Kierstein

Can you imagine what it's like to be unwanted..... I can. Born to a whore, on a frigate who'se name has long been forgotten, somehow I survived. My mother always told me that my father was royalty, but she's been known to lie and decieve with every breath. But not to me. Her hair, always matted, tattered, and in disarray, yet somehow soft and supple on my skin as a child. I remember the stories she would regail of her and father as they crossed New Eden in search of adventure and treasure. She talks of their love and devotion to each other.... right up unto the time of the reckoning. He was wounded in the battle for Galelaie, and almost lost his life, subsequently returning to his home planet...... without her. He swore he would come for her. He swore she would always remain in his heart. Yet he never did. I wondered when he was coming for me. I wondered if he loved me. I wondered if he even knew of my birth. He never knew about me as I was born 8 months after his return.

My mother died years ago. Passed around from pirate captain to pirate mate, and eventually on to the rest of the crew. Treated in the beginning like a pearl in the rough, but in the end like a common dimestore slut. This was my mother. This was my whole world. This.... this was who loved me most. She protected me from the constant advances of filthy crew. Sacrificed herself so that I might survive. No, survive is not it.... live. She sacrificed herself evey day so that I might live. I loved her with all my being. I love her with all my might.

I will eventually find my father. If not him, I will at least find my family. I don't hold them responsible....... but I will hold them to the truth. My mothers legacy will live on. Her story will be told. In the end, I believe her above all else. While her ashes were scattered among the stars years ago, her memory will be written in my fathers tongue. She was his friend, his lover, and he was her life. In the end..... the truth will show her devotion to him, and his love for her.

This is my promise.