Sulaiman Arvian

Samuel/Sulaiman Arvian (1972-2022) is a character in Eagle Legion series. He was an Indonesian pilot who flew for IJSF and then JTF in the later story. He first appeared in Eagle Legion: A Valiant Beginning, and made his last appearance in Eagle Legion: The Rise.

Early Life
Samuel Arvian was born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He was the first child of Gilbert Arvian and Anita Claudia. He was born as a Christian. When he was 4 years old, he attended an elementary school. He became good friends with many Islamic boys of the school. He learned many things about the Islamic world, and got interested in it. After he graduated from the elementary school, he converted to Islam with his brother and changed his name to Sulaiman.

Taking to the Skies of Indonesia
During his middle and high school life, he learned a lot about planes and aviation. He was fascinated in the idea of "flying makes you free". He was so obsessed, he even filled his room's wall with aircraft posters. After discussing it with his parents, he decided to enter an air force academy after he graduated from the high school. He entered the air force academy right after the graduation. He discovered his natural skills in aviation during his time in the academy. Being a natural pilot, he quickly mastered the basics. He defeated the instructor in a mock dogfight in the first try, combined with his discovery of his Cryan-exclusive skill, the “Night Fighter’s Sense”, he earned a place in the national air force. He was put in the 23rd Air Force Unit (Unit Udara no. 23) stationed in the Adisucipto International Airport.

Meeting Ven Asti
He first met his future love during her birth day. He was present when her parents introduce their newly born second child. He was friend with Ven’s older brother, Krisna Rudianto, who would become a pilot alongside him. Their age difference was great. Samuel was 7 years old when Ven was born. Their basic personalities back then were very different, Sulaiman was very sociable and outgoing, while Ven was very quiet and rather closed, typical of hikikomori. When Ven was at the final year of elementary school (11 years old), she had only one close friend, while Sul at that time (18 years old) had countless friends in the air force academy from all years. He mocked Ven for being such a loner. Even Ven’s own brother joined the mocking. Sul was completely surprised when Ven appeared in the air base six years later. She has completed the academy faster than any student in the academy’s history, she had a beautiful face… and a boyfriend.

"The Rescue" and Eventual Marriage
Ven broke up with her boyfriend in less than two months after she joined the air force. Sul was attracted to her beauty, but his act six years ago left a scar in Ven’s heart. He asked Rudi for help, but even her brother couldn’t change her mind. She hated him more than anything. He attempted to approach her by trying to teach her his night fighting skill... But the more he tried, the more she hated him.

In 1998, he got a shocking news that Ven was abducted by terrorists. Their demand - the TNI-AU would abandon Adisucipto. Fearing the loss of his career and the love of his life, he wanted to rescue her, but her brother and his commanding officer told him to stand down and leave the rescue to the Police’s 88th Detachment and the TNI-AD’s Kopassus. He stood down for a while, but he went to rescue her alone before the Police are deployed. The abductor revealed himself to Sul when he arrived after killing his men. He was her ex-boyfriend, and an ex-TNI-AD soldier, Aldino Baskara. He and Dino engaged in a fight. Sul killed Dino with Dino’s own knife. He jokingly told to the tied up Ven, if she wanted him to rescue her, she would be her girlfriend. She initially refused, but he confessed to her right at the place. Ven felt that he was telling the truth, then, she agreed. She kissed him after she was released. Sul asked her why, but she only answered with a smile. They are married one year later.

Being "Snowflake" and IJSF Career
Before he joined IJSF, he was mostly inactive due to the peaceful years. He flew routine patrols, or did some mentoring to the new recruits.

 He first flew internationally during the joint training held by the IJSF in the Philippines. He was the only Indonesian contingent due to the inactivity of majority of the TNI AU's F-16s. He was chosen from the most skilled F-16 pilots in TNI AU. Once again his night fighting abilities gave him a major score boost.

Post-IJSF Years and Service with the Joint Task Force
After the end of the war, he returned home to Indonesia, and not to the Kingdom of South Cryo. He submitted his proposal of opening a special subject in the air force academy: Night fighting skills, which the GHQ accepted. He and his family lived a peaceful life.

In 2017, he met Rina Safitri, a student from Surabaya. He saw a repetition of his past during his teaching years with her as his student. She was naturally skilled in air combat, much like he was. He taught her his Cryan skill and she quickly mastered it to level three, much to his joy. During that time he also personally taught his twin daughters. The three became close friends and the friendship continues even after graduation since they were all placed in the 23rd Night Fighter Air Division (Divisi Udara Tempur Malam no. 23). When the terror returned with the rise of an organization called World Nationalist Liberation Front aiming to bring down the United States and bring liberation and equality to the world, in 2020 he was called back into action alongside his Valiant Squadron friends.

Death and Legacy
Sulaiman, his wife, and Valiant Squadron were in a direct engagement against the top ace of WNLF, Alexander Harvard and his Jaguar AI-equipped FA-99F Super Falkner above the mountains. Even with his over-the-top level six mastery of Night Fighter’s Sense, he was no match to the extremely advanced technology the Super Falkners possessed. He and his wife were killed by direct hit of the Super Falkners’ railguns. A shell pierced his body and the shockwave the shell contained torn his aircraft to pieces when it was released. The same was done to his wife soon after he fell. The night fighting pair died that day in the skies.

He was buried in a cemetery close to his house in Yogyakarta. A new air force base in South Cryo is named after him. A replica of his Su-37 Terminator was donated to Indonesia and it was soon made into a monument in Iswahyudi Air Base, alongside the replica of Ven’s Eurofighter Typhoon. A bust sculpture of him was made and put in the air force academy’s main building. A painting was also made to commemorate his contributions in the academy and overall, his home country. Replicas of his and Ven’s aircrafts are available as downloadable contents for several aviation games and simulators worldwide.

More so, the Night Fighting techniques he had premiered and perfected had been replicated but never matched the original by several air forces around the world. Even his closest Valiant allies like Raven Rickenbacker and  Reginald Aleksandersson adapted it as a form of tribute. Sul was personified by Raven as "a human testament to the endurance of a man whose talent and skill wowed the world of defense, and that he will be forever remembered as the Forerunner of Modern Night Fighter Operations."



Family Life
Sulaiman Arvian was survived by his wife, Ven Herdiana Asti, his childhood friend and neighbor. With her, he had three children: one eldest son, and two twin daughters. Their oldest son is named Danang Ananto, 23 years old (EL:TR). Their twin daughters are named Miranda Kirana Putri and Nia Kirana Putri, both are 20 years old (EL:TRA).

Personal Life
His favorite food was the traditional food of Yogyakarta, gudeg. His favorite drink was tea. His hobby outside of flying was swimming and reading books.

 He was 182 cm tall. He had black hair, which became grey in his final years. He had reddish-brown eyes which were passed down from his father. His skin color was lighter than most Indonesians due to his true origin as a Cryan descendant.

 Sul was outgoing and sociable in his youth, but he became more serious and calmer after he joined the air force. Some said he was a bit short-tempered, though he personally denied it. In combat, he was a calculating person. Outside of combat, he was also a creative person. He made some new combat maneuvers and did some personal modifications to his planes. As the commander of Unit Udara no. 23 and later, the commanding officer of the 23rd NFAD after the war, he was close to his unit. He treated them as part of his family. As a pilot who flew under a commander, he wasn’t really obedient. He questioned their orders and sometime he violated even a direct if he felt the order was against his feeling, which often leads to really good results that help the whole force.

Quotations
 “Focus on your ears and let your hands take over.” – Teaching the basic of Night Fighter’s Sense.

 '“Kalau aku lepaskan, kamu mau jadi pacarku? (If I release you, would you be my girlfriend?)”' – Teasing Ven after he killed Dino.

 '“Go ahead, Mr. Host. It’s your sky, you know it better.”' – Giving a go-ahead to Raven to lead the team.