NAME: Martin Blackwell
CALL SIGN: Paladin
EXPERTISE: Heavy Gunner
HOMETOWN: Creston, Iowa
AGE: 43
GENDER: Male
TRAITS: Gambler, reliable, bull-headed and
arrogant.

ROLE: The main character of the single player campaign, Paladin
is the one who usually commands both squads. However, he is known
to heed the advice of Raider from time to time.

BACKGROUND: In a lot of ways Blackwell was born to be a gambler.
During his early childhood, he studied a lot of games and by the
time he was 21, had became somewhat of a star in Las Vegas.

However, living the high life and rolling hard began to catch up
with him. He began to lose - badly. He lost most of his fortune
and in a final game of poker against a prominent godfather of the
Las Vegas underground, he found himself in debt and running for
his life. With his last remaining cash, he moved to England and
joined the army; where he found his true calling.

Through basic training he worked his way up to squad leader and
after a short tour managed to get into the SAS. During Operation
Iraqi Freedom, he was a Master Sergeant in charge of an elite
squad behind enemy lines. However his bull-headed nature led him
to disobey a direct order, which put his squad in a dangerous
situation. Blackwell ordered his men to evacuate civilians from
the combat zone rather than destroy an enemy munitions dump.

While saving the civilians, his squad got pinned down by Iraqi
snipers and he lost one of his best men. With no sign of help in
sight, pinned by snipers the squad had little hope. However, a
nearby special operations team lead by Joshua Raider managed to
pick off the snipers and save the squad.

Afterwards, both Blackwell and Raider were court-martialed for
disobeying orders. They were stripped of their ranks and
discharged from the army. Blackwell returned to the States and
worked as a bodyguard in Los Angeles. He eventually met up with
Raider again, and they became partners working in their own
private security firm. After a few years the call of the
battlefield was back on both men’s minds. Blackwell and Raider
founded a mercenary group of two squads.

PERSONALITY: Blackwell is a tried and true gambler; he likes to
take chances, and usually bets on everything he can. His gambling
addiction, in addition to his somewhat arrogant style can be
annoying to squad-mates sometimes but they cannot deny his
leadership skills. Since the incident in Iraq he usually doesn’t
care about anything other than the mission and won’t bother with
civilians, or anyone else for that matter. In his mind, he’s
afraid of losing another member of his squad. In reality, he is a
reliable person who never lets his teammates down. He is
tremendously stubborn and once he’s decided on something, it’s
hard to make him change his mind.

NAME: Eduardo Martinez
CALL SIGN: Oso
EXPERTISE: Grenadier
HOMETOWN: Navarra, Spain
AGE: 24
GENDER: Male
TRAITS: Proud and impulsive.
ROLE: Grenadier, and all-around support role.

BACKGROUND: As the only son of a Spanish terrorist leader,
Martinez was more comfortable with his fists before he could pick
up a book or pencil. Most of his childhood was spent in training
for “a greater purpose.” As he progressed, Martinez spent plenty
of time around Mercenaries in his father’s camps. When he came of
age, Martinez decided it was time for a change and moved to
Columbia; delving deeper into the world of mercenaries. With some
luck, Martinez ended up in a local mercenary group and discovered
his true calling. He spent the next twelve years of his life
fighting for the highest bidder.

At this point, Martinez had spent a majority of his life fighting
in South America. He met Bowman by chance in Venezuela – as his
adversary. The two battled against one another and Bowman was
impressed by Martinez’s tenacity in battle and grenadier skills.
At the conclusion of the conflict, Bowman asked Martinez to join
his squad. Martinez accepted the invitation and as the last
person to join the team, he is viewed as somewhat of the “new
guy.” At the start of Raven Squad’s campaign, Oso is just a few
days into his new job.

PERSONALITY: Martinez is an impulsive and proud man. He's an
excellent fighter with many years of experience in the mercenary
business. However, his proud demeanor sometimes comes to the
surface and causes him to lose control of his temper – which
rarely ends well.

NAME: Ivan Sergeyevich Leonid
CALLSIGN: Thor
EXPERTISE: Anti-Tank
HOMETOWN: New York, United States
AGE: 28
GENDER: Male
TRAITS: Impulsive and rash in
decision-making.

ROLE: Blackwell’s partner in crime, Thor is a warrior who all too
often acts before he thinks. His expertise lands in the area of
anti-tank, but he’ll gleefully destroy anything that moves with
his rocket launcher. As a personal side-note, Thor loves making
wise-ass comments in the heat of battle.

BACKGROUND: Leonid is the son of Soviet Union deserters who fled
to the United States to escape the tragedies of the Cold War.
Bronx-born with an attitude to match, Leonid gained a reputation
as the “tough guy” in the neighborhood at an early age. His
childhood and adolescent years are pockmarked with legal
interludes and bar-brawls. Leonid has a nack for finding trouble,
a trait that landed him in some hot water after a particularly
nasty incident with the police. Soon after the “event,” Leonid
enlisted with the US Marines and took it on the road.

Seeking an escape from a troubled life Leonid wanted to be free
from the rules and regulations of everyday life. The Marines
helped Leonid hone his skills and allowed him to broaden his
horizons beyond simple hand-to-hand combat. However, he soon
found he wasn't the obedient type the Marines were looking for.
He was discharged after punching a superior officer in the face
after a training mission. With nowhere to go, Leonid returned to
New York. It didn't take too long for him to end up in the
holding cell of a police station. However, it may have been fate
that brought Leonid to that station.

As he sat behind bars, Leonid saw a gentleman by the name of
Martin Blackwell, who was running errands for a security company.
Blackwell, being a saavy recruiter himself, took a few minutes to
chat with Leonid. After a quick discussion, Blackwell recognized
the redeeming qualities Leonid had to offer, saw some potential
and offered him a spot on his mercenary team.
Leonid accepted the offer and Thor was on board.

PERSONALITY: Always quick tempered, Leonid rushes into the action
- sometimes too soon. His impulsiveness often gets him into the
trouble and he tends to need to be saved the most during
conflicts.