- "I'll take down Three Strikes, you just have to run as fast as possible"
- —Serpent calling Bogen to escape
Russel "Serpent" Faulkner, callsign Serpent. As the son of an Erusean ace who fought in the Continental war, Russel had a fascination with aviation from an early age. He lived near the Erusean Air Force base where his father was stationed at, and when he was very young he often witnessed planes taking off and landing at the base, often flying right above him. In several ocassions he witnessed planes the legendary 156th Tactical Fighter Wing "Aquila", better known as the Yellow Squadron, arrive to the base for training exercises. Russel's father, who also flew the Su-37, often participated in those exercises, though he was the first to admit he was nowhere near the skill level of the legendary squadron.
After Russel's father left to fight in the war, he and his mother moved in with some relatives in a quiet small town west of Farbanti. While the war still raged on it wasn't uncommon to see Erusean fighter jets overflying the town. At some point, the fighters with the orange roundel were replaced with those with three blue arrowheads, those of the opposing side. The young Russel watched the constant worry in the faces of his family every time he asked where his dad was, which grew even more with each passing day. Shortly after the war ended, however, Russel's father finally made it back. He had fought to the bitter end before being captured by ISAF forces. He returned home thinking of himself not as a hero, but as a survivor. Despite frequent inquiries from his excited son about the war and the air combat he had seen, Russel's father rarely spoke about his experiences in combat as it was clear that the war had taken a great toll on his psyche, but still taught his son how to fly shortly before passing away from a traffic accident.
As he grew up, Russel decided to follow in his father's footsteps, leave his town and join the Erusean Air Force in Farbanti. Russel quickly became a skilled pilot, flying the the Su-37 Terminator like his father and his childhood heroes of Yellow Squadron. He used his plane's agility and thrust-vectoring capability to his full advantage, including the use of the famous Cobra post-stall maneuver. His attacks were thus likened to that of a venomous snake, delivering a quick venomous bite at close range that was all but guaranteed to kill his prey
Like many other younger rookie pilots lacking combat experience, Russel was initially assigned to a reserve squadron and stationed near the capital. Despite this, he was part of the fighters that defended Farbanti from Osean strikes early in the war, making a name for himself by being part of the operation that dealt a lethal blow to the Osean carrier OFS Kestrel II on May 30, shooting down several of its fighters and allowing Erusean attackers to sink it with anti-ship missiles. Due to the level of skill shown in this first operation, Russel was sent to operate along with other more experienced pilots in the frontlines, obtaining a high number of kills during regular fighter sweeps and interception missions of Osean aircraft attempting to penetrate into Erusean territory.
By September 19, Erusea had been backed into a corner as Osea threatened the capital of Farbanti. Russel was called back to Farbanti, where he and his squadron were meant to be part of the Erusean all-out defense against Osea's large-scale offensive to try intended capture the capital city, known as Operation Giant's Step, a battle which coincidentally took place on the same exact date of Farbanti's fall during the Continental War, a fact not lost on the defenders who formed the last line of defense. Russel's squadron was one of the last to reach the city, most of the defensive lines on the ground broken by Osean ground troops aided by air support of the LRSSG. With the last few Erusean ground reinforcements heading over to the Erusean HQ to make their last stand in a desperate battle to try and hold back the Osean forces, Russel attempted to engage the Osean planes flying above Farbanti, but he was attacked and shot down by Trigger. Russel's Su-37 exploded mid-air and killed him.
Like most other Erusean ace pilot, he's branded as heroes in Farbanti along with other died Erusean pilots.