My name is Wei Cao, alias Canorandir, and this is going to be a little autobiography of yours truly.

Due to an accident, my memory is partially damaged. I can't remember my childhood or even where I was born. And even then, I can't quite put a finger on many details afterwards.

Somewhere in the year 3305, I took to the stars in my loaned sidewinder. I've just finished my flight school, got my license and was about to experience the adventure of a lifetime. I can't quite remember what I was thinking, but I was so overwhelmed by emotions that I jumped the gun and went as far as I could...only to remember that the fuel is not as unlimited as my hunger for adventure. The ship's engine died, the systems shut down, and I stared blankly at the darkness of space, drifting without any idea what I could have done to prevent this. When the oxygen timer ran out, everything went blank.

I woke up alive at a station. Most probably, it was the Serebrov Horizons at the Zhang Fei system. Maybe it was just a bad dream. Maybe something else. But since that day, I started to be more careful. I read about rules in the Codex and asked older pilots for guidance. And I was not alone - I've found a few friends to accompany me, namely Attrexius, Ivalle and Worldedit. There were others, but we parted ways soon enough. Together, we've flown around the systems and scrambled to take on tasks that were beyond our abilities on our own. For me, I've picked up a small Adder and was hauling whatever could profit me from system to system - as the travelling merchants of old did. And at some point, I've bought myself a Cobra - my tiny little beauty of a ship. I've outfitted her as much as possible and took mercenary jobs with my friends. This ship had allowed me everything - from tasting the defeat and the vacuum of space when I was shot down to the thrill of taking down large pirate bosses in their Anacondas. Looking back now, perhaps these skirmishes were why I sought to buy that giant whale of a ship, but that's not the point.

While flying around the Bubble and hunting for pirates of different factions, I stumbled on a CD-54 9671 system controlled by The Elite Dragons. Although I was not a fan (and still am not!) of such numerical names for systems, something has clicked with me. Was it the name of the faction? Was it the lights inside the Somayaji Terminal? I can't remember. But just after flying through the Coreolis gates, I realized - this would be my forever home. And so, it is till this day.

The system was fantastic. Attrexius and Worldedit both found out quite a few things about it soon. But before that, I bought a Python - a ship outfitted for pirate hunting and small deliveries. We were running around the neighbourhood, hunting lawless bandits of all calibres - from low-threat harmless bastards to Dangerous bosses with wings of fighters on standby. I've lost my canopy more than once during these scuffles. Sometimes, we had to turn around and run when things got dicey. But, somehow, we have survived and allied with many groups around our home system - G.O.M., 51st Massila, and others. At some point, Worldedit found that Cd-54 9671 had a motherload of low-temperature diamonds - and we took to the mining. Attrexius was having fun hunting for pirates and defending us, Worldedit was doing the primary job, and I was helping as much as I could...we've made a small fortune doing that. After some time, I've finally bought that one ship I am still flying - the Anaconda, my Queen of Wei.

Or so I thought. When I realized how much it would cost to outfit her to at least become the cornerstone of our wing in battle, I had to ask for help from my friends. We went hunting, exploring, mining...all to outfit my lady to become as durable as possible. One day, I decided to visit the engineers, but they wouldn't listen to me unless I gave them some goodies...which cost a lot and could be found only on the other side of the Bubble. Attrexius offered to help, but I couldn't rely on him that much after all we'd been through. So, I've made a small run. There are about 15 jumps to one side and then 20 back. I didn't know about neutron jumps back then and was scared of those bluish things. Finally, after arriving in the system with an engineer, I was already counting how much it would cost me to clock everything up to eleven...and then I was interdicted. A lot of commanders were sitting there, waiting for pilots like me. I tried to run. I didn't even try to fight back. And that has cost me my ship, my goods and my faith in humanity. I was unconscious in the escape pod after I saw her going up in a big round ball of fire and light.

The insurance has helped me repurchase the Anaconda. We've stowed away enough cash for something like that. But I couldn't bear to look at that ship. It felt...different. I even painted her differently to shake off the feeling. But I still couldn't force myself to fly again. In a desperate attempt to forget what had happened, I went as far away from the Bubble...namely around 40 to 50 jumps. I parked my ship on the surface and then hibernated on a nameless planet I don't remember.

A few years have passed. 3308, some malfunction woke me up, so I stretched my legs. The way back was uneventful; although I was so rusty, I nearly crushed full-speed on the landing pad at Somayaji. I bet the old dispatch was amused to see my name and "accidentally crushed into the pad" in one line of the report. I've done some missions and then decided to take on the life of a soldier. I was pretty good with rifles, so I got some missions quickly. But it didn't go great at first. I was blown in my S.R.V. during a salvage mission, got knocked down during a safeguard mission, and was chased out of a settlement by drones during an infiltration mission...but most importantly, I was alone. No one was out there to back me up anymore. For the first time, it felt...empty. Like a vastness of space empty. Once again, I went to the planet's side to rest for as long as possible. The world was abuzz with hysteria about Thargoids. The last time everyone was so on edge was when Colonia asked for resources back in the day...

The year is 3310. At the beginning of September, I decided to fly in a deep black once again. I've enlisted in several local civil wars and acquainted myself with on-foot warfare. A few jumps here and there, and I've managed to upgrade my equipment enough to be an asset on a battlefield. I also accepted the Queen of Wei, her second iteration, as my only ship. I was lonely, so I enlisted in a Squadron. The Elite Dragons are nowhere to be found in my home, so I've come to the faction with which I was allied back in the day. Hopefully, this time will be better.