So, the long version. The long version is kinda boring if you ask me. And not that long. My name is Dara. If you prefer surnames, call me Lister. I was born in a distant and single starport of the Akhvathaang System, and my real family name is Eleutherios. Quite a mouthful. It took the Pilots Federation two attempts to spell it correctly and grant me a licence. I was eighteen, I took the licence, I flew to the LHS 3447 system to enter the Exploration training course, they gave me an entrance test and, erm, I failed it. "Failed" is a strong word though, I strongly dislike it especially since we're in space, space is everywhere, and things in space tend to fall into each other, and "fail" sounds very similar to "fall". I forgot to hand it in in time. They then called me a failure, told me I was not eligible for another entrance test and with such attitude as mine I would never be able to earn a spot in an expedition or a wing. Well, I was eighteen, right? I took it to heart and if not for my family I would have returned home and remained extremely sad for the rest of my life.
My family, eh, were not surprised. They did their best to look and sound surprised though and were as supportive as they could be for a bunch of liqueur lovers. They said I could come home if I wanted, but if I wished to take my chances with self-employment, w-well... they said I could come home any time I wanted. It's been, what, about ten years and I haven't yet. This is how I became a hireling, a spacer, a little annoying speck on your radars that steals all the sweetest and easiest deals.
You know, my family might seem weird even for an independent anarchy starport with almost two million other weird people. My father, Yamanu, is a big deal there, sort of. Ok, fine, not a very big deal, but he is a fat old swindler who owns one of the Akhvathaang outfitters there, the "Cowgirl RRR Crew". He can afford everything he needs and most of the things he wants. He can become scary and cruel when he can't get what he needs peacefully, but he never resorts to violence unless it is vital for his business or our family, so don't be afraid, he is a good person. Unless you're a threat you will only lose money. His list of "wants" isn't particularly long either: food, drinks, sex with my mother and good stuff for me and my siblings. That's it about him. Then I have my mother, Korinne, and she is a beautiful woman who mostly speaks with a posh Imperial accent, but can do any accent in the galaxy if she hears it at least once. She owns a "Drunken Cobra" pub, wears a long blue dress and rarely leaves home. I know she sometimes dreams of lush planets with spicy fruit and warm waters, but apart from that I know nothing about her. I'm not even sure if she's from Akhvathaang like my father or from another system.
Together my parents have got twenty three children. You've heard it right. Twenty three. Granted, only four of them, me included, are biological children, but nonetheless, other nineteen kids are our family as well, try to argue and get a free shiner.
The oldest one is Medea. She's not my biological sister, but she looks and behaves like one. She helps in the outfitter and we love her.
Vedar, Simon and Lyssa are my biological siblings. Vedar is older than me, Simon and Lyssa are younger. Vedar helps in the outfitter, Simon is a space merchant and Lyssa is an explorer that lives in her ship.
So-o, hold your breath, I have to tell you.
My other elder siblings in no particular order are: Ziva, Gunnar, Neres, Melaina, Orvar.
My other younger siblings in the same absolutely random order are: Themis, Vesta, Zal, Leu, Prithu, Donar, Emer, Hager, Hama, Seren, Deneb, Rigel, Ursa.
All in all I've got ten brothers and twelve sisters. No, you don't have to remember their names.
So, being completely honest, our childhood was not sweet but it was much better than it could have been, considering the place. I guess if my parents could they would have adopted every single urchin in the starport, but they had to stop somewhere, and that somewhere is where the money ends. Multiple anarchy street gangs that brainwash kids much better than any freshly printed apple pie can, well, they don't help either. The whole station was and still is a mess. At least our family is well settled and sheltered. They struggle every now and then, but a few tricks here, a fraud and smuggling something to a Fed system over there - it keeps people afloat in Lister Gateway. I left to explore the galaxy, to find a place safer than home and to make money. Welp, apparently it doesn't work that way. It's dangerous everywhere. Space itself wants to kill you, every planet wants to kill you, your ex wants to kill you, pirates want your dozen tonnes of biowaste, and also, yup, you guessed it, they want to kill you. Fly safe? What a joke. But with all my heart,
fly safe, cmdr. Don't let yourself down.