Klara Rask

## Appearances

*Project Wingman*

*"Here I am, Hitman. You fired up? Come shoot me down."*
― Rask in her second encounter with Hitman
**Klara Rask**, TAC name **Frost Druid**, was an independent mercenary fighter pilot.

At the start of the Oceanian War, she supported the Oceanian side against the Pacific Federation, but defected to the latter as the tides soured, hunting down her fellow mercenaries. After the war, she was contracted by Icarus Armories to test experimental airframes.

15 years later during the Cascadian Conflict, Rask engaged Sicario's Hitman Team and was shot down by them. She later somehow learned of their identities and recruited the treacherous Master Goose Squadron and, following the Cascadian Calamity Event, took off with them to intercept Hitman over their airbase. She and Master Goose were both shot down and killed.

## Biography

Rask originally fought on the side of Oceania along with other mercenaries in the Oceanian War. However, as the tides turned against the rogue nation, she defected to the Federation and became a mercenary hunter for them. In the years after the war, Rask lended her combat experience to become a test pilot, flying new airframes.

On May 7, AC 432 during the Cascadian Conflict and Hitman Team's raid on her current facility of Harkema Industrial Park, Rask began fitting the SP-34R (SPEAR) prototype airframe with weapons and told the on-site scientists to prepare her jet for a live combat situation against Hitman while also collecting data from the battle. This was to fulfill Crimson 1's desire to beat Hitman's leader Monarch using the on-site PW-Mk.I.

The prototype fighter was able to escape, though despite the Spear's overwhelming power, it was shot down by Monarch. Rask successfully ejected along with the flight data.

Rask later joined up with the turncoat Master Goose Squadron following the Cascadian Calamity Event and attempted to collect the Federation bounty placed on Hitman Team, this time piloting the experimental X-PF aircraft. During their battle, she accused the Cascadian mercenaries of being in the contract not just for personal gain, but caring deep down about their former country's independence, citing the fact that they kept on being mercenaries despite only needing a single battle to be set for life.

She revealed her knowledge of Hitman's identities and backgrounds much to their shock, only cryptically explaining her methods at learning them. She was eventually shot down, this time refusing to eject and accepting her fate, biding Hitman that they will meet her when they "punch their cards" in due time.

## Personality

*"Let's get this shootout going. Are you going to be worth my time?"*
― Rask
Rask, unlike the typical mercenary, was an opportunist willing to betray her fellow mercenaries, pursuing the bottom line of the highest bidder, which even led to other mercenaries calling her a "wild dog". This is evident in her insistence in engaging Hitman in such an aircraft that lacked a fly-by-wire system. She was a skilled pilot implied to have eliminated fellow mercenaries who had attempted to shoot her down, and was enthusiastic for combat. Despite her betrayal of Oceania, she seemed to be still sympathetic to the idea of a mercenary state in her last words.

## Etymology

In ancient Celtic, druids were high society members typically in important leadership or workmanship positions.

"Klara" is a common Nordic variant of the Latin "Clara" (meaning "bright/clear/illustrious") while "Rask" is a Swedish/Danish surname (more prominently the former) that means "quick/daring" and typically has a soldierly connotation, befitting her test pilot and mercenary occupations. This suggests Frost may be of European, specifically Scandinavian, descent. Her TAC name and distorted French accent suggest hailing from the Celtic-tied western Brittany region of France, since druids were majorly found in the country in ancient times. This is supported by Nguyen's statements below.

## Behind the scenes

Matthew Nguyen stated that her story purpose is as a preview of Crimson 1's eventual character development and that he spoke to Ben Balmaceda about recommending voice actors with exotic accents. He also said Frost is one of his three favorite characters because of her "absurd" story and "unrepentant" radio filter, and Elissa Park's impressive performance.

## References

1. ↑ Sector D2 Limited. (2020). *Project Wingman* [Video game]. San Francisco, CA: Humble Games. Credits: Voice Actor
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Sector D2. (2020). *Project Wingman* [Video game]. San Francisco, CA: Humble Games. Mission 16: "Wayback."
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sector D2 Limited. (2020). *Project Wingman* [Video game]. San Francisco, CA: Humble Games. Files Archive → Pilot Entries: Frost Druid | Klara Rask
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sector D2. (2020). *Project Wingman* [Video game]. San Francisco, CA: Humble Games. Mission 12: "Midnight Light."
5. ↑ Nguyen, M. [@flyawayn0w]. (2022, September 11). *Frost in* PW *was a character made in that fever dream of development because her slot in the story was* [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/flyawayn0w/status/1568749518438416384