Tiao Ming

Tiao's portrait

**Tiao Ming** is a Chinese air marshal and fighter pilot in the Nuuk Empire, hailed as one of the greatest pilots to every fly a plane. He is noted for carrying out numberous attacks on the Weltreich's Luftwaffe, acting as an unstoppable force in the air until the Great Amnesty ended the Greater Decade's War in 3998. Today, in spite of his age, he is still an active fighter pilot and general, acting as a great threat to arial opposition.

## Early Life

Tiao was born in Wuhan, Federal Republic of China, the younger child of Tiao Bai and Lei Su. He was born into the Republic's long golden age (2910-2978), a period when it saw great prosperity under its numerous presidents. As such, he and his family lived comfortably. In his childhood, Tiao wanted to learn to become a pilot to aid in the ongoing Chinese War, as he had a fascination with aircraft and flight. His love for flight would translate in his later life, when he got accepted into the Wuhan Flight Academy at the age of 17 in 3978. It was around this time that the Republic of China's golden age would come to an end, and a period of decline would signify its imminent end. Many university applicants were dropped at this time due to economic troubles, but Tiao was still accepted. He learned from the best, and eventually was able to become a passable student. Disaster, however, would eventually strike, as the Weltreich launched an invasion of the Republic of China in 2982 due to the failure of the Dzungar War. With the fall of the more eastern of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nanjing, and Beijing, the Republic would be forced to surrender. In order to escape the Fascist regime, Tiao would leave Wuhan and enter the People's Republic of China, a fledgling Communist state with which the Federal Republic of China had been at war since 2918. Now in unfamiliar land, Tiao would be met with yet another invasion, this time by the Nuuk Empire. In 2984, the Nuuk Empire overran the PRC, south-to-north. Tiao happened to be in the south, and as such encountered them first. Having been miserable for the last few years, he was astounded to see the Imperial aircraft zoom overhead, and it reignited his interest in flight and aircraft in one instant. He would wave his arms in the air as the Imperial troops marched into the plains, asking them if he could, by chance, join them as a pilot. They scoffed at his request, but nevertheless took him in. They took him down to Rangoon, where he met with Tamesse Ayodele, who at the time, was commanding the Imperial troops in Asia from Rangoon. Ayodele, on a whim, decided to invite Tiao to Nuuk, where he would be enrolled in the Nuuk Military Academy, in the same graduating class as Zhuldyz Gulnar. His education began quickly, and the young man's talent became quickly apparent. He was lacklustre in ground combat, but in aerial combat excelled. This was brought to Ayodele's attention, who worked with him personally to develop his aerial strategies further. With his graduation in 2987, he was promoted from low-ranking pilot to air marshal. Only a year later, his skill was put to the test.

## Middle Life

### Greater Decade's War

The declaration of the Greater Decade's War in 2988 was Tiao's opportunity to succeed in the sky. He would be deployed in North America, working closely with ground general Thomas Shepherd to take the Reich's province of Amerika. Tiao's forces would lead a cohesive effort to shoot down any Reich craft to enter the sky. Tiao's forces would bomb Reich airports, crippling their air force, as well as attacking major military factories to prevent industrial output. His astounding successes would pave the way for Shepherd's forces to storm Milwaukee, New Orleans, and Saint Louis in a matter of days. Tiao would continue his campaign to the eastern seaboard, attacking destroying the infrastructure in Toronto, Charleston, and especially New York, where a massive firebombing campaign would leave the city a wreck. Tiao became known throughout the Empire in a matter of weeks, and the Reich would become weary of Nuuk Air Superiority. Reich Air Marshal Karl Herzing would be deployed in Asia to pose a threat to Tiao as the Amerikan campaign came to a close. Tiao would be sent over to Asia, where he would famously defend Thailand from Reich forces by bombing their supply lines, damaging all their supplies and cutting off their railways. Tiao's efforts would lead to the holding of Burma. He also achieved fame for attacking Reich forces in Tibet all the way from the airbase in Rangoon. Tiao was told the campaign was crazy, that to fly all that distance without a nearby airport was needlessly risky. Tiao responded, "what is war but crazy?" He would lead the charge and bomb Reich forces crossing through the mountains, using avalanches to his advantage. The campaign was a massive success for the Empire, and hindered Ernst Rassel's plans to cross into Tibet and capture the city of Lhasa. The failure of the Southeast Army would be a contributing factor the failure of the Lhasa Offensive, and without an extra front to fight, the Nuuks would be able to retake land in the north and push into Nepal in the south.