Branch of Service: Ilmavoimat (FAF: Finnish Air Force) / UNA (United Nations Army)



Rank: Majuri (Major: OF-3)



Pullover Shoulder Patches (L Arm)



Pullover Shoulder Patch:Squadron (R Arm)

Disposition:

Like most Finns; honesty, reliability and modesty are core tenants for Aksa. Words carry weight, and she is one that says what she means, and means what she says. She also is doggedly tenacious in the commission of any tasks she has been given or sets herself to; seeking to handle them in the most effective and efficient manner possible, and will be quick to voice her dissatisfaction about anything, or anyone, that may make any task harder then it may be, or should be.

She is sassy, strong willed, and wholeheartedly embraces the national concept of Sisu; the guts, the endurance, the bloody minded determination to get on with things, no matter how bad the situation.

Aksa is also a bit of a charmer, but, to strangers she may still come off as introverted, even shy. Around those she considers friends, however, she is more gregarious, and always good for a joke, even if it may be a bit dark in tone; it's just their way. She is also a lover of coffee, like all good Finns.

From a young age technology has always fascinated Aksa and she is easily what one would call a tech-head. She loves to tinker and toy with the latest gadget or piece of tech be it a new phone, laptop, or diagnostic tool. Some of her hobbies include singing, hiking, picking berries, skiing, and gymnastics. She also enjoys reading when she has he time and has the four 'A Song of Ice and Fire' books on her tablet.

Rumors:

1. Is one of only 4 female fighter pilots (and 43 female career officers) in the Finnish Air Force.
   
2. Is the first (and currently only) female fighter pilot in the FAF to have qualified in the VF-1 Valkyrie.
   
3. First female fighter pilot in the FAF to fly in combat.
   
4. First Finnish female fighter ace.
   
5. Was an 'Elf', there are photos!
   
6. Absolutely crushes it at Karaoke, but, you have to get her drunk first.
   
7. Fought 3rd Macross (Island; Battle of) naked.
   
8. First female to command a FAF Fighter Squadron.
   
9. Is a Neat-Freak.
   
10. First Finn to fire a Nuclear weapon.
    
11. First Finnish female multiple fighter ace.
    

Background:

Born in Sodankylä, to Onni and Katja Tikkanen, Aksa grew up amidst the snow and forests of the Lapland region. Like most Lapland children she was on skis as soon as she could walk. A precocious child she had a fond affinity to gadgets and other mechanical devices. During the Christmas Season, she would often travel to Rovaniemi to sing for the tourists at Santa Claus Village as one of Santa’s ‘Elves’.

During the summer months, and as she grew older, she would assist with her family’s charter business at Rovaniemi Airport. It was there that she experienced her first hands on exposure to aviation, attaining her PPL (Private Pilots License) at the age of 14 and two years later her CPL (Commercial Pilots License) so she could fly with her parents charter business. During this time she also apprenticed as an aircraft mechanic at Rovaniemi Airport's general aviation sector. She was always enamored by the Saab J-35 Draken’s and later, McDonnell Douglas F-18’s of the FAF who’s Lapland Command used Rovaniemi as their base of operations. She longed to be a fighter pilot.

Her father is a retired Colonel in the Rajavartiolaitos (Finnish Border Guard) who flew liason aircraft early in his career. It was from her father that she received her love of flying. Her mother was a teacher for the local yläaste (Middle School) teaching 7-9th grade mathematics (among other courses). It was from her mother that she received her love of engineering and math. She would often hike or ski with her grandfather (on her fathers side) Taavi, and he would tell her stories of his time fighting in the Winter and Continuation War against Stalin's Russia. His passing when she was 14 was difficult but his lessons remain a strong part her.

Inspired by the exploits of Inka Niskanen, the first female fighter pilot in the FAF, Aksa pushed to join the FAF as soon as she was of age (18). Both her parents were incredibly supportive and active in preparing her, her mother being instrumental, even taking a leave of absence from her teaching to ensure her daughter was more then prepared academically. Aksa would begin her combat fighter training only two years after Inka had begun hers.

Like her role model, Aksa garnered her fair share of media attention, as at the time of her entry to flight school, no other women were pursuing fighter training.

In 2006 her studies at Santahamina were interrupted in late October when the campus, much of Helsinki, and parts of southeastern Finland had to be evacuated when Anti-UN Forces used nuclear weapons against St. Petersburg in a show of force. Thankfully the wind patterns carried most of the fallout to the northwest and over the Karelian Isthmus, but, the last year of her Masters Program had to be completed further north at the newly established FAF Academy grounds in Tikkakoski; Jyväskylä.

Having a remarkable singing voice and good stage presence she soon found herself asked to participate in the Air Force Band's chorus as time permitted. She would also be asked to sing the national anthem or other martial songs at official functions such as changes of command, as well as more contemporary and modern songs at non-official functions like squadron parties, once she had reached her official duty posting.

Her first solo flight in an AF-18 was covered nationally and the FAF even organized a two ship flight demonstration showcasing Inka and Aksa for the 2007 FAF Air Command Open House in Kuopio. In the following interview Aksa would say that she considered it a great honor to be able to fly on her role-model's wing. The physical similarities (roughly the same height, and hair color/style) between the pair of female pilots was one of the oft repeated observations.

For the next two years (2007 - 2008) Aksa would fly at least twice a week, and participate often in the weekly exercises with the Norwegian and Swedish Air Forces. She would delight in flying over the family home on her way back to base or flying alongside her fathers Dornier Do228-212 charter plane (practicing aerial intercepts of course) when their flight plans permitted. On weekends with time off, she'd fly her kit built Europa XS home to Sodankylä to spend time with her family.

In mid 2008 Aksa learned that her squadron would be re-trained in the new FRS.1 (VF-1 Valkyrie) platform slated to be added to the FAF arsenal as a replacement to their AF-18's as part of the 17th UN/SAG (United Nations Spacy Air Group) slated to be posted aboard ARMD-08 (CVG-08 Juan Carlos I) once commissioned in Jan 2010. Sent to the South Ataria Island Training Center in the South Pacific as the FAF component of the deployed FRDF contingent, the pilots of HävLLv 11 began type transition in early December. By the end of January they had been certified, becoming the first FAF pilots qualified in the new aerospace fighter.

On Feb 7, 2009, 'Launch Day', Aksa was slated to man the FAF display during the airshow and ceremony proceedings ahead of the long awaited launch of the newly refurbished SDF-1 Battlefortress. However shortly after noon the SDF-1's weapons systems awoke and fired the first shot in what would become known as Space War 1. As the Zentraedi invaders assaulted the stunned defenders of Macross Island, Aksa, after doing what she could for civilians caught up in the mad dash to evacuate the airfield, was able to take to the skies and join the fight.

Tossed into an ad hoc squadron of pilots (1LT Meiko Levina; USMC - LTJG Jack O'Neil; USN - Sub Lt Ethan Ambrose; (RAN)FAA) from different nationalities she entered combat for the first time. She and the pick-up squadron she was with succeeded in defending the UNS Prometheus by eliminating the enemy boarders assaulting the beleaguered ship; as well as protecting evacuating civilians on their way to nearby shelters. Despite her VF-1 being critically damaged she managed to land in one piece. For the 5 kills she achieved during the course of battle she earned the distinction of 'Ace In A Day', thus becoming the first person to join the pantheon of Finnish fighter aces, alongside such luminaries as Hans Wind, Jorma Sarvanto, and Ilmari Juutilainen, since World War II.

Two hours into the battle, Aksa, her compatriots, South Ataria Island, and much of the surrounding ocean are whisked away along with the SDF-1 after it initiates a Space Fold in the hopes of linking up with the UN Spacy Fleet in lunar orbit. Instead she and everyone else find themselves in orbit around Pluto. After a brief skirmish with left over enemy forces she lands upon the SDF-1 and thrusts herself into the recovery operations and is horrified to learn that she, and one other, (Yliluutnantti (1LT) Aarne Kotila) are the only pilots of her squadron left alive. 

Despite the shock and sorrow she is enduring, Aksa, embodying the tenants of Sisu volunteered her expertise in coordinating the recovery of the derelict mecha strewn about South Atria Island, the SDF-1 Macross and nearby space. It was grisly work, and Aksa realized that her icy non-reaction to the horror she had witnessed and helped clean up, has taken a mental toll, and recognized that, if she hasn't already, will likely suffer from PTSD.

Her efforts in the coordination and execution of her part of the recovery operation however, did not gone unnoticed. Soon after she is approached by Col. Ibarra, the commander of UN SPACY Air Wing 10 and offered a Squadron Command. However, in order to be given the position Aksa must accept a commission in the UN SPACY, something she did not, initially, want to do. It, however, becomes rapidly, and plainly clear to her; in order to keep her squadron and it's legacy alive, and, as many of her countrymen together under the same roof, that she had no choice but to put her staunch patriotism aside for the time being, and embrace the bigger picture.

With the fold systems now confirmed to have vanished, this fact is passed along to squadron commanders on a select basis. The realization that the SDF-1 Macross must make a long journey back to Earth is not lost on Aksa and she realizes that her choice to accept a UN commission, while hard, was the right one after all. Meanwhile, the civilians from South Ataria Island - along with their shops and homes - are brought aboard the ship.

It is during this time that Aksa receives the first bit of good news that isn't tainted by globalist politics. Hauptmann Elise Krupinski of the Luftwaffe's 741 Staffel, one of her lovers and fellow skirt-chaser, had survived the battle of South Ataria Island and surprises her with a visit. The two celebrate their reunion, reminisce, and promise to have each others back.

Over the next few weeks, as the remains of Macross Island are picked clean Aksa settles into her new role as Squadron Command. Some aspects of it are easier then others, she finds the mechanical and technical far easier and comfortable then the personnel. In due time her squadron joins the line as fully worked up.

As the 'new kid' her planes are placed on the CAP's graveyard shift. The first few sorties are uneventful, but the third see's the approach of the enemy in force. Alerting the SDF-1 her squadron and the other CAP draw first blood and cuts the enemy down in droves with a massed alpha strike of Nuclear ordinance.

The initial win is short lived as the enemy launches wave after wave of strike craft. Having used all her missiles her squadron is pulled back to provide point defense of the Macross' command citadel. There her men hold the line against missiles and strike craft alike.

During the battle her squadron is savaged, losing better then half her aircraft and almost half of her pilots. But, the line is held and the citadel protected.

As the battle develops, the Macross undergoes a desperate reconfiguration in order to bring her main guns online. Now transformed into Storm Attack Mode the Macross unleashes a trio of shots that eviscerates the enemy capital ship flotilla. This onslaught finally forces the enemy to withdraw leaving the battered defenders to pick up the pieces and lick their wounds.

As the Macross approaches Saturn, indications of a battle in Jupiter space leads Macross leadership to conclude that the alien enemy has destroyed the research and science stations located on Jupiter moons. Fearing that the aliens may try the same thing to the research stations on Saturn's moons, a two part plan is put into motion, the first part will be to ambush the alien ships, using the rings of Saturn as cover, the second part to detach the UNS Enterprise and evacuate as many of the various science stations staff as possible.

To HävLLv 11 falls the task of evacuating the station located on Dione; Saturn's fourth largest moon. The trip to Dione see's the loss of three pilots, one (Lt. Pak) having to turn back to the Enterprise with engine trouble shortly after launch. Two other pilots (Lt Jennsen, FltSgt Taliapapa) are shot down as the squadron punches thru the alien aggressors along their path.

Upon reaching Dione the squadron rearms and refuels as the evacuee's are boarded onto the stations own transports and those escorted by the squadron to Dione. The Recovery flight is reinforced by elements of the JASDF's 6th TFS flying antiquated SF-2B Hunter space planes.

Using the home field advantage and experience of the 6th TFS's pilots the squadron is able to plot a faster route home by swinging around Enceladus. Shortly after making their sling shot maneuver a trio of alien capital ships de-folds in front of them. Luckily for the squadron, but not so lucky for the aliens, they are focused on the Enterprise and thus have failed to notice the squadron coming up behind them.

Aksa orders an Alpha Strike using nuclear ordinance they picked up on Dione, and the squadron is successful in destroying all three capital ships in short order.

The squadron is forced to fight thru another enemy force in order to reach the Enterprise, and during the combat the squadron looses it's tanker and one of the Rabbit evacuation shuttles.

Finally landed aboard their mothership the battle still rages until the Macross, having lost power to it's main guns, resorts to fortifying the prow of the Daedalus with the new Pin Point Barrier system, a system created using the strange energies left behind after the Macross' fold engine disappeared. With the prow of the Daedalus reinforced the Macross punches it deep into an enemy ship, resulting in it's destruction. This, atop the other losses the aliens have taken forces their withdrawal and the Macross, linking back up with the Enterprise is able to escape the enemy ambush and leaves Saturn behind.