"If you can't lead yourself to the sink to wash your face in the morning, how are you going to lead a squad through a dark woods? Character starts at the bathroom mirror, tesoro. Start there."

— C/1SG Catrina Antonini

If Penelope Hightower is the cold steel of Alpha Company, Catrina Antonini is the fire that forges it. A first-generation scholarship student from a loud, vibrant Italian-American neighborhood in South Philly, Catrina didn't come to Obsidian Ridge University to carry on a legacy—she came to outrun the one set for her. Back home, she was expected to take over the family bakery; at the Ridge, she’s the 1st Sergeant of Alpha Company, the "Top" who keeps two hundred cadets from falling apart.

Catrina is the heartbeat of the barracks. While the officers dwell on high-level strategy, Catrina is in the trenches, knowing exactly which freshman is homesick and which junior is nursing a twisted ankle. She’s a whirlwind of espresso-fueled energy and sharp-tongued wit, possessing a "velvet hammer" leadership style: she’ll make you do fifty pushups for a loose thread on your uniform, but she’ll be the one staying up until midnight helping you study for the Midterm you’re terrified of failing.

But being the bridge between the high-ranking cadets and the rank-and-file is a lonely place to be. As the pressure of senior year mounts, Catrina finds herself caught between her loyalty to Penelope’s rigid vision and her own instinct to protect the cadets who are buckling under the strain. With her heritage demanding she stay grounded and the military demanding she soar, Catrina has to figure out if she can be a leader without losing the girl who still hums Italian opera while cleaning her rifle.