Was born in the sort of Pittsburgh neighborhood I really don't want to describe in writing. Back around fifty years ago, there was more of an industry there, with a smelter and a couple manufacturing plants.
Everyone in the area was in industry, pretty much.
By the time I was growing up, the only thing left was a cement plant and when I was old enough to work, that had been closed down too.
The whole place was owned by DSE, and I guess it wasn't profitable anymore. I don't really know, the people there didn't get much of an explanation.
All I know is they closed down everything to encourage people to move elsewhere.
Only most of these people don't have anywhere else to go. So you've got this dusty hell hole of a town with no jobs and hopeless people.
I got out of there mostly by luck. Hitched a ride to the closest spaceport one day and tried to find work, and after a disappointing half a day went to a spaceport bar.
Got into talking to an old DSE transport pilot that couldn't deal with space flight anymore - his digestion couldn't cope. Or at least, that's what he told me.
He said I could have his ship with no payment in advance, which sounded like a great deal. He even flew the first trip with me to show me how to handle it, since obviously I didn't have a license.
So the next years, I flew that DSE Mammoth around Liberty, getting experience while paying it off.
What I found out the hard way was that that old guy didn't actually own the ship, and one day it was simply impounded right at the space port.
DSE took it back, along with literally my entire savings, which were tied to the ship.
Needless to say, I felt pretty cheated. And my life took a turn for the worse.
With no money, I started drinking, and stealing to survive.
It was then, in some crappy bar on Pittsburgh, that I was approached by a guy who said there was a group that shared my concerns, that cared about the economy in Liberty. That was the Xenos. He took me to a planetside "clubhouse" of sorts, and the people there talked a lot of sense. So, I joined them on a flight, a "patrol" as they called it. I quickly realized on that patrol that they were definitely not the sort of people that I wanted to be around, destroying a Kusari transport for literally no reason other than that it was a foreigner.
It was then that I decided I had to leave Liberty. I sold the only thing I had left, the contents of my tiny Pittsburgh apartment for a bargain-class trip to New Berlin.
Had no idea what to expect there, but I was sure there wasn't anyone in Liberty that cared about guys in my situation, so I might as well try it out somewhere else.
That's where I caught a public transmission from you guys. I don't know much about Rheinland politics, not going to lie, but I really liked what you were saying, and I guess I really believe that you're looking out for the average Joe, and not just bureaucrats and fat cats.
What brings you to our cause?
I guess I pretty much explained that above. I have literally nothing to lose and I suppose I just believe in you folks.
Don't have any money I can support you with, nor too much experience, I'll be honest. I can fly a transport, that's pretty much it.
![[Image: jWv1kDa.png]](https://i.imgur.com/jWv1kDa.png)