# Pat McKay — Short Fiction character guide

> Pat McKay in Short Fiction by Algis Budrys.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Pat, Marty

**First appearance:** 0000-riya-s-foundling

## Snapshot

Ash Holcomb's sharp-tongued love, who mocks his failed chase across the Belt while her pale face and bitten lip tell a different story.

## Who they are

Pat stands between Ash and Harry Thorsten, laughing at Ash's useless race to Titan even as her eyes stay fixed on Thorsten's face. She defends Thorsten's methods with a quick, brittle mockery, insisting the stakes of travel to the stars outweigh everything, yet her gray lip and joyless laugh suggest the cost. Her divided loyalty sharpens the early conflict and gives Ash's pursuit its bitter edge.

## Relationships

### [Harry Thorsten](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/harry_thorsten)

_friendship_

Harry Thorsten and Pat McKay are close friends or partners, working together frequently.

### [Ash Holcomb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/ash_holcomb)

_professional_

Ash Holcomb and Pat McKay work together, possibly as partners in a dangerous line of work.

### [Ash Holcomb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/ash_holcomb)

_professional_

Ash Holcomb and Pat McKay work together, possibly as partners in a dangerous line of work.

### [Harry Thorsten](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/harry_thorsten)

_friendship_

Harry Thorsten and Pat McKay are close friends or partners, working together frequently.

### [Harry Thorsten](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/harry_thorsten)

_friendship_

Harry Thorsten and Pat McKay are close friends or partners, working together frequently.

## In the story

### [Blood on My Jets](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/blood-on-my-jets)

Sacrifices herself to help Ash escape, dying in a hyperspace jump.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/i)

A woman from Ash's past who hires him for a lucrative but illegal job; demonstrates combat skills and a no-nonsense attitude.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/ii)

Ash's contact; she ambushes and knocks him out at the end of the chapter.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/iii)

Holds Ash at gunpoint, accuses him of double-crossing her, reveals she is working for Harry Thorsten to steal the power pile, and later breaks down in Ash's arms.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/iv)

Revealed to be a decoy sent by Thorsten; Ash suspects she is working against him.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/v)

Revealed to be Harry Thorsten's wife; defends Thorsten's plan to colonize another star; fights Ash and is knocked unconscious; later shows knowledge of Martian signals.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/vi)

Thorsten's wife; held at gunpoint by Ash, taunts him after the Titan failure, and is present during the final confrontation.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/vii)

Present at the dinner; she is in love with Thorsten's dream, which blinds her to the destruction he plans.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/viii)

Visits Ash in his cell, helps him attempt escape, and is mortally wounded while covering his retreat.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/ix)

Given a funeral pyre by the narrator after dying in a hyperspace jump.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/pat_mckay
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters