Emil Torsc
From ExodusWar
| Emil "Enigma" Torsc | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Emil Torsc | |
| Birth | August 6, 2060 Torimur |
| Death | |
| Allegiance(s) | Federated Districts of the Prefecture |
| Profession | Pilot |
| Recognitions | "Raven's Wing" Test Pilot |
| Achievements | |
Emil "Enigma" Torsc (born August 6, 2060) is a good soldier, a cunning fighter, and arguably the best pilot ever known. In the past, he was considered one of the most ruthless commanders around, though this reputation was largely undeserved: Torsc follows orders, but has no hatred of his own.
Emil earned hundreds of commendations throughout his distinguished career. He earned the distinction of being the only combat ace of the First Exodus War on either side, earned a reputation for bravery and total piloting skill during the "Project Raven" flight testing program, and won the respect and admiration of an entire generation of pilots trained during the pre-Second Exodus War buildup.
During the Second Exodus War, Emil truly shined as the most feared and respected pilot in the entire war. He killed hundreds of enemy pilots, and his choice in "significant kills"--recognizing and targetting enemy aces and leaders--resulted in the deaths of thousands. Despite his fearsome reputation, Emil was very respectful towards his enemies, speaking highly of them to his superiors and insisting on proper treatment of P.O.Ws
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[edit] Birth
Emil Torsc was born to poor colonists who died in the early days of the Torimur colony. In those days, Jerome Black's colonial administration did not have a system of identification or registration of people. As newcomers, the infant's parents were not well known. As a result, Emil never learned the names of his parents.
Emil was only five months old when his parents died, and would have died as well if his mother had not been starving herself to feed him. The young Emil was found barely alive in his dead mother's arms by some of Jerome Black's relief groups.
[edit] Early Life
Until he was two years old, Emil was raised by the Torimur colonial government, but Jerome Black's government had no social "safety net" or any formalized system for taking care of the needy. The spaceport administration office actually kept the boy as a "mascot", letting him come to work with various staff members, and being sent home for the night with anyone who volunteered. While he was well-fed and well-treated, he was hardly receiving a "nurturing upbringing."
Emil was finally noticed by a freight-hauler named Herman Torsc. Emil had wandered out into a hangar bay, where Herman was working on his starship's engine. Emil began handing Herman tools as he worked, and went unnoticed until Herman remembered his assistant was not working that day. When he saw the young boy with no supervision, he learned the entire story.
Herman soon took Emil off the spaceport administration's hands. He and his wife Amanda adopted Emil. Emil immediately took to space travel. As soon as he was old enough to be trusted, he travelled with Herman on every cargo haul. Emil began piloting freighters when he was six years old, and atmospheric aircraft when he was eight. Flying was Emil's life.
[edit] Combat Ace
Herman Torsc saw how much Emil loved flying, and decided to help him learn from the best. He hired on Alexi Fabrichnov, an elderly spacer who had been a Soviet pilot during World War III and cosmonaut in the days of Terran expansion. Despite his advanced age, Alexi still knew the tactics of a fighter pilot, and taught Emil everything he knew about flying in atmosphere and in space.
Until Alexi's death in 2075, Emil and Alexi spent every spare minute they had flying, working on their aircraft, and discussing tactics and the history of air combat. Emil later fondly recalled those early years in his autobiography, "Live to Fly": "I never really understood what Alexi and Dad were trying to teach me until after the exile. Alexi inspired the confidence and fiery attitude that all fighter pilots needed, but working for Dad kept me humble enough to keep my head out of the clouds. Without Alexi's lessons, I would never have fought at all. If I hadn't worked for Dad, I would have gotten killed in the first battle I fought in."
During the political crisis leading up to the First Exodus War, Herman Torsc planned to evacuate his family from Torimur. On July 13, 2078, Lucius Black militarized every starship in the Cildeng System. Emil reported for duty to the Torimur armed forces, and covered for Herman as he evacuated their family to the Lyrae System. Emil never saw his family again, and history does not record their fate.
During the First Exodus War, Emil Torsc quickly showed his value to Torimur and to Lucius Black. His natural ability and finely honed skills made him a natural combat pilot. He was the only ace of the First Exodus War, and the first ace of space combat. Emil shot down twenty enemy ships, including a Terran cruiser. His hothead attitude and great success earned him great accolades among the Torimur armed forces. No other pilot during the First Exodus War killed more than four enemy ships, making Emil Torsc the only one to win the coveted title.
[edit] Exile
After the end of the First Exodus War and Torimur's defeat at the hands of the United Earth Alliance, Emil Torsc spent the entire First Exodus in cold sleep, and did not wake up until the Second Exodus was completed.
When the Onyx Empire was formed on Ah Kin in 2300, Emil was picked for the "Raven's Wings", the test pilots in the "Raven Project" developing the F-4 for the Royal Imperial Air Force. During the test program, Emil was unwittingly measured against Marcus Rathbone and Matthias Carter. After carefully watching their piloting and leadership skills, Marcus Rathbone was given the highly-desireable command of the Royal Imperial Air Force over Emil. Emil Torsc was instead given command of the air arm of the Royal Imperial Navy.
After the "Raven's Wings" completed their mission and were disbanded, Emil was assigned to train volunteers to become flight instructors for the "Perfect Soldier" flight academy.
In 2306, the "Perfect Soldier" plan was ready for training. While several years passed before the recruits were ready to attend the flight academy, Emil Torsc was appointed the second senior instructor in the flight academy under Marcus Rathbone.
[edit] Imperial Hero
During the Second Exodus War, Torsc earned more kills and dominated space and air combat more thoroughly than any other pilot. As he aged and saw more combat, Torsc mellowed significantly. He killed the enemies of the Empire without mercy, but held no hatred for them. Torsc has always been a professional soldier.
In the first engagement of the Second Exodus War, Torsc shot down fifteen enemy fighters, killing more than anyone else in the battle, but barely outscoring the Alliance pilot Helen Cashaw's tally of eleven kills.
While the two never met, Helen Cashaw and Emil Torsc became identical counterparts for their respective nations. Both were considered the "top ace" among their compatriots, and both were feared by their enemies. While she died in 2316 and never wrote a diary or memoirs, it was widely believed that Cashaw was afraid of Emil Torsc.
Emil was not afraid of Cashaw, but greatly respected her skill as a pilot, and recommended that the Onyx Empire dispatch Omegas to capture her alive, claiming her skill was "too valuable to be wasted by killing her in battle." Unfortunately, the mission was never authorized, and Emil fought and killed Cashaw on July 20, 2316. Despite his admiration for her skill, Emil had no remorse for the deed, later calling it "a clean kill."
Until the outbreak of the Torimur Civil War, Emil faced few challenges. The United Mesarthrim Clans' Luftwaffe presented a keen technological advantage over the fighters available to him, but he overcame all opponents and never lost a single fighter he was flying.
When the Torimur Civil War marked the de facto end of the Second Exodus War, many of the Onyx Empire's best pilots joined the Prefecture. Of all his opponents, there were only two pilots who could truly challenge the skill of Emil Torsc, Marcus Rathbone and Jack Ivonrud. During the Prefecture's landing and takeover of Canaveral Starport, Emil Torsc engaged Marcus Rathbone and his fighter squadron, and managed to shoot down Rathbone. While he managed to survive by bailing out, Marcus Rathbone was badly injured and paralyzed for several years.
Months later, when Lucius Black and his remaining troops were fleeing the planet, Emil Torsc and his Scimitar Squadron flew cover. Ivonrud was part of the Prefecture's pursuing fighters. In a two minute duel between Torsc's F-12 and Ivonrud's F-4, Torsc shot down and killed Jack Ivonrud.
[edit] Refugee
After the Onyx Empire's defeat in the Torimur Civil War, Emil Torsc stayed with the Imperial remnant out of loyalty. Emil had few opporunities to fly, but still stayed true to Lucius Black's command.
Emil Torsc watched Lucius Black's apparent descent into madness with horror. Lucius ordered the death of Lavik Nighthawk without any reason, and began sending the Conclave's assets on pointless missions of revenge.
Torsc's loyalty only went so far. When Black surrendered to the Meroniri, Torsc helped Luna Black escape, and together they defected to the Federated Districts of the Prefecture, bringing Scimitar Squadron and several dozen Omegas with them.
