Beauregard "Rapier" Travis is the most-decorated pilot in the Confederation of Dixie, the recipient of two Southern Stars for Valor. Travis was born in 1910, the oldest son of Great War hero Achilles Travis. Beauregard learned to fly just after his fourteenth birthday; his indulgent (and wealthy) father bought him a Curtiss Sparrowhawk for his sixteenth birthday.

Following the Crash of '29 and the secession of the Southern states to form the new Dixie Confederacy, Travis quit Emory University and traveled west, hoping to join Dixie's fight against the Republic of Texas.

Initially based in Shreveport, Louisiana (before that state's departure from the Confederacy) Travis was the first in his squadron to make ace, earning the respect of most of his fellow fliers.

Some, however, were less impressed-among them Martin "Banjo" McCauley, a rival from Travis' youth (and ironically, the son of the man that taught Travis how to fly). The two men competed fiercely, a competition that was ended under "Marshal" Bill Redmann's guns. McCauley was killed by Redmann during a raid, and Travis—stunned by the brutality of the attack—has nursed a fierce hatred for Redmann ever since.

Following Louisiana's secession, Travis was reassigned to Ashdown, a small town twenty miles north of Texarkana. An important railway junction, the town lay perilously close to the Dixie-Texas border; Travis' unit was assigned to ensure its security by patrolling the Red River Valley. Barely two weeks after being posted to the area, Travis "bounced" a group of Texas Air Rangers attacking the town's railway yards. He destroyed all four aircraft and earned himself his first Southern Star for valor.

In 1934, a beeper-seeker rocket shot Travis down over Appalachia, and he spent a brief period in captivity of a bootlegger cartel. Several scars testify to the brutality of his jailers, but Travis rarely talks about his Appalachian "experience." The downing prompted Travis to acquire his trademark dog who serves as both a companion and an early-warning device against ultrasonic homing rockets. Indeed, Travis' innovation prompted Bell Industries to add a "dog basket" to later models of its Valiant design.

Travis was soon back in action, striking into Appalachia before earning command of the First Georgia Air Squadron, the Winged Knights. The squadron has spent much of its time escorting commercial shipping, fighting pirates like the Black Swan and Hell's Henchmen, though the squadron has been on the offensive several times as well. Travis led an operation against the Hollywood transport zeppelin Los Angeles, a raid that netted Dixie a squadron of Hughes Bloodhawk fighters. He also proposed, planned and executed the squadron's daring raid against Manhattan, claiming two fighters and one airship kill.

At 27, Travis is a full colonel in the Confederate military, and is well known and respected in Atlanta's social circles. His mix of high-profile daring and modesty has earned him a host of admirers and flatterers. The highlight of the 1935 spring calendar was Travis' wedding to Affinity Sawyer, daughter of Congressman William Sawyer. They have one son, Achilles.