Laeni's Story

I was born in Tir so I guess that makes me a Clanner. Never really gave it much thought until lately. Been on my own since I was 15...no actually I've been on my own since I was 12. That was when Mom drove our patched up old Kodiak over a landmine and blew herself to smithereens. Could have been a Clan landmine, could have been Omni, no way of telling.

Normally you'd just cuss about something like that. Normally it would've meant just losing the Kodiak. But you see Mom never had herself scanned. Didn't believe in it, said the machine would steal her soul or some garbage like that. So when that landmine blew up she was gone...forever.

I don't think I've ever really forgiven her for that.

Anyways after that happened, Dad got kind of funny. Didn't want to do much of anything. Just sat around and drank. Not that fancy stuff that gives you a buzz and no hangover but real gut rotting poison that you buy in a back alley from sleazy guys that don't want to hang around in one place too long.

Then one day there was a knock on the door of the apartment and it was some guy who had the really uncool job of giving people bad news. It seems Dad had somehow gotten ahold of one of those weapons that kills a person really dead. Permanent kill equipment they call it or something like that. He must of bought it from someone. Both Mom and Dad were traders and there wasn't nothing they couldn't have found if they had a mind to it.

The official people wouldn't give me any details which is pretty much what official people do but I found out in my own way what happened. They found Dad in the bathroom of one of the bars. He'd shot himself in the head. Next to him was a puddle of metal goo. Seems the weapon he used had destroyed itself soon as he'd used it. People who sell those kind of things don't want nothing traced you see.

Reading this over, I guess I sound pretty ...well... flippant about it all. It's just that if I think too long about how much I miss them, I start crying and I don't want to do that. It hurts too much.

Anyways the official people started making noises about taking me to live with some "respectable" family but I told them I'd rather go live in the hills with the mutants than be some family's charity case. I got my pride you see. They didn't push it. I guess they figured I was close to 16 and I 'd be more trouble than I was worth.

So here I am on my own. I'm not a trader like my mom and dad. I'm a martial artist. Picked that cause I wouldn't have to spend a lot of credits on fancy weapons. Like I said, I'm not a trader. I don't have the gift for making credits. But I get by. And you see someday I'm going to be somebody. And I get myself scanned whenever I can scrape up the credits to do it. Cause I don't feel like checking out yet. No way.

I got places to go. And things to do.