Walker, John

by Chris Crawshaw

STR 44
REF 73
INT 68
WIL 48
CON 42
MOV 59
DEX 71

Sex: Male
Race: White
Nationality: American
Native Language: English and German
Age: 36
Agent Number: 529P
Psychological Profile: Cruelty – Some, Sanity – Total, Passion – High, Loyalty – Some, Selfishness – Some, Piety – None
Advantages: Acting Ability (2), Bilingual Background (2), Fearlessness (2), Toughness (4), Contacts – Jerry Goodner (an Orion operative in Australia) (1), Sixth Sense (1)
Disadvantages: Addiction – Cigars (2), Deep Sleeper (2), Ego Signature – Pseudonyms always brands of Whiskey (2), Enemy – Hiroshima (4), Lost Dependant – Father MIA (3)
Skills: Acting (0), Aircraft Mechanic (0), Basic Firearms (0), Basic Mechanic (0), Basic Melee (0), Basic Tool Use (0), Climbing (0), Concealment (0), Disguise (0), Driving/Automobile (2), Driving/Motorcycle (0), Driving/Truck (0), Knife (1), Knife Throwing (0), Language – Polish (0), Missile (Air-to-Air) (0), Parachuting (0), Pilot/1-Engine (0), Pilot/Multi-Engine (0), Pilot/Jet (0), Pilot/Multi-Engine Jet (0), Pilot/Helicopter (2), Pilot/Large Helicopter (0), Pistol (2), Stealth (0), Submachine Gun (0), Swimming (0), Tae Kwon Do (martial arts) – Blind Fighting & Stun (2)

Background: On 03 January 1964, John ‘Whiskey’ Walker was born in a USAF hospital near Bruggen, Germany. His father, Mitchell Walker, was a helicopter pilot in the USAF and his mother, Ingrid Walker, was a local civilian. John’s early childhood was spent in Germany and was relatively uneventful. He started his schooling with a mixture of American and German children and, with a little help from his mother, was soon fluent in English and German. Shortly after John’s 5th birthday his father was posted back to the USA, taking his family with him. John quickly adjusted to his new life in America. As a 7th birthday present, John’s father took him for his first flight in a helicopter. It was then that John first decided that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Two months later his father was sent out to Vietnam. This was a difficult time for John’s mother. She felt alone in a foreign land, bringing up her young son on her own and unable to get any support from her family. She felt very bitter towards the USAF as she blamed them for her situation. John had a hard time simply because he missed his father. Whenever he saw a helicopter on a news report, he would imagine his father was the pilot.

From a very early age, John had displayed a natural talent on the stage. He had starred in a number of school productions, often in the lead role. His mother encouraged him to pursue his interest in acting, hoping he would forget about wanting to be a pilot. In January 1973, it was announced that the US had signed a cease-fire and all US troops would be out of Vietnam by March. John eagerly awaited his fathers return. One morning in early March, a large black car, driven by a man in uniform, pulled up outside John’s house. He rushed to the door expecting it to be his father. As he flung the door open, he was greeted by a large solemn looking General who told John he had come with news of his father. The General told John and his mother that John’s father had flown out to retrieve one of the last units of US soldiers still in the field. He had radioed in to report engine trouble and he was making a forced landing. A rescue party had been sent to the co-ordinates given to them by Capt. Walker but when they got there, all they found was the helicopter stripped of all it’s equipment and no sign of the crew. Search parties had been sent out but to no avail. The general had come to tell John and his mother that Captain Walker had been officially declared missing in action.

Over the following years, John never gave up hope of seeing his father again. John’s mother was even more adamant that he would not follow in his father’s footsteps. To keep his mother happy, John put all his energy into pursuing his acting career. In his early teens, he appeared in a number of commercials and had a few walk on parts in daytime soaps and sitcoms. When John left school he managed to get a place at UCLA where he studied different acting methods. When John was 20, he received news that his mother had been taken ill. He rushed home to be with her. She passed away in her sleep a few days later. After all his mother’s affairs had been taken care of, John dropped out of UCLA and joined the USAF. He had never forgotten his wish to fly but had not wanted to upset his mother. John proved to be an exceptionally gifted pilot, graduating top of his class at flight school. It was during flight school that John got involved in gambling. It wasn’t a problem at first but he gradually got more involved and his debts began to accumulate. It was over the poker tables that John found his liking for cigars.

John quickly rose through the ranks, making Major by his 27th birthday. On promotion to Major he was seconded to Task Force 160 ‘The Night Stalkers’. He flew some very dangerous missions, both dropping off and picking up Green Berets and Delta Force units in extremely hostile areas. John’s reputation quickly spread through the Green Berets and Delta Force as the man to get you out of the fire. John’s gambling was becoming a real problem and in 1994, after several verbal and written warnings, he was asked to leave the USAF. Getting kicked out made John realise the extent of his problem as he thought he would never fly again. Orion had heard his reputation and approached him with an offer, fly for us and we will provide professional help with your problem. John leapt at the chance to fly again but asked one favour of Orion, could they use their resources to find any news of his father?

John’s flying skills quickly gained him an excellent reputation within Orion. He is known for getting the job done and keeping his head in stressful situations. His occasional disregard for authority figures has been commented on but is generally ignored as his exceptional ability as a pilot, skill as an actor and numerous successes in the field have made him an indispensable asset to Orion. This reputation was slightly tarnished by the Australia incident, but he is quickly making amends. John also comes up with a lot of ideas for new gadgets and equipment. He doesn’t design or build them but his input is well received within the Ganymede Bureau.