[u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Katherine Louisa Kane [u][b]Callsign/Nickname:[/b][/u] 'Kitten', a pun on 'Kat' the short version of her name. [u][b]Age:[/b][/u] 37 [b][u]Gender:[/u][/b] Female [u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u] Katherine is a towering 6'7" tall, and has a wiry, rugged, muscular body, built from hard wear and toil. She is covered in scars, including her left eye being missing and covered with a black leather patch. Her black hair is worn in a shaggy mess, often tied back when working. Her remaining eye is a very pale, icy blue. [img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/0cfde762-7ce3-414e-803c-ce984f48af0b/dbfr1uy-7bd1da6f-be4b-41e4-9f31-fa69dd89bf86.jpg/v1/fit/w_828,h_1172,q_70,strp/commission__tyla_by_solkorra_dbfr1uy-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTQ0OSIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzBjZmRlNzYyLTdjZTMtNDE0ZS04MDNjLWNlOTg0ZjQ4YWYwYlwvZGJmcjF1eS03YmQxZGE2Zi1iZTRiLTQxZTQtOWYzMS1mYTY5ZGQ4OWJmODYuanBnIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.sknHqW0GmBwdKakYWma_kEETwcZwrxQLkvegVcoJd0Y[/img] [u][b]Nationality:[/b][/u] English [u][b]Personality:[/b][/u] Kat has a personality that might come off as abrasive and stand-offish to those who meet her at first, especially coupled with her quiet voice and fierce-looking exterior. This prickly exterior is hardly surprising given her history. But her like, fondness, and affection for others is often shown in small gestures and actions. Should she feel the need to express her opinions, her words will often be blunt and direct to get to the point with the minimum of misunderstanding. She does have a sense of humour, and is thoroughly amused by silly humour and jokes that don't end up with anyone hurt or feeling bad. She adores animals, due to their simple needs and feelings, and bonds with them easily and quickly. She likes children, but is often confused and somewhat wary of them, due to their energy, enthusiasm and unpredictability. It takes her a while to open up and trust other people, but once she does, she is a die-hard loyal friend and comrade. However, her past always haunts her, both in her physical scars and mental ones. Aside from her frequent nightmares and occasional dissociative moments, she is absolutely terrified of being taken prisoner and the possibility of torture and as such, will enter a blind, berserker rage state if she is in danger of being imprisoned. Kat is fiercely loyal and dedicated to Scott, and the feeling is mutual. She will always back him up on the ground and in the air, and the pair work together as an incredibly intuitive - and extremely lethal - pair. Their relationship is a complicated one. They love one another dearly, and have a strong bond, as well as a very close, personal and intimate one. It is not romantic and neither would call it that, but is more than a platonic, purely professional bond as well. [u][b]History:[/b][/u] Kat grew up in a comfortable life, and comfortable surroundings. Raised in a family with Old Money in the English Aristocracy, she had a childhood with ponies, private schools, and all the luxuries one could imagine. Kat attended a prestigious private girls' school - where she was less-than a model student, as far as her behaviour went, being something of a trouble-maker; frequently getting her and her friends into trouble with elaborate pranks, sneaking out to go to town, sneaking boys into the school, underage drinking, and several incidences of setting fire to things or making them explode, and even stealing the headmasters' car. [i]twice[/i] Despite this, her actual academic scores were good, and the general outlook was that she was bored by the routine and the stifling formality, and had a restless sense of adventure. This seemed to bear out, as much to her parents' dismay, she enlisted in the Royal Air Force after school and quickly made a name for herself as something of 'a character', and getting a reputation for outrageous stunts and practical jokes and having a 'larger than life' character, despite being an excellent pilot, taking to flying with ease and excitement and ending up as part of one of the RAF's last Jaguar squadrons. Not long after her assignment to a frontline squadron in Western Europe, however, the skeletons in her fathers' closet came to visit. It turned out, the 'old money' he had that had kept their family in comfortable living was made through a [i]staggering[/i] array of shady deals with even more shady people. They had come looking to collect on their deals, and her father had been found 'lacking'. Spineless and weaselly as he was, he ran and hid. Kat's mother was murdered, the house ransacked, and Kat's reputation took a nosedive literally overnight. Due to her association with the events, she was removed from active duty pending investigation. Stood down from flying service, she was due to return to the UK - but this was not to be. Kat had been off-base with an evening pass, desperate to do [i]anything[/i] other than mooching around RAF Bruggen and looking for things to do. She headed out to all the well-known and familiar spots in the local town - and was kidnapped by members of a Russian crime syndicate. Kat was held as leverage against her father. She was repeatedly tortured and brutalised in efforts to get him to come forward, abused and subjected to cruel, vicious and inhumane treatment. She fought viciously and relentlessly to stay alive, driven by the constant thought of getting revenge, against her captors, and against her father. She retreated deep into her own mind, becoming almost feral while in captivity as a means of defence and denial of her situation. Eventually, she got her chance to escape not long after the Heavenfall. As the Soviet Union disintegrated in violence, chaos, and anarchy; the criminal underworld fell apart along with it. Kat was treated as a commodity and a bargaining chip. Sometimes she was a weapon, kept ragged and raw to be pointed at the enemy and unleashed. Sometimes she was a thing to be used or discarded, or bet on and pitted against others. But she was never treated with much in the way of kindness or respect, and often used to exercise frustrations. That was until the loose band of conmen, military remnants and out-and-out criminals she was caught up with crossed paths with Scott and the people he'd banded together with. Scott and his crew managed to drive off or kill most of the people enslaving Kat and others like her. He gave her a chance at freedom, and she took it up. Over time, he gently coaxed out her trust, and slowly rehabilitated her personality, bringing her back from the edge of being a feral thing and into a more complete person again. Kat re-learned how to fly, and expanded her knowledge of aircraft types. Not quite 'certified' but certainly 'familiar' with a small handful of types other than the Jaguar and the Hawk she had trained on. Rediscovering her love for learning, knowledge, and information as she learned, she emerged from the shell she'd made around herself, and her emotions started to slowly show again. She soon became something of a 'gentle giant' and a protector among the group. Children loved her, and while she was intimidating to outsiders, she was known for her ferociously protective nature and her incredible stamina, endurance and strength. Even after Scott and his group managed to reach the Atlantic, and then England and later the USA, they had become an inseparable duo. Kat had nothing left to return to in the UK, and decided to travel to the US with Scott. She collected on the money and benefits the RAF owed her - through a lot of finagling and deception she'd picked up from her father - and the remainder of his assets he'd squirrelled away for her benefit. They parted ways for a while after Scott was discharged from the Marine Corps, with Kat looking to make her own way. She enlisted with Shattered Steel, and she became qualified on a few other aircraft, including the A-10C Thunderbolt II, which rapidly became an aircraft she loved, and showed a particular aptitude for. She also underwent a program of more official psychological and medical rehabilitation, but the USMC pilot was never far from her mind. When Valerie contacted her regarding his situation of being in trouble after he was arrested for disorderly conduct, it was Kat that picked him up and dragged him into a better situation working with the PMC. [u][b]Personal Gear:[/b][/u] [list] [*][url=https://i.namu.wiki/i/1qJe5jDLLjc_S63uqdXm_Pu5QNt6Y_6tDul6q9PElP-2XT2svhFahsYVg3y_vAcWUiLoCHnEzhkbRkzvKMK4_LwkuoquzHAMX39iwXy8qlEwQcazPXmyr1XNknrmOHZXaB8c8s0OFgdzcKUhc1F6ScNaDZ0yyts6g2Gp2S1R368.webp]Mk.46 7.62MM[/url] Light Machine-gun [*][url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/guns/images/f/ff/Taurus_raging_bull.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20060421201632]Taurus Raging Bull[/url] 4-inch barrel chambered in .500 magnum [*][url=https://assets.katogroup.eu/i/katogroup/ER04-1110-0125T-B_01_extremaratio?%24product-image%24=&fmt=auto&h=434&w=652,https://assets.katogroup.eu/i/katogroup/ER04-1110-0125T-B_01_extremaratio?%24product-image%24=&fmt=auto&h=651&w=978]Fighting/Survival Knife[/url] [*]Flight helmet with 'KK' painted on the visor cover in pink [/list] [u][b]Personal Aircraft:[/b][/u] [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II]A-10C Thunderbolt II[/url] [img]https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/acecombat/images/0/00/A-10A_-DISTANT_THUNDER-.jpg[/img] Kat's A-10 is painted in the above custom scheme. [u][b]Aircraft Modifications:[/b][/u] [list] [*]Modified with retractable in-flight refuelling probe instead of 'socket' type [*]Wings modified to fold for carrier operations (grumman-style fold to the rear) [/list] [u][b]Anything Else:[/b][/u] Kat speaks in a very hushed, rough voice due to damage to her throat and vocal cords. Despite her missing eye, she has extremely acute and sharp vision in her remaining eye, and incredible situational awareness. She also [i]really[/i] loves ice cream.