Office of the Chief
Personal Memorandum

Guys,

This looks pretty cool, but I think you might've forgotten someone.

--G.

Benjamin D. Hutchins
Captain, Katahdia People's Democratic Republic Army Air Corps
"Gryphon"

Nationality: Liberion?
Date of birth: June 20, 1923?
Familiar: n/a
Striker model: n/a (but see below)
Weapon of choice: Fusō Type-99 autocannon, daishō

The man called Gryphon claims he's from an obscure, enclaved country tucked away in the woods of North Liberion ("it's like San Marino, only poor and remote"). Though plainly not a witch, he displays seemingly supernatural abilities, such as an equivalent to basic magical body reinforcement and a power very similar to a witch's standard shield spell (oddly, close inspection reveals that his magic circle is on the Fusō pattern, not the Liberion). He also carries Fusō-style swords and prefers their Type-99 aerial autocannon, though he packs a Liberion-style M1911A1 sidearm (for all the help that is against Neuroi). Most startlingly of all, he flies with the aid not of a Striker Unit, but of a backpack-mounted miniature jet propulsion device (or "jetpack"). Such a device is not just unknown, but widely considered impossible, previous efforts to develop something similar always having ended in disaster. With it, he can out-accelerate almost any Striker-equipped witch and outpace most of them, but he's less maneuverable. Since his fuel supply isn't connected to his will, it's strictly finite, although on the other hand, flying to the edge of the envelope doesn't personally exhaust him as it would a witch.

This is Gryphon's second sojourn with the 501st, the first having happened in 1943 (as shown in the LB&tB episode "The Longest Weekend", and referenced in the New Tricks special, of course). It's now the spring of 1946, or roughly a year after the scene at the end of New Tricks. The Allied forces have pushed the Neuroi entirely out of northern Gallia, the Low Countries, and Daneland, but have been unable as yet to dislodge them from Karlsland. Obviously, Gryphon's presence in the combat theater is completely undocumented and, indeed, very much unauthorized. He's considered a myth by most and a menace by some others, but the 501st and certain of their closest allies trust him implicitly and will go to great lengths to shield him from the unwanted, unhelpful attentions of the brass.