Sabercat

Thomas "Sabercat" Hayes  is a Ronin Vanguard mechwarrior in Battletech.

Bio
Thomas Hayes, the son of teachers, was raised on the Vagabond School the Sorbonne, in the Federated Suns. Far better educated than the school's students, he was pressed into service early as a tutor, sometimes to children notably older than him. He was good at it, and initially had no higher ambition than following in his parents footsteps. But they wanted him off the poorly maintained JumpShip and as soon as he was old enough, they used all the credit they'd earned serving on the Sorbonne to get him into a military academy.

He couldn't not do well at the academic part of the curriculum, and he was found adequate at the less intellectual parts of the training as well. After he graduated, he was offered a commission as a navigator, but turned it down to return to academia. He spent several years earning an advanced degree in military history, which gave him an uncomfortable familiarity with the slow decline of civilization in the face of constant warfare.

When a round of conscriptions started, he was ordered back to service, and placed in a BattleMech. He did his duty, but he was a little too aware of the big picture for his superiors' comfort. As soon as a potential peace loomed on the horizon, he was mustered out. To avoid a repeat conscription when war inevitably began again, he headed out to the Periphery, where he found work as a mercenary pilot to pay the bills while he worked on a book about the Third Succession War.