Jack of Harts

The Marines would have been happy to shift Kathleen Reynolds over to us at her full rank so she could take over, but the President wanted us as we were, so she asked Katy to take a courtesy demotion to the rank of captain. Katy agreed, because when the President asks you for a favor, you do that thing she wants and get a card you can turn in in the future. Katy then proceeded to give us five decades worth of tips and training to help us bone up on starfighter tactics. It was veterans like Katy who honed us into the superior combat unit that everybody recognizes as the Cowboys. We were good before we got her, you understand. She and the others just made us far greater, and I was happy to fly with her on my wing. I used to say we were lucky to have gotten her, but I realized later that luck had nothing to do with it in time. Katy picked us for her own reasons. She kept those reasons to herself for a long time.

I met Kathleen Reynolds at Alpha Centauri, after we Cowboys got approval to poach from other units to make good our combat losses. She volunteered to join us, for reasons she did not share at the time, and proceeded to pass every test we gave her. Including showing me a thing or two about starfighter combat. It was one of the most enjoyable fighter duels I’ve ever engaged in. She showed me moves I didn’t know existed, and I still maintain I could have beaten her, but Charles called it after an hour of me chasing her score. She was fun to spar with, both with weapons and words, and it absolutely did not feel like an hour had gone by. I wanted her on my team so bad after that, and I guess she felt the same about me.