Hehe, but just as a point, Kate is not XO. Michael is the XO, and the difference is he has official authority and responsibility outside the mech company overall. All the techs, dropship crews, fighterpilots, not to mention the civilian employees at the HQ, warehouse personel...all the 'little people' who actually make it possible for the mechwarriors to concentrate on fighting and not having to reload their own SRMs or even make sure there are SRM reloads available.<br/><br/>Kate is 2IC for the mech company. Her responsibilities essentially extend to the mech company and it's preparedness for battle. As far as actual operations in the field, she should outrank Michael, but if she's too bitchy to him he could have her quarters reasigned to that room with the leak in the ceiling. ;)