Valkyrie
Character Profile
Real Name: Katherine Stone
Callsign: Valkyrie
Nicknames: Kat, Valk
Age: 31
Status: Active
Faction: Free World Order
Rank: General
Role: Senior Defensive Commander
Origin: Outer Rim
Threat Level: High
Primary Weapon: AR-71 Guardian Battle Rifle
Secondary Weapon: VX-9 Liberty Pistol
Known For: Defensive warfare, civilian evacuations, preventing collapsing fronts from becoming massacres, and her complicated relationship with Champion
Overview
Katherine Stone, known throughout the Free World Order as Valkyrie, is one of the faction’s most respected defensive commanders.
Born on an isolated colony in the Outer Rim, Katherine grew up surrounded by criminal gangs, raiders, smugglers, and local militias. Colonies like hers were regularly threatened, yet larger governments and military powers rarely intervened.
The Free World Order was not necessarily the most righteous faction in the galaxy.
It was simply the first one Katherine saw arrive.
That mattered.
Katherine joined the organisation because it protected settlements that everyone else had forgotten. Over time, she rose from a frontier recruit into one of Free World’s most dependable commanders, becoming renowned for holding defensive positions, protecting evacuation routes, rescuing surrounded units, and ensuring that defeats did not become exterminations.
Where many commanders are remembered for the territory they captured, Valkyrie is remembered for the people she brought home.
Her philosophy is simple:
No one should be forgotten.
Early Life
Katherine Stone was born on an Outer Rim colony where central authority was distant and unreliable.
Life on the frontier was shaped by uncertainty.
Settlements could be attacked by criminal gangs, pirates, raiders, or mercenary groups with little warning. Local defenders were often under-equipped, and requests for outside assistance could go unanswered for weeks—or never receive a response at all.
Katherine grew up watching ordinary people protect themselves because nobody else would.
She saw:
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Shops paying criminal groups for protection
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Families abandoning isolated homes
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Local militias using outdated weapons
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Colonies being treated as strategically unimportant
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Children learning emergency procedures before they learned history
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Larger powers promising assistance that never arrived
These experiences shaped Katherine’s view of power and responsibility.
She did not grow up dreaming of command.
She grew up wondering why nobody came.
Joining the Free World Order
The Free World Order was created during the TCA-FOR War, before the formation of the Hell Hosts.
By the time Katherine encountered them, Free World was already known as a criminal and militant organisation. Its methods were controversial, its leadership uncompromising, and its conflict with larger powers increasingly violent.
But on Katherine’s colony, they were the first organised force to intervene.
They drove out local gangs, protected settlements, and established defensive positions where no recognised government had been willing to act.
Katherine joined because she saw results.
Her loyalty was not initially ideological.
It was personal.
Free World had shown her that forgotten colonies did not have to wait helplessly for someone else to care.
Over time, that gratitude developed into conviction.
Katherine came to believe that frontier worlds needed commanders who understood them, defended them, and refused to treat their populations as acceptable losses.
Rise Through Free World
Katherine’s rise through the Free World Order was built on defensive leadership rather than conquest.
She became particularly effective in situations where Free World forces were:
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Outnumbered
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Surrounded
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Protecting civilians
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Running low on supplies
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Defending evacuation corridors
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Attempting organised retreats
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Holding strategically unimportant but populated settlements
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Recovering after failed offensives
Katherine developed a reputation for transforming chaos into survivable order.
She rarely turned a collapsing position into a glorious victory.
Instead, she prevented it from becoming a graveyard.
Her promotion to General reflected not only her battlefield competence, but the trust placed in her by Free World soldiers and frontier populations.
When Valkyrie arrived, people believed they had a chance to survive.
Why “Valkyrie”
Katherine’s callsign originated from her reputation for entering failing battlefields and deciding who could still be brought home.
The title was not intended to portray her as a bringer of death.
If anything, Katherine became an inversion of the ancient myth.
Rather than choosing who would die in battle, she dedicated herself to saving as many as possible.
Free World soldiers began associating her with extraction, protection, and survival.
When the name Valkyrie appeared on a deployment roster, surrounded units knew someone was coming for them.
A common frontier saying states:
“The frontier remembers the people who came back.”
Personality
Katherine is quiet, composed, observant, and difficult to intimidate.
She is not socially awkward, but she does not speak simply to fill silence. She prefers to listen, assess, and respond only when she has something meaningful to say.
Her quiet nature becomes even more noticeable when she is alone with Champion.
Around him, she often allows silence to replace the confidence and authority expected of General Valkyrie. She does not feel pressured to perform, command, or reassure anyone.
She can simply exist.
Common traits include:
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Quiet
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Confident
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Dry-witted
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Patient
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Compassionate
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Protective
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Pragmatic
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Difficult to intimidate
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Comfortable with silence
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Deeply loyal to frontier populations
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Skilled at hiding emotional exhaustion
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Unwilling to abandon people under her protection
Katherine is not naïve.
She understands that not everyone can be saved.
She simply refuses to use that truth as an excuse to stop trying.
Appearance
Katherine has the practical appearance of someone raised on frontier worlds rather than within a formal military academy.
She is approximately 5’8”, with an athletic build shaped by years of field deployment, long marches, and difficult terrain.
Her appearance includes:
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Dark brown, shoulder-length hair
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Hair often tied into a loose ponytail
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Hazel or amber eyes
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Lightly tanned skin
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A small scar crossing one eyebrow
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A composed, watchful expression
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Practical rather than ceremonial clothing
Her combat armour reflects Free World’s less standardised military structure.
Common features include:
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Dark grey armour plating
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Deep green shoulder sections
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Tan equipment webbing
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Worn utility straps
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A weathered cloak or frontier poncho
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Repairs that remain visible rather than being cosmetically hidden
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Frontier insignia and personal campaign markings
Unlike Hell Host armour, which often appears uniform and industrially produced, Katherine’s equipment looks maintained rather than replaced.
Every scratch has survived because the armour beneath it still works.
Defensive Command Doctrine
Valkyrie specialises in defensive warfare.
She does not treat defence as passivity.
To Katherine, a defensive position exists to protect something:
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Civilians
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Retreating soldiers
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Medical facilities
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Supply routes
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Evacuation corridors
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Frontier settlements
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Strategically vulnerable populations
Her command doctrine prioritises:
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Layered defensive positions
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Mobile fallback points
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Civilian evacuation
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Controlled retreats
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Ambush preparation
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Flexible defensive lines
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Counterattacks only when necessary
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Preservation of soldiers
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Protection of populated areas
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Keeping escape routes open
Katherine is particularly skilled at recognising when a battle cannot be won traditionally.
Rather than sacrificing a force for pride, she changes the meaning of victory.
Sometimes victory means holding the city.
Sometimes it means ensuring the city is empty before it falls.
Command Style
Katherine leads through calmness and trust.
She rarely raises her voice, even under extreme pressure. Her soldiers know that if Valkyrie sounds frightened, the situation is already catastrophic.
She expects discipline but allows more flexibility than many Hell Host commanders. Her Outer Rim background taught her that plans often fail, equipment breaks, and isolated forces must adapt without waiting for permission.
Under her command, officers are encouraged to:
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Protect civilians
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Use local knowledge
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Adapt defensive plans
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Maintain extraction routes
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Report bad news honestly
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Avoid pointless sacrifices
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Preserve forces for future operations
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Make independent decisions when communication fails
Katherine is respected because she does not treat retreat as shameful.
A withdrawal that saves thousands is more valuable to her than a heroic stand that saves nobody.
Weapons
AR-71 Guardian Battle Rifle
The AR-71 Guardian Battle Rifle is Katherine’s primary weapon.
Developed within Free World-controlled territory, the AR-71 was designed for reliable defensive combat rather than specialised assault operations.
Known features include:
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Strong mid-range accuracy
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Durable internal mechanisms
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Reinforced stock
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High reliability in frontier conditions
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Integrated under-barrel smoke launcher
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Compatibility with improvised ammunition types
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Easy field maintenance
The weapon’s integrated smoke system supports Katherine’s command doctrine, allowing her to obscure evacuation routes, separate enemy forces, and protect retreating units.
The AR-71 is not elegant.
It works.
That is enough for Katherine.
VX-9 Liberty Pistol
The VX-9 Liberty Pistol is Katherine’s standard sidearm.
It is a compact, high-powered pistol designed for reliability and ease of maintenance in isolated regions.
The weapon is common among senior Free World officers and frontier commanders.
Katherine’s model is lightly customised but not decorative.
Habits
Playing With Her Hair
Katherine has a habit of playing with her hair.
There is no deep psychological explanation behind it.
Sometimes she twists a strand around her finger while thinking. Sometimes she adjusts her ponytail repeatedly during long briefings. At other times, she runs her fingers through it without noticing.
Champion often recognises the habit before she does.
It usually means she is thinking carefully, emotionally unsettled, or trying not to say something she will regret.
Collecting Small Souvenirs
Katherine collects inexpensive objects from the worlds she visits.
She has little interest in valuable trophies.
Her collection includes things such as:
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Polished stones
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Old coins
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Train tickets
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Pressed flowers
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Bottle caps
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Carved animals
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Local badges
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Fragments of damaged signs
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Handmade frontier jewellery
Each item represents a place and the ordinary people who lived there.
To Katherine, these objects are reminders that wars are fought across real homes, not empty maps.
Likes
Katherine enjoys:
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Quiet campfires
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Frontier night skies
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Fresh bread from local bakeries
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Fizzy drinks
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Old frontier radio music
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Watching storms cross open plains
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Repairing equipment rather than replacing it
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Small acts of kindness
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Holding hands in silence
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Collecting local souvenirs
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Quiet conversations without military titles
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Champion playing with her hair
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The abandoned observatory
She has a particular weakness for carbonated drinks and will often choose Nova Cola despite being a respected senior commander.
Dislikes
Katherine dislikes:
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Criminal gangs
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Bullies
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Unnecessary cruelty
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Wasted food
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Empty political promises
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Commanders who treat civilians as expendable
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Abandoning frontier settlements
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Watching children become trapped in war
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Ceremonial speeches without action
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Anyone other than Champion calling her Valk
Her dislike of the nickname from others is partly genuine and partly personal.
The name belongs to him.
Favourite Drinks
Eclipse Tea
During military work, briefings, or extended planning sessions, Katherine prefers Eclipse Tea, a darker and richer tea produced by Blackstar Beverages.
Its stronger flavour suits long nights spent reviewing defensive plans.
Nova Cola
Off duty, Katherine frequently drinks Nova Cola.
She has an unapologetic love of fizzy drinks and does not consider senior rank a reason to develop more sophisticated tastes.
Champion has occasionally teased her for switching directly from Eclipse Tea to Nova Cola.
She sees no contradiction.
Greatest Fear
Katherine’s greatest fear is not death.
It is being forced to abandon another colony.
The helplessness she experienced growing up never fully left her. Every evacuation, defensive operation, and collapsing settlement reminds her of the worlds nobody came to save.
She can accept losing territory.
She struggles to accept leaving people behind.
This fear makes her an exceptional defender.
It can also make her remain in dangerous positions longer than she should.
The Hell Host–Free World Alliance
Onyx’s Disappearance
The Free World Order and Hell Hosts were long-standing rivals.
This changed after Onyx disappeared and was believed to have been killed or lost.
With Onyx absent, Ultimatum assumed leadership of Free World.
Facing the growing threat of the Angel Sword, Ultimatum negotiated an alliance with the Hell Hosts.
The agreement was unprecedented.
Two factions that had spent years opposing each other were suddenly expected to coordinate fleets, share intelligence, and fight side by side.
Katherine became one of the commanders assigned to these joint operations.
This was when she met Champion.
Meeting Champion
Katherine had heard of Champion before meeting him.
Champion was already one of the Hell Hosts’ most respected commanders, known for inspiring troops, leading from the front, and commanding Fleet One.
Katherine initially expected him to be arrogant.
Champion initially expected Valkyrie to be difficult.
Both were correct.
Their first interactions were marked by tactical disagreements, mutual suspicion, and restrained frustration.
Champion preferred decisive offensive action.
Katherine prioritised defensive preparation, evacuation routes, and contingency planning.
Over time, each began recognising the value of the other.
Champion saw that Katherine’s caution was not fear.
Katherine saw that Champion’s aggression was not recklessness.
Respect came first.
Everything else followed.
Relationship with Champion
Champion, real name Marcus Hale, became the most important personal relationship of Katherine’s life.
Their connection developed during the Hell Host–Free World alliance under Ultimatum.
At first, they were simply commanders forced to cooperate.
Joint deployments changed that.
They fought beside each other.
Saved each other.
Argued over plans.
Shared victories.
Sat together after losses.
Their relationship developed gradually through trust rather than immediate attraction.
Champion came to call her Kat.
Later, he began shortening Valkyrie to Valk.
She repeatedly told him the nickname was irritating.
She secretly loved it.
Private Quiet
Katherine is naturally quiet, but becomes even quieter when alone with Champion.
This is not discomfort.
It is relief.
Around most people, Katherine must remain alert, reassuring, and authoritative. Around Champion, she does not feel compelled to fill every silence.
They can sit together for long periods without speaking.
Champion learned to recognise the difference between Katherine’s thoughtful silence, angry silence, exhausted silence, and peaceful silence.
She learned that he rarely needed explanations.
Physical Affection
Their relationship contains genuine but restrained romance.
They are not openly affectionate around other commanders.
In private, their closeness appears through small gestures:
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Holding hands
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Sitting shoulder to shoulder
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Resting against one another beside campfires
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Katherine placing her head on Champion’s shoulder
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Champion playing gently with her hair
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Quietly embracing after difficult operations
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Falling asleep beside one another during long deployments
Katherine particularly loves when Champion plays with her hair.
It calms her, although she rarely admits this directly.
If another commander enters unexpectedly, they immediately separate and return to professional behaviour.
The attempt is rarely as subtle as they believe.
The Campfires
Some of Katherine and Champion’s closest moments happened during the Angel Sword War.
After joint operations, they occasionally sat together beside small campfires, away from command staff and soldiers.
These moments were quiet.
Armour set aside.
Weapons close but untouched.
No ranks.
No factions.
Just Marcus and Kat.
For a short time, the alliance allowed them to imagine that the war between their factions might never return.
The Observatory
During the alliance, Champion discovered an abandoned observatory on a remote world.
The structure had been deserted for years. Its telescope was damaged, sections of its roof were open to the sky, and old equipment remained scattered through its halls.
He brought Katherine there after she mentioned missing the stars above her home colony.
The observatory became their private meeting place.
During the alliance, they visited it when operations allowed.
After the alliance collapsed, they continued meeting there in secret.
Neither brought soldiers.
Neither wore full combat armour.
Neither treated the other as an enemy while inside.
At the observatory, they were not representatives of Hell Hosts or Free World.
They were simply Marcus and Kat beneath the stars.
Observatory Traditions
Their meetings developed small traditions.
Champion often brought coffee or other drinks.
Katherine brought food, usually simple frontier meals or bread.
She stored pieces of her souvenir collection inside the observatory, including:
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A polished stone
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A train ticket
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A pressed flower
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A carved animal
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A Nova Cola bottle cap
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Small items from worlds they visited together
Even after the factions returned to war, the collection remained.
The observatory became a monument to the brief period when their worlds were allowed to coexist.
Onyx’s Return
The alliance ended when Onyx returned and regained leadership of the Free World Order.
Old hostilities resurfaced.
The cooperation created under Ultimatum fractured, and Free World once again became an enemy of the Hell Hosts.
Katherine did not suddenly hate Champion.
Champion did not stop caring for her.
They simply returned to opposite sides of the war.
Neither viewed the other as a traitor.
That made the separation worse.
“Don’t Call Me That”
After the alliance ended, Champion continued calling Katherine Valk during rare encounters.
The nickname carried memories of campfires, shared operations, quiet observatory nights, and a future neither of them received.
During one confrontation, Champion attempted to stop her from escalating an operation.
He said:
“Don’t do this, Valk.”
Katherine replied:
“Don’t call me that.”
She did not say it because she hated the name.
She said it because she still loved hearing it.
Secret Meetings After the Alliance
Champion and Katherine continued meeting at the abandoned observatory after the alliance collapsed.
The meetings were dangerous for both of them.
They sometimes discussed military movements or possible peace.
More often, they argued.
They debated:
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Hell Host authority
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Free World resistance
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Frontier independence
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Onyx’s leadership
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Predator’s expansion
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The possibility of another alliance
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Whether either faction could ever truly change
Some meetings ended in anger.
Some ended with them sitting together in silence.
Some ended with a kiss.
Neither promised to leave their faction.
Neither asked the other to defect.
To do so would have meant asking them to abandon the beliefs that made them who they were.
They continued hoping that one day the war would end without either having to surrender themselves.
Ideological Difference
Champion believes the Hell Hosts’ power is necessary for civilisation to survive the threats facing the Omicron Galaxy.
Katherine believes frontier populations cannot rely entirely on distant superpowers to decide when they are worth protecting.
Champion sees unity as survival.
Katherine sees independence as protection against neglect.
Neither belief comes from cruelty.
Neither is easily abandoned.
Their love does not erase the disagreement.
It makes it hurt.
Katherine’s View of Champion
Katherine respects Champion as both a commander and a person.
She knows his loyalty to Hell Hosts is not blind ambition. He genuinely believes the faction protects humanity from threats smaller organisations could never survive.
She admires:
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His courage
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His ability to inspire troops
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His willingness to lead personally
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His loyalty
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His compassion beneath military confidence
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The way he makes soldiers believe victory is possible
She also finds him infuriating.
He is too willing to carry responsibility alone, too comfortable with impossible odds, and entirely too pleased with himself when he wins an argument.
Champion’s View of Katherine
Champion sees Katherine as one of the finest defensive commanders he has ever encountered.
He admires her ability to remain calm when positions collapse and her refusal to treat civilians as secondary concerns.
More personally, he values the quiet parts of her personality that few others see.
He knows Katherine Stone beneath General Valkyrie.
He knows when she is tired.
He knows when she is playing with her hair because she is worried.
He knows when she wants him to stop talking.
He occasionally continues talking anyway.
Relationship with Ultimatum
Ultimatum became leader of the Free World Order after Onyx disappeared.
His decision to ally with the Hell Hosts created the circumstances that brought Katherine and Champion together.
Katherine respected Ultimatum’s willingness to place survival above old rivalry, particularly during the Angel Sword threat.
It is possible that Ultimatum became aware of the growing closeness between Katherine and Champion during the alliance.
If he noticed, he did not interfere.
The alliance was fragile enough without forcing two of its most capable commanders apart.
Relationship with Onyx
Katherine serves under Onyx after his return to Free World leadership.
Her loyalty to the Free World Order is genuine, but it is rooted primarily in the frontier populations the organisation claims to protect.
She does not necessarily agree with every decision Onyx makes.
However, she understands why many Free World soldiers continue to follow him.
Katherine’s greatest concern is whether the faction still serves the people who once inspired her to join.
If Free World ever abandons those people entirely, her loyalty may be tested more severely than any battlefield could manage.
Reputation
Among Free World Troops
Katherine is seen as the commander most likely to bring surrounded forces home.
Soldiers trust her defensive plans because she does not sacrifice units to protect her own reputation.
When Valkyrie assumes command of a failing front, morale often improves immediately.
Among Frontier Civilians
Across the Outer Rim, Katherine has become a symbol of the belief that forgotten colonies are still worth defending.
Her reputation is strongest among settlements that larger powers consider unimportant.
Among Hell Host Officers
Hell Host commanders respect Valkyrie’s defensive ability, even while regarding her as a dangerous enemy.
Many first encountered her during the alliance and remember her as a dependable partner.
Fighting against her afterward is rarely simple.
Among Enemies
Enemy commanders know that defeating Katherine’s force does not guarantee destroying it.
She is exceptionally skilled at organised withdrawal, layered defence, and turning apparent defeat into a future counterattack.
Legacy
Katherine Stone represents the people the Free World Order was originally supposed to protect.
She is not driven by revenge against Hell Hosts.
She is driven by the memory of colonies that waited for help and received silence.
Her legacy is built not from conquered planets, but from evacuation ships that escaped, defensive lines that held long enough, and frontier settlements that survived another night.
To Free World, she is Valkyrie.
To frontier civilians, she is the commander who came back.
To Champion, she is Kat.
And beneath the stars of an abandoned observatory, she is simply Katherine Stone—a woman who briefly believed history might allow her two worlds to become one.
Quotes
“The frontier remembers the people who came back.”
“No one should be forgotten.”
“Defeat is losing the position. Failure is losing everyone with it.”
“A retreat with survivors is worth more than a victory built from graves.”
“You cannot protect people from a throne they cannot reach.”
“I don’t hate the Hell Hosts, Marcus. I hate waiting for powerful people to decide we matter.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Maybe we were only possible because there wasn’t a war.”
“If I leave them behind, then I become everyone who left us.”
Trivia
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Katherine Stone is 31 years old.
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Her callsign is Valkyrie.
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Champion is one of the only people who calls her Kat.
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Champion also calls her Valk, a nickname she pretends to dislike.
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Her favourite working drink is Eclipse Tea.
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She has a weakness for Nova Cola and other fizzy drinks.
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Katherine plays with her hair without noticing, especially while thinking.
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She loves when Champion plays with her hair.
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She collects small souvenirs from planets and settlements she visits.
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Katherine and Champion became close during the Hell Host–Free World alliance under Ultimatum.
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The alliance ended after Onyx returned.
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Katherine and Champion continued meeting secretly afterward.
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Their usual meeting place is an abandoned observatory.
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Neither has ever asked the other to abandon their faction.
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Her defensive doctrine prioritises civilian survival and organised withdrawal.
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Her greatest fear is being forced to abandon another frontier colony.