Rick Sky

"All right, men. It's time to earn our pay!"

There were many heroes born of the Great War, but no hero so great as Captain Rick Sky. Ace fighter pilot and leader of the legendary "Squadron of Seven," Rick Sky was one of the most famous aces of the Great War. The exploits of him and his comrades have become legendary among aviators, serving as the subject of countless pulp serial magazines. Rick Sky's courage and unshakable loyalty to his men and his country won him a vast following amidst many who, due to a mysterious incident, had once branded him a traitor.

Rick Sky was born about thirty years previous to the War. Brought up in a middle-class family, Rick was an extremely bright and good-natured lad with sharp eyes and catlike poise and coordination. As he grew older he also developed a passion for aircraft, which in that time were an exciting new innovation. Extremely polite and honorable to a fault, Rick always put others' needs before his own, even at risk to his own reputation.

By the time Rick neared thirty years of age, the Great War broke out. Rick had already passed civilian flight training with flying colors and just received his pilot’s license. Eager to serve his country as well as perfect his flying skills, Rick volunteered as one of the very first air fighter pilots in history.

Before long, Rick Sky had racked up numerous victories and was the toast of the Allied army. With his promotion to Captain, Rick was awarded command of a half-dozen crack pilots. Rick immediately requested seven Stropwith Dromedaries — the most advanced fighter planes of the War era — and divided them among his new companions. Dubbed the "Squadron of Seven," the newly-reorganized group proved to be the best in the war and gained a reputation as fierce and valiant fighters.

Right: All the members of the legendary Squadron of Seven and their leader, Captain Rick Sky.

The Squadron of Seven was one of the greatest legends of the air war. Not a single plane or pilot was lost in the squadron's entire career, and a total of nearly 100 enemy planes fell before their guns.

Unsatisfied with routine patrols of the front, Rick Sky and his men took the air war behind enemy lines. Using hand grenades and strafing tactics, the Seven pioneered the art of air-to-ground assault, often winning decisive victories for allied ground forces.

Left: The Squadron of Seven flying their classic fighter planes.

The Squadron of Seven also saw action in the decisive Battle of the Great War. Fought on land and sea as well as in the air, this battle was the turning point of the War and saw Rick Sky and his men — accompanied by several other squadrons and famous aces — defeat an overwhelming number of enemy planes and turn the initiative of the War to the allied side.

Of course, Rick Sky himself was the real legend. Affable, daring, and quick with a grin, Sky often joked about many of his own mishaps — like the time his stray shots ricocheted off bedrock and cut a line straight up his plane's belly, making him the first pilot in history to shoot himself down! Ironically, it was after this mission that Rick Sky was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a top award for service airmen, for defeating a squadron of enemy bombers.

	The Distinguished Flying Cross, an award given to the bravest airmen of the Great War, including Rick Sky.

When it came to fighting, Rick was entirely serious. Piloting his trusty Stropwith into the thick of the battle, Rick showed unshakeable courage and tenacity. He was a cunning tactician and a superb shot despite the inaccuracy of early machine guns. Chivalrous as well as courageous, Rick often used his superior marksmanship to disable the engine of an enemy plane, giving his adversary a chance to at least crash-land safely. For sparing their lives on several occasions, Rick earned the respect of his foes.

He also won the admiration of his countrymen. Good news being scarce on the home front, the public embraced the Squadron of Seven's aerial exploits. Rick Sky's adventures were featured on almost every comic book and pulp magazine published, and hundreds of young boys grew up with the dream of flying as Rick's wingman.

At the squadron’s peak, Rick Sky had personally downed 37 aircraft, a remarkable feat for a Great War pilot. It was at this time that allied command decided to entrust the Squadron of Seven with more important tasks, the most crucial of which was shipping funds for the war effort. Thus the Squadron’s newest orders were to transport a shipment of valuable silver bars.

The Seven's flight path took them around enemy territory via a detour through the White Cliffs of Rover. Days passed before allied command realized that they had not heard from Sky at all during his flight. A later report confirmed that Rick Sky and his men had never reached their destination. The Squadron of Seven had vanished without a trace, evidently with the silver bars still in their possession.

The public was horrified, shocked to think that the man once counted as a hero had absconded with a fortune in silver. When the War ended a few months later, historians closed the book on the Squadron of Seven, denouncing them as criminals and traitors. Rick Sky comic books still had many devoted readers, although Sky's adventures were tarnished by his new reputation as a thief.

But many remained puzzled as to the Squadron of Seven’s mysterious disappearance. Neither Sky nor his men had enough fuel to travel very far off course, and the only places to land along their route were either the frozen Cliffs of Rover or enemy territory. Besides, what could possibly drive a man as noble and honorable as Rick Sky to steal from his own country? Questions such as these lingered for two decades, until something remarkable happened: a pilot from Cape Suzette claimed to have found Rick Sky! Not only that, but the pilot had also recovered the missing silver!

The pilot had been evading Air Pirates over the ocean when he spotted someone on the water. Landing his seaplane, he rescued a stranger claiming to be Rick Sky. The last the stranger could recall, he and his men had been caught in a sudden snowstorm near the White Cliffs of Rover while delivering a shipment of silver. Strangely enough, "Rick Sky" did not look anywhere near 50 years old, and he was convinced that the Great War was still being fought.

After several misadventures and a trip to the White Cliffs, the truth was discovered. Blown into the cliffs by the snowstorm, the Squadron of Seven had been encased alive in solid ice for twenty years! Apparently, this freak occurrence prevented them from aging, as Sky and his comrades did not look one day older than they had when they'd disappeared. Their planes and the silver were still intact, and Sky asked the pilot to complete their mission for them while the Squadron fended off an attack by Air Pirates.

Authorities were understandably skeptical about the whole story until the pilot showed them the silver and an old logbook which had belonged to the stranger. Comparison between the logbook and war reports stored at the Cape Suzette Museum of History verified that the stranger was indeed who he claimed to be — Captain Rick Sky.

The legendary logbook is now on display at the Cape Suzette museum, the final piece in a twenty-year-old puzzle. All charges have been dropped against Rick and his men, but they have not been heard from since, apparently content to dwell by themselves than in a world that has passed them by. History now pays tribute to Rick Sky, ace of aces and a true hero.

"And when it was over, the Squadron of Seven flew off, never forgetting the lone pilot who helped them recover the treasure — and their honor."