JT Austin

Species: Human
Birthplace: Seattle, Cascadia, Earth
Birthdate: 413 IE

Overview

JT Austin is a former heir to Dasarius Interstellar who evolves from a reckless teenager into a central figure in the human resistance during the Gelt Incursion. Charismatic, flawed, and relentlessly resourceful, JT’s journey from privileged delinquent to wartime leader is one of the defining arcs of the Amargosa Trilogy.

Exile to Amargosa

At fifteen, JT is forcibly exiled to the agricultural colony of Amargosa after repeated legal and personal scandals, including a near-arrest for statutory rape and repeated misuse of corporate assets. His parents—Tessa Dasarius, CEO of Dasarius Interstellar, and Admiral Quentin Austin of the Compact Navy—cut him off from financial support. Attempting to flee to Tian, he stows away on the wrong freighter and is instead deposited on Amargosa, a world he has never seen and openly resents.

Governor Anton Croix assigns JT to Constable John Parker in Harlan Township, where he is forced to work as a farmhand. Under the watchful eyes of Parker and Quan, a former Marine, JT begins a slow transformation through hard labor and growing humility. His encounters with locals, particularly the sharp and observant Lizzy, begin to reshape his outlook on life, purpose, and community.

Role in the Resistance

Following the Gelt invasion of Amargosa, JT is swept into the planetary resistance. Drawing on his inherited tactical instincts and natural leadership, he becomes a key member of the Children of Amargosa, alongside other young resistance fighters such as Davra Andraste. The group is forged under the brutal conditions of occupation and shaped by the tutelage of Suicide, a hardened veteran pilot with a murky past and a sharp moral compass.

With Suicide’s help, JT and his new wife Lizzy Parker escape capture by Saja, a rogue constable turned collaborator. Less than twenty-four hours after their marriage, Lizzy is killed in front of JT—an event that devastates him and leaves emotional wounds that shape him for years. With little time to mourn, he is soon pulled into critical resistance operations, including the retaking of the Founders’ Mine. There, he helps remove Lucius Kray from power, triggering a wave of defections from Kray’s Citizens’ Militia to the main resistance.

Despite his youth, JT earns respect for balancing impulsive ingenuity with surprising moral clarity. Rejecting both the corporate legacy he was born into and blind military obedience, he builds a leadership style based on instinct, trust, and fierce loyalty to his fellow fighters.

In Suicide Solution, flashbacks from Suicide’s point of view reveal the emotional depth of their evolving relationship. Though she had once lost a daughter to miscarriage, it is witnessing JT’s grief over Lizzy that reawakens something maternal in her. She does not lecture or command—she simply stays with him in the silence. “He didn’t need orders,” she later reflects. “He needed someone to be there.”

Over time, their bond becomes obvious even to outsiders. As a prisoner later in the war, Tishla once confessed to Suicide that she had assumed JT was her biological son. Though Suicide quickly corrected her, the moment reveals how naturally they had fallen into a familial rhythm. That perception—JT as her son—would influence Suicide’s actions well beyond Amargosa.

This connection becomes foundational not only to JT’s survival but to his personal growth. Though never formally acknowledged, Suicide acts as a guiding presence through JT’s most formative crucible. Her influence helps him evolve from a wounded teenager into a leader defined not by rank or pedigree, but by compassion, conscience, and courage.

Time on Hanar

JT flees Amargosa aboard Amargosa One after rescuing Tishla, a Gelt dissident and pivotal figure in the attempted reformation of Hanar (formerly Gilead). Alongside Suicide, Duffy, and a Compact Navy officer named Komarov, he escapes to the war-ravaged colony and becomes one of the first humans to return since its fall to the Gelt. The journey marks the first time JT leaves Amargosa—and the first time he must consider the wider Compact.

On Hanar, JT forms a deepening bond with Tishla, assisting her as she reclaims her late husband Kai’s vision of human–Gelt coexistence. Though neither fully trusts the other at first, shared trauma and common enemies draw them together. His presence as a human witness—and later as an advocate—lends credibility to her efforts to rebuild Gilead into something new.

During the months leading up to the Liberation of Amargosa, JT trains intensively as a pilot and tactical operator, spending long hours under Suicide’s instruction. His time on Hanar functions both as a reprieve from the horrors of Amargosa and a crucible of emotional growth. The moral complexity of Hanar—where former enemies must now build something together—challenges JT’s worldview and helps shape his emerging identity beyond mere survival.

It is on Hanar that JT begins to articulate a personal code—one grounded not in duty to the Compact or loyalty to blood, but in earned trust, shared purpose, and the chosen family around him. His bonds with Tishla and Suicide deepen, layered with respect, grief, and unspoken affection. In hindsight, this period becomes the hinge between the boy who survived Amargosa and the man who would help liberate it.

Liberation

During the Liberation of Amargosa, JT flew a combat shuttle with Duffy as his engineer and with a Special Forces lieutenant named Mitsuko Yamato, whose team rode on the shuttle. JT had formed a surrogate sibling bond with Mitsuko, who called him and Duffy “my brothers” before landing. However, the shuttle was brought down by the fusion blast that destroyed Riverside. They trio, rescued by the long-missing Ellie Nardino, recovered in time to run a rearguard action against Kray’s militia. They were present for Kray’s unusual death by Section 11 execution.

Post-Liberation

In the aftermath of the Liberation, JT chose to remain on the planet, balancing recovery with responsibility. He formally signed over half of the Parker family farm to Quan and began co-managing it alongside him. The land was renamed Lizzy's Farm (or Lizzy’s Ranch) in memory of his late wife—a gesture that cemented her legacy and honored the role the farm played in the resistance.

Though nominally based there, JT moved to a remote cabin north of the property—once owned by John Parker—known simply as Walden. The retreat became a quiet refuge for JT and a haven for the other Children of Amargosa, Suicide, and Quan, all of whom had a standing invitation to stay regardless of whether JT was home. Walden came to symbolize the fragile peace after the war—a space for healing, contemplation, and shared survival.

In 431 IE, JT’s future as a professional pilot was secured when he and Suicide were assigned a refurbished Falcon-class assault shuttle, which they named Goldeneye. The vessel, repurposed from military surplus, became their primary transport and mission platform, launching the next chapter of their careers as independent operators and occasional agents of the Compact. The assignment also marked the beginning of a looser but enduring partnership between the two—mentor and protégé becoming co-pilots, both figuratively and literally.

This period represents a rare moment of stability for JT: managing land, maintaining chosen family, and flying with purpose.

Rescue of Jayne Best

In 432 IE, JT played a critical role in the search for High Normaj Jayne Best following the assassination attempt on Governor Douglas Best. When Jayne’s newborn daughter, Naomi, was left on Suicide’s doorstep, JT reached out to Lattus Tishla to discreetly take in both Naomi and her older sister Carolyn, ensuring their safety from those targeting the family. JT then piloted the joint mission to Marilyn and Walton, pursuing leads that would eventually uncover Jayne’s location. During the operation on Walton—particularly in and around the lawless District 19—JT was badly wounded, yet insisted on continuing the mission until the team could be extracted. Suicide was beside herself during his surgery and recovery, refusing to leave his side and threatening retribution if he did not pull through. After the mission’s completion, and moved by the close call, Suicide strongly urged JT to enter Officer Training School for the Compact Navy, telling him it was time to join the fight against Juno not as a survivor or rogue pilot, but as a formal military leader.

Battle of the Queen Maria Sophia

In 433 IE, JT Austin played a key role in the engagement later known as the Battle of the Queen Maria Sophia. While assigned as pilot aboard the Compact Navy vessel Queen Maria Sophia, JT was tasked with deploying Lieutenant Mitsuko Yamato and her Special Forces unit to the surface of a backwater planet nicknamed “Mud.” En route, he witnessed the spectacular arrival of the Marcus Aurelius, an Etruscan-built Minerva-class battlecruiser. The Aurelius destroyed a Realm warship with a display of overwhelming firepower and warp-enabled maneuvering, stunning the crew and reshaping strategic expectations for interstellar conflict.

JT’s mission was abruptly canceled when Queen Widow Reiko and Lady Elizabeth Windsor arrived aboard the Sophia to deliver devastating news to Mitsuko: her great-uncle, King Yanuhito of Bonaparte, was dead. Mitsuko’s fiancé, Lieutenant Commander Edward Windsor, had become King. JT was ordered to extract Windsor from the surface, where he continued leading a ground campaign despite his new royal status. JT flew Mitsuko and Lieutenant Handley to the front using his assigned Falcon-class assault shuttle, executing a dramatic low-atmosphere dive while blasting the song “War Pigs” and deploying countermeasures to suppress enemy fire. He successfully retrieved Windsor, who reluctantly relinquished command.

Shortly after their return, an unidentified vessel boarded the Sophia, bypassing conventional defenses. As Compact command personnel were overwhelmed, JT assumed responsibility for evacuating the royal entourage. Trapped in Medbay by hostile mechs with unfamiliar technology, JT coordinated with Executive Officer Patty Friese and stood ready to fly the queen and heirs to safety aboard his Falcon. The Compact later credited his decisive actions with preserving both Bonaparte’s royal line and the fragile alliance with the Metisian Republic.

The battle elevated JT’s status within the Navy, highlighting his calm under pressure, loyalty to both chosen and political family, and growing strategic value in conflicts increasingly shaped by irregular and emerging threats.

As the mysterious Juno warship overwhelmed the Queen Maria Sophia, JT Austin was ordered to evacuate King Edward Windsor, Queen Widow Reiko, Lady Elizabeth Windsor, and Lieutenant Mitsuko Yamato aboard his Falcon-class assault shuttle. The Juno vessel, using advanced weaponry and tactics, destroyed most Compact assets in orbit—including the Marcus Aurelius, reducing the powerful Minerva-class battlecruiser to debris.

Commander Patty Friese and JT’s wingmate, Midnight Angel—Stephanie Mercado—attempted to escape in separate shuttles. Both were destroyed by the Juno ship in rapid succession. Their deaths hit JT hard, particularly Mercado’s, whose flirtation and camaraderie had offered a rare sense of lightness amid the war.

Knowing his Falcon could not outrun the enemy, JT and Mitsuko quickly devised a desperate ruse. They jettisoned drones, spare armor, and thermal decoys to mimic a destroyed shuttle, then powered down completely. Drifting amid the wreckage of fallen vessels, they effectively “played dead” until the Juno ship moved out of range and disappeared over the horizon.

Once the threat had passed, JT restarted the Falcon and piloted it back down to Mud, landing near the old communications relay still held by a small Gelt garrison. Instead of reigniting hostilities, JT approached the Gelt commander to negotiate. Both sides had suffered severe losses, and both recognized that the mechs and the Juno ship posed a threat beyond their own conflict. JT offered a pragmatic deal: if the Compact responded first, he would use his influence with First Citizen Tishla of Hanar to see the Gelt garrison safely repatriated rather than treated as prisoners.

Before the Gelt commander could answer, King Edward Windsor stepped forward and offered himself as a hostage—on one condition. If the Realm sent help first, he would surrender himself to their custody, hoping to ensure Bonaparte’s survival through diplomacy rather than further war.

The offer stunned both sides. Windsor’s gamble, combined with JT’s diplomatic finesse, transformed a battlefield standoff into a high-stakes waiting game. JT’s quick thinking, courage under fire, and growing political instincts proved instrumental—not only in saving lives, but in reframing the broader war. By that moment, he was no longer just a pilot. He was a power player in an unraveling galactic conflict.

While taking refuge with King Edward Windsor’s company in a canyon cave on Mud, JT and his team discovered a fully intact giant mech—an advanced war machine unlike anything in Compact or Realm arsenals. Lady Elizabeth Windsor, drawing on her past work with Cybercommand, identified dormant Alliance-era protocols embedded in its systems, linking it to forbidden superweapon projects long believed scrapped. The mech’s pristine condition and mysterious presence suggested deliberate placement generations earlier, likely by the shadowy network known as Juno.

JT and the others were ultimately rescued by Suicide, who arrived aboard the Metisian Republic ship Minerva, accompanied by Connor Duffy, Ellie Nardino, and Eric Yuwono. The trio helped lead a bold counterassault that retook the Queen Maria Sophia, though King Edward Windsor lost a hand in the battle. Following the action, JT joined the Windsor party and Suicide aboard the Goldeneye to Hanar to make good on the promise of safe repatriation for the Gelt garrison. Upon arrival, JT was taken directly to First Citizen Tishla. She greeted him with visible relief that he had survived—then promptly slapped him across the face for invoking her name in a diplomatic bargain without her consent. Unfortunately, she was wearing her ring at the time and split his lip. JT, ever wry, admitted she was probably overdue to slug him anyway.

On Hanar, JT was reluctantly tasked with accepting the formal surrender of the Realm garrison stationed there—an awkward duty, as he had brokered the repatriation deal without Tishla’s prior consent. As political and military tensions lingered, King Edward Windsor confided a growing suspicion that the real traitor among them might be his own sister, Lady Elizabeth. In a moment of calculated cynicism, Edward even asked JT to seduce Elizabeth, hoping to expose her if she were compromised. As JT and Elizabeth grew closer—sharing both strategic information and mutual distrust—JT was further rattled when a man claiming to represent Cybercommand privately showed him a photo of Suicide at what appeared to be a Cubist retreat on Amargosa. The revelation struck at the heart of JT’s loyalty, as he had long seen Suicide not just as a mentor, but as a surrogate mother. Now, with Elizabeth watching him closely and doubt gnawing at his trust, JT found himself spiraling into a crisis—caught between truth, deception, and the possibility that one of the few people he’d always trusted had been lying to him all along.

The group soon departed for Amargosa, with JT increasingly distant from Suicide as mistrust began to erode their once-unshakable bond. Under the cover of medical recovery at the Thulian Enclave, King Edward Windsor planned to undergo a discreet procedure at the Thulian Clinic—revealing to JT that Bonapartan monarchs do not truly die, but instead stage their deaths at politically opportune moments, preserved through permanent rejuvenation. Aboard the maglev into Thulian territory, with Boone accompanying them for protection, Elizabeth calmly revealed her true agenda: she intended to assassinate her brother and end her own life, believing Edward had compromised the monarchy’s integrity. Despite being surrounded by allies—Boone, Mitsuko (preparing to undergo rejuvenation herself), and JT—it was Queen Widow Reiko who foiled the plot. Without fanfare, she produced a stolen Gelt stun grenade from her handbag and triggered it, neutralizing everyone in the car and disabling Elizabeth’s incendiary nanites before they could activate. The revelation and betrayal left JT shaken once more, deepening his inner conflict as his trust in the people closest to him continued to fracture.

In the aftermath of the mission, JT personally delivered the news of Commander Patty Friese’s death to her widow, Linda Havak. He was then debriefed by Eric Yuwono, now working as an agent of Cybercommand, and briefly reunited with Davra Andraste—just long enough for a long hug and few words before she returned to duty. When he reported to Vice Admiral Burke, she attempted to promote him in recognition of his leadership, valor, and political poise under pressure. JT instead resigned his commission, declaring he was done with politics, war, and the weight of everyone else’s expectations. Burke, unmoved, remarked that she’d had the exact same conversation with Suicide over a decade earlier. JT returned to his cabin on Amargosa to sulk, unsure of his future. It was there that Tishla appeared—not on behalf of Hanar, not seeking comfort, and not attempting to rekindle romance, but to badger him back to his senses. As always, she refused to let JT disappear into himself, reminding him that survivors don’t get to sit out the rest of the war—and that too many people still needed him to stand up, even if he wasn’t sure how.

Mission to Aphrodite Against Kurz

At the end of Winter Games, JT is retrieved from Amargosa by King Edward Windsor aboard the Iron Cloud. Ellie Nardino accompanies the royal party and insists JT come with her, pulling him back into active operations.

JT soon finds himself aboard the Iron Cloud again, this time part of a high-stakes rescue on Ares following the catastrophic mech incident. He aids in extracting Ellie, Davra, and Mitsuko Yamato, helping stabilize the situation in the wake of political and military chaos.

When Suicide disappears during a mission to Aphrodite, JT takes the Goldeneye alongside Davra Andraste to locate her. They raid Kurz’s jungle stronghold, rescue Suicide, and bring her aboard the Valles Marineris for recovery. During her treatment, JT and Suicide finally reconcile after their long estrangement, sharing an emotionally charged moment that helps mend their surrogate mother–son bond.

JT also participates in the final assault on Mt. Buxanshal, where he preps Mitsuko for a solo infiltration to disable a stolen fission weapon. He joins the frontal attack with the Children of Amargosa and is wounded in the battle. Following the mission, Tishla insists he recover on Hanar, where she keeps a protective watch over him. At Mitsuko’s wedding on Bonaparte, JT appears still limping but in good spirits—dancing with the bride and reminding everyone that, for all his baggage, he’s still very much alive and still part of the family.

Operation on Hosh
JT arrives on Hosh as part of a Cybercommand operation assisting Eric Yuwono in tracking a suspected Juno affiliate known as Mr. Gray. Officially listed as a civilian contractor, he joins the mission alongside Ellie Nardino and Connor Duffy aboard the Goldeneye, with Suicide acting as co-pilot. After helping revive Yuwono—who had nearly drowned in raw sewage—JT loads the infected Cassandra dataplate aboard the ship, suffering a cut that quickly becomes septic. He is later arrested with Duffy on Hosh authorities’ fabricated charges, only to be released thanks to Effie’s skillful hacking. JT then replaces the original operative, Ian Forrest, in a high-risk casino infiltration meant to probe the political elite surrounding Hosh’s president. Working under cover with Ellie and Duffy posing as tourists, he gains access to the presidential suite, initiating the final leg of the operation. JT subsequently flies the Goldeneye during the raid on Caro’s seaside mansion and later pilots Davra Andraste to the ocean drop zone for Eric’s extraction—retrieving both operatives after Davra takes advantage of the alone time to vent lingering emotional tension. Throughout the mission, JT proves a stabilizing and adaptable presence, bringing field experience, intuition, and emotional intelligence to a volatile off-world assignment.

Hanarian Coup and Challenge to Save Tishla

When Tishla crash-lands on Amargosa after a coup overthrows her rule on Hanar, JT answers Suicide’s call without hesitation. Despite being emotionally battered and politically disillusioned, he comes to her aid and quickly realizes the situation is dire. Learning that Tishla intends to indenture herself to the Sovereign of the Realm to save Hanar from civil war, JT is visibly horrified—but agrees to help. He and Suicide commit to escorting her into the heart of the Realm, knowing full well they may not return.

The three travel to Tacmar, where a discreet vessel is being arranged. During the tense layover, Tishla and JT become lovers again, not out of passion or nostalgia but as an act of emotional vulnerability—two people clinging to one another before walking into danger. The next day, Suicide confronts them about the risks, but JT quietly lets Tishla speak for them both, standing by her assertion that the choice was hers and hers alone.

JT’s martial instincts and past as a pilot-turned-soldier serve him well during the journey. Onboard the Bounty, he repels an ambush by Laral Belcas, who attempts to seize Tishla as indentured property. When the group arrives at the Throneworld, JT catches the eye of General Bolden, who quietly acknowledges JT’s skill and resolve. But JT shocks everyone—including Suicide, Tishla, and even the Sovereign—when he counterchallenges Laral Belcas in a duel to defend Tishla’s indenture and expose the hypocrisy of the Realm’s grievance process. His argument invokes the deaths from the Gelt Incursion of 429, including his wife Lizzy, turning the challenge into something far deeper than politics.

In the arena, JT defeats Belcas, but not before sustaining Laral Belcas, nearly being disemboweled in the final moments of the fight. He is rushed to surgery by Realm medics, barely surviving the encounter. As he slips in and out of consciousness, Tishla stays at his side, wracked with guilt over the pain he endured on her behalf. His slow recovery marks the end of the first phase of the mission—but also the beginning of a transformation neither of them anticipated.

Lord of Hanar

Upon regaining consciousness, JT learns he is now legally the Lord of Hanar, having inherited Tishla’s claim through the duel. It’s an awkward and dangerous position—a human holding territory within the Realm, an empire that still views his species as hostile. The Sovereign, amused by the situation and seemingly pleased that Suicide is part of JT’s inner circle, begins quiet negotiations on how to resolve the issue. JT insists the claim be returned to Tishla, but the Sovereign reminds him that Tishla is legally indentured and thus cannot hold property under Realm law. However, He hints that such a transfer could be made possible in “other space”—Realm-speak for bypassing formal jurisdiction.

With the situation unresolved but urgent, JT, Tishla, and Suicide depart for Armaneya, intent on overthrowing the coup on Hanar. The Sovereign discreetly makes His sympathies known by assigning them an honor escort of Realm fighters, a clear signal to the insurgents—and to the rest of the Realm—that JT Austin does not go unsupported.

Return to Hanar, Restoration, and Marriage to Tishla

Upon arriving at Armaneya, JT and his team are met by both Chancellor Tuvat and a Special Forces unit led by Mitsuko Yamato. Loyalist elements within Hanar’s military allow them to land, but their ship is shot down over the ruins of Gilead City by rebel forces. Captured by the insurgents and held by Nobu Katsumoto, JT, Tishla, Suicide, and the others are rescued by the remaining Children of Amargosa (minus Davra, who is away on assignment). In the aftermath, JT takes the dagger once given to him by Tishla—formerly Kai’s—and uses it to kill Nobu, avenging Bornag’s death. He orders Nobu’s head severed and preserved as a tribute to the Sovereign.

Though still recovering from his near-disembowelment, JT joins the push to retake the Residence, traveling with loyalist and Republic-aligned forces as they eliminate remaining human insurgents. Once inside the reclaimed capital, he stands behind Tishla with the Sovereign’s own sword as she announces her return to the people of Hanar.

The Sovereign Himself intervenes once the Parliament building is secured, arriving in person to validate JT’s claim and reassert Realm authority. When the Gelt insurgent leader begins to argue, the Sovereign executes him mid-sentence, making a decisive statement. JT then assents to the merger of Hanar with Thule, the Metisian Republic, and—unexpectedly—Bonaparte. The Sovereign wryly notes that such a merger places Hanar in “other space,” outside standard Realm jurisdiction, but that Tishla must be Elevated for the claim to return to her. There is only one way to do that.

JT proposes marriage to Tishla on the spot. Jayne Best, present for the proceedings, steps forward and announces she is still a Marilynist cleric. The wedding is held immediately: Suicide stands as JT’s “best woman,” and Ellie Nardino serves as Tishla’s maid of honor. The ceremony restores Hanar to its pre-coup legal status, with Tishla regaining her position as First Citizen and JT cementing his place at her side—not as ruler, but as husband, protector, and father to her daughter.

Post-Coup

The morning after the wedding, JT and Tishla meet Athena, newly arrived from Amargosa with her godmother, Athena Jovann. JT, still emotionally raw from the events of Hanar, greets her with, “I’m your father now,” only to freeze when she replies, “You’re not my father.” But before he can react, Athena throws her arms around him and says, “You’re my Dad!” The moment brings JT to tears, and Tishla quietly confides to Jovann, “He doesn’t cry often, but when he does, he means it.”

In the weeks that follow, the newly stabilized government holds its first formal vote. Douglas Best is sworn in as First Citizen of the expanded Foundation, which merges Hanar with Thule, the Metisian Republic, and Bonaparte. As Best takes the oath—something Tishla never did—she watches from the sidelines and, with a relieved smile, tells Suicide, “I’m free.”

JT and Tishla soon return to Amargosa, settling at Walden to begin their new life together. While Tishla prepares to resume her work as a geneticist at the Thulian Clinic, JT finds himself—for the first time in years—not running from the past, but stepping into a future of his own choosing, as a husband, a father, and, at long last, a man at peace.

In 437, JT Austin plays a pivotal but more restrained role in the early phases of the story. He ferries Tishla to identify the disoriented stasis survivor on Amargosa, who turns out to be former Compact President Baker ibn-Aziz. Afterward, he discreetly transports Baker and Ellie Nardino to the Thulian Clinic on Amargosa for quiet confirmation of Baker’s identity. At Suicide’s urging, JT stays behind to avoid attracting attention—his presence could tip off the very forces that want Baker hidden or dead.

When Ellie and Tishla’s mission to smuggle Baker into Compact space goes wrong, JT doesn’t hesitate. He answers Suicide’s distress call and joins the rescue operation on Liberty. During the assault on Jez Salamacis’s facility, he is wounded while protecting Tishla—an injury complicated by a tailored bio-toxin. Though the wound threatens to kill him, JT resists Thulian rejuvenation therapy until Ellie delivers a withering mix of compassion and mockery: “Besides, you get to make love to your wife six times a day, you big baby.” That persuades him. He undergoes treatment alongside Ellie, though he recovers faster—Ellie had been abducted just before the process began.

JT remains on Aphrodite with his daughter Athena while Tishla continues her genetic research at the Clinic. Though he plays a supporting role in this mission, it reinforces JT’s dual identity as both a warrior and a husband—caught between the demands of his past and the quieter, but no less vital, obligations of love and family.

Operation at Armaneya and Obtaining Quantum Entanglement Device

JT Austin arrives aboard the Goldeneye with his wife Tishla, longtime friend Ellie Nardino, and former resistance ally Suicide, responding to a covert request for assistance in freeing Shrian—a Gelt woman indentured to the disgraced Laral Raas. Shrian has developed a functional quantum entanglement device capable of instantaneous interstellar travel, and JT’s team is brought in to secure both her and the technology before it can be exploited.

For the mission, JT assumes the alias of his brother, Wills Austin, and enters a high-stakes reaper game aboard Armaneya. He fully intends to drop out early, but during the event, he is poisoned—a likely move by Laral Raas to disrupt the Compact’s interest in Shrian. He receives medical attention while enduring a familiar barrage of sarcasm from both Tishla and Ellie, highlighting the comfortable dynamic within their unconventional family.

Once recovered, JT works alongside Ellie, Suicide, and Tishla to help Duffy and Shrian extract the quantum entanglement device from Raas’s ship. Their plan balances diplomacy, subterfuge, and outright defiance of Laral’s waning authority, with JT acting as both strategist and steadying presence for the operation.

Later, JT attends the wedding of Connor Duffy and Shrian aboard the Endeavour.

Serving as Davra Andraste’s First Officer

Reinstatement and Rank
JT Austin was reluctantly persuaded to become Davra Andraste’s executive officer aboard the CNV Endeavour—not by Davra or Tishla, but by his longtime mentor Suicide, who challenged him to a sparring match that ended in his surrender and agreement. To accept the assignment, JT was reinstated as a full commander and granted Compact citizenship via Aphrodite, which had recently attained provisional core world status. This reinstatement was recognized by the Foundation as well.

Family Arrangements
JT left his daughter, Athena, with his father, Admiral Quentin Austin, who was on leave on Demeter. This arrangement allowed him to accept the post without neglecting his family duties, though he resisted at first out of protective instincts.

Duties and Contributions
In addition to acting as executive officer, JT also served as flight commander aboard the Endeavour. He played a key role in navigating a delicate and dangerous peace mission, and supervised pilot discipline—including a memorable encounter in which he forcefully corrected a disrespectful Interceptor pilot.

Key Missions

• Sabotage Investigation: JT led an investigation into an attack on Shrian Duffy and successfully rescued Marilyn Germanicus from a saboteur.

• Vacuum Exposure Incident: He suffered vacuum exposure during Marilyn’s rescue. Upon recovery, he was greeted by Tishla, Ellie, Davra, and Mitsuko—the four most important women in his life—all of whom playfully teased him as he exited the hyperbaric chamber.

• Peace Delegation to the Seat of Supremacy: JT accompanied a high-level delegation to the Realm capital. This diplomatic mission ended the war between the Compact and the Realm, a momentous milestone in interstellar politics.

• Witness to Execution: He witnessed the voluntary execution of Tol Germanicus, one of the Compact’s most enigmatic and ancient figures, marking the end of an era.

Departure and Recommendation
Rather than accept command of the Buran, JT declined promotion in order to remain with Tishla, who was beginning amortality treatment tailored for Gelt physiology. Before stepping down, he recommended Abby Apria as his replacement as Davra’s first officer.

Rescue of Tessa Dasarius (440 IE)

In 440 IE, JT was reluctantly recruited into a high-risk operation to rescue Tessa Dasarius, the estranged CEO of Dasarius Interstellar—who also happened to be his mother. Despite the critical nature of the mission, JT initially resisted joining due to more than a decade of silence from Tessa and long-held resentment over her refusal to accept Tishla and Athena as his family. Even Ellie Nardino—his closest companion besides Tishla—refused at first, joining only after JT agreed to go.

The operation reunited the surviving Children of Amargosa—JT, Ellie, Davra, Eric, and Duffy—alongside Foundation Templars and Suicide. A golem housing a submind of Tol Germanicus accompanied them. Before the operation began, Suicide quietly told the others, “If it comes down to saving JT or saving me—save him.”

The mission escalated when Marcus Leitman attempted to seize Dasarius Interstellar by handing it to JT’s grandfather, Claudius. To thwart this, Tessa transferred full corporate control to JT’s persistent, EMP-hardened nanite swarm—something that only a true heir could wield. In the chaos that followed, JT jumped from the estate’s high platform and was caught in midair by Ellie and Duffy. As per Tessa’s final instructions, he used his temporary authority to disable all hypergates connected to Earth, cutting the planet off from the wider galaxy.

During the escape, Suicide sacrificed herself to destroy the Keiko Matsumoto, removing a critical asset from Leitman’s resurrection network. Her apparent death devastated JT, though her parting words to Tessa left a lasting mark: “I didn’t replace you. I finished what you started.”

In the aftermath of the mission, JT reconciled with Tessa, acknowledging her effort to make amends. He returned control of Dasarius Interstellar to Tessa and his younger sister Shaneese, refusing to tie himself to the company he had once tried to flee. While his nanite swarm retained emergency override access, JT had no desire to run the corporation. His actions, however, ensured it would no longer serve as a tool of corruption for Leitman or the Compact’s internal enemies.

Key Traits and Developments:

• Mother-Son Relationship with Suicide:
  

JT’s bond with Suicide is one of the most enduring, complicated, and influential relationships of his life. Introduced to her as a ruthless resistance commander during the Gelt occupation, JT initially fears and resents her. Over time, however, a deep mutual respect forms. Suicide becomes both a battlefield mentor and a surrogate mother figure, pushing JT to develop as a soldier, leader, and man. For much of their post-liberation work—particularly through joint operations—JT and Suicide operate with deep trust and unspoken understanding, capable of moving in lockstep even amid chaos.

Her maternal instincts toward him surface fully after JT is shot on Walton. Suicide refuses to leave his bedside, threatening anyone who might keep her from seeing him through recovery. Though she never says it outright, the fear of losing him reveals how deep her care runs.

Their relationship begins to fracture during Checkmate, when JT learns of Suicide’s past association with Cubism—a faith tied in his mind to terrorism and loss. Unable to reconcile her beliefs with his grief and trauma, he distances himself, triggering the most serious rift between them to date. Yet when Suicide vanishes on a mission to Aphrodite, JT joins Ellie Nardino without hesitation to lead the effort to bring her home. Ellie, recognizing what this means, quietly observes, “That’s the man I fell in love with”—a quiet confirmation that despite everything, JT’s loyalty to Suicide remains intact.

When they find Suicide, imprisoned but unbroken, she greets him with characteristic bluntness: “You’re a rotten son, and I’ve never been happier to see you.” The reunion defuses the tension between them, but it is aboard the Valles Marineris, in a quiet recovery room, where the emotional dam finally breaks. Davra Andraste discovers them in an embrace—JT sobbing uncontrollably, Suicide holding him in silence. Whatever had stood between them is left behind in that moment. Without hesitation, they join the final assault on Mt. Buxanshal together, their bond renewed. For all the pain between them, theirs is a connection forged in fire—unshakable, maternal, and born of chosen family.

During the events of Suicide Gambit, JT’s bond with Suicide is tested and deepened under extreme circumstances. When Tishla crash-lands on Amargosa with her daughter, it is Suicide who contacts JT in the middle of the night, knowing instinctively that only he can reach Tishla in her traumatized state. The two operate in seamless tandem—evading pursuers, coordinating with planetary and naval officials, and eventually accompanying Tishla back into the Realm. Though Suicide maintains her abrasive, no-nonsense demeanor, she also grows more protective and emotionally open with JT, especially as his relationship with Tishla becomes intimate again under dire emotional strain.

Their most revealing exchanges happen in moments of quiet urgency—when Suicide berates JT for sleeping with Tishla just before her indenture, or when she later defends him from Realm suspicion, declaring that JT would die for Tishla without hesitation. Suicide acts as JT’s moral compass throughout the ordeal, and JT, in turn, grounds her when her cynicism falters. She begins to see his maturity not just as the result of hardship but as something forged in large part by their years together. By the time they enter Realm space aboard the Bounty, Suicide is no longer simply JT’s mentor or protector—she is his co-conspirator in a deeply personal mission to save a friend, a cause, and a legacy they both believe in.

The pivotal moment in Suicide Gambit occurs when JT and Suicide accompany Tishla into the heart of the Realm, culminating in JT challenging Laral Belcas to single combat in the Sovereign’s arena. Suicide stands beside him as his second, knowing full well that she may have to carry out a mercy killing if Belcas proves too much. JT survives the brutal fight but is nearly disemboweled, staggering through a final blow and kicking Belcas’s severed head toward the Sovereign before collapsing. His near-death sends Suicide into a fury—not just at the Realm’s barbaric ritual, but at Tishla herself, who later attempts to take her own life in a misguided attempt to spare JT further pain. Suicide stops her with a scathing rebuke: “You don’t get to call me that. You have to earn that right,” denying Tishla the familiar privilege JT holds until she takes responsibility for the consequences of her self-sacrificing instincts. For Suicide, JT’s survival is not just personal—it’s sacred, and anyone who would make his suffering meaningless faces her wrath.

On Hanar, as Tishla fights to retake her world and JT recovers from his near-fatal wounds, Suicide—alongside Mitsuko and Tishla—works tirelessly to keep him from burning himself out. Though he is still healing, JT insists on accompanying the push to liberate the Residence and confront the insurgents. Suicide stays close, guarding him from his own sense of duty as much as from external threats. When the Sovereign arrives to restore order and recognizes Tishla’s claim, the political situation changes rapidly: JT and Tishla’s long-anticipated marriage, once a private matter they intended to arrange later, becomes an immediate necessity to solidify her legitimacy. Without hesitation, JT turns to Suicide and asks her to stand with him—not as a soldier or surrogate mother, but as his “best woman.” The gesture moves her deeply. It is a rare moment of ceremonial joy amid chaos, sealing their bond not just through war and pain, but through love, trust, and chosen family.

During the events of Davra’s Endeavour, that bond—long cemented through combat and shared trauma—is tested in a surprising new way: a personal favor from Davra.

When Davra is left without a viable executive officer, she turns not to JT directly but to Suicide, knowing JT will not respond to rank or protocol. Suicide, ever blunt and uncompromising, travels to Aphrodite to confront JT in person. The method she chooses is as intimate as it is brutal: a Gelt-style sparring match with dulled swords. JT initially resists her every argument, citing his responsibilities to his daughter Athena and his rejection of Compact authority. Suicide counters with ruthless clarity—pointing out the hypocrisy of his excuses, invoking his own legacy, and finally besting him physically to force the point home.

The sparring match is less about combat and more a symbolic return to their original dynamic: Suicide as the hard-edged teacher, JT as the resistant student who knows deep down she is right. He yields not out of defeat but because she has reminded him who he is—and that someone he loves and trusts still believes in him.

This moment becomes a quiet reaffirmation of their bond. Suicide doesn’t invoke command or history. She speaks to him as his mother by choice, not by blood. And when JT finally accepts the XO post, it’s because Suicide has made it unavoidable to deny his own purpose.

Their scenes in Davra’s Endeavour mark a turning point: for the first time, Suicide actively manages JT not as a broken boy or reckless man, but as a peer—a leader in his own right. She continues to tease and challenge him, especially when watching him take on flight command and deal with “nubs” (nominally useless beings), but behind the sarcasm is a deep, maternal pride. In turn, JT no longer defers to Suicide as infallible. He leans on her, yes—but also pushes back, taking her measure as someone shaped by her just as much as she helped shape him.

When JT steps into his uniform for the first time in years, Suicide does not offer praise or sentiment. Instead, she delivers her verdict in the form of action: standing beside him and Davra as they prepare to risk everything on a peace mission that could either end the war or destroy them all.

Their bond, once forged in fire, has now been tempered by time. In Davra’s Endeavour, it becomes clear: JT no longer needs Suicide’s approval, but he still values her presence—and she, in turn, no longer needs to test him. She simply shows up when it counts.

Though Suicide never referred to herself as such, JT came to see her as his Chosen Mother—a bond forged not by blood but by fire, loss, and quiet understanding. Her disappearance during the destruction of the Keiko Matsumoto devastated him. She had been more than a mentor—she was his anchor, his fiercest advocate, and the one person who never expected him to be anything other than himself. In the days that followed, JT said little about her absence, but those close to him noted the shift: a deeper calm, a more focused edge, and an unwavering refusal to let her sacrifice be in vain.

Before the mission, Suicide had quietly left him three bullet lockets. One held a lock of her hair. The other two were the ones she had always worn: one containing the ashes of Akrad, her husband from Tian, and the other of Priya, her wife from Aphrodite. Both had loved her—and both had left her widowed. JT wore the lockets without ceremony, following the same instinct that had led him to carry Lizzy’s. They were not just tokens of grief but touchstones of legacy. Though Suicide left no body and no grave, she left him this—three small reminders of who she had been, who she had loved, and why she had stayed. In his silence, in his choices, and in his flight, she endured.

• Connection to Tishla:
  

Tishla, originally a captured Gelt using the alias “Trixie,” becomes both a political partner and emotional anchor for JT. Their connection begins under duress during the occupation of Amargosa, but deepens through mutual empathy, shared trauma, and a surprising emotional intimacy. In Storming Amargosa, they share an unplanned but tender encounter. When JT, out of instinct and grief, attempts to remove his bullet locket—a memento of Lizzy—Tishla gently stops him, saying, “She is part of you.” The moment captures the unique trust and understanding between them, even as JT continues to wrestle with his past.

Over time, JT develops a pattern of seeking out Gelt women who resemble Tishla—a habit that does not go unnoticed. Suicide is the first to point it out, but when Tishla learns of it herself, she expresses quiet disappointment. Despite this, their later encounters suggest she has forgiven him, and they resume a respectful, if emotionally complex, relationship.

After the incident with the Queen Maria Sophia, Tishla visits JT at his cabin—not as a lover or politician, but as a friend determined to snap him out of his spiral. Her arrival is not a plea for support or reconciliation, but a blunt reminder that he still has work to do, whether he wants to or not. Even in silence, their bond remains unbroken—defined now by accountability as much as affection.

In Royal Orders, Tishla remains a steady, loving presence—at arm’s length. Aware that JT and Ellie have not fully resolved their relationship, she offers quiet support without pressing him. When JT is wounded during the final assault on Mt. Buxanshal, it is Tishla who insists he recuperate on Hanar—no doubt wearing that tiny shift, cooking for him, and ready to bring him her gift if he would only ask. Later, she accompanies him to Mitsuko’s wedding, appearing on his arm as both friend and quiet reminder of the emotional home he’s never truly left behind.

In Suicide Gambit, the depth of JT and Tishla’s bond is tested like never before. When she crash-lands on Amargosa, sedated and traumatized after fleeing a coup on Hanar, JT doesn’t hesitate—responding immediately to Suicide’s call and stepping in to support Tishla and her daughter. It is revealed during this time that the two have not been physically intimate since the night before the Liberation of Amargosa. That earlier moment, born of shared grief and vulnerability, had remained singular, unspoken, and unresolved. Now, faced with loss, exile, and the threat of death, Tishla once again reaches out—not as a politician, but as a grieving widow and frightened mother. JT responds not with hesitation but with quiet certainty, offering himself to her fully, hoping this time he can help heal her pain the way she once soothed his.

Their renewed intimacy is not lustful or triumphant—it is a tender reprieve before a greater sacrifice. JT does not view it as rekindling a romance, but as giving her what little peace he can before she must indenture herself to the Sovereign of the Realm. Later, as Tishla grapples with the crushing loss of Palak and Trevor, JT’s quiet presence becomes her ballast. At her lowest, she finds the bullet locket containing Lizzy’s ashes hanging around JT’s neck. Taking it in her hand, Tishla whispers, “I am forever your servant, Elizabeth Parker Austin,” a vow of humility and reverence that honors the woman who made her union with JT possible. The culmination of their arc comes when the Sovereign legitimizes Tishla’s leadership, and their marriage, once a slow-moving certainty, must happen immediately to solidify Hanar’s political future. Tishla consents without pause, and JT accepts without condition. Their union, born not of ceremony but of war, grief, and resilience, finally gives structure to the devotion that has always defined them.

In the aftermath of the Hanar coup, once the Sovereign formally restores Tishla’s authority and JT is recognized as her husband, they reunite with Athena—who returns from Amargosa to find her parents irrevocably changed, but finally whole. When she calls JT “Dad,” it moves him to tears, symbolizing the quiet resolution of their long, complex journey as a family. Weeks later, as Tishla completes her transition out of political life, she makes a simple but profound declaration—“I’m free.” The two leave Hanar not as fugitives or figureheads, but as partners, returning to Walden to begin the life they once thought impossible: a quiet home, a rebuilt cabin, and the chance to raise Athena together. It marks the end of one war and the beginning of something neither had ever truly known—peace.

In Breaking Liberty, JT and Tishla continue to deepen the balance between partnership and affection that defines their postwar marriage. While Tishla takes point on escorting Baker ibn-Aziz, JT supports her without hesitation—flying her to the crash site, transporting Baker, and later joining the rescue when she’s captured. His near-fatal wounding during her extraction underscores just how far he’s willing to go for her. Yet it’s in the aftermath, during his stubborn resistance to Thulian treatment, that their bond shines most clearly: Tishla doesn’t argue. Instead, she lets Ellie talk sense into him, knowing full well he won’t refuse if it’s framed as care rather than command. The quiet trust between them—JT risking his life for her, Tishla trusting others to reach him when she can’t—is what keeps their marriage steady amid ongoing chaos. By the end, JT remains on Aphrodite with their daughter Athena, not out of obligation, but because that’s where Tishla needs him most.

By the time of Jump, JT and Tishla have entered a new phase in their relationship. With Tishla now retired from public life on Hanar, she joins JT and Suicide on sensitive missions, blending political savvy with personal loyalty. While the two had not worked together in the field since the Occupation and Liberation of Amargosa, their collaboration during the events on Armaneya proves seamless and instinctive.

Despite their operational chemistry, JT remains uneasy with Tishla directly confronting a Laral once again—especially with another questionable indenture involved. The emotional and political baggage of her past weighs heavily on him, though Tishla appears far more composed about the situation.

Their banter, mutual trust, and deeply embedded teamwork underscore a relationship that has matured beyond trauma and politics into genuine partnership. In the chaos of the reaper game, the operation to free Shrian, and their moments aboard the Goldeneye, JT and Tishla reaffirm their bond—not just as spouses, but as equals in the work that continues to define their legacy.

In Davra’s Endeavour, JT and Tishla navigate a quieter, more domestic chapter of their marriage—one shaped by duty, proximity, and the first real chance at stability since the Liberation. Having temporarily relocated to Aphrodite with their daughter Athena, they temporarily trade diplomacy and war for family and the humid rhythms of Thulian enclave life. Yet even in this oasis, the push and pull of responsibility continues. Tishla is unexpectedly assigned as chief medical officer aboard the Endeavour, and JT’s resistance to rejoining the Compact Navy becomes the defining tension of their early scenes.

Tishla’s role in convincing JT to sign on as Davra’s XO is as understated as it is strategic. She does not plead or pressure; instead, she quietly delegates the task to Suicide, trusting JT’s surrogate mother to reach him in a way even she cannot. This act—deft, loving, and indirect—is emblematic of Tishla’s evolved understanding of her husband. She doesn’t need to push him; she only needs to put the right people in motion and trust JT to make the right decision.

Once aboard the Endeavour, the couple slips into a rhythm that reflects their years of deepening partnership. Tishla tends to Medbay while JT reclaims his presence in the chain of command, grumbling about “nubs” and confronting disrespectful pilots. Their shared sense of discipline and dark humor—especially when watching Athena absorb a little too much of her parents’ banter—cements how far they’ve come from the awkwardness and grief that once defined them. Tishla is no longer the alien widow seeking purpose, and JT is no longer the grieving survivor searching for home. Together, they’ve become something quieter: a family.

The story’s emotional spine is JT’s reluctance to leave Athena. Tishla handles this not with confrontation but with pragmatic grace, arranging for Athena to stay with JT’s father, Admiral Quentin Austin, without even telling JT until it’s done. Her ability to trust both father and daughter—and to gently outmaneuver JT’s protectiveness—shows a profound maturity in their marriage. When JT finally reports for duty, freshly bruised from Suicide’s sparring lesson, it’s with the quiet resignation of a man who knows his wife was always three moves ahead.

While their scenes in Davra’s Endeavour are less explosive than in prior arcs, they carry the weight of lived-in love. Tishla is not just JT’s partner in politics or grief anymore; she’s the co-architect of their future, orchestrating with precision and empathy. And JT, though often flustered by her subtle manipulation, follows her lead with confidence—because even when she doesn’t ask, he knows exactly where he’s needed.

By 436 IE, JT and Tishla were formally married in a ceremony witnessed by the Sovereign Himself—a symbolic and political union that secured Tishla’s claim as Hanar’s First Citizen while legitimizing JT as both consort and father to Lattus Athena Austin. Not long after, Tishla stepped down from political life and began a new career as a geneticist, choosing to shape lives on a cellular level rather than through policy. She also became the first Gelt to undergo permanent rejuvenation, aligning Gelt biology with human advancements and setting a precedent few in the Realm dared follow. Her recovery from the treatment was arduous, and JT quietly elected to remain with her on Hanar, supporting her physically and emotionally. It was during this slow healing that the foundations of their postwar marriage were truly laid—not through grand gestures, but through patience, care, and a mutual refusal to let trauma define them.

By 440 IE, when word came that Tessa Dasarius and Shaneese were being held hostage on Earth, Tishla’s support turned blunt. She threatened to divorce JT if he refused to go—less out of anger, and more out of refusal to watch him abandon what little family he had left. Though the threat was serious, she forgave him the moment he agreed to the mission. When Dasarius Interstellar’s board threatened to force JT into the CEO role if Tessa and Shaneese died, Tishla angrily intervened, declaring he would not be chained to a legacy he had rejected. After the successful rescue—and the apparent loss of Suicide—Tishla traveled to Earth to comfort her husband, offering presence rather than platitudes. In mourning together, they found renewed strength, and their marriage entered a quieter, more intimate phase—bound not by politics or war, but the daily acts of choice, resilience, and grace.

• Friendship with Mitsuko Yamato:

  JT’s bond with Mitsuko Yamato is built on fire-forged friendship, sharp banter, and shared exasperation with the systems they both navigate. Though their first interactions are laced with sarcasm and mutual suspicion, Mitsuko quickly becomes one of JT’s most trusted allies—and, in many ways, his surrogate big sister. She teases him relentlessly, occasionally threatens to smack sense into him, and—when it matters most—defends him without hesitation.

  Mitsuko is also one of the few people who can keep up with JT emotionally and intellectually. Where others might shrink from his impulsiveness or bristle at his refusal to follow orders, she meets him head-on, matching intensity with clarity and occasionally reminding him that there are people who will protect him, too. Despite her royal status, she prefers irreverence over protocol, often interrupting formal introductions with lines like: “Oh, knock it off. JT, Davra—let’s get shitfaced.”

  Their bond is tested and solidified during the 440 IE mission to rescue Tessa and Shaneese. During the operation, Mitsuko is wounded but refuses evacuation, fiercely defending JT as the situation deteriorates. When Suicide sacrifices herself to destroy the Keiko Matsumoto, Mitsuko immediately recognizes JT’s emotional collapse and quietly slips into the pilot’s seat beside Ellie Nardino, giving him space to grieve out of view. She says nothing, asks nothing—just gives him time, a gift only someone who knows him well would think to offer.

  That quiet act of compassion—like much of Mitsuko’s support—isn’t theatrical, but deeply human. She understands that JT often leads from the front until he breaks, and knows when to step in without making it about her. While their relationship is not romantic, there’s a deep loyalty and affection between them that resembles family more than friendship. Mitsuko has no patience for JT’s guilt spirals, his tendency to over-sacrifice, or his reluctance to accept help—but she remains at his side through all of it, precisely because he’s never asked her to.

• Ongoing Grief for Lizzy and Her Presence in Death:

  Lizzy Parker remains a central figure in JT’s heart long after her death. He wears her bullet locket throughout the war, often touching it reflexively in times of stress. His actions during Storming Amargosa—particularly his willingness to volunteer for the Riverside operation—are driven by lingering guilt and a desire to finish what she began. Her death shaped his moral framework, and her memory remains a quiet constant in his life. In his first intimate encounter with Tishla, she makes him keep the locket on as they begin making love. “Leave it. She’s part of you.”

  After Storming Amargosa, an unintentional consequence of JT’s lingering Dasarius control nanites becomes apparent: a fragment of Lizzy’s consciousness survives within him. Likely a byproduct of prolonged nanite contact with the bullet locket and his own control swarm, this fragment doesn’t behave like a conventional AI. Instead, it manifests as a lucid, sometimes sardonic hallucination—part memory, part emergent construct.

  Lizzy’s ghost does not haunt him in the traditional sense. Rather, she becomes a voice in his mind—alternately goading and guiding him. Before JT and Tishla marry, Lizzy’s presence badgers him with awkward affection, teasing him about his obvious love for Tishla while reminding him that grief should not become a prison. When Athena begins calling JT “Dad,” it is Lizzy who appears—smiling, even radiant—and tells him, “You’re doing everything I would’ve hoped for.”

  Her most poignant return comes after the disappearance of Suicide. In the quiet aftermath of the rescue mission on Earth, as JT stands alone, Lizzy appears beside him—not to scold or advise, but to simply be there. Her final words in that moment are quiet: “You’ve got this, flyboy. And you’ve still got me.” Whether she is a true imprint, a subconscious echo, or something else entirely remains unclear—but to JT, she becomes more than memory. She is proof that love, even in death, continues to shape the living.

  Rather than obstruct JT’s bond with Tishla, Lizzy’s presence ultimately enables it. She does not compete with Tishla’s memory or presence, but enriches both. The fragment of her that remains inside JT is not jealous, angry, or possessive—it is proud. And it allows JT to carry forward not just a locket, but a voice, a perspective, and a kind of emotional clarity that helps him become the man, the partner, and the father Lizzy once believed he could be.

• Relationship with Quentin Austin:

  JT’s relationship with his father, Rear Admiral Quentin Austin, is forged in tension, conflict, and eventually, quiet mutual respect. Their earliest interactions during the war are marked by bitter confrontation—particularly after the Liberation of Amargosa—when Quentin summons JT to answer for several breaches of protocol, including his willingness to defy direct orders and take personal risks. In their most heated exchange, Quentin accuses his son of “chasing martyrdom,” while JT fires back that his father “abandoned him before the Gelt ever set foot on Amargosa.”

  Yet beneath the anger, both recognize something unshakable: each sees in the other a version of himself. Over time, that recognition evolves into grudging respect. While they remain distant emotionally, they begin to interact less as father and son and more as fellow warriors, bonded by shared trauma and shaped by the legacy of Suicide—a woman who, in many ways, served as a bridge between them.

  By 439 IE, the emotional thaw deepens. Quentin and his second wife, Sarai Gaddar, agree to take in Athena while JT serves aboard the Endeavour on Davra Andraste’s peace mission. The arrangement is quietly arranged through Tishla, with JT only informed after the fact. While initially startled, JT responds not with protest, but with clear, heartfelt gratitude. For perhaps the first time, he feels seen—not just as a subordinate or a disappointment, but as a son worthy of trust.

  Admiral Austin’s bond with Athena is especially strong. Having once called JT’s survival “a miracle I never earned,” he embraces the role of grandfather without hesitation, offering both guidance and affection. His second wife, Sarai, is equally welcoming, and the two come to cherish Athena not only as family, but as living proof that the next generation might surpass the last.

  JT is also keenly aware that Quentin worked behind the scenes to help secure Davra’s promotion to captain, further cementing his role as a quiet supporter of the Children of Amargosa. This gesture, while never explicitly stated, reveals how invested Quentin has become in the legacy his son and his allies are building.

  Observers often remark on how much the two Austins have come to resemble each other: principled, blunt, and quietly strategic. JT often brushes off the comparison, but when pushed, he admits the resemblance is earned—“Suicide raised both of us in different ways,” he once told Davra. “And we both turned out like her.”

  In Suicide Solution, Quentin’s grief at her disappearance is visible but tightly restrained. He avoids discussing her directly, but Sarai notes that he has begun re-reading old mission logs and flight records from their shared past. JT, for his part, stops arguing when his father visits Walden or checks in on Athena, even if the conversations remain brief. The long road to reconciliation is still being traveled—but father and son now walk it side by side.

• Shifting Bond with Ellie Nardino:

  Once a surrogate younger sister and trusted confidant, Ellie Nardino has long been one of the most important people in JT Austin’s life. Their bond, forged during the Gelt occupation of Amargosa, grew out of shared trauma, gallows humor, and a relentless instinct to protect one another. In the years following the Liberation, Ellie leaned on JT for stability, guidance, and often a place to stay. For a long time, their relationship was emphatically non-romantic—defined by deep affection and fierce loyalty rather than romance.

  That changed during the winter of 433–434 IE, when Ellie came to stay with JT at Walden. Their quiet domesticity turned into a brief but deeply intimate relationship—one born not of passion, but of emotional healing. In Checkmate, Ellie remains his emotional constant even as JT is pulled between Tishla, Suicide, and his past. She’s the only one who can call him out without hesitation—and the one he never feels the need to explain himself to.

  By 439 IE, Ellie lives part-time with JT and Tishla, filling a role in their household that is deliberately undefined but unmistakably permanent. She has begun formal flight training under JT’s supervision and frequently co-pilots missions aboard the Goldeneye. While officially still a civilian, she’s become a reliable tactical operator—particularly in sabotage, infiltration, and demolition.

  Her relationship with Athena is equally profound. With Tishla’s full encouragement, Ellie has helped raise Athena, who affectionately refers to her as “Aunt Ellie”—though the title feels too small. In many ways, Ellie is Athena’s second mother, a role she never claimed but never shied away from. Tishla has gone so far as to call Ellie “the safest woman in the galaxy for our daughter besides me,” and has made it clear that JT’s bond with her is not a threat, but a strength.

  Their relationship is tested again during the 440 IE rescue of Tessa Dasarius, when Ellie initially refuses to join the mission—enraged at how Tessa treated her “Big Boy.” She only agrees once JT confirms he’s going, not out of obligation, but because she refuses to let him go without her. Their banter on Earth is sharp and familiar, but their affection simmers beneath every exchange. In the aftermath of Suicide’s disappearance, it is Ellie who comforts JT in the quietest, most human way—just by being there, wordlessly holding the space he can no longer fill with noise.

  In Royal Orders and Suicide Gambit, Ellie’s role continues to evolve. She retrieves JT from Amargosa, infiltrates Hosh with him under cover, and later stands beside Tishla in a hastily arranged Marilynist wedding—stark nude and unshaken. While she wonders what JT thinks seeing her there, her loyalty never wavers. She’s not the bride, but she is undeniably part of the union. When JT is nearly killed on Liberty and resists Thulian treatment, it is Ellie—not Tishla—who convinces him to accept it, even undergoing the treatment herself so he won’t face it alone.

  By the time of Armaneya and Davra’s Endeavour, Ellie is woven fully into the fabric of JT and Tishla’s lives. Whether assisting in high-risk extractions, teasing JT after a recovery session, or flying co-pilot with Athena, her presence is a given. JT describes her as “undefined and whatever she needs to be,” a phrase that captures the unspoken agreement between them: love may change, but it doesn’t end. Their affection is flexible, their trust absolute, and their bond—romantic, platonic, or familial—is something neither has any interest in labeling.

  For JT, Ellie is more than a companion or memory of what might have been. She is a cornerstone of his chosen family, a second mother to his daughter, and the one person besides Suicide and Tishla who truly understands the man he became. Whatever their future holds—marriage, friendship, or something unnamed—one truth remains: if Ellie is in danger, JT will fly through fire to bring her home.

• Davra Andraste:

  JT’s relationship with Davra Andraste is rooted in the harrowing moment they first met aboard a transcontinental maglev in 429 IE. Clutching a burlap pouch that held his wife Lizzy’s ashes, JT was emotionally shattered—sobbing and whispering apologies behind a lavatory door—when Davra, herself only fourteen and already battle-hardened, offered a silent embrace that let him cry without judgment. That raw act of compassion forged a bond defined by quiet mutual respect and a rare vulnerability JT shows to only a handful of people. Though older by age, JT has long admired Davra’s poise and decisiveness, while she values his resilience, tactical instincts, and quiet warmth. Their admiration is mutual, though Davra tends to express it through action rather than sentiment.

  Their connection continues through pivotal moments. JT convinces Davra to join the unsanctioned mission to recover the Ban Ki-moon, though the two are separated when she is captured and he escapes to Hanar. They reunite later at Lucius Kray’s compound, where they stand together during the infamous Section 11 execution ordered by Ellie Nardino. Though often separated, JT consistently defers to Davra’s judgment and often places her opinion above his own.

  In Royal Orders, as the crew races to rescue Suicide from Aphrodite, Davra helps JT manage the growing emotional toll. Onboard the Valles Marineris, she confronts him about his avoidance of Suicide and delivers a pointed rebuke. When JT and Suicide finally reconcile, Davra watches with quiet satisfaction, proud of the family they’ve managed to preserve amid chaos.

  Their bond continues through the Hosh operation, with JT personally flying Davra into the drop zone to extract Eric—and giving the two time alone afterward. Later, during a long cargo run, JT surrenders his cabin to Davra and Eric for a month so Eric can recover, content to sleep wherever there’s space. JT may be the heart of the Children of Amargosa, but Davra is its spine—and one of the few people whose respect JT openly craves.

  In Breaking Liberty, when a security officer questions transporting an unconscious JT to the Thulian Clinic, it is Davra—now first officer of the Endeavour—who shuts down the objection with swift, personal authority. She invokes her own rejuvenation and JT’s continued service to the Compact even after Amargosa’s secession. Her defense is procedural, yes—but more than that, it’s familial.

  By 439 IE, Davra is no longer just a comrade or fellow survivor—she is JT’s captain, peer, and closest colleague in the Navy. Their dynamic aboard the Endeavour blends tight professionalism with sibling-like banter. Though JT occasionally bristles at protocol, he never questions Davra’s command. When he steps away from the ship, he personally recommends Abby Apria as XO, not wanting Davra to ever settle for less. And while Davra is never sentimental, it’s clear she misses his presence—if only for the quiet familiarity he brings to the command deck.

  When Tessa Dasarius and Shaneese are taken hostage on Earth in 440 IE, Davra doesn’t hesitate to join the rescue team—especially after a nudge from Reaper. She understands instinctively what JT won’t say: that despite everything, he still needs to protect his family. In that moment, Davra does not follow orders—she follows him. And for JT, that kind of loyalty means everything.

• BoolayJT forms a snark-laced working relationship with Boolay, the Zaran engineer assigned to the Goldeneye during the events of Suicide Run. Boolay’s dry wit and tree-dwelling Zaran sensibilities quickly become a source of both comic relief and surprising camaraderie. Though initially wary of one another, the two develop a functional, if sarcastic, rapport—Boolay mocking JT’s Human habits while ensuring the Falcon-class ship stays flightworthy under impossible conditions. Their banter masks a genuine respect: Boolay sees JT as a capable, if occasionally dramatic, pilot, while JT grows to trust Boolay’s brilliant, unflappable engineering instincts. In a mission full of shifting loyalties and moral landmines, Boolay’s presence offers JT a rare constant—one who hoots instead of laughs and always has the better comeback.
• Patty Friese
  
  JT shares a prickly but ultimately respectful relationship with Commander Patty Friese, the executive officer of the Queen Maria Sophia. A no-nonsense Compact Navy veteran with a Deseret background and a fondness for wine, Friese delights in giving JT a hard time—especially when it comes to his love life or youthful bravado. Despite the teasing, she consistently trusts him with critical missions and responsibilities, particularly during the chaos of Checkmate. While she rarely offers direct praise, her decision to assign him to protect Bonaparte’s royal delegation during a hostile boarding speaks volumes about her regard for his reliability under pressure. Their bond is built on sarcasm, mutual irritation, and quiet trust—the kind of dynamic only found between two professionals who’ve both seen too much and lived to joke about it.
• Edward Windsor
  JT’s relationship with Edward Windsor, Bonaparte’s reluctant king and Mitsuko’s fiancé, is built on mutual respect, sharp wit, and the chaos of shared combat. They first connected during the Liberation of Amargosa, when JT served as Mitsuko’s pilot and Edward led a Bonapartan Spec Force unit. Though their interactions were often filtered through Mitsuko, the two developed a camaraderie marked by blunt honesty and tactical competence. In Checkmate, it’s JT—more than any royal envoy or commanding officer—who convinces Edward to leave the battlefield and accept his role as king. Edward trusts JT to keep Mitsuko grounded, while JT sees in Edward someone who, despite royal birth, understands the grim realities of war.In Royal Orders, Edward sends Ellie to retrieve JT with only two names: Mitsuko and Suicide. For JT, that’s all the context he needs. Edward may wear a crown, but to JT, he’s not the king of a planet—he’s Mitsuko’s other half, an extension of the person JT will never refuse to help. Their friendship, forged through war and reinforced by shared burdens, continues to thrive in the margins of duty and affection. JT, still recovering from his wounds, returns to Bonaparte to attend Edward and Mitsuko’s wedding—not out of obligation, but because it’s what family does.
• Stephanie MercadoJT shares a flirtatious, high-octane connection with Stephanie Mercado, a fellow pilot known by her call sign, Midnight Angel. The two first connect during Checkmate, when Mercado escorts a diplomatic shuttle to the Queen Maria Sophia—and promptly leaves paint on JT’s hull with a daring flyby. Their chemistry is instant and irreverent, evolving into a no-strings physical relationship fueled by adrenaline and mutual attraction. Though they joke about “leaving paint” and trade call sign banter, there’s an unspoken comfort between them—Mercado offering JT a brief escape from the emotional weight he carries, and JT giving her the rare chance to be more than just a thrill-seeking ace. While neither is looking for permanence, their connection reveals a lighter, more human side of JT at a time when war and responsibility press in from all sides.
• Eileen BurkeJT shares a layered, evolving relationship with Vice Admiral Eileen Burke, shaped by wartime service, personal history, and Burke’s long-standing connection to his family. Though she initially regards him as another impulsive young officer, Burke comes to recognize JT as a principled, capable leader—even when his choices defy orders. In Checkmate, she backs him despite his insubordinate decision to bring surrendered Gelt prisoners to Hanar, understanding his motives are rooted in justice rather than rebellion. Her respect deepens when JT risks his life to extract King Edward and later delivers a direct, painful truth to Captain Havak about her wife’s death—an act of honesty Burke herself admits many wouldn’t have had the courage to perform. While she rarely expresses sentiment, Burke clearly sees in JT the potential to grow into something more than just a pilot: a man willing to carry the moral weight of command.It is Burke who facilitates JT’s commissioning as a full commander (a rank the Foundation Navy honors) and position as first officer of the Endeavour. The decision reflects the now-Fleet Admiral’s esteem for JT as a leader and a war hero, as well as her trust in Davra Andraste’s judgment.
• Sovereign (as of 436 IE):
  
  JT meets Akon, the young Sovereign of the Realm, under tense and uncertain circumstances. At first, JT is wary—both of Akon’s absolute authority and of the cultural and political weight the young Gelt ruler carries. But Akon surprises him with candor and curiosity. He sees in JT someone dangerous not because of his power, but because of his loyalty—particularly to Tishla. Akon is immediately impressed that JT would challenge a Gelt noble in single combat and nearly die doing so, all to restore a woman who isn’t even of his species to power. Over time, an unexpected mutual respect forms. JT treats Akon not as a monarch, but as a peer—a young man burdened with leadership before he was ready, much like JT himself. When Akon abruptly declares JT and Tishla’s marriage a political necessity, it’s not a command—it’s a gesture of trust. And when JT complies without hesitation, Akon rewards him with his favor, his sword, and something rarer: his friendship. By the end of the crisis, JT has become, in the Sovereign’s eyes, not just Tishla’s protector, but a stabilizing force the Realm can work with—albeit one that still makes his advisors nervous.In 439, JT accompanies a peace delegation led by Tol Germanicus to end the Compact-Realm War. His presence, along with his wife’s, helps make Akon more sympathetic to the offer. His presence also draws Davra into the circle of Akon’s friends who may use “the name I surrendered,” a reference to Realm Sovereigns remaining nameless while ruling.
• Lattus Athena:

  JT first met Lattus Athena in 430 IE, the morning after his first night with Tishla, when the Gelt toddler—seeing her mother happier than ever—declared, “That’s my new daddy.” Though JT and Tishla were not yet a couple, he stepped naturally into the role, offering quiet guidance and emotional steadiness whenever they crossed paths. Their bond grew gradually, without fanfare, shaped by affection rather than obligation. When he and Tishla eventually married, JT formally adopted Athena. She initially retained her birth father’s surname as Lattus Athena, a gesture encouraged by Tishla to honor her late husband, Lattus Kai.

  By 439 IE, their relationship is fully realized. JT is not just a father figure—he is Dad, and Athena makes no apologies for it. When asked how she reconciles being full-blooded Gelt with having a human father, her response is simple and fierce: “He’s my dad. That’s all you need to know.” Their bond is marked by quiet trust, warmth, and a shared stubborn streak that drives Tishla to distraction and makes Ellie laugh knowingly.

  In the aftermath of Suicide’s apparent death in Suicide Solution, Athena becomes a pillar of emotional support for JT. Where others offer condolences, she offers presence—reminding him, often without words, of the family that still remains. Her emotional intelligence and quiet courage reflect both her parents: Kai’s legacy of moral conviction and JT’s resilience.

  It is during this period that Athena makes a defining personal choice: she asks to add JT’s surname to her own. With a rare mix of vulnerability and pride, she declares she wants to honor “the one who made me and the one who raised me.” Tishla is moved to tears. JT suggests the name Lattus Athena Austin, preserving her Gelt heritage while affirming her place in the human family she helped form. From that point forward, she uses both surnames, never hiding from either side of her identity.

  During the events of Davra’s Endeavour, JT and Tishla entrust Athena to Admiral Quentin Austin and Sarai Gaddar while they serve aboard the Endeavour. It is a difficult decision, one JT agrees to only because of the deep trust he has in his father. Though initially reluctant to leave her, JT comes to recognize Athena’s strength—both in her independence and in her ability to bond with Sarai, who becomes something of a mentor in her own right.

  Athena is more than a daughter to JT; she is the emotional compass of his life. Others have observed that she is the only person JT never argues with, and the only one who can calm both her parents without raising her voice. In many ways, she is the living embodiment of the future JT fights for—a fusion of two peoples, raised by three parents, and unflinchingly proud of all of them.

• Tessa Dasarius:

  JT’s relationship with Tessa Dasarius, his biological mother and CEO of Dasarius Interstellar, is one of silence, tension, and reluctant but hard-won reconciliation. Though it was Tessa who arranged for JT to be left on Amargosa after a prank diverted him from his intended destination of Tian, her decision—meant to teach him accountability—ultimately left him stranded during the Gelt invasion. For years, JT saw this as abandonment.

  Ironically, during a conversation with Quentin Austin on Hanar, JT admitted that being left behind “might have been the best thing they ever did for me.” It forced him to grow up outside the shadow of his lineage, forge bonds of his own, and become someone defined by choice rather than birthright. But even after the Liberation of Amargosa, contact with Tessa remained rare—usually filtered through his father or his younger sister, Shaneese Austin.

  What deepened the rift between them was not absence—it was rejection. Tessa refused to acknowledge Tishla as JT’s wife, nor Athena as her granddaughter. To JT, it was a slap in the face. His response was unequivocal: Tessa is Mother. But Suicide is Mom. As far as JT was concerned, the woman who guided him through war, grief, and adulthood had earned that title—and no bloodline could overwrite it.

  In 440 IE, when Tessa and Shaneese were taken hostage on Earth, JT initially refused to join the rescue. Ellie Nardino shared his fury, and even Tishla issued an ultimatum—rescue your mother, or I leave you. Suicide nudged him quietly, knowing he wouldn’t sit idle forever. When JT finally agreed to go, he did so not for the woman who raised him, but for the family who still depended on him.

  During the operation, Tessa bristled at how JT deferred to Suicide not as a subordinate to a commander, but as a son to a mother. Yet it was Suicide’s execution of Claudius Dasarius, her own father, that shifted something in her. Claudius, once exiled to Etrusca and barred from contact, had been the architect of much of Tessa’s trauma. After his disgrace, the entire weight of the Dasarius empire fell on her at the age of ten. Her only guidance came from Tol Germanicus, a digital surrogate father who existed only as code. In a rare confession, Tessa later told JT: “You don’t know how lucky you were to run. I never got the chance.”

  The death of Claudius was cathartic for both of them. JT and Tessa even shared a dark family joke—pointing out a Wikipedia Britannica article that diplomatically questioned Claudius’s intelligence. They cited it often, each pretending it didn’t matter. It did.

  After Suicide’s apparent death in the destruction of the Keiko Matsumoto, Tessa and JT finally began to reconcile. There were no grand declarations, just small acknowledgments and mutual understanding. JT made it clear: “One’s no less valid than the other.” Suicide was “Mom.” Tessa was “Mother.” And both had shaped him.

  That was enough. Tessa finally accepted Tishla as JT’s wife—a gesture Quentin Austin had made without hesitation years earlier—and began treating Athena as part of the family. Their relationship remains complex, cautious, and occasionally bristly, but the most important thing changed: they stopped pretending they didn’t care.

• Shaneese Dasarius:

  Of all his siblings, JT has always been closest to his youngest sister, Shaneese Dasarius. Despite the emotional gulf between him and their mother, Shaneese remained a point of warmth and grounding—a bright spot in a childhood often overshadowed by legacy and expectation. He always regretted leaving her behind when he fled the Dasarius estate, but at the time, he believed it was the only way to escape the crushing weight of his inheritance. In the years that followed, Shaneese became an occasional communication conduit between JT and their mother, working in tandem with their father, Quentin Austin, with whom JT maintained a cautiously active relationship.

  In 440 IE, when Marcus Leitman took Shaneese and Tessa hostage on Earth, JT initially resisted joining the mission to rescue them. But it was Shaneese—not Tessa—who became the emotional fulcrum for his decision. He couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning her again. During their dramatic reunion, Shaneese slapped JT hard across the face and shouted, “Thanks for dumping all this on me!”—then immediately threw her arms around him and whispered how much she missed him. That moment crystallized years of unspoken emotion: anger, relief, love, and a shared understanding of what family means when everything else has been taken away.

  As the mission turned bloody and chaotic, Shaneese began to truly comprehend what her brother had endured since leaving home. Watching JT fight alongside Suicide, Mitsuko Yamato, Eric Yuwono, and the Mitsuko’s team of Templars—people he had bled with, nearly died for, and helped shape the galaxy beside—gave her a new perspective. She began to see in him the same traits that defined their father: calm under pressure, loyalty without question, and a willingness to take responsibility no matter the cost. And with that came the realization that JT hadn’t just run away—he had become something.

  Later, Tessa confided to JT that she had intentionally passed over his brothers—one of whom had never learned JT’s hard-won lessons, and another who followed Quentin into the military—because Shaneese was the smartest and best-adjusted of the four. JT didn’t disagree. He often said Shaneese was “the only one of us who knows how to live without trying to prove something.”

  Their bond, though less visible than JT’s connections to Suicide, Ellie, or Tishla, is no less vital. Shaneese represents the family JT left behind—and the part of himself that still believes in rebuilding, not just surviving. She is the last person from his old life he still claims as his own, and the first he would risk everything to save. When she threw her arms around him in that brief moment on Earth, he understood that no matter how far he ran, home had never forgotten him.

Legacy and Role in the Series:

JT Austin’s legacy is not defined by titles, bloodlines, or military rank—it is defined by who he chose to be in the face of abandonment, invasion, and impossible expectations. Once the would-be heir to Dasarius Interstellar, he became instead the unlikeliest of heroes: a teenage fugitive turned resistance leader, a pilot shaped by war and grief, and a son who redefined family on his own terms.

To some, he is best known as a founding member of the Children of Amargosa, a ragtag group of young resistance fighters who helped topple Gelt occupation and reshape Compact policy. To others, he is Suicide’s protégé—the stubborn pilot who inherited not only her instincts but her principles, and ultimately her mantle as the moral center of their fractured family.

He was adopted into Gelt society through his marriage to Tishla, and more importantly, through his role as father to Athena. That union—human and Gelt, love and loss, diplomacy and defiance—came to symbolize the very future the Compact fought for: a fusion of peoples, cultures, and shared destinies. JT never viewed himself as a politician or an icon. But for many, he became both.

Though often underestimated, JT shaped events across the galaxy. He helped uncover Marcus Leitman’s resurrection network, disabled Earth’s hypergate system, and survived operations from Amargosa to Aphrodite to Armaneya. He turned down control of Dasarius Interstellar, choosing instead to hand it back to his mother and sister. His ability to walk away from power—not once, but repeatedly—became a defining contrast to the legacy he was born into.

More than anything, JT’s legacy is personal. To Ellie, he is the boy who gave her stability. To Davra, he is the fellow officer who helped shape her command. To Quentin Austin, he is the son who finally made him proud. To Tishla, he is a partner forged in fire. And to Athena, he is, simply and unquestionably, Dad.

He is remembered not as the boy who ran—but as the man who kept coming back.

Author’s Notes;

JT’s initials stand for “John Tybalt,” a name he hates as “John” is boring and “Tybalt,” later revealed to come from a favorite uncle (who goes by Ty) sounds stupid to him.

The initials are the reverse of an earlier character named “TJ Durant,” whose name is recycled in the Beyond Amargosa Arc. Like JT, both Durants are from privileged backgrounds they resent. In the Compact Universe, this Captain Durant surrounds himself with officers who have no familial connections and come from humble backgrounds. He is often assigned “nubs” (Nominally Useless Beings), overprivileged officers who need lessons in humility. JT will later look to him as a role model in his own stints in two different navies and as a pilot-for-hire.

JT’s last name comes from the author’s stepson, Austin.

JT can be best described as a young James T. Kirk evolving into Riker on his way to becoming a combination of Janeway and Christopher Pike.

The deep mother-son bond between Suicide and JT is unique in that “Obi-wan” and Merlin archetypes generally are old men. Suicide has a lot more in common with JT and is considerably younger than either Kenobi or Merlin, and far less formal.

Appearances: Gimme Shelter, The Children of Amargosa, Second Wave, Storming Amargosa, “Lizzy,” “The Interlopers,” “Wherever I May Roam,” “The Cephelapods,”, Suicide Run, Checkmate, Winter Games, Royal Orders, Another Way to Die, Suicide Gambit, Breaking Liberty, Jump, Davra's Endeavour, Suicide Solution