Captain Robert Sand

Robert Sand was a striker pilot of the USNA Strike Corps. He was active in the invasion of Narma. After being court-martialed for insubordination, he was assigned to carry out a long-range autonomous patrol mission, which was, unknown to him, the suicidal Operation Catnip. He was killed in action in a one-on-one battle with the Narman ace Tiger One.

## History

Sand was a prodigy soldier who was enlisted into the USNA Strike Corps at the age of 16 under Project Warrior. After a two-year tour of duty in Narma, his actions at Kabraken Pass where he refused to execute a group of children and neutralised eight friendly units to lead said children to safety led to a charge of insubordination and low-level treason being leveled against him. This led to his confinement in a military prison for twenty years. At the sixth year of his incarceration he was offered the chance to clear his name as well as commute the remainder of his sentence in exchange for carrying out a long-range autonomous patrol in Narma. Unbeknownst to him, the patrol was a cover for Operation Catnip, a high-level classified operation to neutralise the team of Narman aces known as Tiger Squadron. By placing Sand, an ace pilot, behind enemy lines, they hoped to cause a confrontation with Tiger Squadron and defeat them.

Sand's initial engagements with Tiger Squadron were successful, whittling down its numbers, but his own squadron was also eventually killed in action, leaving him alone. Sand eventually burned down a military base, slaughtering its occupants indiscriminately, in order to draw out the last member of Tiger Squadron, Tiger One. They engaged each other and both were killed.

## Personality

Robert Sand was known to many of his associates as a quiet, sometimes reclusive man. However, he exhibited kindness and compassion not just towards his comrades but to his opponents as well, as evidenced by his actions at the Kabraken Pass Facility. He risked his life for the safety of his friends multiple times, sometimes pulling off near-suicidal stunts, but always maintained that he knew what he was doing and never meant to sacrifice himself meaninglessly.

After his squadron was decimated by Tiger One during Operation Catnip, Sand’s personality grew colder and more merciless. His worldview had slowly been challenged upon realising that Tiger One was, in fact, one of the children he protected during the Kabraken Pass Incident. He was willing to murder surrendering soldiers in order to set a trap for his enemies, an act that he viewed as simply collateral damage.

## Striker

Sand's machine was the custom unit *Blue Wolf.* Constructed from a mixture of 3rd-generation modules and the torso module of the prototype 1st-generation unit SF-P-013 "Wendigo", it had excellent speed and durability. It specialised in close-range combat, with Sand's preferred weapons being light machine guns and melee blades. Combined with the ability to fly at transonic speeds for nearly half an hour, this made *Blue Wolf* a powerful hit-and-run unit that could also spearhead offensives.

Blue Wolf was destroyed in the battle over Base Tylyanka.

## Abilities

Sand was a highly skilled soldier and well-versed in many aspects of combat.

* **Kinetic Vision:** A major contributor to Robert's piloting skill was his ability to track objects in motion accurately. Using this, he was able to dodge low-velocity projectiles on several occasions and even intercept aircraft by ambushing them from the ground.
* **Reflexes:** Robert's reflexes were described on his medical report as "nearly superhuman".
* **Small Arms Handling:** Aside from piloting, Robert could also handle small arms accurately and effectively.
* **Close Quarters Combat:** Robert was proficient with melee weapons such as tomahawks and swords.
* **Vehicular Operation:** Robert was a certified fighter pilot, a skill he used to his advantage multiple times.