I was raised by trader parents, and always wanted to become an independent pilot, too. But my aim was not to aimlessly wander about for the best deal in the same old Sidewinder. When my parents finally settled down in a boring backwater system, at last I took over the old rust bucket.
I worked hard, trading as always, but without a family to support, maybe also smarter than my old man. Soon better modules made trading faster and more efficient. After a few weeks I traded the family ship in for a Cobra Mk III—what a difference! I upgraded and traded, until I was finally able to afford my first exploration ship, a Diamondback Explorer. Now I could venture out of the bubble, to escape the dumbness of mankind.
I didn't care for a particular destination and had plans for the future, so I let fate decide where to go by taking the best-paying tourist missions, first around the bubble for getting better gear—then far out into the black. I did that for about a year, switched to an ASP Explorer when I could afford it. The engineer Felicity Farseer contacted me when I had made myself a small name in exploring, so I could improve the stock modules; it has been an unemotional but profitable relationship for both of us, I visited her many times.
Concerning the tourists they could mainly be ignored: I just sometimes had to make a detour if it fancied their highness, and had to talk at least once a day over the com with them, check that no one died (thankfully none ever did). I saw some awesome sights—but what really kept me going was flowing with the ship as one through the systems, visiting celestial bodies no one ever saw before. Just me in the vastness of space.
When after a while I had gotten enough away-time, I focused on other means of making credits, having a good time in the process, buying and selling ships, always having a small fleet with vessels fitted to my whims. I traded big and bigger with a T-6 and later with a T-9, taking data along as much as I could. Some hairy situations I went through, but always escaped the pirates. I went bounty hunting for the thrill in various ships, at extraction sites and around navigation beacons, slowly building up my pilots‘ federation ranking and improving my skills. My home station, if I could call any, was Kennan Dock in LHS 2651—an unremarkable Coriolis Station in a system with many ringed planets.

I got on good terms with the superpowers, for a small time pledging my allegiance to Edmund Mahon to support the Alliance, as I wanted to support the democratic cause. But I soon realized I wanted to have no shackles binding me, so I dropped my duties for him. I took some missions for the federal navy, got higher in their ranks, but I never cared about their ships or their egoistic causes—I just did it to be able to fly to mankind‘s origin world. I took the Earth tourist tour, but honestly I was disappointed. I found out I had no emotional connection to my ancestor‘s home and none of the famous places interested me. So I got back to roaming around, not caring where the credits came from, as long no innocent soul was hurt. I never traded any slaves and only destroyed wanted ships.
When the deep core mining tools became available real money began pouring in, while having a blast blasting asteroids, so I could always get the best available gear. That had gotten incredible easier when I got my first elite rank for trading, getting access to Shinrarta Dezhra. From time to time I took a tourist mission, so that not long after that I got my exploration elite rank. So to become really Elite, only the combat ranking was left… I had a new goal to follow. So I did more bounty hunting, and when I saw myself prepared I got AX weapons and went out into the Pleiades to hunt Thargoids.
I had readied myself, especially researching the various kinds of Thargoids, which gear to use, and with my acquired combat skills I could do my share in killing legions of scouts. And my combat rank increased, also my flying and shooting skills. In this time my base of operations was Copernicus Station, lonely orbiting Asterope, except for swarms of tourists, pirates and Thargoids. I had close calls before, coming too close to a neutron star, escaping in the last second from a lost fight and such, but in a fight against interceptors I lost a ship for the first time. It was a humbling experience floating in the black, with only the remlock saving me from suffocating and freezing, being rescued and having to pay the insurance cost nagged on me for quite a while.
To take a break from killing endless waves of alien aggressors, I went back to mining from time to time. When the galactic community called for help, I also got back to trading and bounty hunting humans, doing my share for the common good, never forgetting my profit and fun; I helped the good people of the Golconda, and fight the scourge. I helped clear the Witchhead and when the Thargoids did their big attacks, of course I defended our turf. It's not that I think humankind did everything right when encountering other species, probably we stepped over some red lines the Thargoids laid; but as far as we know they never communicated with us (beyond attacking) and even the Guardians where not able to negotiate in any way with them - so we can only defend our own kind. I blasted thousands of those aliens into space. I ranked up to Elite in combat in the process, but for some time the war had become monotonous.
When fleet carriers became available I got a new goaI.
After keeping my distance to the federal and imperial navys, I couldn't resist their ships any more. So my ranked up as a mercenary. In Sothis and Ceos I did trading and delivered data to become a federal Rear Admiral. To become Duke with the Empire I shipped more data between Hickham Survey in Ngalinn, Mies Van Der Rohe‘s Claim in Mainani and Flettner Survey in Aithas, hunted some pirates in those systems and supported  the local factions monetarily. So I found a way to get my benefits, without taking part in their armed military operations. A stretch for my ethics, but not too far to feel bad about it. In betwen I continued supporting the common cause in between, rescuing people from burning stations and helping expand outposts to stations.
Then I got back to mining Painite in huge quanities, although not as crazy as many of my bretheren in the Pilot's Federation, and I finally got my mobile base of operations. It changed the game for me, now I always have my whole fleet with me—now I can roam the galaxy freely and I am truly independent. I visited all the engineers in the bubble and got on best terms with all of them, making me able to realize my fleet's true potential.
In early 3307 I made a "short" trip with my fleet carrier to get Commander ShinobidoN from Rackham's Peak in HIP 58832, so he could participate in a community goal in Colonia, and also fill up the bar on top of the Milky Way again with beer. This was so much fun that I decided to do another tourist trip, but with much greater scale. So I started an expedition to visit all stellar phanomenae and biologic life Canonn had found to date, carrying a bunch of great CMDRs along on my fleet carrier Khonsu all around the Milky Way. In the end the Comfy Canonn Cruise took 9 months and it was a blast.
The second Thargoid war called me to arms and I do my part to defend humanity—glory, to mankind!
I enjoy every challenge the galaxy throws at me and there is so much to do always, it is a good and adventerous life.