The hangar Bay is finally open! Meet the Spectacular Skull Squadron at FreeCon 8! Captain Polly and her crew are ready to take off this year! Attendees interested in the Skull Squadron Sortie should read these bios to get a good idea as to what to expect on the mission to come. More information to come so stay tuned! Skull Squadron related merchandise, such as cards and comic books will be available at the day of the convention! Captain Polly Birthday: July 4th 1926 Born: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Blood type: O- “Ahoy, Sailor! Skull Squadron and me are ready to go at a drop of a hat!” Likes: Baseball, Monster movies, and Giant Robots. Dislikes: Black Licorice, Lemons, Nazis, and Big Words. In west Philadelphia, born and raised. On the playground is where she spent most of her days. Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool; formulating battle plans outside of her school. When a couple of Nazi’s who were up to no good started making trouble in her neighborhood. She foiled one little plot and her Dad, stubborn as a mule, he said “You’re gonna go live it up at Military School.” After several instances of setting West Point Military Academy ablaze, Polly graduated top of her class in the fields of aerodynamics, aerial assault, and leadership. Unfortunately, due to being a woman Polly felt she never was as respected as her peers. After her required tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force, Polly was recruited by General Patton for a group of individuals with specialized talents that answer only to him and President FDR. As the captain of the newly formed S-23 or “Skull Squadron”, Polly patrols the sky with her team to fight those who threaten to harm the good ol’ red, white and blue! Colonel Dallas “The Lone Star” Hoffman Birthday: February 22, 1895 Born: Sierra Vista, Arizona Blood type: A + “I’ve lived through two world wars. Let’s hope there’s not a third one. I’m retiring in two years.” Likes: Gun collecting, spicy foods and grapefruit juice. Dislikes: Jazz, candy, and pink. Decorated military hero of WWI, Hoffman lived a life of seclusion preferring to live alone in a one room shed with his dog Sargent Stubby II and pictures of his tour of duty. Contacted by U.S. officials for project S- 23, he was shocked to realize that he was not in command but rather as intelligence gathering and dispatching. Though often gruff and rude, Hoffman is a valuable asset in the team for his experience and ability to get the others to work together. Sally “The Sharpshooter” Rodriguez Birthday: May 11, 1921 Born: Figueres, Catalonia, Spain Blood type: AB – “Are we done yet? My novellas come on the radio at 5.” Like: Yogurt Parfaits, Guitar, Cheesecake, and Novellas. Dislikes: Naughty Nikki Revolver, Fish, Surrealist Paintings, and dogs. Sally was born in Spain as an only child to an influential family that left at the outbreak of The Spanish Civil War for the U.S. in 1936. Sally enjoys the taste of desserts and will usually be seen eating something sweet when not on a mission. Sally has in her contract that an hour a days she is to be left alone to listen to her Novellas. She has proficiency in all fire arms but is best suited with a sniper rifle due to her uncanny ability to hold her breath for long periods of time to steady her shot. Sally is cool and collected and is seen as the big sister to Polly and the rest of Skull Squadron though she doesn’t like to admit it. Billy “Barn-Stormer” Swanson Birthday: May 7, 1926 Born: Chicago, Illinois Blood type: A + “I-I-I-I’m n-not much of a talker.” Likes: Polly, Comic Books, and Salt Water Taffy. Dislikes: Monster Movies, Being Underwater, and Trains. Born as the son of a notorious Mafioso in Chicago who was killed in a deadly shootout between two warring families, Billy was sent to safety with the help of his Uncle FDR at the age of six to the American Midwest. Billy is a fun loving guy that is easily frightened and disheartened but still one of the most reliable people on Skull Squadron using his skills and smarts as the master tactician of the team in the heat of battle. Billy has a transparent crush on Polly that everyone can see the instant they see the two together but fortunately for him Polly seems oblivious to his advances. Bubba “Big Boy” Benson “The Bomber” Birthday: August 4, 1911 Born: New Orleans, Louisiana Blood type: B- “They call me ‘The Big Easy’, Baby!” Likes: Gumbo, Jazz, Pretty Ladies, His Mama. Dislikes: Rudeness, Classical Music, and Bland Food. Bubba grew up in the bayous of Louisiana in a house right on the banks of the Mississippi River. He is the oldest of three children but his father died when he was 8 and his mother fell ill with Tuberculosis shortly after. Bubba has taken numerous part time jobs and raised his kid brothers from that day forward. Because of this he has always known the value of hard work and self-confidence. He’s a wizard in the kitchen and without a doubt the most hospitable person on Skull Squadron. Bubba is very protective of everyone on Skull Squadron seeing them as a part of his family to the point that each Thanksgiving they all meet up at Bubba’s house on the banks of the river to feast! Nikolai “Rat-a-tat-tat” Gulskii Birthday: January 29, 1902 Born: Kazan, USSR Blood Type: B+ “Trouble never comes alone.” Likes: Butterflies, Fine Art, and Russian Literature of the Classical Era. Dislikes: Guns, Bullets, Explosions, His parrot; Isaac. Nikolai was one of the most lauded artistes of the European circuit before the outbreak of the Second World War. Finding asylum in the U.S. in exchange for his cooperation on Project S-23 or “Skull Squadron”, Nikolai was put in charge with heavy artillery due to his gargantuan size. Though, Nikolai takes joy in the finer things in live such as classical music and Russian literature he feels his talents are not being put to good use and thus, voices his opinion on why he was put on heavy artillery if asked. He also has a pet parrot named Issac that follows him everywhere whom he hates very much due to its vulgar language and being crass towards him when no one else is around. This information is all from Nikolai himself, so it could all be a lie anyways. Chandler “The Stabber” Sterling Birthday: November 3, 1922 Born: St. Louis, Missouri Blood Type: A- “I’m smiling- that alone should scare you.” Likes: Darts Games, Coffee, Small Things, and Knifes. Dislikes: Stupidity, Blunt Objects, and Robots. Chandler Sterling and his brother Johnny grew up in a well to do family with very little troubles growing up. Chandler always was a rebel, sneaking out at night to pick fights at local bars and speak easies. Eventually, strained from his family, he joined the U.S. army finding his knack in knife throwing. Preferring to use his knives in battle, his skills reached the ears of General Patton who placed him into Project S-23 A.K.A “Skull Squadron”. Even though he prefers to work alone, Chandler is still close to Johnny, his adrenaline junkie brother, and Billy, his bumbling friend. Johnny “Zoom” Sterling Birthday: December 17th 1926 Born: St. Louis, Missouri Blood Type: B+ “The skyline ends at the cemetery!” Likes: Speed, Speed, Speed. Dislikes: Going Slow, Going Slow, Going Slow. Johnny has always loved one thing and that’s going fast. Born in a well to do family but bored with the hum drum of everyday life, Johnny ended up joining the army with his brother, Chandler. He is a jokester and loves to make other’s laugh with his corny jokes. Due to his maturity, Johnny is seen as the little brother of Skull Squadron and lives every life to fullest in his custom bi plane. Tallahassee is being invaded by the technology hungry genocidal robot army known as K.R.A.K.E.N.! Skull Squadron must unite to defeat this foul threat before it destroys the City of Tomorrow! Birth Name: Gary T. Gaines Birthday: March 3rd, 1921 Born: New York City, New York Blood Type: O- “In a bet there is a fool and a thief.” Likes: Pizza, Betting, and Women. Dislikes: Getting Arrested, Rejection, and Loosing. Before being an enemy of the United States, Very little was known about Gary T. Gaines except he started out as a low tier thug in the Genovese crime family and has suffered from severe asthma since childhood. Staying out of the public eye for most of his short lived carrier and finding his knack for rigging horse races and political elections for the mafia’s favor until he was found having a relationship with his boss’s woman. Unable to run from his pursuers as a result of his asthma, later files extracted from a local clinic revealed his jaw, collar bone, vocal chords, and tongue were burned and lacerated beyond what medical science could repair rendering Gary T. Gaines mute and mutilated. Somehow learning of Dr. Anasi’s defection and the still unknown science of “augmentation”, Gaines made his way secretly to Germany during the opening days of the war and when seen next he sported a new lower jaw and chest augmentation and going by the alias “The Slick Silvertongue”. Silvertongue is a danger because of the vocal amplification that is produced by his augmentation leading to glass shattering screams and burst of concussive, sonic force working with his already psychotic personality. Take special care when cornering Silvertongue, much liked a cage rat he has proven he will do anything to escape to spread his corruption for another day. Alias: The Hammer Birth Name: Gustav Von Striken Birthday: April 22nd, 1900 Born: Gori, Georgia. Blood Type: AB- “Why do you fight?” Likes: Battle, Poetry, and Worthy Opponents Dislikes: The Weak, Meek, and Arrogant. Gustav is the least known of the main core of K.R.A.K.E.N. except for the view tidbits and rumors our intelligence division. A carnival strongman that once traveled with his agency across the Baltic country, Gustav paradoxically enjoys poetry and higher education while keeping an impressive physic. We speculate that Gustav must have met Dr. Anasi among his travels was somehow convinced to join the legions of K.R.A.K.E.N. possibly through the promise of fulfillment in the throngs of battle. The main points of Gustav in battle is his use of a hammer he refers to as “Mjolner” possibly indicating he has a psychosis personality detachment, believing himself to be the mythical “Thor” and his arm and leg augmentations. These augmentations are used for two specific purposes. The arms are designed for huge and quick burst of force where in action he can bring his hammer to the ground causing a several foot in diameter crater and damage to any person or collateral hundreds of yards around. The leg augmentations are used for what we tentatively call a “super jump”, literally shooting high into the air making him more difficult to engage in close quarter combat and to bring down his hammer simultaneously with his arm augmentation causing exponentially more damage. We suggest just staying away from him until science advances enough to retain him with less peril. Alias: Naughty Nikki Revolver Birth Name: Nikita Tanner Birthday: January 27th, 1924 Born: Fort Worth, Texas Blood Type: O+ ” A witty woman is a bore; a witty beauty is a power.” Likes: Pot Stickers, Violin Concertos in D Minor, Small and Large Firearms. Dislikes: Sally “Sharpshooter” Rodriguez, Tangled Hair, and Headaches. Nikita Tanner was once an up and coming violin virtuoso of the south with dreams of being first chair in the London Philharmonic. Her multifaceted tones where accomplished by a rare defect of her hand muscles allowing her to be virtually triple jointed in each finger and thus being able to perform one of a kind recitals that unfortunately attracted a just emerged Dr. Anasi and his cell of Nazi sympathizers. Nikita was reported missing on her twentieth birthday and after months of no leads she was presumed dead. Later found alive and well on the German frontlines against our Russian Allies. Now sporting some sort of “hand augmentations” that our scientist believe was retroactively created by studying Nikita’s hands which could only be done through amputation. Believed to have been mentally broken from her kidnapping, Nikita now goes by “Naughty Nikki” and her personality has completely changed to being a brash, hyper sexualized, elite assassin. Nikki’s strength comes with her proficiency in long ranged combat but her weakness lies in rousing her anger with insults. Even when her form is slacked by anger, Nikki still is more than a competent arms man for the regular soldier. If possible take her in alive, our psychologist believe enough treatment could ousted her “Naughty Nikki” personality and return Nikita to herself before the kidnapping by Anasi. Alias: Dr. Anasi Birth Name: Dr. Hanzsel Pitschmann Birthday: September 1st, 1883 Born: Berlin, Germany Blood Type: AB+ “A lifetime spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make anyone believe he’s a God!” Likes: Science, Robotics, and Sudoku. Dislikes: Polly, physical violence, and getting in harm’s way. Dr. Hansel Pitschmann was born of German immigrants and well known in the U.S. for his work on Artificial Intelligence and advancements in prosthetics’ for soldiers coming from the western front of WWI. At the outbreak of WWII, Dr. Pitschmann fled to Germany for unknown reasons and thus classified as an enemy of the United States when modifications of his work in the U.S. was found on German Solders as a type of “augmentation” meant to double their physical strength and usefulness in the field. During the many captures of Dr. Hanzsel Pitschman by U.S. forces, he has revealed he now calls himself Dr. Anasi which our psychiatrists believe is a coping mechanism for the immense pain the back augmentations he bestowed upon himself. Later research has confirmed that Dr. Pitschmann placed the spider-like robotics upon himself as a form of testing them accidentally crossing the nerve responses for pain and laughter in the processes. If the Doctor is heard laughing it denotes, more likely than not, the immense pain clouds his judgment and makes him a dangerous and highly volatile enemy. Proceed with caution. Alias: The Blitzkrieg Baron, The Munich Monarch, The Berlin Basher, H-man Birth Name: UNKNOWN Birthday: UNKNOWN [First identified on July 13th 1937 at the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of the Second Sino-Japanese War.] Born: UNKNOWN [Speculation: Perhaps not human, consider Non-Applicable next report.] Blood Type: UNKNOWN [Speculation: Perhaps not human, consider Non-Applicable next report.] [NO KNOWN VOICE RECORDINGS OF SUBJECT] Likes: UNKNOWN Dislikes: Allied Powers, Skull Squadron, Polly. No background data of H-man has been found. We speculated he is or once was human but is now more augmentation than flesh. H-man is able to exercise unknown force that is triggered and stimulate by the amount of hatred targeted towards him or how much he experiences at the time, no more information on this mysterious force is available. Variable, if seen in actual battle enact a retreat and report to your superior the sitting. Wait for further instruction after.