Charlotte Charlie Steele
Charlotte Charlie Steele Charlotte "Charlie" Steele

Charlotte "Charlie" Steele is the founder and leader of the famed Hollywood Knights air militia. The daughter of film mogul Edward Steele and his wife Lena, Charlie was exposed to the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry from a very early age. Most who knew her back then regarded her as a purely social creature, a beautiful partygoer and socialite with all the benefits that wealth could provide. This changed after the collapse of the United States.

Charlie—out for an afternoon flight aboard a friend's private plane—came face to face with death. The plane developed engine trouble, which the inexperienced pilot could not correct. Panicking, the pilot—to this day Steele refuses to say his name—grabbed the only parachute and jumped, abandoning her to her fate.

Incredibly, Charlie managed to land the plane without injury. As a result, she became completely enthralled with aviation. Despite her father's protests, she began taking flying lessons and developed her already prodigious natural talent.

Her interest in aviation may have remained purely a form of entertainment, if she had not witnessed a brazen kidnapping one afternoon while she was out shopping. Shocked by the sudden upsurge in criminal activity, she privately vowed to combat it. With the help of Norm Houston, her flight instructor and a friend of the Steele family, she developed a list of the best pilots in Hollywood. Then she threw a massive masquerade ball, a true Hollywood "event." Movie stars, famous singers, film directors, studio moguls, and other movers and shakers in Hollywood society were invited...as were the pilots on Charlie's "A list." These pilots received an additional "special invitation" to a secret midnight meeting. Because it came from Edward Steele's daughter, none of the pilots turned that second invitation down.

At the meeting, Charlie proposed the formation of a flying unit to protect the Nation of Hollywood and its citizens, a proposition that appealed to the collection of dashing, headstrong and gallant pilots; the Hollywood Knights were born. Unfortunately, Steele's plan was far from perfect. Though they were all excellent pilots, not one of the Knights—Charlie included—had any combat experience. In their first real battle (against the notorious Sky Slavers) the Hollywood Knights were thoroughly routed, losing one of their pilots in the process.

The battle with the Sky Slavers changed Charlie's life. She had never failed at anything before, and took the defeat quite badly. After a period of mourning, she began rebuilding the shattered Knights—this time with a clear understanding of what war in the skies was really like. Shortly after reforming, the Knights began receiving weapons and newly designed Hughes aircraft from a mysterious benefactor. Further bolstering their ranks, the Knights were joined by Captain Dick Remington, an ace from the Great War, who began instilling military discipline in the squadron members. The next time the Sky Slavers attacked, the Knights fought them off.

Charlie and the rest of the Knights have become Hollywood celebrities, and they strive to live up to their image. Charlie particularly likes to rub her successes in the face of her main rival, Major Loyle "Show-stopper" Crawford, leader of the Empire State's Madison Venturers squadron. But amid all the headlines, movie stars and champagne, the Hollywood Knights are combat veterans who never forget that their main mission is to protect the skies of Hollywood, their beloved homeland.