Kimberly Howard

Sgt. Kimberly Howard, known as just "Kim" to friends, is a former UERC servicewoman and technical engineer at Outpost Chimera.

She is of mixed heritage: her mother hails from Cuba and her father can trace his liniage all the way back to the original European settlers of North America.

Spending the first part of her life in Saint Petersburg, Florida, her life turned around when her father decided the family move back to his old hometown of Ranchester, Wyoming, where Kim transformed from a typical city girl to a red-blooded Midwest Americana archetype. This was in no small part due to her father exposing her to typically masculine activities, such as chugging beers at the bar or going out hunting.

All the while, her mother tried to fix the situation by exposing Kim to more feminine activities, such as dancing and sewing. These activities, however, did not appeal as much to her.

At the age of 18, Kimberly joined the United Earth Ranger Corps (UERC), where her attained marksmanship and affinity for physical activities gave her a headstart over some of the other women signing up.

After serving for over half a decade (two 4-year tours of duty), Kim resigned from the Ranger Corps to pursue a degree in engineering. She was put on a fast track Engineering Study at Saxion HS. in the Netherlands, a two year course containing the same level of expertise as the usual 4-year course. Halfway through her degree, she applied at Outpost Chimera for an internship as the site's maintenance engineer, a position she was granted.

After arriving at Chimera, she quickly developed a relationship with Dennis Holden, the outpost's astronomer and environmental expert. Despite Dennis feigning the relationship in order to get information, the two grew attached in earnest.

At Chimera, Kim became involved in a plot to sabotage the local geothermal plant to save the local fauna from dying out. Due to mistakes, the safety measures Kim was supposed to put in place to prevent the outpost from being overrun failed, essentially causing the Chimera incident.

In the months following the fall of the outpost, Kim hid away in the security station, ensuring her survival out of captivity. In order to keep her pheromonal lure to a minimum, she let herself be impregnated by Mocha, a friendly drakeworm she found in the shooting range of the security station.

After Noble Team arrives on the scene and fails their mission, Kim manages to save Erin "Oracle" Lee. Two months after rescuing Erin, the two set in motion an escape plan which succeeded.

After escaping Chimera, Kim was allowed to continue her engineering study on a fast track aboard the LEDA during the wait for transport back home. During this period, she became friends with some of the PASIPHAE members, promising she would help repay their efforts.

Once she returned home to Ranchester, she tried jumpstarting her parents' peach orchard using the damage money provided by Jenner Medical for all Chimera staff that were caught up in the incident. Despite her relationship with Dennis coming to a quick halt upon their return, the two remained close friends, as well as with the other women rescued from Chimera.

A year after returning, Kim re-enlisted with the UERC. She was assigned to a JSOC unit, operating under Angel Team, which she would eventually lead with Erin being her second in command.