Catherine Brannock

by Kira Night

**Catherine "Cat" Brannock** was the star Ace of her year in the Aurora Legion, known for missing zero percent of the targets in the pilot stream exam.

## Biography

### Early Life

Cat knew Tyler Jones since they were five years old.

One time, both Cat and Tyler were on shore leave on Cohen IV after graduation day. First, they got drunk together and then they got matching tattoos with their respective division sigils. On top of that, they also spent the night together, with Tyler telling her on the next morning that it was a mistake.

### *Aurora Rising*

Though Cat is one of the best in her Stream, she refused to be picked during the Draft, just to become a member of Squad 312 under the leadership of Tyler Jones. She gets to meet her new squad members Zila and Finian. Together they are talking about their first meeting on the next day. Shortly after, Tyler tries to break up a fight between five Tanks, only to get drawn into another fight with Kaliis Gilwraeth, who turns out to be the squad's tank.

Their first mission turns out to be a supply run to Sagan Station. The group is greeted with suspicion due to the hostility between the Syldrathi and Kal, as a member of the Warbreed cabal. Still, the refugees agree to the help of the squad, under the condition of Kal keeping to the port area to unload medical crates while the rest of his squad offers to help in the station. Shortly after the Station is attacked by The Unbroken, the followers of the Starslayer. Cat is out in their Longbow when a ship from the Terran Defense Force interferes. The whole squad is ushered onto the ship after they took Auri with the help of the Global Investigation Agency. Cat arrives later under protest and briefs her team members that the whole Station was decimated.

In the holding cell, Tyler starts a fight with Kal after everything becomes too much for him. This is quickly broken up by Scar before Zila tells them via their uniglasses about her assumption that the GIA will kill them as well. The squad then decides to break out, with Tyler and Kal taking care of Aurora, while the rest of them try to take back their Longbow. They meet with the squad and escape into the Fold.

Later the squad discusses what to do with an unconscious Aurora after she used her powers on Scarlett and changed their ship's course. They realize that Auri changed the course to Sempiternity when Auri herself wakes up again. They decide to return to the Academy when Auri again uses her power to stop the spaceship until Tyler agrees to follow her course.

The squad arrives at the World Ship and immediately splits up to gather clothes, information and find a place to lie low. Together with Fin, Cat goes to visit Dariel, a distant cousin of Fin and together they persuade him to let them stay with him. Some time afterward, the rest of the squad arrives as well. There, the squad settles down and tries to come up with a plan for the following days before finally going to sleep. While asleep, Auri's powers overcome her again, letting her paint a strange figure over and over again on every surface in the room they share. With the help of Dariel, they identify it as an artifact of the Eshvaren Empire that was a part of an exhibition of the Bianchi Museum. Auro then admits that she heard about the Eshvaren in her visions, causing the squad to discuss whether they should keep going or not.

After breaking into the video system of the World Ship, the squad takes a look at Bianchi's office, trying to come up with a plan on how to break into it and steal the statue in the process without getting caught. Auri then mentions that she had a vision about a masquerade ball. They remember the Masquerade about to take place and make a plan on how to go through with their heist. Cat is furious about Tyler risking all of their lives for Auri and leaves to get drunk in a bar. There she encounters the GIA, who promises her and the rest of the squad protection and safety for handing over Aurora. Cat complies and betrays the squad in the process.

Later, Scar provides her brother, Auri, Cat, and herself with outfits for the Masquerade, which they visit together, while Zila and Kal break into the security system. The original plan fails after Fin doesn't reply over comms anymore because the GIA stormed the den. When Scar branches off to go back to the den, Auri, Cat, and Ty detonate the bomb, destroying the gravity system of the World ship in the process. They proceed to break into the menagerie of Bianchi to get access to his office. They encounter the last living specimen of the Ultrasaurs, which attacks them. Auri falls unconscious and again uses her power to protect both Cat and Ty and kills the Ultrasaur while doing so. At the same time, she broke the glass that separated the menagerie from Bianchi's office, opening a way into it. Bianchi himself storms his office, followed by a GIA operative. it is revealed that Cat struck a deal with the GIA in which she sold Auri to grant the squad immunity. A fight ensues between Cat and Tyler, ending in the two of them and Auri being taken away by the GIA. The operatives turn out to be Scar and Zila, who got the uniforms from the true operatives who stormed Dariel's home. Right after striking the deal, Cat told Tyler all about it and together the squad made a plan involving outsmarting the GIA and Bianchi. Together they flee to the Longbow, where they meet with Kal, Fin, and Dariel. Auri reveals that she stole the statue while Cat and Ty were fighting. She also hands Dariel another relic as compensation before the squad finally leaves Sempiternity behind.

[...]

### *Aurora's End*

TBA

She was killed by Tyler, but later her spirit is freed from the hive mind to live forever in the stars.

## Personality

Cat was both a very introverted yet very outspoken person. She did not let very many people in, and was often rude towards others. But her fierce loyalty was shown when she was stuck with Tyler after he missed the Draft, and her selflessness when she sacrificed herself at the hands of the Ra'haam, although this particular trait was not seen as much due to her arrogance.

## Physical Description

Cat had brown eyes, a narrow face, and black hair; longer on the top and shaved down to fuzz at the sides, with tattoos underneath. She had a soaring phoenix tattooed across her throat, tattoos of butterflies, birds, and dragons down her right arm, and a hawk across her back. On top of that, she had another tattoo of the Pilot Division sigil.

After being infected by the Ra'haam, Cat's eyes became blue with flower-shaped pupils and her skin turned silver.

## Gallery

by Kira Nightby lisly\_artby Jemlin Creations
## Trivia

* Cat had a green plush dragon named **Shamrock**, which was a gift for luck from her mother.
* Cat and Tyler got their respective division tattoos together.
* She traces her tattoos on her right arm with her fingertips when she gets nervous, angry, or needs to center herself.
* Cat loved wings since she was a little girl.
* The hawk tattoo on her back is the same one her mom had.
* Cat's mental signature is red, orange, and gold with patterns that are connected to flight.