User Guide

MIGUEL SCHRAEDER, “ZORRO”
— PRECISION PERSONIFIED
“I guess I earned the name Zorro for two
reasons. One, I used to fight bulls as a
teenager growing up in Barcelona. And
the other reason is, I am so accurate in
the air. I am as adept with missiles as
the legendary swordsman was with a
blade. Both attributes, I think, spring
from the same talent. Nerves of steel.”
Capt. Schraeder flashes one of his rare
smiles. “But, I could be wrong.”
His teammates are quick to assert
that Miguel’s claim to iron nerves is not
simple macho exaggeration. A veteran of
the intense, close-quarter dogfighting
that characterized the Central American
Bloc Conflict of 2005, Miguel knows how
to bring jets down quickly and efficiently.
“I do not waste a lot of ammo as many
do, spraying it across the sky and hoping
I get lucky. I know only too well I may be
praying for a full Vulcan when I run into
more bogies later on. Likewise, when I
launch a missile, it is only because I
know in my heart that it will hit. I never
launch when an enemy has even a slim
window of escape. When I launch, that
means one more plane is dead. I don’t
even waste time looking back to confirm
the kill.” He rubs at the stubble on his
chin thoughtfully. “That is just how it is.
I do not even think about it anymore.
But it is peculiar, is it not?”
More peculiar is the mix of fire and ice
that forms the temperament of this
extraordinary pilot. Proud, violent eyes
peer out from Miguel’s dark face, a pale
scar across his right cheek, yet despite
this dangerous visage, his voice is
deceptively soft, even pensive.
“He’s seen too much,” says Col. Stern
of Schraeder. “He’s more than paid his
dues.” Stern refused to elaborate, but it’s
a safe bet those dues include the 18
months Schraeder spent in a Nicaraguan
POW camp when his Tomcat was shot
down over the dense jungles of Central
America. Perhaps this further explains
Schraeder’s ongoing obsession with Latin
American politics.
“Yes, I am known as the Wildcat’s
token ‘political junkie,’ whatever that is. I
do not see how anyone can not be inter-
ested in politics, considering everything
is political. I have a terrible feeling the
next big hotbed of international conflict
is going to be in Central-South America.
But, of course, no one is reading the
signs. You watch Nicaragua, Brazil, Peru,
maybe Andes Mallorca — they are all
headed for trouble soon.” When asked if
that wouldn’t at least be good for
business, Miguel’s eyes burned angrily.
“That kind of business I can do
without.”
One can’t help but feel Miguel speaks
from experience.
SUDDEN DEATH •
July 2011
7
WILDCATS DOSSIERS