3209
ediciones
{/{character
|image=Amphi.PNG
|parents=[[Valda Mendez]], [[Arturo's father]]
|alias=Callsign: Amphisbaena
|profession={{cat tag|DDF pilots}}
|world=Detritus
|
|books=[[Skyward (series)]]
}}
{/{spoilers|book=Starsight}}
'''Arturo Mendez''' (callsign '''Amphisbaena''') is a
His callsign, Amphisbaena, comes from the mythological [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphisbaena two headed, ant-eating serpent]
His family is rich{{book ref|sky1|38}} and owns three private
== Appearance and Personality ==
Arturo is shorter than [[Jorgen]]{{book ref|sky1|8}} and has a faint accent that is normally associated with those from the lower caverns.{{book ref|sky1|10}} His hair curls to some degree.{{book ref|sky1|38}} He has a more formal way of speaking that may be due to his higher societal status.{{book ref|sky1|13}}
He is highly intelligent and his pretentious attitude lands him in trouble with [[Cobb]], several during flight school.{{book ref|sky1|10}}{{book ref|sky1|13}} Despite this, Arturo is initially surprised when his fellow classmates call on him for information,{{book ref|sky1|32}} however as time passes, becomes more comfortable and less arrogant when sharing information.{{book ref|sky1|32}} He is good at judging distances, a skill that his flightmates utilize and value.{{book ref|sky1|32}}{{book ref|sky1|33}}
Arturo is also an inquisitive person and can be skeptical of illogical suggestions.{{book ref|sky1|27}} He is also a logical thinker who carefully weights risk and reward when considering his actions. He is more likely to make the conservative choice when faced with high risk, even if this may lead to sub-optimal results. Despite this, he does have a competitive streak.{{book ref|sky1|15}} By the time Arturo is pulled from [[flight school]], he has relaxed his way of thinking and is more willing to break rules and take risks.{{book ref|sky1|48}}
Arturo has the tendency get distracted by opinions he disagrees with, which can cause him to go off on tangents.{{book ref|sky1|9}} Although Arturo begins flight school believing, and repeating, [[DDF]] rhetoric, he becomes more critical and inquisitive of DDF culture as time progresses.{{book ref|sky1|9}}{{book ref|sky1|27}} By the end of his time at flight school, Arturo has come to accept that the DDF is losing the war against the Krell despite their unwillingness to accept that fact.{{book ref|sky1|41}}
Arturo's confidence takes a hit after he is almost shot down during the battle in which [[Hurl]] died. He is aware of how close he came to death and worries about getting back into the cockpit.{{book ref|sky1|32}}{{book ref|sky1|38}}{{book ref|sky1|40}} Despite his worries, shortly after his near accident, Arturo finds that he has an intense desire to provide support to the main battle occurring nearby, instead of being in the background with the
Arturo is not religious,{{book ref|sky1|38}} and has some level of interest in sports.{{book ref|sky1|40}}
His first day of flight school saw him arriving at the class room with his two friends, [[Jorgen]] and [[Nedd]]. When Jorgen chided the other members of Skyward Flight for not being organized and ordered them to attention, Arturo naturally obeyed the command. After Cobb named Jorgen flightleader, Jorgen named Arturo as one of his two assistant flightleaders.{{book ref|sky1|8}}
Unlike many of the other members of Skyward Flight, it is likely that Arturo successfully launched his [[Poco]] during the first lesson run by Cobb.{{book ref|sky1|9}} After the exercise, when [[Bim]] asked about the tradition of dismissing cadets who eject, Arturo repeated [[DDF]] rhetoric that [[
{{sidequote
|Real pilots, the best of the best? They can steer a crashing ship into a salvageable landing, even if they’ve been shot. Acclivity rings are worth so much that pilots have to protect them, because the pilot isn’t worth as much...
|Arturo regurgitating [[DDF]] propaganda{{book ref|sky1|9}}
|side=right|size=450px
}}
The next day, while practicing, Arturo had to remind Nedd where to find his eject lever, to which Nedd joked that in an emergency he would simply ask Arturo where to find it. When Cobb asked the class for feedback, Arturo replied in a pompous way that he was bored.{{book ref|sky1|13}} Later, the cadets began testing out the weapons functions on their mockpits. Like his fellow classmates, barring [[Kimmalyn]], Arturo performed poorly when first attempting to hit the targets, not managing to land a single shot.{{book ref|sky1|14}} After most of the class died during the dogfight simulation, Cobb showed them the advantage of [[IMP]]'s, using Arturo to demonstrate.{{book ref|sky1|14}}
During the [[light-lance|
A few days later, Skyward Flight was once again sent into battle against the Krell, this time fighting alongside full pilots. Although Arturo was initially designated to be Jorgen's wingmate, at some point he was separated from his flightleader and Spensa took his place. Shortly after [[Morningtide]] was shot down, Arturo paired off with Nedd, to prevent the Krell from being able to focus on either of them. Arturo survived the battle, however, both Bim and Morningtide were killed.{{book ref|sky1|19}}
{{sidequote
|"Nedd, you idiot," Arturo said in my ear. "Why did you do that?"
"I wanted to see what would happen," Nedd answered.
"You wanted…Nedd, it was obvious what would happen. You just got us both killed!"
"Better here than the real world."
"Better neither. Now we won't win."
|[[Nedd]] and Arturo bickering during the [[light-lance]] game{{book ref|sky1|15}}
|side=left|size=350px
}}
During a routine debris tagging exercise, Skyward Flight got caught in a firefight between Krell and DDF forces as the [[shipyard]] fell from orbit. Arturo tried to assist a damaged DDF fighter as it crashed towards the planet surface, however, was unsuccessful in catching it with his light-lance. Arturo, [[FM]], [[Hurl]], and [[Jorgen]], ended up cut off from the other members of the Flight after they were attacked by Krell.{{book ref|sky1|25}} Eventually the members of the Flight were able to regroup and joined Riptide Flight as they headed back to base.{{book ref|sky1|26}}
After the death of Hurl, Arturo, along with the other remaining members of Skyward Flight, were given a week of leave in order to recover. Despite this, all remaining members returned to their flight school classroom the next morning. Spensa, determined to find Hurl's ship asked Arturo how far out he thought the battle had taken place, using his answer to guide her in the right direction towards Hurl's crash site.{{book ref|sky1|33}}
{{sidequote
|Arturo’s ship was blackened all along its left wing and side, its canopy cracked. His acclivity ring was still on, so he could stay in the air, but…scud. He’d survived a destructor hit after his shield had been knocked out.
|[[Spensa]] describing the damage to Arturo's ship after he was directly hit by [[destructor]] blasts{{book ref|sky1|32}}
|side=right|size=450px
}}
During his week of medical leave, Arturo met up with the members of Skyward Flight, past and present, at a restaurant at [[Alta Base]], and introduced them to his girlfriend Bryn. The group reminiscing about Hurl, and Arturo admitted his regret for not going with Spensa and Jorgen to find Hurl's body. When Bryn went to the bathroom, the members of Skyward Flight talked briefly about the strangeness of Krell tactics and the DDF's hesitancy to talk about these things. Arturo played devil's advocate during the conversation, challenging the sentiments expressed with the possibility that the DDF didn't share information on enemy tactics with those who did not have full DDF credentials. Kimmalyn pointed out to him, however, the his own conversations about the Krell had previously been shut down by higher ranking officers. The conversation dropped when Bryn returned and the group moved on to lighter topics.{{book ref|sky1|38}}
During scouting training, Arturo queried [[Blaze]] about the perception of cowardice created by staying away from the battle. Blaze did not appreciate the question, snapping back that scouts were not cowards, to which Arturo hastily clarified he had not meant to imply they were.{{book ref|sky1|41}}
After the flight touched down at Alta, Arturo brought up Spensa's comments from the restaurant about the DDF's involvement with the war, agreeing with her that the human military was slowly losing. When Jorgen tried to argue, Arturo pointed out that statistical data of the war showed the Defiant's position weakening. As they returned to the training building, Arturo found his mother, [[Valda_Mendez|Valda]], speaking with Cobb. Going to speak with the pair, Arturo was informed that he was being promoted to full pilot and retired honorably from service in order to help his family's business. Angry, Arturo tried to toss the pilot's pin given to him by Cobb away, however, he was stopped by his mother. Eventually Arturo caved, saluting Cobb before leaving with is mother.{{book ref|sky1|41}}
{{sidequote
|Arturo gazed down at the pin, then went to slam it into the ground, but his mother caught his arm. Gradually, Arturo relaxed, then reluctantly saluted Cobb. Arturo looked back at us, then saluted us as well.
|Arturo being informed he is being honorably retired{{book ref|sky1|41}}
|side=left|size=450px
}}
Following the Skyward graduation, Arturo and the former members of the flight met up at a restaurant in Alta Base to listen in to the battle at the shipyard on Arturo's family radio. Despite being a full pilot, Arturo did not wear his pilots pin to the gathering. Arturo set up the radio to broadcast the [[National Assembly]] channel so that the former pilots could listen to the same information being given to the government leaders. At the request of the others in the group, Arturo eventually turned the radio to the pilots bands so that they could listen in directly to the battle. Periodically, he would switch between the flightleader channel and the scouts channel, so that the group could follow the scout's attempts to stop the lifebuster. Hearing the desperation of the battle, Arturo, Nedd, and Kimmalyn went to steal the Mendez private jets from the lower caverns to aid the overwhelmed DDF pilots.{{book ref|sky1|48}}
After Spensa rejoined the fight in [[M-Bot]], Arturo and Nedd went after the bomber on Spensa's orders, in an attempt to drive it away from Alta Base. [[Ironsides]] tried to overrule Spensa, however, was ignored by Arturo and Nedd. There attempts to attack the bomber, however, were constantly impeded by the black Krell guard ships which would attack if they got close but fall back if they pulled away. When Riptide Flight arrived, they joined Arturo and Nedd in engaging with these ships to keep them busy and distracted.{{book ref|sky1|52}} It is unknown how the fight Arturo was involved in ended, but it can be assumed the black Krell fighters pulled back when the lifebuster was dropped.
Following the battle, Arturo rejoined the DDF as an active pilot.{{
== Attributes and Abilities ==
Arturo is highly knowledgeable about piloting and [[starfighter]]s, having achieved the rank of pilot.{{book ref|sky2|3}}{{book ref|sky1|10}}
During [[flight school]], Arturo trains to pilot a [[Poco]], perform aerial maneuvers, and use its weaponry. He has a significant amount of practical experience in flying prior to flight school, having logged over two-hundred hours of flight time through acting as a copilot to his [[Arturo's_father|father]].{{book ref|sky1|8}} Despite this, Arturo was not fully trained in flying before joining the [[DDF]], and had little experience with starfighter weaponry.{{book ref|sky1|14}} He is familiar with military protocol, likely due to his parent's positions as pilots.{{book ref|sky1|8}}
Arturo is highly intelligent and often called upon in class by [[Cobb]] for information about starfighters, flying, or the [[varvax|Krell]].{{book ref|sky1|23}}{{book ref|sky1|10}} He is also knowledgeable in DDF history and can visually recognize historical battles.{{book ref|sky1|31}}
He is a good shot, either at or close to, the same level as [[Kimmalyn]].{{book ref|sky2|15}} After being reinstated, Arturo is placed in a specialized team made up of [[Skyward Flight]] members and likely flies a sniper.{{book ref|sky2|14}}
== Relationships ==
=== Jorgen and Nedd ===
{{quote
|"Hey, Arturo,” Nedd said... “these projectors are pretty good. You think they could simulate a world where you’re not a scudding terrible pilot?”<br>
“All we need for that,” Arturo said, “is an Off button for your radio. I’m certain we’d all improve by huge leaps if we didn’t have to listen to your incessant jabbering."</br>
|[[Nedd]] and Arturo bickering during class{{book ref|sky1|13}}
}}
Arturo has a playful and joking type of relationship with [[Nedd]],{{book ref|sky1|13}}{{book ref|sky1|15}} and the two often throw friendly insults at each other.{{book ref|sky1|15}} Arturo is used to Nedd's wisecracks and is thrown after Nedd drops out of [[flight school]], still expecting his responses during certain beats of conversation.{{book ref|sky1|32}}
[[Jorgen]] and Arturo became friends during school, before they joined the DDF. Jorgen is aware of Arturo's tendency to go on tangents during arguments and is effective at preventing this from occurring.{{book ref|sky1|9}} Arturo has a tendency to take jabs at Jorgen's attitude,{{book ref|sky1|31}} and may find the other boy to be a buzzkill.{{book ref|sky1|27}} Regardless, Arturo values Jorgen's friendship and gladly will agree to follow Jorgen, even in situations where he is unaware of their mission objective.{{book ref|sky2|epilogue}}.
Arturo and Nedd deliberately do not invite Jorgen to informal gatherings of [[Skyward Flight]] as they believe he would not want to join the group, thus making the invitation a waste of time.{{book ref|sky1|38}} It is unclear if they are correct in this thought.
=== Spensa ===
{{quote
|You are bold. You’re getting back in the cockpit—that’s the important part. You didn’t let it frighten you away.
|[[Spensa]]'s encouragements to Arturo{{book ref|sky1|40}}
}}
Initially, [[Spensa]] saw Arturo only in relation to Jorgen, while Arturo found Spensa's competitive nature annoying.{{book ref|sky1|10}} Following the revelation that Spensa's father was [[Zeen Nightshade]], Arturo began acting more cautious around Spensa, although it is unclear if this was because of her parentage or her temper.{{book ref|sky1|16}}
Arturo is aware of Spensa's dislike of [[Ironsides]] and thinks that it is justified.{{book ref|sky1|38}} He admires her straightforward attitude and bravery, and looks to her for advice and comfort when he is concerned about his flying abilities. Her words help to reassure him and strengthen his resolve to get back into the pilot's seat and fly again.{{book ref|sky1|40}}
Unlike after Nedd's removal from flight school, Spensa is not highly affected by Arturo's forced retirement, and is glad that he will be safe from harm.{{book ref|sky1|41}}{{book ref|sky1|42}}{{book ref|sky1|44}} His retirement, however, does spark anger in her that the deceased members of Skyward Flight weren't afforded the same opportunity.{{book ref|sky1|41}} After Arturo rejoins the [[DDF]] as an active pilot, the pair strengthen their friendship, with Spensa growing use to being in the other pilot's presence.{{book ref|sky2|27}}
=== Bryn ===
{{quote
|I honestly don’t know how you all suffer him. He pretended to know everything before he became a pilot. He must be impossible now.
|[[Bryn]] making fun of Arturo{{book ref|sky1|38}}
}}
[[Bryn]] is an old friend of Arturo's from before flight school, whom he is now dating. It is obvious from their interactions that they are a couple and are not against light PDA. Bryn is aware of how much [[Hurl]]'s death has affected Arturo and does what she can to support him through his grief.{{book ref|sky1|38}}
=== Valda Mendez and Arturo's father ===
{{quote
|His parents pulled him out of the DDF. This has been building for a few weeks—ever since he almost got shot down.
|[[Jorgen]] explaining to [[Spensa]] why Arturo was removed from [[flight school]]{{book ref|sky1|41}}
}}
Following Arturo's near death experience, [[Valda Mendez]] and her [[Arturo's_father|husband]] begin working toward removing their son from flight school, out of fear for his safety. Under the guise that he is needed to help administer the family's business, the couple utilized their connections to have Ironsides promote Arturo to full pilot and immediately retire him honorably from the DDF. Arturo is initially furious when he is first confronted by his mother at [[Alta Base]], though quickly accepts that circumstances are outside of his control and he is unable to change the decision.{{book ref|sky1|41}}
Valda and her husband never planned to let their son fly permanently and had always planned to remove him from duty. Unlike a career in politics, Arturo would gain prestige and power by virtue of having entered flight school, and would not need legitimate flight experience as a ranked pilot to succeed in the business world. As such, it was a surprise to Arturo's friends that he had been allowed to stay in flight school for as long as he did and was not removed sooner. It is likely that Arturo resisted his parent's wishes that he be retired, which prolonged his training in Skyward Flight.{{book ref|sky1|41}}
== Notes ==
<references />
{/{
{/{Skyward}}
|