which was stationed at Valais Air Base in Ustio at the time. Here he met his future girlfriend, who had been stationed at the base for a year. PJ's first recorded flight was during an unknown conflict on December 31, 1994.

Belkan War

At the outbreak of the Belkan War, PJ―along with the rest of Crow Team and Valais Air Base―was assigned to the Allied Forces. It is likely that PJ took part in battles throughout the conflict, but his first known battle in the war was assisting Galm Team in destroying the Excalibur laser weapon during Operation Judgment.

Crow Team was later called to assist the Allied Forces during their offensive into Area B7R. PJ reported that he had "never been in an aerial battle of this scope before." As the battle progressed, he pronounced that eventual peace was his desire for fighting, although Larry Foulke, then serving as Galm 2, ridiculed his contradictory belief that peace could be achieved through killing others.

On June 1, PJ was involved in the carpet bombing of Hoffnung, where he verbally clashed with Foulke over the Allied bombers' indiscriminate attack. On June 6, PJ―along with Crow and Galm Teams―was dispatched to assist the Allied siege of Sudentor. The mercenaries stopped a Belkan bomber squadron armed with nuclear weapons, but failed to prevent seven nuclear detonations along the Waldreich Mountains. PJ survived the blasts and withdrew from the airspace with the rest of Crow Team.

Postwar insurgency

After Foulke's disappearance, PJ was transferred out of Crow Team to serve as Cipher's new wingman. One week later, on June 13, Galm was dispatched to engage the Belkan remnant forces massing near Mount Schirm. During the operation, PJ spotted an immense, empty hangar at a facility near the mountain. The following week, PJ and Cipher flew to Belka's northeast coast of Anfang to eliminate the remaining Belkan resistance forces. Although the operation was a success, the overall strength of the Belkan forces Galm Team encountered led PJ to surmise that they were not part of any remnant resistance movement, and that the "war [was] not over yet."

On December 25, the terrorist organization A World With No Boundaries attacked Valais Air Base with the commandeered XB-0 Hresvelgr gunship. Despite significant damage to Valais' runway, PJ and Cipher took off and intercepted the XB-0 over the Waldreich Mountains. After they shot down the XB-0, PJ received an encrypted transmission from Foulke himself, reacting with shock upon realizing the message's sender.

On December 31, exactly one year after his first battle, PJ accompanied Cipher on what would be their final confrontation with A World With No Boundaries. At approximately 1100hrs, Galm Team entered Area B7R's airspace and engaged an elite fighter squadron that was allied with the terrorists. Despite stormy weather conditions, Galm shot down all of the hostile fighters and continued on towards Avalon Dam.

Death

PJ tries to dodge Larry Foulke's laser fire

"I got a girlfriend back at the base. I'm gonna propose to her when I get back. I even bought flowers."

― PJ to Cipher

Upon reaching the dam, PJ and Cipher flew through the valley and destroyed the V2 missile's control systems, preventing the weapon's launch. As PJ prepared to depart alongside Cipher, Foulke entered the airspace with the ADFX-02 Morgan and fired his Tactical Laser System at the two mercenaries. PJ attempted to break away from the beam's path to no avail; the laser struck his aircraft. It is unclear if the laser killed PJ instantly or if it crippled the aircraft to prevent his ejection, but by the time the aircraft crashed on the ground, PJ had died.

Every year since, on the anniversary of his death, PJ's girlfriend visits his crash site and leaves a bouquet of flowers.

Gallery

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  F-16C -PJ EMBLEM- in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

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  PJ's livery as depicted in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Trivia

• PJ's parents run a bakery.
• PJ is a polo player (the only Ace Combat character to mention a sport they play). Polo is typically considered an aristocratic game, due in part to the costs of caring for the horses and fields. As such, it is possible that PJ came from a wealthy background.
  • Polo is nicknamed "the sport of kings" due to the high costs involved, which ties in with the Arthurian references featured in Ace Combat Zero.
  • PJ's other hobbies include tinkering with bikes and collecting vintage comic books.
• PJ's aircraft is available in other games:
  • The F-16C -PJ EMBLEM- was available as free DLC for Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, but has since been removed.
  • The F-16C -PJ- Special Aircraft was made available to top participants in a Team Deathmatch Ranking Tournament in Ace Combat Infinity.
• As of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, PJ remains the only plot-important wingman in the Ace Combat series whose face has not been revealed.
• Similar to the Hangar in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, PJ's unused lines of dialogue within the game files indicated that he would ask the player questions such as "Cipher, what should I equip with?" and "Cipher, should I fly a sortie with this equipment?" when the player selected PJ's special weapon and prepared to sortie, respectively.