- "I fight for peace, that's what I'm up here for."
- ― PJ during Operation Battle-Axe
Patrick James Beckett (commonly referred to as PJ) was a mercenary who served in the Belkan War. He originally served as part of the Ustio Air Force 6th Air Division 4th Air Force Unit, Crow Team; following Operation Ravage, he was transferred to the 66th Air Force Unit, Galm Team.
PJ flew as "Galm 2" during his service with the Galm Team until December 1995, where he was shot down and presumably killed by Larry Foulke.
Biography
Early life
Some time before 1995, PJ embarked on a journey across the Osean Federation on a bike.[citation needed] He also met his girlfriend around this time.[citation needed]
Belkan War
Driven by a desire of bringing about peace, PJ joined the Allied Forces as a mercenary, serving as the third member of the Crow Team. It is assumed that he took part in battles prior to Crow Team being paired up with Galm Team, but his first known combat action was assisting the Galm Team in destroying the Excalibur laser weapon during Operation Judgment.[1]
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."[2] It was here he pronounced that eventual peace was his desire for fighting, although Pixy, then serving as Galm 2, ridiculed his ironic ideals when he was shooting down people and trying to make peace at the same time.[2]
PJ became one of the Ustio pilots involved in the carpet bombing of Hoffnung, where he verbally clashed with Larry Foulke over the Allied bombers' indiscriminate attack.[3] He and Crow, along with Galm, were dispatched on June 6 to assist the Allied siege of Sudentor during the Battle of Waldreich. The mercenaries stopped a Belkan bomber squadron armed with nuclear weapons, but failed to prevent the nuclear detonations across the Waldreich Mountains.[4]
AWWNB insurgency
PJ's final moments
After the disappearance of Foulke in Waldreich, Patrick was reassigned as Cipher's wingman.[5] He accompanied Cipher on various operations against Belkan troops rebelling against the country's surrender to Osea,[5][6] and the entirety of the A World With No Boundaries uprising. After the destruction of the XB-0 Hresvelgr on 25 Decmber 1995, he intercepted an encrypted message from Foulke himself, reacting with shock upon realizing the message's sender.[7]
On December 31, he and Cipher were involved in the final suppression of the AWWNB uprising during the attack on Avalon. He and Cipher flew through the Mund Valley and destroyed the V2 missile's control systems, preventing the launch of the weapon. When the launch was averted, Foulke entered Avalon airspace with the ADFX-02 Morgan, attempting to kill PJ with the jet's Tactical Laser System. PJ noticed the beam and violently turned in Cipher's direction. The laser struck the back of his aircraft, and he continued to fly in that direction. This is the last time PJ is seen.[8]
After the war, a makeshift grave in his memory was erected next to the flooded Avalon, possibly with a chunk of metal from his F-16C adorned with the Crow Team's emblem acting as a gravestone.[9]
Fate
There is no clear consensus on whether or not PJ survived the events at Avalon.
Arguments that support PJ's death are as follows:
- His F-16C was struck nearly head-on by a Tactical Laser System, known to be a deadly weapon that can obliterate anything it touches in a very short amount of time. The likelihood that any of his aircraft's systems were still functioning following a TLS strike is slim if not none.
- No evidence of PJ's aircraft (aside from the possible piece of aircraft metal at his makeshift gravesite at Avalon) exists, and the same goes for his potential remains. This could fall in line with a TLS attack, indicating that the aircraft (and, as a result, PJ himself) was disintegrated by the laser.
- During the "[Back Again] The First Team Deathmatch" Ranking Tournament in Ace Combat Infinity, one nickname available to earn was "Marked for Death", hinting that PJ was indeed killed.
Arguments that support PJ's survival are as follows:
- His aircraft is still visibly flying after it is struck by the TLS, indicating that it was not destroyed instantly and could have lasted long enough for PJ to eject.
- Following the TLS strike, PJ's aircraft only trails smoke (in-game, this indicates an aircraft is "Neutralized" and simply out of action) rather than flames (indicating a "Destroyed" aircraft).
- His makeshift gravesite at Avalon was likely made from a piece of his aircraft, which disproves total disintegration of PJ's aircraft; this presents the possibility that the rest of the aircraft landed somewhere else, and also presents the possibility that PJ is still alive.
Trivia
- As of Ace Combat Infinity, 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, unused lines of PJ's from 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.
- PJ is a polo player[5] (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 had a wealthy background.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Sword of Annihilation. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mayhem. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ The Inferno. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ The Stage of Apocalypse. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lying in Deceit. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ The Final Overture. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ The Talon of Ruin. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ The Valley of Kings. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ Cutscene following Zero. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.