Louanne "Kat" Katraine is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the reimagined
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is a military science fiction serial drama television series and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was created by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the Battlestar Galactica television series from 1978 created by Glen A. Larson...
television series, portrayed by
Luciana CarroLuciana Carro is an actress known for her appearances on television series such as Battlestar Galactica and in movies such as Two for the Money and Dr. Dolittle 3.-Career:...
.
In her first appearance in the series, Kat is a rookie
ViperThe Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
pilot or "nugget" aboard the
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is a franchise of science fiction television series and films. The franchise started with a 1978 TV show created by Glen A. Larson, followed by a sequel TV series, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books and video games. A reimagined miniseries developed by...
, part of a group being trained by then
LieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
Kara Thrace (Starbuck)Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Overview:...
.
Although a rookie, she is very sharp and talented, and quickly becomes a hot-shot pilot, taking part in a vital operation to attack a
CylonThe Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with the Twelve Colonies of humanity in the Battlestar Galactica science fiction franchise, in the original 1978 and 1980 series, as well as the 2003 reimagining. In the 1978 series, the Cylons is also the name of the race who created the robot...
tylium refinery.
As the fatigue and stress of weeks of continuous duty without relief mount, Kat turns to stimulants to keep her senses sharp.
Louanne "Kat" Katraine is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the reimagined
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is a military science fiction serial drama television series and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was created by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the Battlestar Galactica television series from 1978 created by Glen A. Larson...
television series, portrayed by
Luciana CarroLuciana Carro is an actress known for her appearances on television series such as Battlestar Galactica and in movies such as Two for the Money and Dr. Dolittle 3.-Career:...
.
Character biography
In her first appearance in the series, Kat is a rookie
ViperThe Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
pilot or "nugget" aboard the
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is a franchise of science fiction television series and films. The franchise started with a 1978 TV show created by Glen A. Larson, followed by a sequel TV series, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books and video games. A reimagined miniseries developed by...
, part of a group being trained by then
LieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
Kara Thrace (Starbuck)Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Overview:...
.
Although a rookie, she is very sharp and talented, and quickly becomes a hot-shot pilot, taking part in a vital operation to attack a
CylonThe Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with the Twelve Colonies of humanity in the Battlestar Galactica science fiction franchise, in the original 1978 and 1980 series, as well as the 2003 reimagining. In the 1978 series, the Cylons is also the name of the race who created the robot...
tylium refinery.
As the fatigue and stress of weeks of continuous duty without relief mount, Kat turns to stimulants to keep her senses sharp. Ultimately, she overdoses on stims, becomes hysterical, and finds herself unable to safely land her Viper. She is talked down into a near crash-landing by her former instructor, Starbuck, and is temporarily hospitalized.
After Captain
Lee "Apollo" AdamaLeland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber.-Early life:...
and Starbuck are transferred to the
Battlestar PegasusBattlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
by
AdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above Vice Admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet/Fleet Admiral. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm." or "ADM"...
Helena CainAdmiral Helena Cain is a fictional character in the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Michelle Forbes.-Youth:...
, Kat becomes
Galactica's senior pilot, leading the
Galactica Air Wing in what amounts to a game of
"chicken"The game of Chicken, also known as the Hawk-Dove or Snowdrift game, is an influential model of conflict for two players in game theory...
with the
Pegasus Air Wing.
The rivalry between Kat and Starbuck, arguably the two best pilots on
Galactica, intensifies with the passage of time. Kat comes to disdain her former flight instructor on account of her drunken and irresponsible behavior; Starbuck considers Kat to be an upstart with a too-high opinion of her own abilities. Circumstances lead to Starbuck and Kat flying as a pair on a
Combat air patrolCombat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
during which they encounter the
aceA flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of air victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more.It is said that fighter aces are a dying...
Cylon RaiderThe Cylon Raider is the standard starfighter used by the Cylons, in the various Battlestar Galactica movies and television series.- Original series :...
nicknamed "Scar". Starbuck is the first to spot "Scar", and comes close to trying to kill "him" in suicidal head-on pass; at the last moment, she breaks away and lures "Scar" into Kat's line of fire. As Kat is the one who fires the killing shots, she earns the title of
Galactica's "Top Gun", thereby also winning a personal bet against Starbuck.
During the settlement of New Caprica, with Commander
Lee AdamaLeland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber.-Early life:...
in command of
Pegasus and Starbuck down on the ground, Kat becomes the CAG of
Galactica, leading the decoy attacks that lured the Cylons away from New Caprica, clearing the way for
Galactica to
jumpAn FTL, or "Faster Than Light", drive is a fictional propulsion technology from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series that allows space ships to achieve superluminal travel. They are fuelled by a refined version of the fictional ore tylium.The verb jump is commonly used to...
in and deploy the real strike force. Following the successful recovery of the civilian population from New Caprica and the destruction of the
Pegasus, Lee Adama resumes his old post of CAG: however, Kat remains a senior member of
Galactica's Air Wing as a squadron leader.
As the
Galactica and its
RaptorsThe Raptor is a multipurpose military spacecraft featured in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. According to producer Ronald D. Moore, the Raptor is analogous to the U.S. Navy's EA-6B Prowler.-Description:...
guide the civilian fleet in relays through a treacherous stellar cluster, it is revealed the real Louanne Katraine was a woman who died two days prior to the Cylon attack on Caprica. A drug runner by the name of Sasha, seeking to change her life, took the deceased's identity and became the individual known thereafter as Louanne "Kat" Katraine. After Starbuck discovers this, Kat begs her not to inform Admiral
William AdamaWilliam "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. The character is a reimagining of Commander Adama from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
but instead to allow Kat to do so herself. On the fourth and penultimate relay through the cluster, Kat receives a dose of radiation sufficient to have her removed from flight status, and begins losing hair. She chooses to accept her past and present life: she has a sexual encounter with her former associate Enzo, swaps her radiation badge for that of Captain
Karl "Helo" AgathonKarl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett. His call sign is "Helo."-Background:...
, and boards her Raptor for the last time. She stays in the cluster after Admiral Adama issues the jump order in order to see her assigned ship, the
Faru Sadin, safely to the other side. In doing so, she receives a fatal dose of radiation. Admiral Adama visits her deathbed. He later promotes her posthumously to CAG on account of her bravery. Although it was not made explicit in the scene,
Battlestar Galactica showrunner
Ronald D. MooreRonald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he served as developer, writer, and executive producer, and awarded him a Peabody Award for creative...
made it clear in his podcast for "The Passage" it was intended that Adama should look on Katraine, like Kara Thrace, as an "adopted daughter" of sorts.
Character Development
Like many characters in the series, Kat was originally intended to be a minor character that would appear in only a few episodes, but the performance of
Luciana CarroLuciana Carro is an actress known for her appearances on television series such as Battlestar Galactica and in movies such as Two for the Money and Dr. Dolittle 3.-Career:...
impressed Ronald Moore enough that the role was expanded. Kat is the only such character to have an episode ("The Passage") where she is the primary focus. A deleted scene from the episode "Maelstrom" would have shown the deceased Kat appearing alongside Starbuck's viper, encouraging her to accept her fate by telling her, "I've got your six."