Kort was a veteran terran marine. He was assigned to a world threatened by the Zerg Swarm along with Charn, Prescott and Garrick. Their orders were to wait until the zerg arrived in the area, and a nuclear strike would be called down. The ghost in command would then call for an evacuation ship. When their ghost contact failed to communicate they agreed one of them would go out of their bunker to meet him.
They played a card game to decide who. Kort got a pair of jackets, giving him the second highest hand. However, it was revealed that Garrick had cheated with an extra nine of diamonds. Kort laughed, realizing Garrick had cheated every time they had to do games to decide who went out. After Garrick went berserk, Charn volunteered to go.
References
McAleese, Danny. "The Exit." (July 1, 2014). Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft Lore: The Exit Accessed 2014-07-02