I really enjoyed writing a back story for my star citizen character. (First time i did that) But the 150 word limit for the "Choose your Character" contest was a bit harsh. So i wrote a longer version of it. Maybe someone enjoys reading it. :slightly_smiling_face: Link to the Choose your Character entry: (short version) https://robertsspaceindustries.com/community-hub/post/choose-your-character-ethan-lorville-dockworker-JVw4EqExZCovl --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi. I am Ethan, a 31 year old dockside worker from Lorville. At least I was one up until a few hours ago. My story begins in one of the many worker districts, together with my parents Luna and Joshua, which I would sometimes not see for days if their superiors required overtime. I have to admit though, that growing up in this place was far from rough, even though the dusty air and openly burning cauldrons near our barracks might have pointed in that direction. But the diffusing heat around us also gave the wrong impression of a warm childhood. As a Lorville child, the company has a plan for everything you do. They tell you how the world works and how they keep you safe. They tell you how hard work and loyalty can turn even the lowest born orphan into a high company official. Their ideas for your life are everywhere. And since growing up includes more problems than reflecting the world around you, you could evade the most problems by simply sticking to their plan and investing your energy in the little space they leave for you around it. I turned into an adult that way, even though I could see what their vision did to my parents. Not that they ever complained about their situation or health. But reading the face of my father who had lost an arm and knew that he would have to work for the rest of his life to repay the generous "gift" of a low grade robotic prosthesis, said more than the strict anti-criticism laws could prevent. Once I finished school, I was assigned a supervisor role of a small cargo terminal in one of the industrial outskirts for the top "loyalty" grades I got in my school report. I would oversee the unloading of containers coming from the Teasa spaceport and their distribution in the district. At first, i thought that sticking to the company's plan still seemed to the way out of my families locked situation. But I was disillusioned when my manager called me in and told me that some of my father's colleagues had seen me make a payment for his debts. I was told that the company had strict plans for every citizen and that it would not be my responsibility to question the company's care-taking, nor do adjustments in the challenges they had put up for my fathers "personal progression". I was fined 5000 credits, ten times the amount that I had transferred. It was at that time that I started looking into other means of making money. But even though I had learned all about the illegal activities that I had to look out for in my job, it was quite hard to actually get in touch with someone doing it. Maybe especially so due to my position. In addition, I wanted to escape the system and not harm anyone while doing it. It took a while, but I ended up visiting the local Dumper's Depot regularly enough to get the trust of the people there. They complained that they could not meet their supervisor’s expectations, because they simply did not get enough supply of raw materials to achieve them. It was quite simple for me to send those demands their way without anyone noticing. As I found out, there was a political struggle between some higher officials and I was in the perfect spot to profit off of their plots. During that time, the regular visits to Dumper's Depot also gave me the opportunity to get in touch with the services they provided. As a trustful friend, they had no hesitation in showing me the quirks of repairing old ship components and would regularly sell me some parts that were otherwise deemed to be unsalvageable or beyond repair. I even managed to get the storage rights for a small cargo area in the rear part of their warehouse. All I had to do in response was not to check a small part of the terminal I worked at. It was that cargo area in Dumper's Depot that allowed me to store an old Drake Vulture, for which I had bought the salvage rights from the company. My supervisor even told me that I was making a loss on its salvage, but little did he know that I had other plans with that shipwreck. It took me about two years to gather and repair enough parts to make it flight ready again, but I eventually managed to get the engines started. Actually, this was not even 24 hours ago. As soon as the engines roared for the first time, I got my contacts to deliver the spaceship to Teasa spaceport. Since I had legally bought the ship's salvage rights two years ago, I was now the legal owner of a flight ready spaceship by UEE rights. There was no way for anyone to stop me from getting a clearance for take off. So I did just that and got into quantum as fast as I could. Having a quantum drive that only runs on 10% of its normal speed does not make for a real "escape" though. So here I am. Alone in quantum and on my way out of Hurston space. I will have to gather materials and parts to actually make my Vulture fit for a flight to another system though. And I don’t know if the stories I heard in Lorville about pirates and aliens that kill on sight are real or meant to keep me there. Maybe it is a brutal world, once I am outside of Hurston's protection. But at least it is a world that can offer me a path that I can write myself.