Melinda May

Melinda Qiaolian May (portrayed by Ming-Na Wen) is a S.H.I.E.L.D. ace pilot and weapons expert who is called "the Cavalry", against her wishes, after a mission to Bahrain where she saved an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. team from a rogue gifted—unbeknownst to S.H.I.E.L.D., she did this by killing a young girl. Still struggling to move past this event years later, May agrees to watch her old friend and partner Coulson for Fury, reporting to the latter and looking for potential side-effects of Project T.A.H.I.T.I. in the former. When Coulson becomes the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., May acts as his second-in-command, and over time begins to move past the events of Bahrain and even develop familial relationships with characters such as Skye.