Troy Carter

Troy Carter
2600s
File:Catscratch.jpg Troy "Catscratch" Carter upon arrival on the TCS Lexington in 2673.
Callsign	Catscratch
Allegiance	Terran Confederation, Union of Border Worlds
Years of service	2673-Present

Troy Carter was a Terran pilot from the Terran Confederation. He has seen service with both the Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds in the decades following the Terran-Kilrathi War.

Early Life

Troy Carter was born in the Union of Border Worlds during the 2660s. His parents were 3rd-generation Border Worlders. He was educated in the Terran Confederation during the Kilrathi War and enlisted in the Space Force. He attended the Academy and excelled in his class. During his time there, he adopted the callsign "Catscratch". Having been born during the Terran-Kilrathi War, Carter often heard of the legendary exploits of Confederation Colonel Christopher Blair, and came to admire him as a war hero. He also dreamt of fighting the Kilrathi in his desire to defend humanity.

Terran Service

Despite having initially enlisted in the hopes of fighting the Kilrathi, the Terran-Kilrathi War ended before Carter graduated from the Academy. Although he regretted not being able to join the war sooner, Carter ultimately graduated at the top of his class with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He then joined the Space Forces and would see service during the political turmoil of the post Kilrathi War era.

In 2673, the Border Worlds Conflict reached its peak, endangering the tenuous relations between the Confederation and the newly-formed Union of Border Worlds. During that year, Carter was assigned to the TCS Lexington, where he met his lifetime hero, Colonel Blair. Carter was ecstatic to be learning from the Savior of the Confederation, but Blair ensured that Carter remained focused on flying.

Carter was assigned to Blair's wing and saw several engagements against Border Worlds forces, who were allegedly instigating the conflict through piracy on civilian shipping. During the campaign, Carter found himself in a dilemma, as he was forced to fire upon his own people. He began to question whether the Confederation's treatment towards the Border Worlds was justified.

Defection

During Carter's service on the Lexington, Captain William Eisen was relieved of command by Captain Hugh Paulsen, who suspected Eisen of treason. Eisen subsequently fled to the Border Worlds. Carter was assigned with Blair to intercept the Captain. However, the Colonel and his wingman Winston "Vagabond" Chang chose to defect with Eisen, and Carter followed. After defending themselves against pilots from the Lexington, Carter and his comrades fled the Confederation on the BWS Intrepid.

During his service on the Intrepid, Carter continued to serve on Blair's wing loyally, proving effective in the fight against Confederation forces. Carter also developed a relationship with the ship's communications officer, Velina Sosa.

During the action in the Pasqual System, the Intrepid answered a Kilrathi distress call, as the Kilrathi were being attacked by unidentified Terran assailants. The Kilrathi leader, Melek, then requested that the Terrans escort them back to their homeworld. Although he complied with the mission, Carter found it hard to sympathize with the Kilrathi refugees, having dreamt of fighting them all his life and remembering the billions who died at their hands. Nonetheless, he continued to serve the Border Worlds efforts to repatriate the Kilrathi.

Later in the campaign, the Border Worlds Militia engaged Terran mercenary forces in the Circe and Speradon systems. During these fleet actions, Carter volunteered for a solo mission to retrieve an enemy satellite orbiting Circe VI, as it held potentially vital data on Confederation activities on the frontier. Unfortunately, he was intercepted by the Confederation and Carter was forced to abandon his fighter. Although he survived, the satellite was lost. After rescuing Carter, Colonel Blair reprimanded him for his reckless actions which led to the loss of the satellite.

(To be continued)