Kate Black-Granger

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Kate Black-Granger
Biographical Information
Race	Human (Coruscanti)
Homeworld	Coruscant
Mother	Sera Levare
Father	Nathan Tilney
Spouse	Greg Black-Granger
Siblings	Endora Strax
Children	Cassy and James Black-Granger
Born	Year -27 Day 243
Imperial Service
Branch	COMPNOR
Positions	Director, Imperial Archives Professor, Imperial Academy Reporter, Imperial News Bureau
Prior Service	Morale Adjutant, Third Imperial Legion Civilian, New Imperial Order Pilot, Imperial Navy
Awards	(AAM) (TUT) (INS) (LOC) (CSM-3) (ISM-Half) (IABG-H)

Katelyn "Kate" Black-Granger works for Regional Government as well as being a professor working at the Imperial Academy and a writer for the Imperial News Bureau. She is the wife of Greg Black-Granger and mother of Cassy and James Black-Granger.

Biography

Early life

Katelyn Tilney was born into a moderately wealthy and influential family on Coruscant during the waning days of the Galactic Republic. Effectively orphaned at a young age, Kate was adopted and raised by her paternal grandparents who accepted retirement offers following the reformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire; her grandfather had been a Rear Admiral in the Republic Navy and her grandmother was commissioned as a Colonel whilst working as a cyberneticist in the Republic Medical Corps. Kate regularly visited and was close to her

James Goudron, Kate's cousin

aunt and uncle, both pilots in the Imperial Navy. When they were on active duty, Kate's cousin was cared for by their grandparents. Because of this, Kate and her cousin had a close relationship very much like brother and sister.

Her grandparents instilled appreciation for the Empire into Kate, explaining to her how much the standard of living for Imperial citizens increased and how the Republic was weak and ineffectual. They also wanted her to have first-hand experience of how others live throughout the galaxy - as well as travel during their retirement - so Kate tended to travel to different systems and planets during her breaks from school. Kate's grandparents made sure that she attended the best schools available; she excelled, focusing her studies on Galactic Basic, literature, and history.

When Kate was sixteen, her cousin ran away from home and joined the Rebel Alliance, cutting off all communications with his family. She was surprised and devastated at the loss, both because she couldn't understand why he would do so and the fact that she wasn't sure if she'd ever see him again, but she suppressed her feelings so she could support and be there for her aunt and uncle. She also used her studies as a distraction, engaging the remainder of her energy into the incessant essays and assignments to be done.

Naval service

After finishing her undergraduate schooling, Kate decided to enlist in the Imperial Navy. She attended and excelled at the Imperial Academy on Carida, graduating with honours. After

Kate piloting a TIE-Interceptor

undergoing intense training and testing, she was assigned to serve the Navy as a TIE pilot in the 271st Interceptor Squadron. Kate was eventually given command of a flight, with three pilots as her subordinates. When the squadron was attached to the Nebulon-B frigate Crog's Grotto, Kate first met then-Second Lieutenant Greg Black-Granger, the frigate's commander. After dating for several months, including a long-term operation on Coruscant which resulted in eighty terrorists being captured through intelligence and undercover work, Kate and Greg married onboard the COMPForce flagship, the Victory-class Star Destroyer Widowmaker, by its captain. Kate soon became pregnant with Cassy and James in quick succession and retired from active duty.

Raising a family

Greg remained in active service while Kate cared for their two children, born one year apart, with the help of her grandmother. Soon after her husband's promotion to First Lieutenant, he accepted the offer to work for Cortar Medical, which would allow him to spend much more time with the family. He handed in his discharge papers, and the family moved to Csilla. When the plans with Cortar Medical fell through a year later, Kate and her family moved to Greg's homeworld of Kathol while he tried to return to active duty within the Empire. It didn't work out, and the Black-Grangers remained on Kathol for the next three years.

There wasn't a tremendous amount of work available on Kathol but Kate and Greg made the most of it, focusing mainly on raising their children. Kate was the primary disciplinarian, although those times were few and far between, mainly because her husband would get in trouble just as often as the kids. On one such instance, Greg had allowed seven-year-old Cassy to pilot the family speeder, resulting in some broken bones, a destroyed speeder, and a two-month grounding for both father and daughter. Both Kate and Greg, however, regarded their children as 'young adults' rather than kids, and encouraged their questions, thoughts, and independent opinions, always seeking to help them grow into intelligent, good people, regardless of their individual preferences.

A new career

In Year 9, Kate, accompanied by her daughter (an SA-Corporal sent to observe a member of COMPNOR as a learning experience), was sent to prepare the preliminary report on the security state on Ortenga. Defringo, the second-largest city on the planet had been destroyed in a major riot. Over the year, the planet's population grew more and more angry from the lack of food and more organized gangs had appeared. Shortly after Kate and Cassy's arrival at the North-Western Garrison at Niakwa, gangs coordinated assaults on Imperial garrisons throughout the planet in a bid for food and weaponry. One such gang launched an attack on the North-Western Garrison, which was defended by the remainder of the 34th Infantry Platoon. The commanding officers and the majority of the platoon were away defending the starport, leaving a lieutenant in charge of a small number of soldiers at the garrison; as a result, the troops weren't fully prepared and took heavy losses. They were able to push back the gang's assault before they retreated to a cathedral under Kate's "suggestion".

"...completely cut off our ability to transmit or receive via the communications tower. With this being the closest Imperial base it was the logical choice to go to, not only for protection but to contact Imperial Command with the details on the attacks. If we had the time to repair the connection we would have but sentry reports indicated that they were regrouping in a warehouse opposite the garrison's entrance. It's vital the New Order is informed of the attacks. Every piece of information given could save a life."

— Kate Black-Granger to Sola Tao

The 9th Light Infantry Company, commanded by Major Tao and responsible for protecting Government personnel and ensuring they were safely taken off-planet, had the Governor and his aides hidden away inside the cathedral from the growing Niakwan mob until their Naval attachment arrived at the extraction point to bring the civilians back to Kothlis. Army Chaplain William Black-Granger was administering to the civilians in the basement of the cathedral whilst the Army fought the rabble outside. Upon the arrival of the 34th Infantry Platoon, Kate (after briefing Major Tao on the events at the Niakwa garrison) and Cassy, escorted by Sergeants Eric Ridgeway and Mak Callipso, were brought into the same room as the rest of the Government personnel. They remained there throughout the rest of the battle. Kate was debriefed regarding the events on Ortenga following her return to the headquarters of the New Imperial Order.

Kate and Greg Black-Granger

Return to the Empire

Following the New Imperial Order and Galactic Empire's reunification, Moff Feali was relocated to the Darpa Sector to focus on building up and improving that sector. As one of his aides, Kate and her family moved as well, selling their home on Kothlis and re-settling on Carida.

Personality and Traits

Kate is loyal and dedicated to the Imperial cause, although she clings to her idealized vision of the Galactic Empire as tipped towards the "New Imperial" spectrum of the scale.

Kate is also devoted to her family and close friends. Although she loved her career, and loved the fact that Greg enjoyed his work as well, she was always somewhat disappointed that their responsibilities and careers often kept them apart both from each other and their children. This desire to be with her family as much as possible, and to raise their children personally, compelled her to work as a stay-at-home mother during Cassy and James's younger years. Once they entered school, Kate started working once more, and gradually started spending more time away from home as the children grew more independent.

Kate has great respect for the efforts put forth by hard-working Imperials in all workforces, feeling that all are essential to the growth and well-being of the Empire. She has witnessed first-hand, both through her association with her husband's former brigade and her own experience of working with the Imperial Army, that the military often creates a family and home (out of the close-knit nature of the squadrons and brigades) for those who previously had none. Her work in both the New Imperial Order's Ministry of Justice and the Darpa Sector's Regional Government solidifies in her mind that even "run-of-the-mill" civilians, of every sort of job, have much to offer the Galactic Empire.

She tends to be sarcastic, playfully teasing her friends. However, because she often reverts to being sardonic whilst annoyed, it's not always clear how much truth is in her statements. Her brother-in-law commented on this once, saying that he "could never decide if she was being nasty or joking." Her husband has commented that their daughter inherited Kate's sense of humor.

Family

Nathan Tilney, Kate's father, was a Flight Officer when he met Wistril-born Sera Levare. Sera was a smuggler working for the Commander of the Dark Horizon, the warship Nathan's starfighter squadron was attached to. Soon after Kate's birth, Sera signed away her parental rights and disappeared without a trace. Mere days before the Galactic Empire's formation and the end of the war, Nathan was killed in action.