It was a day like any other in Katherine’s life—calm seas, soft wind, and the comforting groan of the hull beneath her boots. She rose just before dawn, as always, and poured herself a mug of black coffee before stepping out onto the deck of her patrol vessel.
As captain of the Coast Guard vessel Solara, Katherine was responsible for a rotating crew of twenty-five and an unspoken promise to protect lives at sea. The ocean was her rhythm, her purpose, and on that morning, the horizon looked like brushed gold under a waking sun.