The viewpoint characters were getting so awful, I had to go ahead a few centuries and wash my mouth out with heroism.
Cunningham, Matthew (2420-2507)
Deseret scout, trailblazer, soldier, and guerrilla leader, Matthew Cunningham was the first Commander of the Danites (q.v.), a resistance organization created in the wake of the First Deseret-Dominion War. Captured by Universal Dominion forces in 2445 AD, he quickly escaped, reputedly with the help of the legendary resistance fighter Razor-Claw Singh himself. Cunningham’s heroic trek back to Deseret to warn of the impending war might not have saved the kingdom directly, but it did give them enough time to prepare the fallback positions that kept one-third of Deseret unoccupied.
After the Armistice of Moab in 2456, Cunningham officially broke ties with the rump Deseret government to lead the new Danite guerrillas. Despite the Dominion’s best efforts, he spent the next fifty years organizing and leading an effective resistance to the invaders. Cunningham was also the first guerrilla leader to hail Rex Fang-Blade as the True President of Deseret, for all that it would take two and a half centuries for the Smith Dynasty to rule again in Salt Lake City.
While he died (and originally buried) in what is now the Pacific Trade Confederation, his bones were moved to Salt Lake City in 2812 AD. His tomb is a popular tourist attraction, second only to Fang-Blade’s official memorial.
— From Notable Heroes of the Second Age (Erieson, W., 2879 AD, University of Philadelphia Press)
It *is* interesting how “bandit turned rebel scum” can become “legendary resistance leader”, given enough time and just the right stories being told while the rest are forgotten.