Southern Cross Who's Who - Mikhail Krueger

Personality

Mikhail Krueger is a man determined to take control of his own destiny. After being manipulated by a series of outside organizations he is his own man for the first time in many years. He tries not to dwell on what has happened to him in the past but his body remains a constant reminder of what he has lost. Mikhail harbors a strong dislike for the EBSIS government and military, but not the people. Having been under the control of others so long he is now dedicated to freedom in all its forms.

Biography

Mikhail was born on in Berlin during the Global Civil War to a German father and a Russian mother. He was raised in an upper middle class European environment and as a child he excelled in academics and sports. Mikhail and his parents survived the Zentraedi planetary assault and his father, a government worker, helped organize the survivors and maintain order in the aftermath, but sadly his mother died during some of the refugee riots that followed. When the German government joined the EBSIS, Mikhail's father retained his public service job, which meant Mikhail enjoyed a relatively good lifestyle during the Reconstruction. His father also instilled in Mikhail a sense of pride in his German heritage.

After high school Mikhail attended Berlin University where he fell in with a group of student radicals loosely affiliated with the new German underground. By this point the Russian-dominated EBSIS was starting to treat Germany more as a subordinate region than an equal and resistance to the EBSIS was starting to form among the people.

During Mikhail's first year in university the EBSIS instigated a policy of mandatory military service. As the son of a government worker Mikhail had to enlist, lest it reflect poorly on his family and risk his father losing his position. Military testing revealed an aptitude for mecha piloting, a skill the EBSIS military was lacking, so Mikhail was swiftly placed into advanced accelerated training. Besides the combat training he received, Mikhail was also subject to indoctrination techniques designed to make him loyal to the EBSIS.

One of Mikhail's first assignments out of training was in a mecha squad operating in some of the EBSIS' newly acquired Africa holdings. His squadron stumbled upon one of the major rogue Zentraedi armies being readied for the Malcontent Uprisings. Most of the squadron were killed, but Mikhail survived and the encounter and participated, along with an RDF Destroid squadron that had stumbled on the scene, in one of the first battles of the Uprisings. Mikhail continued to serve as a mecha pilot throughout the Malcontent Uprisings and on more than one occasion found himself fighting alongside United Earth Forces mecha against the Zentraedi. It was during this period that Mikhail made the acquaintance of Jack Mace, a young RDF hovertank pilot from the now famous Wolfe Pack.

After the Malcontent Uprisings Mikhail continued to serve in the military. By this time he was a respected and skilled veteran and the years of combat camaraderie and continued indoctrination had made him a loyal soldier of the EBSIS, though an independent streak remained intact at his core. Over the next few years Mikhail made his way up through the ranks until by 2028 he had achieved the rank of Major and was in command of his own elite mecha battalion (the equivalent of a UEDF armored squadron with 15-20 mecha), the 92nd Robotik. Mikhail's mecha of choice was the older T-99 Red Eagle.

As tensions rose between the UEG and the EBSIS, a result of secret manipulations by the NWO, Mikhail and his unit were assigned to escort a fuel convoy from the MESP to the FESP, a route that would take them through the Himalayas. Unknown to them a Southern Cross squadron had been sent to destroy the convoy, based on false intelligence that it was actually a cover for moving weapons of mass destruction to the FESP sector for eventual use against Japan. Luckily the Southern Cross squadron was the 21st A.T.A.C., under the command of Captain Jack Mace, who had fought beside Mikhail during the Malcontent Uprisings. Mace recognized Krueger and, already suspicious of his orders, broke cover and contacted Mikhail. Together they suspected that both groups had been set up, a suspicion given credence when what appeared to be a Southern Cross fighter squadron tried to destroy both units.

The two groups joined forces, something that could only happen because of the soldiers' loyalties to their respective commanders. Together they traced the phony fighter squadron back to its base and uncovered a NWO mecha factory hidden in the mountains. The base was destroyed and both units returned to their respective countries with the first hard evidence of a third party manipulating both governments towards war.

The 92nd Robotik encountered the 21st ATAC again a short time later. This time both units were providing security for their respective delegations at the Shanghalla Peace Conference. When NWO forces attacked the island the 92nd worked to get the Soviet delegation safely off the island. Meanwhile Major Krueger, having one of the only flight capable mecha present, flew out to sea to locate the NWO's carrier vehicle. Krueger was still in the air when the nuclear missile hit the city. The shock wave disintegrated Mikhail's T-99 and sent the Major plummeting into the Java Sea.

Update: Everyone assumed that Mikhail had been killed, but in reality the NWO retrieved the critically wounded pilot from the water. Krueger, known to be one of the EBSIS' top mecha aces, was handed over to the NWO's lead scientist, Dr. Erlich. The amoral scientist, pleased to have such an excellent specimen, proceeded to repair Mikhail's critical injuries with his own experimental cybernetic technology. When the procedure was done one of Mikhail's arms and several of his internal organs had been replace by advanced artificial components. Mikhail was then subjected to the mental programming technology also developed by Dr. Erlich and was brainwashed into becoming a mecha pilot for the NWO.

Piloting a Shrike mecha, Mikhail became one of the NWO's mecha aces and scored many kills against his former country and against Southern Cross forces. Mikhail again encountered the 21st ATAC during the final days of World War IV, at the beginning of the Africa offensive. Mikhail's mech was shot down but the Major continued to fight against the tank squadron. The 21st of course recognized Mikhail and were reluctant to kill him, at least not before they found out how he had come to be a pilot for the NWO. Krueger fought skillfully but during one exchange a hit exposed some of his cybernetics. Apparently unaware of what had been done to him, Mikhail was distracted by what he saw and this gave the 21st the time they needed to take him down.

Using various psychological and interrogation methods, 21st member Mark Andrews was able to break the NWO brainwashing, restoring Mikhail to close to his old self. The furious Mikhail was able to provide vital intelligence on the NWO's Africa facilities, including the location of their last mecha factory and command center. Under the eye of a GMP watcher, Mikhail joined with the 21st on the final assault on the NWO Africa Base. Inside the base the 21st captured Dr. Erlich and Mikhail almost killed him but was persuaded not to by members of the Blackjacks.

With the war over, Mikhail's fate was now up in the air. The Southern Cross had occupied the NWO base but EBSIS forces were fast approaching. Undoubtedly the Soviets would want Krueger returned to them, but in all likelihood he would be considered a traitor and possibly executed. At best they would probably imprison Mikhail and question him for information the NWO, who had been defeated but not entirely eliminated and remained a threat. Staying with the Southern Cross was just as bad, as the Global Military Police would undoubtedly want to question Mikhail for information on both the NWO and the EBSIS. In the end Captain Mace came up with a risky plan, one he shared with only Mikhail and a handful of members of the 21st, specifically only those who he would need to carry out the plan.

Captain Mace had Brains rig up one of the captured NWO battloids with a pyrotechnic incendiary charge, one that when triggered would completely destroy the mecha's cockpit. Mikhail then joined the 21st on a patrol that was designed to deliberately cross paths with an EBSIS patrol. In a well-timed maneuver Mikhail's mech was hit and the charge was set off just as he fled the battloid. The explosion had the double effect of covering Mikhail's escape from those nearby while making it appear that he had been burned to a cinder in the cockpit. Besides the Captain, only Brains, who had rigged the charge, and Punchout and Copycat, who smuggled Mikhail to where an escape vehicle was prepared, knew what had really happened.

Thanking his rescuers, Mikhail left Africa, intent on making his way back home to Germany, where he hoped the underground resistance was still intact so he could join with them to help free his country from the EBSIS.

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