Catherine "Cate" Connor

**Catherine Conner** is a woman who spent much of her adult life trying to help children. She cared enough to join the Children's League.

### The Darkest Minds

Cate is assigned to be apart of a two person team to infiltrate the internment camp Thurmond to track down any Reds, Oranges, and Yellows hiding amongst the Greens and Blues in the camp. She and her partner, Sarah, managed to install and use the color testing Calm Control when a fight broke out in the Mess Hall. Using the color specific frequencies they found two Orange kids, Ruby Daly and Martin.

Cate confronts Ruby when she wakes up and cleans some of the blood off Ruby's face, which was caused by her bleeding nose. She asks a few questions about Ruby's color test. Ruby eventually says it was different this time, and Ruby had enough time to nod before the PSF agent nicknamed the Grinch approached them to get Cate.

As she left, she didn't completely close the curtain behind her. She left her clipboard with Ruby as she left and had managed to sneak a note onto the paper, saying that the camp controllers knew now that Ruby wasn't a green and would kill her when they found out which color she was. She had also given Ruby two pills that would mimic her having a seizure.

That night both Ruby and Martin take the two pills that Cate had given them. Cate hides Martin in a medical waste basket and hides the basket in her jeep before going back for Ruby. She dresses Ruby in nurse scrubs and ties up her partner. She and Sarah drag Ruby out of the infirmary and into the parking lot where she meets up with a PSF who helps her put Ruby out of the car. She pulls away from the parking lot at 2:45 am and has to wait for two cars to get out of the gate before she is allowed to explain her situation and is able to leave.

She is able to get out of the camp and meets up with some friends of hers. Her friends help her change cars and remove Martin from the medical trunk she and Sarah had placed him in, and put both kids into a new car. When Ruby wakes up at 4:30, Cate explains what is going on, and helps calms Ruby down after she learns why Cate didn't remove the rest of the kids.

She gives Ruby a panic button, and doesn't mention that she had embedded trackers in the clothes she was going to give Ruby to change into. She makes a comment about how few kids there were, and upon Ruby's request, acknowledge's that the ninty eight percent of the kids at the age of IAAN had died, and the government predicted there were a quarter of a million kids in the United States under eighteen, while the League put it at a ten of that.

Cate is so surprised when Martin wakes up that the car ended up in the other lane. She talks briefly with him before mentioning they were going to regroup in their southern headquarters, and eventually the group quieted down. The three reached the cities edges of Marlinton at seven in the morning and watched as a red semi truck passed bye them headed towards Thurmond. Cate decided at this moment to ask how the kids escaped, and both answered honestly. Cate ended up being disgusted by Martin changed his way of escaping death.

Cate tells Ruby about how society is now - broken, poor, desperate. Cate seems sympathetic to Ruby's situation and tells her she will never hurt her and that she will always be there to keep her safe. However, after meeting Rob and seeing his memories, Ruby realizes neither of them are to be trusted and runs away. Cate follows her through the woods, and later follows Black Betty in her car with Rob and Martin, but does not prevail.

Cate is not seen again until Ruby presses the panic button, alerting the Children's League to their location. Cate is both impressed and shocked by Ruby's advanced abilities and shows pride when Ruby threatens her. Cate agrees to let Liam go in order for Ruby to stay and work for the Children's League.