An Interview with Catherine Foster, June 2nd, 258 HR on board the Mystic.
Q. What do you prefer to be called, Catherine or Cat?
A. Well, I hate Kate, Catherine makes me sound stuffy, so Cat I guess. I’ve been called Cat most of my life. In the service, I become use to Foster, but that don’t mean I like it.
Q: When where you born?
A: October 5th, 224 HR
Q: Where?
A: Port Alexi
Q: Who were your parents?
A: Robert and Carol Foster
Q: Are they still alive?
A: No, my mother passed away when I was only fifteen giving birth and my father was killed when I was only 19.
Q: So you have siblings then?
A: Just one, Geoff he’s 18 now.
Q: You practically raised your brother then, isn’t that so?
A: Yes I did. Our first years were tough. When my father died, we lost our home which went to another man of rank. We hid out in our favorite place back then, it was an old inn that the city had long since forgotten about and no one could afford to purchase. But after I got the position as First Mate, then we were given a modest home. Now of course I have a manor much like the one my father had that I share with Geoff.
Q: Yes you do. Acquiring this position was no easy task. You killed a man for it right?
A: Among other things, yes. My father was killed by his First Mate, Christopher Wrellin. My Father was a good man, a good captain, but he had a sense of good in him I guess. He was always second guessing the code and honor of the Alexians. But then, it was highly acceptable, even encouraged to plunder, capture, or sink other countries vessels. My father was not that kind of man, thus hurting the pockets his crew. So Lt. Wrellin took matters into his own hands.
I knelt by my father’s body for hours; he was killed in our home, in the foyer, in front of Geoff. I was out, now I wish I was not. I never cried so much as I did that night. When I gathered my courage, I knew where Chris and the crew would be. I marched over to the tavern, boldly walking straight in. I was told a hush came over the crowd, but I was not aware of it. Chris said some kind of foolish tough guy remark, and then I gutted him like the pig he was.
I set a benchmark that night. I joined the crew and used my body and my sword to rise to rank. I’m not proud of what I have done. At times I’m disgusted by the length in which I used my body. But hey if ya got it, use it. I looked at it as a weapon, no different than my sword.
Q: Are you happy now, doing what you do now? Was it worth it?
A: Well (she laughed here), that’s a trick question. I love the sea, it’s in my blood and if I could I’d live and eventually die on the sea, but that cannot happen. Do I care that I’m a Captain? Sure, who in my position wouldn’t, look at the benefits that accompany that rank and above. Again, do I love my home? Alexi? Yes in a manner of speaking. It’s old, it’s got history, it’s secure, but again, there’s a flip side to every silver coin.
Now ask me if I like who I work for? There you’ll get a big fat NO. I hate the Pirate Organization, and that name doesn’t even suit them anymore. It’s a damn dictatorship, run by the military. Currently Admiral Payaven sits in his plush office living off of the blood and sweat of his damn citizens. I’m ashamed to be associated or even a part of that, but to raise my brother decently, I had too.
Q: What are your fears, or what scares the legendary Cat Foster?
A: Loneliness. Being alone I would guess.
Q: How has your life changed in the last few weeks?
A: Wow, what a question, where do I begin? Wow, now let me see, this all started off with the orders to sell East to Islesen to capture and bring back a traitorous back-stabbing rogue. A rogue that I knew even then I loved, but thought that I did not need the head ache or the commitment that a relationship meant. Especially one several miles apart. I wasn’t sure how to feel about the future.
I mean, I thought that I’d never really escape Alexi and the “Admiral”, and as a woman, I could only climb so high up the proverbial ladder. So I kinda resigned myself to staying at sea. Now don’t get me wrong I like the sea, I find it peaceful, calm, reassuring, and much safer than the land, but I couldn’t really picture myself doing this for the rest of my life.
Now, yes, I wanna settle down, buy a merchant vessel maybe, or hell I’ve got enough now to buy a merchant company, or start one. That is if Alexi has completely fallen and we win. Then, my life would damn near be perfect. Sail when I wanted, stay home when needed, and find a man. Now, there’s the catch ain’t it, finding the man.
Q: Is Jayce the right man?
A: Shit, straight for the heart, you’re good. Well if you asked me if I love him, I would say yes, with everything that I have, my heart, my soul, and my life. But, is he the ‘right’ man? There’s a lot more to Jason than meets the eye, and he would have to give up quite a bit to be the right man for me. And I’m not sure if he would. I guess it depends on how much he truly loves me, if he does at all.
Q: Would you give it all to be the “Right” Woman for him?
A: Wow, you are good. I don’t know, I …(she paused here for a few minutes. Poured some tea, stared out the portal I saw the tear before she cleverly wiped her check. She sat, sipped her tea.) If he asked. Yes. I think I would.
Q: So you are ready to settle down then?
A: Hell, Mike, I’m not getting any younger. I’m 33 years old, no children, and a home I rarely see, a brother I miss terribly. A ship’s captain I may be, a tough bitch sure, a battle harden swordswoman yes, but let us not forget, besides all that, I am still just a woman. A woman who does yearn for that which I see when I’m in ports, a family, love, something to share and a legacy to leave behind. Maybe this war will just work my life out for me huh. That would be a side effect that I would not walk away from.
