Maumi Orishina

Overview
The female pilot at Hariyu who is the predecessor to Suito Kusanagi, only appearing in the game Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces. She is the only female pilot on Hariyu base during her time. She was part of the first series of Kildren deployed, and she loved flying more than anything else, a trait that remains with Suito Kusanagi. After a mock battle against Cheetah to test the new Sanka Mk-II, Maumi becomes obsessed with fighting Cheetah to have the ultimate aerial battle she desires. She takes this to the point of even defecting to Lautern to force Cheetah to fight her in a final duel. In the end, Cheetah is forced to shoot her down and she is killed, but she is later reproduced by Rostock as Suito Kusanagi. Maumi narrates the prologue and epilogue of the Innocent Aces game.

Cougar Squadron
Maumi Orishina joined Cougar Squadron as part of the first batch of Kildren developed by Rostock's project and headed under Tohochika Mozume, and deployed to the unit. Maumi quickly demonstrated a true love of flight and proved to be an excellent pilot. As a rookie pilot, her love for flying and the sky caused her to sometimes become distracted in the midst of battle, which Mutsuga Yamazaki and her squad mates would correct and tell her to focus. She also did not like the fact that planes were falling when she shot them down, showing her naive and innocent nature of not wanting to kill. However, Maumi learned very quickly from her comrades and especially from watching Lynx. In the Innocent Aces game, in her first few missions she can be seen flying in formation at the beginning of missions and chasing after enemy fighters and attacking ground troops, practicing the basics of what she learned in dogfighting and ground attack. She will also be frequently heard over the radio guiding herself step-by-step in shooting down the enemy, as she is improving her technique. When Yamasaki gets shot down, she is distraught by his death, as well as the other squadron members, and reports that the captain is dead. Once she gets back into the sky be her next mission, she seems to have put Yamasaki's death behind her.

Cheetah Squadron
After Yamasaki's death, Cougar squadron was renamed Cheetah squadron, after Lynx was given the callsign of Cheetah. It is when Lynx is captain that Orishina makes a great improvement as a pilot, especially after the mock battles in the Sanka Mk-II against Lynx. Out of all of the pilots, Maumi was selected by Mozume to test the new Sanka prototypes with Lynx because of her skill, and perhaps a hidden motive from Mozume to get Orishina obsessed with the idea of flying against Lynx for the purpose of furthering the war.

During the mock battle, she proves that she has improved and is the second best pilot in the squadron. She is able to keep up and dodge Lynx's attacks, to which the squadron is in shock over as they watch from the ground. In gameplay, Orishina can be seen doing maneuvers similar to Lynx (i.e., the tactical maneuvers that the player uses), showing how skilled she has become. Maumi was really hyped up about fighting Lynx to see who was the better pilot, however it was interrupted afterwards by Lautern aircraft entering the airspace to attack their prototypes. Mozume orders both Lynx and her to intercept the fighters, and Orishina pleads with Mozume to let them continue the mock battle afterwards to no avail. She gets very angry at the interfering fighters, and proceeds to shoot two of them down before Lynx even engages the Lautern fighters. Maumi was angry and frustrated that she couldn't seem to emulate the experience of fighting Lynx with the Lautern pilots, not even their aces. Only fighting Lynx gave her a unique thrill that she couldn't describe. She goes on a rage in which she is too angry to die, shooting down the Lautern pilots ruthlessly, whilst spouting that the Lautern pilots are "no fun at all" and that she hates them for interrupting her battle with Lynx. In gameplay, Orishina can be seen shooting down enemy pilots with ease at this point. You can also hear over the radio the Lautern pilots terrified of her since she isn't the Black Cat (i.e., the player) but is shooting them down. After the battle, she whines with Mozume to let them continue the mock battle, but Mozume orders them to return to base, to which she sourly agrees to.

Although an experienced pilot now, she becomes somewhat depressed after the mock battle, always seeking an opportunity to fight Lynx again which neither Mozume nor Lynx himself grant. She becomes a little lively when Kō Ukumori suggests a shoot-down competition against the Lautern fleet as she could prove herself against Lynx there, but she only becomes depressed again when her aircraft has a malfunction and she is out of the challenge. In gameplay, she can sometimes be seen hanging back at a higher altitude as she doesn't want to fight and is depressed, in which she'd rather spot enemies out for Lynx (the player). When she does fight, she seems to get easily frustrated at how easy the enemies are to shoot down and that she still cannot fight Lynx, which her squadmates don't seem to understand. Mozume notices this, and catching Maumi while on her run, he suggests that she can defect to Lautern with his help and get the chance to finally battle Lynx. She calls the idea "preposterous", and runs back to the billet.

However, when Mozume refuses to let her fight Masasmi Kaida or assist Lynx in doing so over Fort Shikibo a couple missions later, she finally decides to switch to the Lautern side after a night of crying to perhaps one day get a chance to fight Lynx.

Lautern Defection
Orishina defects to the Lautern side, taking her Sanka from Rostock along to get to the nearest Lautern base. She did not get along with all of the Lautern pilots initially due to her standoffish attitude, but soon comes to know most of them and be a little more sociable. Most if not all of the Lautern pilots do not seem to care that she has transferred over from Rostock as they see the war as just a business like the Rostock pilots do. Proving her ability in a mission with the Lautern pilots, Lautern gives Orishina a command position and is given control of a squadron of Lautern fighters. Lautern also upgrades her Sanka aircraft and paints it a red, white, and gray camo scheme and gives it back to Orishina for her use. She is later sent on a mission to intercept an aircraft in their airspace and shoot it down. She gets annoyed to arrive and see that Lautern aircraft in the area have not been able to shoot down the Rostock aircraft. However, she soon recognizes that the pilot is Lynx, who is escorting a VIP in a Senryu, due to the style of his evasive maneuvers. Lynx also proceeds to shoot down two Lautern aircraft, one of them being Orishina's Lautern squadmate (manga storyline). Orishina calls off the attacks and allows Lynx to escape, telling her complaining subordinates, "It's not that you're unskilled, it's just...he outclasses you." Maumi does not participate in the attack on Wolfram, nor does she aid Mozume's and the three Kildren's revolt and attempted defection, perhaps because of her disinterest in either of those. She has only been waiting to fight Lynx.

Beloved Enemy
After Mozume's failed revolt, a large scale battle held over Togakuten ( which is Mont-Saint-Michel in France) in which many of Lautern's and Rostock's best pilots were dogfighting in the skies. Both sides were immersed in the battle, with Lynx arriving and taking out many Lautern aircraft, inflicting heavy casualties for Lautern. Orishina arrives knowing Lynx is in the air and orders the Lautern aircraft to retreat, which they quickly do so while the rest of the Rostock aircraft pursued them out. Orishina easily takes out two Rostock fighters initially, and them zooms past Lynx to engage him. The two briefly engage in a dogfight, but Lautern anti-aircraft artillery interrupt both of them, trying to shoot down the Black Cat and seemingly oblivious to the fact that they could've hit Orishina as well. Orishina gets angry at this and helps Lynx to destroy the anti-air artillery, as she wanted to get back to fighting Lynx with both of them at full potential and without further interruptions. In gameplay, you can see Orishina attacking the anti-air; however the player can also choose to ignore the anti-air and attack Orishina amidst flak, to which she will respond to and descend to fight Lynx, ignoring the AA. The two distance themselves out of range from the flak, and Orishina has the duel she has always desired with Lynx. In gameplay, Orishina is so fast that she is almost like an annoying fly that won't get swatted, and she'll give the player damage very quickly if they don't evade her attacks. She seems to also be using her own version of tactical maneuver commands, something that only the player can do as well. She will also fly into the clouds where the player can't see her and strike the player head on or from behind if the player does not maneuver. After a tough battle to the death, Orishina was finally brought down by Lynx. Orishina thanks Lynx for giving her the duel she always wanted, stating she had an "amazing time", and crashing into the water, dying in peace.

Epilogue
Maumi begins to narrate the epilouge to the game. Rostock manages to clone Maumi Orishina after her death (perhaps they had a part of her genetics in storage or they recovered a part or all of her body to do so), and they clone her into Suito Kusanagi. The player can see Suito (from the perspective of retired base commander Kayaba) landing her Sanka M-II on Hariyu, getting directions from ground crew, and walking to where Lynx is outside of his Suiga. Suito reports in to Lynx, calling him Teacher (implying that he has earned the nickname after the final battle with Orishina and that some time has passed. This callsign carries over into the novels and the film). It seems to be the case that both Kayaba and Lynx know that what is before them is a clone of Maumi, assuming they have decent memories. This leads into the events of Hiroshi Mori's novel None but Air and the following events of the timeline.

Personality
When Orishina arrives at Hariyu with the rest of the Kildren, she seems to be a rather rushed and innocent girl, reporting in late for some reason after the other Kildren had already reported in without her. Her true love is flying freely, and initially seemed to be a little naive about the harsh reality of air combat, exclaiming in amazement when she had shot down her first enemy aircraft as she did not expect it to feel so real. Her personality is akin to a schoolgirl who loves flying and has suddenly become a fighter pilot. Masami Kaida described her as "loopy". As she gains more experience and after being unable to fight Lynx to the fullest, her personality gets a lot colder and bitter and less tolerant of rather annoying retorts and advice, especially from Kō Ukumori. She even acts spiteful towards both Ukumori and Mozume. She has always had a serious personality, as she never seems to joke around when flying or on the ground, and this is especially prevalent in the missions following mock battling against Lynx.

Maumi doesn't seem to care about what other people think of her doing mostly only what she wants, and tends to get vexed easily if she cannot have her way. However she is very persistent; if she cannot do something one way, then she will try to do it another way, taking advantage of multiple opportunities to ask for a fight against Lynx and even Kaida and ultimately defecting to Lautern to get the fight she wanted. The nickname given to her by fellow pilot Aozasa was "Princess", most likely due to her personality given that she had the will power to do what she wanted, and try to get what she wants one way or another. She also has an ambitious drive for improvement and wants to be the best.

Maumi is outgoing, not afraid to speak her mind on how an airplane performs and how beautiful the sky looks, and telling Ukumori that she won't trade to fly an aircraft. She will also converse with other pilots over the radio. She will usually be a presence on base, joining the pilots in the lounge and silently watching their games of chess or perhaps cards, and occasionally talking. When she later gets frustrated and depressed over not being able to have a good fight, she withdraws and doesn't talk as much, usually only talking in a sad or aggressive tone of voice, showing how long she can hold a desire for in her mind. As a Lautern commander, she becomes an even more confident pilot, very sure of her ability and only waiting for a chance to fight Lynx. Again, she shows how annoyed or angry she can get when she yells at both Lautern pilots when they pursue Lynx in a Senryu and Lautern anti-air when she fights Lynx over Togakuten. Her mind can be so one-tracked that she'll even betray her allies to get what she wants, as seen when she shoots at Lautern anti-air over Togakuten as well. However, when Maumi finally gets what she wants, she can be very grateful and appreciative, not taking things for granted.

Many of Maumi's traits set the baseline for Suito Kusanagi's traits when she is reincarnated later on. Like Maumi, Kusanagi only loves flying, has an intense desire to fight the Teacher (Lynx), is usually very cold and reserved but will speak her mind, will be around people she likes to be around, is highly persistent, and will guide herself through a dogfight in her mind. Kusanagi also doesn't tend to take everything for granted and has been shown to be grateful.

Abilities
Maumi showed a great aptitude for air combat since her first mission with Cougar Squadron, shooting down multiple aircraft. She increases her skill by learning from watching Lynx and Yamasaki, and is soon recognized as a top female ace. She was selected to test the Sanka M-II due to her skill and her ability to stand a chance against Lynx in a mock battle. Lautern pilots also quickly recognize her skill as well, fearing her in combat when she fights against them and when she defects to their side. She is so good that she can actually hold her ground against Lynx in their final battle for a long time, maneuvering quickly to dodge his attacks.

Lynx/Cheetah/Teacher
Maumi probably noticed Lynx through his superb flying when she joined Cougar squad, and she was drawn to how freely and radiantly he flew through the sky. She learns a lot from watching him fly and (although this is only assumed) talks to him on base, asking him for advice. She later on gets relatively close and laidback towards him, as she is the only Kildren on the squad that calls him Cheetah frequently over the radio instead of captain, as the player will hear in game. The player will also hear Maumi being very concerned over Lynx's well-being, as if he gets shot in the game, Maumi will ask if he is okay and alert him of enemy fighters. Maumi had an admiration and a love of Lynx's flying ability, and thought that Lynx was the only fun pilot to fight against, hence why she wanted to fight him very badly in the end.

Mutsuga Yamasaki
Maumi would frequently get advice from Yamasaki as a rookie pilot. She deeply respected his ability as he was Rostock's top ace before Lynx, and she also sought to learn more from him. When Yamasaki dies, she screams in disbelief and is heartbroken as she reports it to the squadron.

Aozasa
Aozasa was like an older brother to Maumi, giving her the nickname "Princess" as she was the only girl and probably due to her personality. He mentored her as he seemed to be second-in-command behind Yamasaki and Lynx.

Masami Kaida
Maumi didn't seem to interact much with Kaida, and Kaida even thought of her as "loopy" when she flew her first mission with them. However, they seemed to respect each other's ability as pilots, and both had an admiration for Lynx's flying. However, when Kaida goes after Ukumori, she gets in his way, begging to fight either Ukumori or Kaida himself. Kaida is angry, but seems to care enough about Maumi to not shoot her down and move on to Ukumori quickly. Maumi however later offers to assist Lynx in fighting Kaida, from how desperate she was to get some action, showing she isn't too invested in or too close to Kaida to not fight against him if needed.

Ko Ukumori
Maumi tended to think of Ukumori as annoying when she interacted with him. She doesn't ever comment on his statements of "weakness in battle", but she would retort to him when he asks to exchange controls in the Senryu and when he tells her she's getting sloppy in combat. She didn't seem to think much of Ukumori, who seemed to like to tease and bully her mainly. She did not come to his assistance when he tried to defect.

Tohochika Mozume
Maumi seemed to sense that Mozume was sketchy, but had no qualms about it until later. She pleaded with Mozume to let them continue the mock battle against Lynx, which he denied. This makes her very spiteful towards him, and treats him with a rather sarcastic level of respect. She believes his initial idea for her to defect to Lautern was "preposterous", and she runs away from him. However, when she defects, she probably contacts him to do so.

Trivia

 * Her callsign, Kylie, is the Australian Aboriginal word for a hunting boomerang, hence the boomerang you will see on the tail of her plane in the game.