Ruth Valentine

**Spoiler Warning:** *There are spoilers for the details of the plot and/or ending in the text that follows.*

"*I want to be even better than my father.*"
―One of Ruth's random quotes during radio chatter.
**Ruth Valentine** is a character in the *Airforce Delta* series who appears as the deuteragonist and one of the main playable characters in *Airforce Delta Strike*.

Ruth is the leader of the 3rd Element of Delta Squadron and the daughter of Richard Valentine, who also was a pilot in Delta along with Robert Williams and Jamie Jones.

## Biography

### Background

Not much of Ruth's life before the events of the game is revealed. She gained the rank of captain at the age of 22, and left the regular army for Delta, to outpace her father's achievements. She mentions at one point in the game that she wanted to be a civilian pilot, but joined the military after the battles in the war intensified.

### Personality

Ruth is shown to be a caring and kind-hearted individual. She is frequently shown to be selfless and is dedicated to protecting her allies, particularly her wingmen Ken and John. She is shown to be relatively naive and inexperienced however. In the event of the death of one of her allies, she would go out of her way to avenge them. This is shown in the optional mission The Last Duel where she kills Ellen for taking part in destroying a medical ship earlier in the game. She is often worried about Ken and believes that he is suicidal. When Ken is worried if he is unable to fight Ellen, Ruth often attempts to comfort him.

### Appearance

Ruth is a slim and somewhat attractive young woman. Like all female pilots in the game, she has notably large breasts and hips. She has brown hair and eyes. She is slightly shorter than most other pilots in the game. She appears to be of Asian descent.

### Events of AFD Strike

Ruth, along with John, appears in the first three missions in the game, although only Ken is playable at this time. Ruth is first seen in the game's opening with her, Ken, and John, being launched from an airborne aircraft carrier. They head to Lugerde City where they find it being destroyed by O.C.C. bombers. They also encounter Sergei Kinski, and Ruth and John converse with him. They eventually succeed in destroying the bombers and Sergei is possibly shot down. The 3rd Element succeed in their mission. Afterwards, Ruth and Ken are shown the various rooms in the facility by Amelia Johnson. Lilia Mihajlovna also shows them the briefing room. Ken was carrying Ruth's bags.

Later, 3rd Element is called upon to destroy a fuel refinery in the Cartila Desert. During the mission, they encounter Giuseppe Ferretti and if he is not shot down, he converses with Ruth and John with the latter calling him a "buttwipe." Giuseppe is possibly shot down, and 3rd Element succeeds in destroying the refinery, completing the mission. Afterwards, Commander Robert Williams arranges a meeting with the pilots of Delta Squadron, and Jamie Jones, Rick Campbell, Alex Levine, Holst Prendre, Pedro Glankert, and Brian Douglas are introduced. Ruth asks Jamie what his age is and he says he is now 52. When Ruth introduces herself, she mentions that she switched from a post in the regular air force to leader of the Delta Squadron 3rd Element.

Afterwards, 3rd Element is called upon to deal with enemy fighters over Terranos Island. Among them are Leon Kleiser and Albert Ungar. The trio manage to bring down the enemy fighters and succeed in their mission. In the debriefing, John asks Lilia about Albert and Ruth says that he is an ace pilot who took down three Mavericks all by himself. She also states that his plane had Merv markings. When Ken states that he couldn't care less about Albert being Sergei's successor, Ruth asks him why and he says that anyone from the O.C.C. is an enemy of his. Ruth gets angry and so does John who tells Ken not to touch his prey. Ken tells him to have fun with his little hunt and John agrees and leaves. Ruth calls for him, but then Ken says that neither him nor John need any strategy lessons and leaves. Ruth calls for him, but Lilia tells her that she may never get Ken and John to cooperate, but she must try and that the Delta Squadron is riding on her efforts. Ruth agrees and she is dismissed.

Later, John goes missing and Ruth and Ken are ordered to patrol the Haben Ravine along with Bravo pilots David Smith, Collette Le Clerc, and Constance Le Clerc. Along the way, they are attacked by fighters, but they manage to fight them off with help from Bravo. When they reach the ravine, David pulls up and crashes into the anti-aircraft net, forcing him to bail out. Collette and Constance then try to attack one of the strange steamroller-like battleships, but they fail and when they pull up, they crash, forcing them to bail out. Ken and Ruth then fly through the ravine and they eventually reach a gate. They destroy the gate units and the gate opens, allowing them to fly through it, completing the mission. Afterwards, Ruth meets with Ken in the hallway and angrily asks him about why he insists on the total destruction of the enemy forces. After some talk, Ken gets angry and says that he lost everything and that there is nothing he can do but fight and that he will do whatever it takes to wipe the enemy out and that means anything. Ruth starts to feel sympathy for him, and just as Ken is about to leave, David appears and after talking with Ken, he tells Ruth that he sympathizes with her for having to put up with someone like Ken so soon after assuming duties. Ruth thanks him and David leaves for a meeting. Ruth wonders what David wanted and what Ken said about having lost everything and about what could have happened to him.

Later, Delta is called upon to capture the enemy's transport squadron, and to destroy the enemy airships surrounding the transports, then to guide the transports back into friendly airspace. They ultimately succeed and in the debriefing, Lilia reveals that the decorated general of the O.C.C., General Bolotnikov, has defected. Ken and Jamie get angry and Ken wants to kill him, believing that he is still an enemy, but Ruth tries to calm him down and Ken refuses. John intervenes and Ruth tries to thank him but he says that he did not do it to receive thanks. Ruth is confused and John says that if Ken pulls anything, the 3rd Element will be barred from flying missions. He tells her that Ken has been like that since he joined Delta and he also tells Ruth to not let "this crap happen again" and leaves. Ruth wonders what Ken went through.

Later, Ruth and the other pilots fly to the Drycharl Desert to destroy a new anti-aircraft system, tornado generators. Along the way, they encounter Donald Chan and two reinforcements. John leaves the mission zone to deal with an enemy air squadron. Despite this, the pilots manage to deal with Donald and the other enemies, and they head into the Drycharl Desert where they destroy the tornado machines and the operations base. If the player plays the Intercept mission for Twister with John, a mission called Lone Wolf, where John fights the enemy squadron, will appear in place of Twister. Towards the end of the mission, Ken and Ruth show up and Ruth asks John what is his status and tells Ken to orbit and backup John and she will keep the bandits in check. After some fighting, Ruth will tell John and Ken that they are about to hit bingo fuel and orders them to disengage and leave the hot zone and these are orders and to leave the battle zone now. If John stays in the battle zone, Ruth will keep asking him what he is doing and tells him to bug out now. When John leaves, Ruth confirms that John has left the zone and they head for home plate. In the debriefing, Ruth apologizes to Robert for failing in her supervisory duties and John tells her that he doesn't need "supervising" from her and says to get straight to that thing now. Ruth gets angry and tells John to keep quiet. Robert then tells Ruth that there is no need to worry and they are willing to overlook John's conduct today and they are certainly not faulting her. Ruth asks Robert why and he says it is because it didn't do any harm and the mission was a success and they sustained zero damage. Ruth is outraged and she says that John was clearly disobeying orders. John asks if they could move this along, much to Ruth's annoyance. After Lilia says that it looks like debriefing John is out, she then says she guesses that she will just have to review John's plane cam and tells Ruth that it will be all. Ruth calms down and agrees ad the debriefing ends. If the player plays the mission Lone Wolf, then completes the game with John, then starts a new game, and plays Twister with either Ken or Ruth, a mission called Far Behind will appear where Ruth and Ken meet up with John who is dealing with the enemy squadron lead by Francine Davout and Jake Emerson. If the player plays as Ken, Ruth will ask John what is his status and John will ask what are they doing there. Ruth asks John if he thinks she is going to let him engage without backup and says it is suicide. She then says to send these bandits down and get 3rd Element home, and tells Ken to approach low and John to approach high and engage, much to his annoyance. After some fighting, Ruth asks John what is his fuel status and John lies saying it is still going strong but Ruth tells him not to jerk around and says he has to be near bingo and John reluctantly agrees. Ruth tells Ken and John to split and lead the way, and they leave the battle zone. In the debriefing, Ruth angrily calls out John who smugly asks what it is, and Ruth asks him what he has to say for himself and John asks what the problem is. Ruth tells John that he left the mission zone and went off fighting on his own and that he disobeyed orders. John smiles and says he was just taking care of the reinforcements that were trying to intercept them. Ruth asks if that is all he has to say and John says he is in a good mood which is lucky for Ruth, much to her annoyance. John says he would usually be pretty ripped but seeing as he found an 'interesting prey' today, he will let it go. Ruth gets irritated and then Lilia shows up asking Ruth and John what they are doing and Ruth is surprised to see her. Lilia tells Ruth she didn't expect her and John to be best friends right off the bat, but she didn't think they would be fighting in the halls like this. Ruth gets mad and tries to explain, but Lilia interrupts her saying she has something to say before she goes into all that and Ruth asks what it is. Lilia tells Ruth she will not let her press charges on John after this, and says that Robert agrees which means this is an official order. Ruth is outraged and Lilia says that John explained his reasons and it worked out in the end and they can't afford to lose people over 'stupid' things like this. Ruth asks why and Lilia tells her they won't be getting any more replacements in a hurry with the war going the way it is. Lilia then angrily explains to Ruth the possibility of them being destroyed while John is sitting in lockup and asks her if she wants to be responsible for something like that. Ruth steps down and says she does not. Lilia then tells Ruth that Delta works under a reward system which is why they get sent to all the roughest places and tells her to try to understand this. Ruth then leaves with disbelief.

Later, 1st and 3rd Elements are called upon to defend Ballga airbase from enemy fighters. During the mission, they encounter Sergei and then Albert and Ellen McNichol. Ruth tells Ken to stay with it as Ken is shocked to see his girlfriend still alive. Delta eventually manage to deal with the enemy fighters and save the airbase, completing the mission. Afterwards, Ruth meets Ken and asks him what's wrong and says that he was acting strange during battle. Ken says that it shouldn't concern her and that his stats are improving. Then Lilia shows up and tells Ruth what Ken was before joining Delta, that Ken was a space pilot stationed at a space station and Ellen flew the 2nd plane in his Element. When the O.C.C. declared war on the E.D.A.F., they attacked the space station and Ellen was believed to have been killed, then she was captured and brainwashed by the O.C.C.. Lilia orders Ken to shoot Ellen down as she is the enemy. Ruth is unable to believe what Lilia is saying and Ken leaves. Ruth then wonders what to do.

Afterwards, Ruth appears in her own optional mission where she tries to save a stranded medical ship in the Utorina Sea. She encounters Giuseppe, Leon, and Ellen. The ship is eventually destroyed and Ruth is horrified and vows revenge.

Later, Ruth and the other pilots are sent to regain the airspace near the Chiron orbital lift in Armagest City and assist the ground troops as they advance. Along the way, they encounter Sergei, Giuseppe, and two reinforcements. They manage to deal with them and proceed to the city. There, they encounter Pierre Gallo and if the player is playing as either Ken or John, Ruth will say, "Just calm down and take it easy!" The Delta Squadron manages to destroy the anti-air radar system and shoot down Pierre, completing the mission. In the debriefing, the Delta pilots talk about Pierre and how he was so young and yet so skilled. Ruth asks if he could be part of some special training program but Lilia says that it would take several years to train somebody that well, even with a special program. Ruth suggests that it could be gene manipulation, but Lilia says that it would be too risky and that such results would be nothing short of miraculous. Ruth asks Lilia how she knows this and the latter says that it's because all of her friends are failed cases, and that it must be some type of hyper-accelerated gifted program.

Later, Ruth and the other pilots are sent to destroy the Kotor Stronghold. Along the way, they encounter Francine and Jake, though they manage to deal with them and the other enemies. At Kotor, they are attacked by Sergei and Albert. The Delta Squadron manages to fly through several underground bunkers and destroy the internal hatches with help from Land Walker. If Sergei is left alive after the 5th hangar has been destroyed, he must be killed. Sergei is then shot down and killed and the Delta Squadron succeeds in their mission. In the debriefing, Jamie asks Ruth if everyone made it back safely and she says yes. Jamie then asks her if she wants to gamble based on the number of enemies shot down. Ruth gets slightly irritated and asks him about it. Suddenly, they see a flash where Kotor is. Ruth asks what is happening and Ken says that this war clearly isn't over yet.

Later, the Delta Squadron is called upon to clear a path for bombers that are being sent to attack the enemy's new railguns. Along the way, they encounter five enemy bombers and Pierre. They manage to deal with them and head to Marinor Glen. At the canyon, large wind turbines are activated, creating a barrier of wind above the canyon. Ken, Ruth, and John are accompanied by David, Collette, and Constance, but they are knocked out by the wind. As they fly through the canyon, they are pursued by Albert, Ellen, and two reinforcements. Albert and Ellen briefly converse with Ken, but only if he is not under the player's control. Eventually, they manage to reach where the machines are located, and they destroy the machines by breaking their supports, causing them to topple over, completing the mission. In the debriefing, Ken is worried if he is unable to fight Ellen and Ruth is left speechless.

Later, Ruth and the other pilots are sent to attack the Navarone battery, home to three of the enemy's new large-bore railguns. Along the way, they encounter Francine and Jake again, and Jake is killed during the fight. They also encounter strange prototype vehicles shaped like crabs. The 2nd Element manages to deal with them. When they reach where the railguns are located, all the bombers are shot down by one of them. David, Collette, and Constance enter one of the railguns and they blow it up. Amelia tells them to leave the battle zone. The Delta Squadron manages to destroy the other two railguns, completing the mission.

Later, Delta Squadron is sent to attack the Chiron orbital lift in Armagest City, to prevent the enemy from attempting to resupply. During the mission, they are attacked by Donald and Ellen. Donald is killed if he is shot down, although he is not required to be. Ellen is not required to be shot down either. The lift eventually comes online and Delta attacks the elevator car and they manage to stop it, completing the mission. However, Pierre discovers this, and, flying a large mech, fires a powerful laser beam at the lift, causing it to explode and slowly break up.

Later, Delta is forced to deal with the fragments of the orbital lift, and prevent the large fragments from falling to Earth to avoid disaster. They encounter Albert, who converses with Ken if he is not under the player's control. They eventually manage to destroy the fragments and succeed in their mission.

Later, 1st and 3rd Elements are sent to the Uranometria base to provide cover for the last heavy-lift vehicle (HLV) known as Starlight as it takes off. They encounter Leon one last time. Leon is killed if he is shot down, although the mission does not require him to be. Delta manages to destroy the Crabs clinging to the Starlight, allowing the Starlight to speed up to prepare for launch. It eventually picks up enough speed and launches. The Starlight then flies high in the air and the Delta Squadron docks on it. The Starlight then flies into space and, along with several other HLVs, approaches the mothership Isis, completing the mission.

Afterwards, Delta Squadron is sent to defend the E.D.A.F. armada from an enemy formation. If Ellen was not unlocked, she will appear as an enemy, and she converse with Ken if he is not being played as. Delta manages to wipe out the enemy formation and complete their mission.

Later, they are sent to attack the L-2 Colony which they believe to be the O.C.C.'s main base. 1st and 3rd Elements attack the fighters and mechs, while 2nd Element attacks their fleet. During the mission, they encounter Francine who wants to avenge Jake's death. She fails, and the Delta Squadron manages to win the battle. However, it is then revealed that the L-2 Colony was not the O.C.C.'s main base. The main characters discover that the O.C.C. is being led by an alien known as Navigator, and that he created all the highly advanced technology. They also learn that Navigator is located at the planet Mars, and they decide to head there.

Delta is then sent to defend the four ships as they descend to Mars' surface from enemies. They encounter Francine one last time, and she is killed. Delta is able to fight off the enemies, but three of the ships have been destroyed. Luckily, they are able to defend Isis, the last ship, as it descends to Mars' surface. The E.D.A.F. troops construct a base there and prepare for the final battle.

### The Last Duel

If the player plays the mission Priority, as mentioned above, and does not unlock Ellen, and plays the mission Rush Into the Red Star with Ruth, a mission for her called The Last Duel appears where she fights and kills Ellen. In the debriefing, she apologizes to a dismayed Ken and he says that Ellen was the enemy and she would have done the same thing in her shoes. He then calms down, thanks Ruth for saving him, and leaves. Ruth briefly converses with commander Robert, and he reassures her that her father would have been proud and her Element is becoming better than his.

### Ending

In the final missions for 3rd Element, Mother Ship and Inside, Ruth takes part along with Ken, John, and Ellen (the latter of whom is optional), and they attack the large floating fortress. They destroy spheres which causes the fortress' core to open and they destroy it. This causes the fortress to break up into a large crystalline structure creating a large portal. The heroes fly through the portal and they find themselves inside an unknown alien location. They fly through doors that constantly open and close, and they also encounter three robots which can be destroyed. They eventually reach what appears to be a large chamber and they encounter Pierre flying a strange, large mech. After a long fight, they eventually defeat Pierre and Navigator kills him when he tries to regroup. They then fly through another tunnel and they find Navigator. They kill him and they manage to escape before the doors close.

### Ellen becoming unlocked

If the player plays as Ken and shoots down Ellen whenever she appears, the debriefings for the missions Up Stream, Meteor Structure, and Departure change. In the one for Up Stream, Ken gets upset about having Ellen as an enemy, and Ruth tries to comfort him. Then Lilia appears and angrily tells Ken not to leave and informs them that the fragments of the Chiron lift are falling to Earth, and they must stop them to avoid disaster. Lilia leaves and Ken tells Ruth that he's fine though she is still worried. In the debriefing for Meteor Structure, everyone celebrates their victory and then Brian notices something and Ruth asks him what it is. It is revealed to be a plane that belongs to who is revealed to be an unbrainwashed Ellen. Ruth asks her if she knows Ken. Ellen then becomes playable for the space missions.

### The Confront

If Ellen is unlocked and Mother Ship and Inside are played with Ken, Lilia mentions that all Delta members have gone off to intercept and Ken and Ellen are the last team left. Ruth is among the pilots who already left and, like the others, she is never seen or heard from again. Her fate is left ambiguous as a result even though Lilia likely sent her and the others because she knew they'd come back alive.

## Specifications

* Call sign: Viper 1
* T.A.C. name: Lilly
* Plane colors: Pink with red and white lines and images of a star. Her Su-30MKI has a different paint job; it is a camouflaged pink color. Her F-14D also has a different paint job; it is predominantly dark gray, with a single pink star located on the center of the craft.

## Characters who can be killed by Ruth

* Sergei Kinski - Killed in Tiger's Cave.
* Jake Emerson - Killed in R-Mite.
* Donald Chan - Can be killed in Up Stream.
* Leon Kleiser - Can be killed in Departure or Decision.
* Francine Davout - Killed in Rush Into the Red Star.
* Ellen McNichol - Killed in The Last Duel (optional mission).
* Navigator - Killed in Inside.

## Ruth's planes

* Su-24M "Fencer D"
* F5D-1 Skylancer
* Jian-Ji 8IIM "Finback B"
* F-20 Tigershark
* HiMAT
* F-14D Tomcat
* F/A-18C Hornet
* Su-30MKI
* Jian-Ji 12
* F-15E Strike Eagle
* Su-35 "Flanker E"
* YF-23A Black Widow II
* Jian-Ji 11
* F-102A Delta Dagger

## Mission Appearances

* BLUE WING KNIGHTS (Not playable)
* operation code H4 (Not playable)
* The "GALE" (Not playable)
* Team Bravo
* Force Scout
* Over the Cloud
* Encount (Twister) (Optional mission)
* Twister
* Lone Wolf (Optional mission/Not playable)
* Far Behind (Optional mission)
* Doll Master
* Priority (Optional mission)
* Encount (Night Blitz) (Optional mission)
* Night Blitz
* Encount (Tiger's Cave)
* Tiger's Cave
* New Generation (Optional mission)
* Wind Valley (Optional appearance in mission/appears in briefing and debriefing regardless)
* R-Mite
* Turning Point
* Up Stream
* Meteor Structure
* Departure
* Decision (Optional mission/Not playable)
* Skirmish
* The Defender (Optional appearance in mission/appears in briefing and debriefing regardless)
* The Decisive Battle (Not playable)
* Rush Into the Red Star
* The Last Duel (Optional mission)
* Mother Ship
* Inside

## Gallery

### Art

Artwork of Ruth and Ellen.Ruth Valentine wallpaper.Artwork of Ruth and Amelia in bikinis and Lilia in a dress.Ruth Valentine in her flight suit.
### Aircraft

Ruth's Su-24M "Fencer D" paint scheme 1.Ruth's Su-24M "Fencer D" paint scheme 2.Ruth's Su-24M "Fencer D" paint scheme 3.Ruth's F5D-1 Skylancer paint scheme 1.Ruth's F5D-1 Skylancer paint scheme 2.Ruth's F5D-1 Skylancer paint scheme 3.Ruth's Jian-Ji 8IIM "Finback B" paint scheme 1.Ruth's Jian-Ji 8IIM "Finback B" paint scheme 2.Ruth's Jian-Ji 8IIM "Finback B" paint scheme 3.Ruth's F-20 Tigershark paint scheme 1.Ruth's F-20 Tigershark paint scheme 2.Ruth's F-20 Tigershark paint scheme 3.Ruth's HiMAT paint scheme 1.Ruth's HiMAT paint scheme 2.Ruth's HiMAT paint scheme 3.Ruth's F-14D Tomcat paint scheme 1.Ruth's F-14D Tomcat paint scheme 2.Ruth's F-14D Tomcat paint scheme 3.Ruth's F/A-18C Hornet paint scheme 1.Ruth's F/A-18C Hornet paint scheme 2.Ruth's F/A-18C Hornet paint scheme 3.Ruth's Su-30MKI paint scheme 1.Ruth's Su-30MKI paint scheme 2.Ruth's Su-30MKI paint scheme 3.Ruth's Jian-Ji 12 paint scheme 1.Ruth's Jian-Ji 12 paint scheme 2.Ruth's F-15E Strike Eagle paint scheme 1.Ruth's F-15E Strike Eagle paint scheme 2.Ruth's F-15E Strike Eagle paint scheme 3.Ruth's Su-35 "Flanker E" paint scheme 1.Ruth's Su-35 "Flanker E" paint scheme 2.Ruth's Su-35 "Flanker E" paint scheme 3.Ruth's YF-23A Black Widow II paint scheme 1.Ruth's YF-23A Black Widow II paint scheme 2.Ruth's Jian-Ji 11 paint scheme 1.Ruth's Jian-Ji 11 paint scheme 2.Ruth's Jian-Ji 11 paint scheme 3.Ruth's F-102A Delta Dagger paint scheme 1.Ruth's F-102A Delta Dagger paint scheme 2.Ruth's F-102A Delta Dagger paint scheme 3.Ruth's Su-30MKI in flight.Ruth's F-15E Strike Eagle, flying alongside Ken's MiG-29SMT "Fulcrum C".Ruth's YF-23A, flying alongside Alpha Squadron MiG-29s.Ruth's F-20 Tigershark in flight.Ruth's F-20 Tigershark in flight.Ruth's F/A-18C Hornet in flight.Ruth's YF-23A Black Widow II in flight.Ruth's F-15E Strike Eagle in flight.Ruth's HiMAT in flight.Ruth's Su-24M, flying over an O.C.C. Type-B7: Spiral, and the Freedom.

## Trivia

* Since Ellen is an unlockable character, it's entirely possible for Ruth to be the only playable female pilot in the game.
* Purchasing all of Ruth and Ellen's planes is required to unlock the ?????? plane, the Poly.