Issue 2 - Deadly Masquerade
Special thanks to J. Cole Weston for transcribing this text

MISSION COMMAND CENTRAL Report from: Major General Steven Q. McFarland To: United Nations Security Council Re: Personnel Dossier

It has come to my attention that the esteemed Council has requested background information concerning the lives of the team that has come to be known as the Zone Riders. No finer fighting force has ever existed and their records speak for themselves.

The Zone Riders, our last hope against the menace of the SPIRAL ZONE, are led by Commander Dirk Courage, U.S. Special Forces, Black-Light Unit. Courage was an honors graduate of West Point Academy, where he majored in Military History and Tactics. This extensive background in ancient and modern warfare campaigns has served him well. In fact, his treatise on guerilla warfare has been included in every book published on military strategy and tactics since his essay first appeared in print.

Shortly after his graduation, Courage entered the Desert Wars conflict. Trapped behind enemy lines, he led a small band of soldiers on a strike on a base previously thought to be unreachable and impregnable. He and his men captured the base in the pivotal Seven Hills Battle, which turned the tide of the Desert Wars. Courage received the Purple Heart, the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Silver Star and other commendations for bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.

Following the Desert Wars, Courage was reassigned to the top secret Black Light Unit, where he perfected and implemented many anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency strategies that have since been incorporated around the globe.

Although Courage has immersed himself in his studies of military history and battle strategy, I have been led to believe that his study is not the only source of his military prowess. It’s in his blood. Recent evidence of family genealogy reveals that Courage is directly descended from Tecumseh, the renowned Indian leader and battle tactician. The trace of Indian blood flowing through Dirk Courage’s veins may account for his incredible tracking ability, and his keen senses, which can detect subtle differences in the wind blowing through the trees or a natural sound sounding unnaturally out of place.

Master Sergeant Wolfgang “Tank” Schmidt comes to us from the United German Tactical Squad, Tank Unit. The squad was formerly attached to West German forces, before the SPIRAL ZONE cut across both East and West Germany, inadvertently uniting both governments in a common cause for the first time since World War II.

Tank attended the University of Munich for three years, dropping out prior to completing his degree, although his academic standing was unimpeachable. He does not discuss the reasons for his sudden resignation, which came as a surprise to both friends and faculty. He describes himself today as largely self-taught.

He enlisted in the service shortly after leaving school. He earned his nickname from his build and the fact that he can repair, adjust and adapt any mechanism from the biggest tank to the tiniest bugging device. He has received numerous decorations for bravery in combat. Three years prior to Overlord’s first SPIRAL ZONE assault, he was assigned to an international anti-terrorist force, in association with the United States Black Light team. There, he met Commander Dirk Courage for the first time.

Tank’s wife, Gabrielle, died in a tragic traffic accident four years ago. His son, Joseph, was in an area engulfed by the SPIRAL ZONE in the first attack. Tank has vowed to use every means at his disposal to find and rescue his son.

First Lieutenant Hiro Taka completed preparatory school as required, but began at age fourteen to receive additional private education at a number of retreats and monasteries scattered throughout Japan. He became fascinated with the ancient teachings of one of the original Zen masters, Hakuin, founder of Rinzai Zen. He also excelled at all forms of martial arts, from archery to kendo to karate.

Prior to his selection to the Zone Riders, Hiro had served militarily in the Asian Defense Alliance, where he single-handedly captured General Keye during the bloody Burmese Campaign of 2005. Of all the candidates to the Zone Riders, Hiro was chosen not only because of his record, but also because of his unbelievable martial arts skills, including his uncanny ability to walk without making a sound, making Hiro an (sic, text ends here)

Second Lieutenant Max Jones, also has a distinguished record, of sorts. His educational background is confined to high school and two years of junior college, but he managed to distinguish himself quite a bit, particularly in shop and auto class, where he excelled. His reputation was double-edged. He could be relied upon to get things done quickly on the one hand, yet drive faculty and fellow students to distraction on the other. His brief college record indicates some incident involving allegations that he and another student assembled an entire tractor in the dean’s office. The allegations were never proven, but it was enough to make Jones “stand out” on campus.

Jones carried his reputation with him into the military, often described as “reckless” and a “daredevil”.

Bumped from one unit to another, he racked up both an impressive list of commendations and complaints. The complaints came not from commanding officers, but from peer officers who, it’s been suspected, were jealous of Jones’ ability to go around them, tunnel beneath them, leap above them or go through them when his unit needed something that someone else had.

His other notable skill is his driving. An amateur stunt driver back in his hometown of Chicago, he brought that skill to bear on several military missions, the most important of which was the surprise attack at eh-Hazani Flats during the Desert Wars. Surrounded on all sides, Jones drove straight through enemy ranks, avoiding mines and incoming fire, delivering a message straight to the nearest commander–Commander Dirk Courage. Jones is now Courage’s second-in-command of the Zone Riders.

The rest of Jones’ family, his mother, father and sister, have been lost inside the SPIRAL ZONE.

Corporal Katerina Anastasia was an honor student during her preparatory school career in the U.S.S.R. She was sponsored into the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, where she also became a top student. She majored in ecobiology as well as cryptographic research.

Katerina has had little combat experience in the Special Forces, although she is a trained field soldier and performed extremely well on all missions since becoming a member of the Zone Riders. She is thoroughly schooled in all military and survival techniques. She was chosen to the squad after research determined her background in ecobiology, particularly atmospheric biology, a must when dealing with the SPIRAL ZONE. Her breakthrough work that ultimately reversed Earth’s Greenhouse Effect made her celebrated throughout scientific circles. If anyone can determine an antidote to the SPIRAL ZONE, it will be Katerina.