Yeah, I was a newbie once. The first time I made my way to Duripant, set
foot in a frigate, and heard that chick's voice? Yowza. You know the one,
goes by the name of Aura. I'm sure she showed you the ropes once upon
a time. Well, when she first whispered softly in my ear the instructions for
refining a batch of veldspar... I was in love. I spent hours slinging my
government-issue civilian mining laser at veldspar rocks in my Velator, just
for the chance to see her part those lips in a smile at me. Newbiedom was
bliss.

Then somewhere around hour two, it dawned on me, like an epiphiny granted
from the heavens: Mining @$%# sucks. My innocence was shattered by the
cruel realities of a harsh life. I would never be the same.

I've spent my days since then trying to shed the ungainly mantle of the newbie,
placed upon my meek shoulders so many years ago, by the gentle hands of that
sirine in Duripant.

I've been killed a time or two, yeah. At least, the companies that operate the
clone vats are giving me bulk discounts now, which I think is quite kind of
them. Before you mock my fortune in that regard though, you should know I've
done my fair share of killing. More then's been done to me, which really, what
more can a fighter ask for this day in age?

I've been shot at by Titans so many times, I've run out of fingers to count
them on. Math never was my strong suit. Hell, I once died to the second titan
ever created while fighting alongside the first titan ever created, and if that's
not a %@#& privilege then I don't know what is. I've faced motherships and their
mewling hordes of fighters. I've shot the biggest 'rats, run the biggest
complexes. I've even looked at the most valuable asteroids in the universe,
mostly in disdain at the idea of mining them. I've had the outposts I call home
taken over by the enemy, and I've helped take homes from others. Been
branded a pirate, and called an upright citizen. I've had 100 pilots following
my orders in combat, and I've been a peon in fleets of three times that. I
founded a corporation, built it up and moved it to a 0.0 alliance. I've been
sombody. And I've been one of 100,000 nobodies working for the Scope too.

But through it all, I've never forgotten my roots. One day, dear Aura, I'll come
back to you and we'll talk about veldspar some more.

- Berand