The Big Five (Eordisverse)

The Big Five refers to the Allied forces' leading military generals with regards to the handling of both ground and special operations. It was composed of Lucian Field Marshal Kiriya Kitagawa as the overall leader and figurehead of the Big Five, Quenminese General Phùng Minh Thiệu, Joyonghean General Bo Tae-sung, Aurucolian General Mevludin Abarronbašić, and Bethausian General Zeya Tun. The five military commanders have been described as the most capable and intellectual leaders that the Allies had ever fielded. Tracing their beginnings when the five men were under Task Force 131 in the 1980s, the five men, with their experiences had managed to create some of the best Task Force formations ever formed, namely Task Force 141, Task Force 219, and Task Force 853 with Kitagawa being the brainchild of creating the next generation of Task Force Special Operations Forces, which traces its roots during the Second Europan War as a creation of his grandfather, Field Marshal Daidoji Kitagawa. Outside of work, the five men have been tight since the 1980s and are close friends, with their families being tight with each other.

During the Chalcedonic and Neocon Wars, the Big Five were subjected to numerous anti-Heimdallr operations in an attempt to undermine their counteroperations. Kitagawa had arranged for Thieu's rescue through his friend, Vladimir Federov Pavlov in 2025. Tae-sung was rescued by TF 141 operatives later that year. Zeya Tun was the last general to be rescued following Tae-sung. Abarronbašić was already in Erebonia following Aurucolia's splintering. The rescued generals, along with their families and men were granted asylum by the Erebonian Government and were subsequently given Erebonian citizenship. The inclusion of Seleucids into the Heimdallr task forces in 2030 saw the inclusion of Tryphonic Council leader Prince Abdul Rashid into the group, renaming them as The Big Six.

The Neocons had attempted to match the five men's wits in a show of force and counteroperations through General Chang Gwan-mook, their former colleague, along with General Darius Tillman and Admiral Godefroy Couturier through the trio's creation of Task Force Nicator, which was created to counter the Heimdallr Task Forces and the Imperial Geheimabteilung. Nicator had attempted to further advance their abilities by possessing futuristic weapons and Seleucid artifacts that placed itself ahead of Kitagawa's Task Forces. Although the former was deemed as the most powerful and elite Task Force during the Neocon War, the Neocons were never able to possess any commander of the same calibre as was seen in Marshal Kitagawa, who was deemed as the Neocon's most dangerous enemy. Although they had plotted out several assassination attempts, Marshal Kitagawa was always able to outmaneuver them.

The Commanders

Kiriya Kitagawa

Field Marshal Kiriya Kitagawa

Field Marshal Sir. Kiriya Kitagawa (21 July 1965) is a Lucian military commander and leader, recognised as one of the Allies most effective and popular military commanders, he was known for his early exposure to special operations tactics and was the youngest Colonel in the Lucis Army at the age of 23. He is the youngest of the Big Five. In addition, he was an able ground commander as shown with his spectacular performance during the The Troubles of 1998 and during the Second Lucis Civil War. He is the grandson of Field Marshal Sir. Daidoji Kitagawa, the original creator of the Allied Special Operations Task Forces during the War of Lorican Aggression.

Prior to the Imperial Crisis, Kitagawa oversaw the creation of Task Force 141 in 2014, widely considered as the first Allied Task Force in existence following the demobilisation of the Special Operations Airbourne Force. It was considered as the spiritual successor to Task Force 131. Following this, his colleagues would create Task Force 219 and Task Force 853.

During the Imperial Crisis, Kitagawa had been the overall commander of all Allied Task Forces. His promotion to field marshal came after Operation Plumber, when Allied forces had retaken much of the lost territory following the Lunar New Year Offensive thanks in part to Kitagawa's tact strategies. He would continuously serve as head of the Allied Special Operations Division until in 2023, when he was sacked following his defiance of the now Neocon-controlled Allied High Council's orders to abandon the search for the lost men during The Olegrad Incident.

During the Chalcedonic War, Kitagawa distanced himself and TF 141 from the Neocons following their 2025 Invasion of Indiae. When Kitagawa again tried to open the investigation, he was eventually tagged as a war criminal by the Neocons, and as a result, he and the rest of TF 141 escaped to Erebonia following the closure of the Makihiro Sagisaka International Base by the Neocons and opened their new headquarters at Fort Daidoji Kitagawa. His friend, Marshal Thieu was arrested but thanks in part to Kitagawa's contacts, Thieu, along with the rest of Task Force 219 escaped to Erebonia. The remainder of Task Force 853 followed Mevludin in Erebonia. From here, Kitagawa would direct operations against the Imperials, and later on, against the Neocons. It was also here where Kitagawa faced Task Force Nicator, a more technologically advanced and superior task force group created by the Neocons to counter both the Imperials and the Heimdallr task forces.

Later on during the Neocon War, Kitagawa was the target of several Neocon assassination attempts to undermine the Heimdallr Council's Special Operations forces. However, all largely failed due to Kitagawa's calculating nature. It was during this conflict that Kitagawa came to several blows with TF Nicator. It was not until Operation Downfall where TF Nicator came the closest to defeating Kitagawa and the Heimdallr Task Forces. Nicator had promptly "assassinated" Kitagawa and kidnapped HM The King in a bid to turn the tide of the war. However, thanks to the courage of the Heimdallr TFs and the local resistance, Nicator was promptly defeated in the open field.

During the conflict, Kitagawa permitted the hunt for Seleucid artifacts as his help was enlisted by Prince Abdul Rashid, realising that the artifacts must not fall into Neocon hands, lest its powers be unleashed and Kitagawa knew that the artifacts carry serious consequences, especially the Kataibatic Tablet. However, Rashid would disobey Kitagawa and instead went after the tablet. The operation to retrieve it failed as Rashid's forces suffered heavy casualties. Upon knowing of Rashid's disobedience, Kitagawa reprimanded the entire TF personnel for not preventing Rashid's operation. With his most loyal officer disobeying his orders, Kitagawa promptly chose to resign and leave the overall command of the Heimdallr TFs to his son, Yamato. After many attempts of his colleagues to reverse his decision, he made his resignation final after submitting his resignation later to HM the King. He would, however, remain in command of the LCAE.

However, unknown to many, his resignation was only a ploy to lure the Neocons into a false sense of security by which it had allowed them to activate the tablet and plunging the world into the Kataibatic Cataclysm. Kitagawa had secretly prepared a contingency plan to arrest the several Neocon leaders following their resignation through his old colleague, Eraldo Quasimondo. Kitagawa kept true to his word not to interfere in the affairs of the task forces after his resignation. The events that would transpire would eventually allow his son, Yamato to get close to Ziyaad by the throat, dispatching Rashid during Operation Dawnlight and preventing the activation of the Kataibatic Tablet for a third time. Following the operation, the Neocon War finally ended. Kitagawa, along with the Big Six would serve as the jury for the key surviving Neocon leaders during the Randgriz Trials of 2040-41. Kiriya retired from army life for good in 2042. He now runs a tea and coffee cafe in Leeves and Trista with his wife as Yamato took over from his father's role, while his daughter, Katsuragi Kitagawa became the Chancellor of the Thors Military Academy.

Phùng Minh Thiệu

Field Marshal Kiriya Kitagawa

The New Big Six

Following the Neocon War, the Heimdallr Task Forces undertook a complete change in leadership following the resignation of Kitagawa and the others, except for Rashid. This time, the core commanders were now led by Marshal Kitagawa's son, General Yamato Kitagawa. Master Sergeant Saori Suzushiro serves as Yamato's secretary. Along with him, He is joined by 5 other commanders:

• Colonel Kasimira zu Schärtal-Tangersten, who acts as his advisor in the same role as Marshal Thieu had.
• Prince Abdul Rashid, who retained his position as leader of the Tryphonic personnel, also acts as a senior advisor to Kitagawa
• Colonel Phó Thị Yến Anh, as the new leader of Task Force 219.
• Colonel Džoheret Tabaković, as the new leader of Task Force 853.
• Colonel Ryuk Chang-min, as Theatre head of Asianna Operations.

In addition, they were joined by several sub officers:

• Colonel Darzana Magbaredge
• Colonel Thomas Evans
• Colonel Richard Philip Todd
• Colonel Thu Thidar Yadana