Willem De Jager

**Willem De Jager** is a mercenary pilot who fought for various factions including the Anti-Unification League.

## Background

Born in what was at the time South Africa, Willem De Jager was from an early age driven by two desires. The first was his love of aircraft and flying; he learned to pilot a plane as soon as he could, and then joined the Air Force where he trained as a fighter pilot. The second was greed and the desire to be wealthy, a desire that his first love played well into. As the Global Civil War erupted, he found work as a mercenary in numerous conflicts across the world, flying for whatever power would pay him the most.

While a skilled mercenary pilot, De Jager was also ruthless and merciless in the execution of his duties. Driven by a desire to get the job done and get paid, he had no regard for collateral damage or any other ethical concerns in his operations. While the combination of his skill and utter lack of regard made him successful, it also meant that he made more than a few enemies along the way. However, he remained confident that as long as there was a war to be fought, his services would be needed.

The arrival of the Visitor, the end of the Global Civil War and the formation of the United Earth Government changed all that. De Jager knew that now his record and reputation would count against him, and that he had no place in the ranks of the newly-formed United Earth Defence Force. However, he found that there were others who were willing to overlook his past. De Jager found work flying for the Anti-Unification League, an organisation who's membership included people that he had flown for during the Civil War.

During one mission over Pogata in South America, he encountered Nadia Sverdlorva, a UEDF fighter pilot who's skills matched his own. The two would clash several more times over the next few years, with a heated rivalry developing between the two. Even as the AUL crumbled, De Jager continued to work for them as he now knew that he had nowhere else to go; furthermore, he saw his rivalry with Sverdlorva as an unresolved matter that needed to be addressed.

Late in 2008 they clashed one last time in south-east Asia. This time, Sverdlorva was piloting a VF-1 Veritech, a fighter that completely out-matched his, leading to De Jager being shot down. However, he managed to eject, and vanished into the jungles.

## Personality

For all his claims of professionalism, Willem De Jager was ultimately driven by his own greed and desire to be wealthy. His ruthlessness in combat was driven as much by a desire to achieve results as it was to get paid, leading to him having little concern for the effects of his actions. He had no qualms about attacking civilian targets or other such acts, as long a he was being paid to do such. Likewise, he cared little for who he worked for, claiming that money was above politics. While a skilled dogfighter, De Jager would frequently use his wingmen as bait or distractions for his own advantage.

His rivalry with Nadia Sverdlorva was a severe blow to his claims, however. At first he disliked her for simply being able to match him, a blow to his ego that he was never able to fully recover from. That she was younger and less experienced than him only further infuriated him, a fact only made worse by her own rather deliberately grating persona. As much as he tried to focus on the job, he soon came to make defeating her in combat his main focus, much to his detriment.

## Weapons and Equipment

During the Global Civil War, De Jager flew a wide variety of different fighters, depending on what his employers could offer him. While the MiM-31 Karyovin was the aircraft he had flown the most often, his favourite was the Dominator 6000. He liked the fighter for its combination of agility and aggressive performance, and used it on a number of occasions, scoring numerous kills at its controls. He flew a Dominator during all his battles with Sverdlorva, giving him a fighter that was a match for her Robotechnology-enhanced F-203.

The rest of his equipment was largely conventional. De Jager always had a pistol with him, seeing it as being just as an important survival tool as any other part of his kit. Thanks to the wealth he had accrued from his mercenary work, he was able to live comfortably and had several safehouses where he could lie low if needed.

## Game Information

* **Career:** Pilot
	+ **Focus:** Squadron Leader

* **Talents:**
	+ Crucial Orders
	+ Hard Lock
	+ Hideout

* **Qualifications:**
	+ All Aerial Vehicles
	+ Yellowjacket Battlesuit
	+ MPV