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"What's the matter, worried that humankind finally evolved something crazier than a Raven jockey?"
"That's not biologically possible, sir.
"
—Col.Victor Hoffman and Lt.Mel Sorotki, on Hoffman going into battle against the Locust

Lieutenant Mel Sorotki was a King Raven pilot in the Coalition of Ordered Governments Air Corps. He piloted KR A-108 along with crew chief Lt.Nat Barber during the Evacuation of North Gate. During the Sinking of Jacinto at the end of Operation: Hollow Storm, Sorotki flew KR-239 with his co-pilot Lt.Kevan Mitchell, assisting Delta-One in flooding the Hollow and evacuating the city. Seven weeks later, he and Mitchell flew KR-239 to Vectes Naval Base, carrying an APC and supplies, helping to establish a foothold to move the COG to the island. He later participated in several battles during the Stranded Insurgency and the Lambent Pandemic, and helped scout the mainland to find several possible relocation spots for the collapsing COG.

Biography[]

Pendulum Wars[]

Battle of Gatka Ridge[]

As a young pilot, Sorotki took part in the Battle of Gatka Ridge during the Pendulum Wars which was his very first combat deploment. On the orders of Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Diaz, Sorotki crashed his Corva into the mountain on Knifespire containing an Imulsion source, hitting the exact spot Gabe had indicated while parachuting out. Sorotki's effort succeeded in collapsing the mountain on the Imulsion source and he came to Gabe's aid against a Gorasni soldier. After Gabe killed the Gorasni, Sorotki helped him reach friendly forces.[1]

Locust War[]

Talking with Dom[]

"Hey Dom. You missed Pad again."
—Sorotki, informing Dom that he had missed one of Pad's rare vists to Jacinto

Twelve years after Emergence Day, Sorotki contacted Pvt.Dominic Santiago to let him know he had missed seeing Pvt.Padrick Salton on one of his rare visits to Jacinto City. Dom was pissed, and noted that he had last seen Pad eight years ago. Sorotki offered to pass on a message to Pad from Dom if he saw him on patrol, and Dom told him to tell Pad to make sure he came to HQ more often to have a drink with his friends. Sorotki promised to pass the message along if he spotted the elusive sniper and signed off the radio net.[2]

KR-239LightmassOffensive

Mel piloting KR-239 while strafing a group of Locust.

Lightmass Offensive[]

"That one was on the house. Good luck, Delta!"
—Sorotki, after cutting down a group of Drones attacking Delta-One

Two years later, the Locust began a massive push on the remaining Coalition of Ordered Governments territory. Sorotki flew recon over western Jacinto City, and discovered that a massive force of Locust was approaching the Andius highway. He estimated that the Locust would take it in ten hours, and spotted a platoon of Gears that was going to be annihilated if they remained guarding the area. Sorotki passed this information on to Col.Victor Hoffman to help him plan the defense of COG territory.[3] However, work on the Lightmass Bomb was finished, and Hoffman decided to begin the Lightmass Offensive in response to the Locust push. Sorotki was selected to fly Hoffman and Lt.Anya Stroud to Embry Square to meet with Lt.Minh Young Kim and Delta-One so they could be briefed on their mission.[4] While the briefing occurred, a group of Drones attacked the Gears, but Sorotki was unable to lift off until Hoffman was aboard. Once the Drones were dead and Hoffman finished briefing Delta, he climbed back aboard the Raven, and Sorotki lifted off as another group of Drones attacked. Sorotki flew over the Drones and cut them down with KR-239's forward guns, and told Delta that assistance was on the house and wished them luck on their mission.[5]

Evacuation of North Gate[]

"Contact dead ahead, visual, five hundred meters. Group of grubs, maybe ten or more, moving west toward us."
—Sorotki, spotting a group of Locust on the ground

A week after the Lightmass Offensive, the Locust began to cut off the COG's access to the North Gate Agricultural Depot.[6] During the evacuation of the depot, Sorotki was selected to transport Hoffman and Delta-One aboard KR A-108 to cut off a group of Drones heading toward the convoy area. He and his crew chief, Lt.Nat Barber, tried to convince Hoffman not to go on the mission, as they did not want a dead colonel on their hands. Hoffman asked him if he was worried that humankind had finally evolved something crazier than a Raven pilot, and Sorotki turned around to look at him while still flying and said that that wasn't biologically possible. As they approached the area where the Locust had been spotted, Sorotki located the Locust and reported to Hoffman that there were ten or more drones heading west toward the depot. Hoffman ordered him to set them down, and Sorotki hovered above the road, allowing Hoffman and Delta to jump out and get into position for the ambush.[7] After they defeated the Drones, Sorotki picked them up and dropped them back at the convoy zone.[8]

Sorotki

Mel flying his Raven out of the sink hole.

Sinking of Jacinto[]

"You can't save everybody, Marcus. We've got to go. The whole city's going under."
—Sorotki, after Marcus was upset they couldn't save several civilians

At the end of the Siege of Jacinto, Sorotki flew his Raven into a giant sinkhole that had opened in Jacinto, carrying Cpl.Damon Baird and flying escort to another Raven carrying a Lightmass Bomb. He picked up Sgt.Marcus Fenix and Cpl.Dominic Santiago from a hijacked Brumak, but the Raven carrying the Lightmass bomb was destroyed. He then piloted his Raven around the mutated Lambent Brumak, so that Marcus could destroy it with the Hammer of Dawn, causing it to explode and flood the Hollows defeating the Locust once and for all.[9] As it exploded, Sorotki flew his Raven out of the sinkhole, and tried to contact control and any other KR unit, but was unable to reach anyone. He told Marcus that he hoped the rest of the underground forces had heard the warning to leave. Marcus told Sorotki to scout around the area below them before they pulled out of the city, and Sorotki said that he would if they were able to make it out of the sinkhole. Sorotki managed to avoid the falling debris and leave the sinkhole, and began looking along the roads leading out of the city for survivors to pick up, but told Marcus that they were low on fuel and would have to make it quick. They saw a car heading for a broken bridge, and Sorotki flew down in front of them to stop them. Marcus and Dom got out to escort the family back to the Raven, but two Reavers arrived and attacked them. Sorotki took off to provide air support, and shot down both Reavers as they tried to kill Marcus, Dom, and the civilians. A tidal wave then hit the bridge, submersing it for several seconds, but Marcus and Dom managed to stay on the bridge and get to a safe area. Dom asked Sorotki what had happened to the civilians, and he told him that they had lost them. Marcus wanted to look for them, but Sorotki said that he needed to land now and get out of there while he still had fuel. Marcus was upset about the kids that had been with the civilians, but Sorotki told him that they couldn't save everyone, and had to leave before the whole city went under. After picking them up, Sorotki joined the rest of the Raven fleet in fleeing Jacinto.[10]

KR239

Sorotki flying KR-239 away from Jacinto.

Rescuing Bernie[]

"She's got company, and not the let's-keep-our-spirits-up kind..."
—Sorotki, telling Delta that Bernie was under attack by a Drone

When the comms were restored, Sorotki was contacted by KR Three-Three and told that a distress signal had been picked up from Sgt.Bernadette Mataki, and that she was stuck on the roof of the Allfathers Library.[10] Sorotki contacted control and asked them if they had picked up the signal as well, and the confirmed that they had also determined she was the roof of the Allfathers Library. Sorotki said they were low on fuel, and control began calculating who could pick her up, but Marcus said that they could do it. Sorotki was still concerned about their fuel situation, but agreed, and began flying to the Allfathers Library. On the way there, he told Marcus that they didn't have time for any more fancy flying, and that they would be flying on fumes as it was. Sorotki then instructed Mitchel to join him in the cockpit and work on fuel numbers for him, and told Marcus how to use the rescue sling to pick Bernie up, and what to do if he needed to winch down to lift her up. When they arrived, Sorotki saw Bernie fighting a Drone on the roof, barely hanging on to the sinking building. He told the others about it, and asked who the best shot was. Marcus said that she was, and ordered Sorotki to get as close as he could to the building. Bernie managed to kill the Drone, and Marcus rescued her, pulling her up into the Raven's bay. Sorotki then began flying back to rejoin the rest of the fleet in heading for the rendezvous point at Port Farrall.[11]

Vectes and the Stranded Insurgency[]

Mission to Vectes[]

"Move it, people. You'll be late for diplomacy class."
—Sorotki, as he takes off from the Stranded settlement after a tense stand-off

After the COG decided that Port Farrall was not a viable refuge during the harsh winter, they decided to investigate the island of Vectes as a possible relocation point. Major Gill Gettner flew her Raven, carrying Lt.Anya Stroud and Delta-One, to the island, while Sorotki followed in his Raven, carrying an Armadillo and extra supplies.[12] After making contact with the locals, Sorotki and Mitchell prepared the APC to investigate Vectes Naval Base.[13] Sorotki and the others then laid on the grass while waiting for Delta to return, relaxing and eating. When Delta returned from the town, Marcus asked who was driving them to VNB. Sorotki said he would be delighted to drive them there, and Marcus thanked him. He then drove Delta-One and William Berenz to VNB, afterwords playing cards with Anya and Mitchell while the others investigated the base. He was impatient with how long it was taking to investigate the base, commenting to Anya that he and Mitchell were up to searching. Anya told him that Marcus always wanted to make sure that they had a fast getaway available, but she contacted him anyway to see how the search was going, and he said that they had encountered nothing dangerous so far. Sorotki commented that the environment people in Emergency Management would likely still want to check it out when they got to Vectes, and Anya said they couldn't be too careful, especially after what Delta had encountered at the New Hope Research Facility. A few minutes later, they were startled out of their card game when the bases alarm went off, and he and Mitchell quickly scrambled into the Raven, but Cole contacted them, saying that he was pleased that the bases alarm worked. Sorotki and the others were annoyed by the joke, and returned to their card game. After Delta returned, Sorotki piloted the Gears to the Stranded community on the island, admiring the view as he flew over the island. After he landed in the middle of the settlement, he and Mitchell covered Delta with the Ravens guns as they talked with the Stranded leader. After a tense stand-off after Bernie punched a Stranded who groped her, Sorotki called them back to the Raven and flew them back to Pelruan.[14] When they arrived back at Pelruan, he and Barber talked over the comms with friends on the mainland.[15]

Stranded Raid[]

"I have a visual on the 'Dill. Heading for... yeah, I see them, three big junkers, heading into town. Going to welcom them to Pelruan..."
—Sorotki, spotting the Stranded attack force heading for Pelruan

Their rest was interrupted when a group of Stranded attacked Pelruan. Sorotki got into his Raven, and Gettner ordered him to take KR-249 and guard the inland pass into town. Sorokti acknowledged the order, and flew over to the pass with Mitchell serving as his gunner, and Anya on the ground in the APC. When Stranded approached the town, he reported to the others that three big Junkers were inbound, and that he and Anya were going to welcome them to Pelruan. They opened fire on the vehicles, destroying all three APC's as they attempted to approach the town. Sorotki then flew the Raven over the forest near the town, working with Gettner to hunt down any Stranded that escaped into the forest. After they finished, Sorotki flew KR-239 back to Pelruan and patrolled over the sea, looking for more Stranded, before finally returning to shore and setting down at the cliffside landing zone. In the morning, Sorotki was sitting the Raven's cockpit when he was contacted by Hoffman, who wanted to speak with Anya or Marcus. He informed them about the call, and Marcus decided to take it and fill Hoffman in on what had happened the night before.[16]

Second Visit to the Stranded[]

"Just a recon, or you want another fistfight with them?"
—Sorotki, after Marcus told him to head back to the Stranded camp

The next day, Sorotki flew Bernie and Marcus on an inspection of the local farms. After they inspected Merris Farm, he flew them and local farmer Dilland Jonty over several areas of the island as Jonty pointed out certain areas and paths the Stranded used to travel around. Sorotki asked Marcus if they were going to overfly the other farms, but Marcus then told him to head back to the Stranded settlement. Sorotki complained that he was always the one picked to go there, but Marcus told him that they had shot up Gettner's Raven. Sorotki said that they had shot up his too, but asked if he was just going for a recon, or if he wanted to get in another fistfight with them, and Marcus said that they would see when they got there. Marcus had him fly directly over the settlement to make them nervous and scared, and Sorotki said the old "gunship-rising-over the-horizon trick" would work wonders. He then asked if he was sure he wanted to do this with Jonty aboard, but Jonty promised not to make any trouble. After flying over the camp, Sorotki set down a hundred meters away while Marcus talked with the Stranded to offer them amnesty. After Marcus returned, Sorotki commented that that had been a waste of time, and asked Jonty if he was ready to go home. Jonty said he was if they weren't going to let them shot the two Stranded who Marcus had talked to, but Marcus and Sorotki asked if he could identify them as having committed a capital offense. He said he couldn't, so Marcus said he couldn't shoot them, and Bernie pointed out a good observation point along the ridge where they could watch the Stranded pick up their dead. Sortoki dropped them inland so they could walk back to an observation point so that Jonty could ID some of the more violent Stranded.[17]

The Battle of Vectes[]

"Confirmed, they've got rifles. Lost them now. They've gone under some trees."
—Sorotki, tracking Stranded insurgents from the air

Several weeks later, Sorotki flew Marcus and Baird to pick up Bernie and Anya after their Packhorse was hit by a roadside bomb placed on one of the roads by Stranded insurgents. He set down on the road since the bomb had already gone off, dropping off the Gears. They loaded supplies from the Packhorse into the Raven, but Bernie refused to be casevaced, instead wanting to pursue a Stranded trail her dog, Mac, had found. Marcus ordered Sorotki to take Anya back to base, and he complied despite her protests.[18] A short time later, the Stranded began a concentrated offensive across Vectes, and Sorotki took KR-239 back out with Cole and Dom aboard to assist Marcus, Baird, and Bernie. Marcus had him stand by while Delta inspected a cave.[19] Once they found the exit to the cave, they had Sorotki follow Mac from the air to lead them to the insurgents, with Mitchell keeping track of the dog. He was contacted by Pvt.Samantha Byrne, who was on a Rat bike and could act as a scout on the ground for him. He directed her to a grid to stand watch. Once they located the Stranded in a river, Sorotki directed Delta to the insurgents location, but were fired upon by the Stranded. Sorotki dropped Dom and Cole off to join the rest of Delta, and once the battle was over, set down to pick up the squad and there three prisoners. He then flew them all back to VNB.[20]

Lambent Pandemic[]

Battle of the Emerald Spar Platform[]

"It's gone under! Shit, it's under the rig."
—Sorotki, after watching the Lambent Stalk go under the Emerald Spar platform, and bypassing its defenses

Several days later, Sorotki and Mitchell flew KR-239 to the Emerald Spar Imulsion Platform to drop off several Gear squads alongside two other Ravens, in order to help assist the platform against approaching Lambent Stalks.[21] He then flew KR-239 out over the ocean to help KR-471 keep track of the Stalks. Mitchell kept track of them from the crew bay, and kept the defenders on the platform informed, while Sorotki kept in contact with Vectes. He learned reinforcements were on the way, consisting of the CNV Clement, the CNV Falconer, the CNV Centennial, and the Zephyr. He told the others, and then flew KR-239 into position for a strafing run on the Stalk. When Mitchell opened fire, the Stalk sent a part of itself out to attempt to strike down the Raven, but Sorotki was able to dodge it, and decided not to try that again. He continued to track the Stalk until it went under the platform, and came up through the middle.[22] As the battle progressed, he flew the Raven around the rig to give Mitchell shots at any Polyps that he saw. Baird soon contacted Sorotki and had him fly under the platform in order to give Mitchell a clear shot at the Stalk to try and bring it down. They succeeded, but a second Stalk appeared and attached itself to the rig.[23] The battle was soon lost, and Sorotki and Mitchell used KR-239 to help evacuate the rig alongside four other Raven's.[24]

The Battles of Pelruan and VNB[]

"We'll get a little more altitude before we try that again."
—Sorotki, after nearly getting killed by the exploding Lambent Leviathan

After the Battle of Pelruan began, Lt.Donneld Mathieson assigned Sorotki to fly Yanik Laas and his squad of Gorasni to the town to assist. Sorotki was impressed with the Gorasni, and contacted Pelruan to let them know that he was almost there. Anya was worried that the local veterans wouldn't like having the Gorasni defend the town, but Sorotki decided that everyone would need to fight the new war first. After landing, Sorotki and Mitchell joined Anya, Bernie, Sgt.Drew Rossi, Yanik, and Sam to plan how they would fight the Lambent Leviathan attacking the town. He volunteered to have Mitchell strafe it in order to provoke it into attacking when they wanted it to, and Anya agreed. Sorotki and Mitchell went back to the Raven and took off, and flew over the sea to locate the Leviathan. Once they found it, Sorotki avoided its tentacles while Mitchell shot at it. Once they got it angry, it followed them back to Pelruan, and Sorotki informed the defenders that it was heading for the slipway.[25] As the Leviathan let off Polyps on the beach, Sorotki would fly over it to allow Mitchell to strafe it. They continued doing that over and over, until they finally killed it with a massive number of headshots. As Sorotki flew in close to confirm the kill, the Leviathan exploded, but Sorotki was able to back the Raven away in time. Anya contacted him, worried that they had been injured by the blast, but Sorotki assured he they were shaken up but okay, and said they would get more altitude before trying that again. He then used the Raven's searchlight to help try and find any surviving Polyps.[26] The next day, Sorotki returned to New Jacinto, which had been devastated in a Lambent attack as well. Sorotki flew Hoffman over the city to view the damage, and dropped him off at the edge of the city.[27]

Transporting Prescott and Hoffman[]

"I don't want to make your day plummet downhill any faster, Colonel, but there'e another farmer going ballistic. The one whose cows got fragged."
—Sorotki, informing Hoffman about an upset farmer

A few weeks later, Sorotki was selected to fly Chairman Richard Prescott and Hoffman to the site of a stalk emergence in the middle of Vectes. When the stalk came into view, he contacted Delta, who was guarding the site, and told them that he had a visual on them, and that the stalk was an interesting crop that they had grown. Baird sarcastically thanked him for joining them, and asked if he had taken so long because he had asked for directions. Sorotki told him to direct all complaints to Prescott, and that he would be there in a second for him to do so. Sorotki flew low over the pasture and circled the stalks before settling down and letting Prescott and Hoffman off.[28] Sorotki and Mitchell got out of the Raven as well, and he began looking around the area. Sorotki discovered that part of a herd of cattle in the next field had been fragged by polyps, and he hurried to find Hoffman and inform him. He found Hoffman taking a pee break in the woods, and told him that he was sorry to interrupt, and explained what he had discovered. Hoffman was upset, and told him that they would have to be chasing the Lambent all over the island to make sure they didn't do any damage. Sorotki told him that Baird had come up with a theory, and Hoffman told him to take him to Baird so that he could explain it. They found Baird, who informed them that he believed the Lambent stalks were using fissures around the island to emerge, and they would just need to monitor the fissure lines to contain the Lambent. Hoffman then ordered Sorotki to start up the Raven so they could get to Pelruan and do damage control after a civilian had been killed by polyps. Sorotki flew Prescott, Hoffman, Cole, Baird, and Dom to Pelruan, and informed Hoffman that KR Eight-Zero would arrive there with the rest of Delta in a few minutes, and that Pvt.Dizzy Wallin was heading to the stalk site with his rig, and would be in position in about half-an-hour. After landing, Sorotki played cards with Mitchell, Gettner, and Barber until the others got back, and he asked how the civilians had taken the news, but Baird told him that the dead guy hadn't been who they thought it was. Sorotki then told Hoffman that the farmer who owned the dead cows was going crazy, and Prescott offered to talk to him since Hoffman would be busy planning on how to deal with the stalks. Sorotki then flew them all back to the stalk site, and Prescott pointed out the brown patches of grass around the stalks and asked what it was. Mitchell began taking recon images of it, and Sorotki landed so they could get a closer look, and they discovered that the stalks killed pasture.[29]

Scouting Vectes[]

"So are they like fungi or something? You know, all the real activity goes on underground and all you see above the ground are the fruiting bodies and the spores."
—Sorotki, speculating on the nature of the stalks with Delta

The next day, Sorotki and other Raven pilots were selected to fly over Vectes and scout for other Lambent incursions, and to begin working on mapping the island better. Mitchell took a camera from reporters and a bot feed from Baird in order to take better recon images as Sorotki flew KR-239 over the island. Hoffman, Marcus, Dom, and Commander Miran Trescu came along as passengers, and Sorotki lifted off an began following the line of the volcanic rift he had been assigned. As they flew along it, he informed his passengers that he couldn't spot anything along their path. A few minutes later, Marcus told him to look over to the east, and asked if he could see the light patch in the trees. Sorotki saw what he was talking about, and flew over to it and told Mitchell to drop the camera and get it rolling. Mitchell reported back that it was only a few normal dead trees, and Sorotki returned to flying along the fault line. He asked Delta what Baird's theory about the incursions was, and remarked that he missed his abrasive and informative commentary. Marcus told him that they Baird thought they were emerging via cave systems, and that he thought it made sense, since they had seen them coming up from the seabed. Sorotki wondered if they were a fungus or something similar, with the real activity going on underground, and the stalks were just the fruiting bodies and spores. Dom remarked that it was almost like having Baird with them, and Marcus told Sorotki that he had a point. Sorotki was amused by Dom's reaction, and joked that chopper pilots had active intellects as well. He then said that he wasn't sure where the polyps fit in, since they came on both Lambent Leviathans and stalks. The others began debating about what triggered them to detonate, and Trescu suggested it might be for reproduction by exploding to spread spores. Several minutes later, Hoffman pointed out another batch of dead trees, and Sorotki turned to investigate. They found a large number of dead trees this time, and Marcus told him they needed to find out what was in the center of the dead zone. Sorotki hovered over the center, and Mitchell dropped the camera down into the trees to get more photos. They discovered a few dead stalks there, and Sorotki flew over the area to allow Mitchell to take more recon images of the dead zone's perimeter so they could monitor it and chart how fast it was growing. After they finished, Hoffman ordered Sorotki to move on and continue scouting along the fault line for more dead zones.[30] A week later, Sorotki dropped the latest aerial recon images of the dead zones off a the Admiralty House for Prescott to view.[31]

Imulsion Discovery[]

"Fuck the frogs, Marcus. Fill her up!"
—Sorotki, after Marcus discovered an Imulsion field

Later that day, Sorotki went out on another patrol with Marcus and Dom aboard, looking for more signs of Lambent activity. He was in a nostalgic mood, and commented to the others that his mom had used to do things like this with him on car journeys, trying to spot things like red cars or tall invasive life forms. Dom asked him what kept him cheerful, since he had never seen Sorotki in a bad mood ever, and Sorotki was silent for a moment, and then he told Dom he programed himself. Dom asked what he meant, and Sorotki explained that he had read somewhere about how if you went through the physical or emotional movements often enough, you could program yourself to always feel happy. He said that he forced a smile often enough that he didn't need to force it any longer. Dom said he would try it, and Sorotki remarked that he thought that Gettner's switch got stuck the other way, and Dom asked what was wrong with her lately. Sorotki told him he tought it was fatigue, and that there was no way to talk yourself out of that. A few minutes later, Marcus spotted several news stalks, and Sorotki flew over to them, and they discovered that the stalks had just recently erupted. Dom then caught the strong smell of fuel, and asked Sorotki if he had done a maintenance check recently, and said that it smelled like he had a fuel leak. Sorotki told them they had done a preflight check, and Marcus then told them not to fire on any polyps they might see unless they were a threat, since they were low on ammo. Dom asked if there was anything they weren't low on, and Marcus said they had hydroelectricity. Sorotki said they could run the Raven's on batteries with that, and told Marcus he was going in to get a closer look at the stalks, and ordered Mitchell to take more pictures of the stalks for Prescott. Dom wondered why Preoscott wanted so many photos, and Sorotki guessed he was desperate. Mitchell told him to hold position for a moment so he could line up the stalks position on the map of the island. Sorotki hovered for a bit until Marcus told him to come around, saying he had spotted something on the ground. Sorotki asked how many legs it had, but Marcus told him it wasn't a glowie, and that he had seen a flash of something through the trees. Sorotki asked if he wanted to look at it on the ground, and that winching down wouldn't be very safe. Dom told him to land somewhere secure and they could approach on foot. Marcus then said he had seen a reflection, and that there weren't any watercourses on the map in this area. Mitchell didn't think that was a big deal, but Sorotki began talking about how he loved exploring ponds as a kid, looking for different kinds of insects and frogs, and remarked how he didn't see many nowadays, and that everything was disappearing. Sorotki landed in a clearing, and Marcus and Dom proceeded through the forest until they reached the stalks. Marcus then contacted him and said that it wasn't a pool with frogs, but an Imulsion field. Sorotki was stunned, and let out a whoop of joy, telling Marcus to forget the frogs, it was time to fill up.[32]

Finishing the Recon and Lambent Attack[]

"Damned if I can work out what the connection is, though. Leviathans with polyps. Stalks with polyps. Stalks without polyps. Stalks with dead patch. Dead patch without stalks."
—Sorotki, wondering about how all of the Lambent were connected

Sorotki moved KR-239 closer to the field, and watched as the Gorasni crew showed up with SSgt.Lennard Parry to test the Imulsion. Stefan Gradin tested how volatile and potent the Imulsion was by shooting a jar of it, causing it to explode and shoot up into the air. Sorotki commented that it had been a good show, and told Marcus to get back to the Raven so they could finish their patrol. Marcus and Dom brought back a sample of Imulsion in a jar for Prescott, and Sorotki took off, telling them that he was going to fly along the whole length of the fissure to see if there was more Imulsion seepage along it. They flew along the fissure for another half an hour, but were unable to find anymore pools of Imulsion. Sorotki commented that he may have been too optimistic, and began wondering what the connection between the different types of Lambent and Imulsion was, since Stalks showed up with and without polyps, and polyps sometimes appeared with the dead zones. They flew over the new dead zone Pelruan, and Sorotki remarked that they were going to have to begin moving the population to New Jacinto soon at the rate the dead zone was expanding, which would make it easier to protect everyone. Sorotki finished looping around over Pelruan, and then headed back to Vectes Naval Base so Marcus and Dom could deliver the Imulsion sample.[33] Several minutes later, the engineers and Gorasni called for assistance after polyps were spotted in the trees, and Dizzy and Pvt.Samantha Byrne were trapped by polyps on Rig 314. Sorotki flew as fast as he could to the Imulsion field, and he asked Parry if strafing was out of the question. Parry said it was unless he wanted to burn Dizzy and Sam, and once they reached the field, Mitchell pointed out the rigs location, and they saw it was covered in polyps. Sorotki asked Marcus and Dom if they were ready to rope down, but Marcus told him to drop them off so they could try drawing some polyps away from the rig. As Dom tried to warn him about polyps in the trees below, one jumped aboard, but Dom kicked it out and exploded, and asked Sorotki if he had heard him. Sorotki said he must of missed that, and when he got to a clearing he ordered them to quickly jump out and carry out Marcus' plan. After the polyps were wiped out, Sorotki landed, and Dizzy was carried aboard for transport to VNB, since he had suffered some burns. Sorotki contacted Marcus and Dom, telling them that they needed to get aboard if they wanted a ride back to base, since Dizzy really needed to see Dr.Isabel Hayman. They arrived with Sam, and Sorotki flew them back to VNB.[34]

Battle of Edlar Farm[]

"Come on, Mitchell. Cannon up. It's pop-a-polyp time."
—Sorotki, as he closes in on a giant wave of polyps attacking Edlar Farm

Five days later, Sorotki was flying on patrol with Cole and Baird aboard when Marcus sent out a message over the radio saying he and Dom were getting tremors at the Edlar Farm. Sorotki told Marcus that he would be there to help him check it out in eight minutes, and began heading for the farm. A few minutes later, Marcus came back on the radio and said that at least twenty stalks had emerged and were letting out polyps. Sorotki ordered Mitchell to get on the gun and open fire on the polyps, and as the stalks came into view, he asked Marcus where he was. Marcus told him he was on the north side of the farm, near the gate, and Sorotki spotted him, Dom, and two farmers. Sorotki told him they would provide covering fire for them, and Baird told Sorotki to drop him and Cole on the ground so they could assist them, since many of the polyps were too close for him to get a clear shot. Sorotki told him they couldn't outrun them on the ground, but Baird reminded him that he had held the things off on a submarine before. Sorotki joked that he was his hero for doing that, and Baird said that he had been the first to discover them anyway. Sorotki said they might name them after him, and Baird started rambeling on about his theoris about how the Lambent infection spread. Sorotki interrupted him, telling him to shut the fuck up and shoot, and he hovered above the polyps as they charged Marcus and the others, allowing Mitchell and Cole to shoot at them from the door guns and Baird to fire as well. Marcus contacted him and said they couldn't stop them all, and that some were spreading out into the field. Sorotki wondered where the other Ravens were, and contacted KR Eight-Zero and KR One-Five, asking them how close they were. Gettner told him that she would be there in two minutes, and Kenyon responded that he had a visual on him, and that he was eager to use his new flamethrower on the polyps. Sorotki dropped Cole and Baird off on the ground so they could help the others get clear before Kenyon used the flamethrower, and then took off again to continue providing covering fire. After the polyps were killed, the farm suffered heavy damage from the flamethrower, and Sorotki sent a message about the battle to Hoffman, who decided to evacuate Pelruan before it became completely cut off.[35]

Collapse of the COG[]

Scouting the Mainland[]

"Actully, it was me, Mitchell, Baird, and Dom too. Plus Stroud doing the backroom work. Just for the record. In case Marcus gets pilloried in years to come as the guy who took Jacinto off the map."
—Sorotki to Trescu, after he asked Marcus if he had been the one to sink Jacinto

Three months later, Prescott had abandoned the COG, disappearing without a trace at sea with his two bodyguards private Lowe and corporal Rivera. Hoffman, Cpt.Quentin Michaelson, and Trescu took over running the COG, but after more Lambent attacks and supplies began running low, they decided to start scouting sites on the mainland to relocate several groups to. Sorotki was selected to fly to the eastern Tyran coast with Hoffman, Trescu, Marcus, Parry, and Emergency Management chief Royston Sharle to scout out locations. They headed to Port Farrall first, but found that it had been overrun by stalks, ending their last hoping of relocating the COG as a whole. Sorotki asked Hoffman if he even wanted to try landing, but Hoffman told him not to, and they could see just fine from the air. Sorotki remarked that it had been fine last month, which showed how fast the Lambent were spreading, and asked what they were going to do now. Hoffman asked how much fuel they had left, and he told him they could go by Gerrenhalt and Vonner Bay before having to return to the CNV Fort Andius to refuel. Sharle said they were at the top of his list to inspect, and Sorotki began flying towards the cities. They realized they would have to fly over where Jacinto City had been in order to reach them, and they were horrified to discover that there was nothing left except a large bay. Trescu questioned Marcus if he had really been to the one to sink Jacinto, and Marcus said he had done it with the Hammer. Sorotki chimed in and said that he, Mitchell, Baird, and Dom had helped, and that he didn't want history sticking Marcus with the stigma of having destroyed the city by himself. After taking some recon pictures of the bay, Sorotki continued on until he reached Vonner Bay, and told the others he was going to set down, but to keep an eye out for Stranded. He landed on a road leading into the town, and Mitchell covered the others with the door gun as they explored the city. When a group of birds were startled by something, Marcus asked Sorotki if he could spot anything in the area, but he told Marcus that he couldn't see anything. It turned out to be just a deer, and the others returned to the Raven an hour later, having determined that several thousand people could live in the city. Sorotki flew around the city a couple of times so Mitchell could take more recon images, and then began flying to Gerrenhalt. Fort Andius then contacted him, and said that they had a message for Hoffman from KR Eight-Zero. Hoffman told them to go ahead, and they informed them that Gettner and Sgt.Drew Rossi had reported that Anvil Gate was still intact and had hydroelectricity.[36]

Preparing to Leave Vectes[]

"Two-Three-Nine to all callsigns, it's in the camp- it's coming up inside the wire. Block H for Hotel. Inside the wire. Two stalks- no, three."
—Sorotki, directing Gears as stalks emerge inside Vectes Naval Base

A week later, tremors were detected in Vectes Naval Base while preparations for the evacuation were underway. Sorotki quickly got into the air, and when stalks emerged, he alerted all call signs that they had emerged in Block H in the middle of the camp, and that there were three of them.[37] Nine days later, Sorotki offered to give Marcus and Dom a ride to Pelruan when they escorted retired Cpl.Frederic Benten there to retrieve the Pendulum Wars memorial plaque there. Marcus asked him if he had loading to do, but Sorotki said taking them there wouldn't take long. Marcus thanked him for the offer, but said they would drive instead, since they didn't want to rush Benten. Sorotki warned them to be careful then since stalks were emerging all around Pelruan now, and he flew back to join the other Ravens in loading things aboard the naval ships.[38]

Personality and Traits[]

Crimson Omen
Gearspedia has 4 images related to Mel Sorotki.
"Go through the physical motions often enough and the feeling becomes real. It's a feedback thing. I read it somewhere. Force a smile often enough and eventually your brain registers happy. Signal in becomes signal out."
—Sorotki, explaining to Dom how he kept cheerful

Sorotki was a cheery and positive person, claiming he used a "feedback" technique to make his brain think it was happy all the time by forcing himself to be happy enough that he became stuck like that. This left Sorotki in a permanent cheerful mood, which was noticed by his fellow Gears.[39]

Behind the Scenes[]

  • Sorotki was planned to be in Gears of War 3, but the chapter he was in was cut from the game during development.[40]

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. Gears of War: Bloodlines
  2. Gears of War: The Slab pg 259-260
  3. Gears of War: The Slab pg 409
  4. Gears of War: The Slab pg 428-429
  5. Gears of War: Act 1: Ashes: Trial By Fire
  6. Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 45-47
  7. Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 134-138
  8. Gears of War: Aspho Fields pg 145-146
  9. Gears of War 2: Act 5: Aftermath: Closure
  10. 10.0 10.1 Gears of War: Dirty Little Secrets Part One
  11. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 17-24
  12. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 200-201
  13. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 211
  14. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 217-228
  15. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 235
  16. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 238-248
  17. Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant pg 262-267
  18. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 37-40
  19. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 52-53
  20. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 56-64
  21. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 200
  22. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 202-206
  23. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 209-212
  24. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 217
  25. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 336-338
  26. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 350-354
  27. Gears of War: Anvil Gate pg 396-398
  28. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 16
  29. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 25-33
  30. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 68-73
  31. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 77
  32. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 86-91
  33. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 123-125
  34. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 131-136
  35. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 153-159
  36. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 372-378
  37. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 382
  38. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 405
  39. Gears of War: Coalition's End pg 87
  40. Karen Traviss on Twitter
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