Name: Katie "K-Cup" Kaperra
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Colony of Birth: Virgon
Hair Colour: Red, worn in a short ponytail
Eye Colour: Green
Height: 5'8
Weight: 175lbs

General Physical Description: Of average height and build, the unassuming Katie would easily disappear into a busy corridor or blend into the background of a mess hall were it not for her shock of red hair and her top-heavy figure that barely seems contained by her duty uniform. People who don't know her could be forgiven for thinking that she is a stripper, or perhaps the busty girlfriend of a navy recruit and she is simply wearing his uniform - until they see her move.

Despite keeping herself in good shape, there is a certain awkwardness about her movement that borders on clumsiness and it becomes clear that instead of trying to show off what she has, Katie is always trying to avoid drawing attention to herself. Never the less, for those who can look above her neckline, they will see a pale, honest face with a smattering of freckles, a wide, toothy smile and an expression of mild surprise, as though she is about to ask "Who, me?"

Personality: A rookie in all things, Katie rarely feels as though she has adequate experience to overcome the challenges she must face on a daily basis, yet her greatest fear is disappointing others and letting them down. She is dedicated, helpful and friendly but finds it hard to say no to somebody; As a result, she is just as likely to be seen running down a hallway carrying a heavy ammo tin in her arms, uttering "Oh gosh, I hope these are the right calibre.." as she is behind the counter of the commissary, trying to find a specific order on unfamiliar shelves whilst apologising with an "I'm sure the owner will be back soon." to the long line of people waiting to collect their rations. The one area where she does display some confidence - and indeed talent - is the field of medicine. Katie joined the navy with the promise that it would lead to an associate's degree as long as she worked for it, and work for it she did. When tested, the first word out of her mouth might be an uncertain "Uh.." but the second word is invariably the correct answer. Though she is very modest about it, Katie’s only source of pride is her medical knowledge and her only ambition is to somehow finish her degree and become a proper nurse.

Likes: Expensive coffees. Bird song.
Dislikes: Getting in to trouble. Getting drunk (She's a real lightweight).
Hobbies: Sewing, reading and swimming.

Branch of Service: Navy
Military Occupational Speciality: Hospital Corpsman
Rank: E-2
Time in Service: 18 months
Decorations: None

History and Background:

While many of the people who survived the attack on the colonies have a strange story to tell, Katie's is stranger than most. Born to middle class parents on Virgon, her life was totally ordinary until a few months after starting high school. During a routine medical, the doctors discovered some unusual swelling in her chest and after several months of expensive tests, she was diagnosed with a very rare condition called gigantomastia. The significance of this was not apparent at first but by the end of her first year, most of her class mates had noticed and it attracted a lot of teasing and unwanted attention. By the end of the second year, Katie would regularly feign illness to avoid going to school and the assurances from her doctor that her breasts would stop growing 'soon' felt hollow; things came to a head when the high school threatened to make her re-sit a year due to the number of days she had missed.

Katie's parents were forced to investigate surgical solutions but there were two obstacles; the first was that the operation was considered elective and would not be covered by their health insurance - it would take them at least a year to save up to pay for the work. The second was the advice from Katie's doctor that any reduction would prove futile if the operation was performed before the condition had run it's course. Although her mother worked for a major brand in Virgon's vaunted fashion industry, she was only a textiles purchaser and her father worked in the lumber mills. They could scarcely imagine paying for the operation once, let alone twice! With a heavy heart, the told Katie that they would save up the money for the operation, but they could not tell her when it would be - that would be up to the doctors. From that moment on, Katie's whole future seemed to revolve around the life-changing operation.

She reluctantly went back to school and did her best to weather the teasing and groping though the support from the faculty often made her stand out even more at a time when she just wanted to blend in; meanwhile, every spare moment was spent reading up on the operation and the condition, alternative treatments and post-op medication for her recovery. Her check-ups doubled in frequency too, from once a month to once every two weeks and she soon got to know - and grew to like - the staff at her local hospital. She knew their specialities, where they went to medical school, the names of the partners and children and they would even lend her books to add to her growing library of medical texts at home.

As her time at high school drew to a close, Katie felt as though medicine was the only thing she knew. The nurses at her local hospital all encouraged her to look into it as a profession but there was no way her parents could afford to pay for the operation AND for her to attend medical school. It was at this time that her mother finally bowed to pressure from her employers and passed along the suggestion that she do some modelling work for them.

Ironically, had this suggestion not been made, Katie might have dithered and found some other line of work to try to pay for med school herself.. but instead it caused a huge row that drove Katie towards an option she had only casually explored at that point; joining the navy. She had already talked to a recruiter at a careers fair in her final year of high school but at the time she hasn't wanted to move away from home and the recruiter had warned her there would be a lot of competition for the small number of associate nursing degrees that could be on offer. But in those tense few days after the row over the modelling job, moving away from home suddenly seemed very attractive and Katie felt sure that if she worked hard enough, she could earn a spot on the course.

She passed the navy's entrance exam and things moved very quickly after that. Katie was posted to a navy hospital outside Hadrian as a corpsman and before she knew it, eighteen months had had flown by without ever returning home or mending the rift with her mother. She had new friends, a job she loved, her nursing degree had just started and better yet, she finally had a date for her surgery. Even the hazing over her appearance had subsided and emotionally, she was better able to cope with it on the few occasions when it did still happen.

Things were going well for her, at least until the Cylons came back.

Shortly after the first attack but before the news had been widely spread, the senior hospital staff were called to an emergency briefing at the capital city of Boskirk. Katie had just finished her shift and was on her way to the library when she passed the group in the hall. One of the corpsmen assisting the senior staff was a friend of hers by the name of Connie. Connie had only recently returned from maternity leave and was also supposed to be leaving for the day. In a hurried conversation, Connie begged Katie take her place because her husband would be leaving for work soon and there would be nobody at home to take care of the baby. On the assurance that the trip to Boskirk wouldn't take more than a few hours, Katie agreed - but that shuttle never made it to Boskirk. The news broke mid-flight that fleet headquarters at Picon had been lost and that the Cylons were already in the skies over Virgon.

The atmospheric shuttle was immediately diverted to a landing platform in the middle of nowhere and the passengers were dropped off, with orders to wait for a transfer to orbit. Katie and the rest of the medical staff from Hadrian were stranded there for an hour, unable to contact anyone and could only watch on helplessly as the first of the distant flashes lit up the horizon. Just as they were beginning to think they had been forgotten about, a pair of Raptors swooped in to ferry them up to the Atlantia - a counter attack was expected momentarily and as casualties would be high, they would be needed aboard the ship.. but once again they did not reach their destination.

They broke orbit just as the Atlantia went down and moments later, the in-orbit transports and civilian craft were given orders to jump away as Virgon died beneath them.