Gene Currana

Gene Currana was a Crimson Blade officer fighting during the Kamian Succession Wars who's remarkable tale of survival and repatriation captured the imagination of the entire Foundation.

Early Life

Gene crew up in the Utopia Gregaria star system, where both of his parents worked as controllers in the stardocks used for fitting out warships. Like many residents, Gene was encouraged to pursue a carrier path that would one day have him working at the shipyards, but the young boy had other ideas.

From an early age, he dreamed of visiting the stars. Excited about the prospects, he enrolled in pre-academy and later academy, earning a commission in the Crimson Blade. He had little fear of death, and was well known as an efficient and passionate soldier.

Military Career

Gene had never aquired a specific specialty, but had not qualified for command school. He spent most of his time as a junior officer bouncing around various ships where he typically worked as an assistant to higher-ranking officers. He was also well known for being a good training officer, helping new crew mates learn the ins and outs of life aboard ship.

During the Succession Wars, he was involved in several major battles, including the Battle of the Don't Pass Line. Less than a year after the battle, Gene's ship was hit by a Kamian raiding party, and his incredible story begins.

Stranding

Gene was serving aboard the G.S.S. Peace, a cutter running point for a battle group, when the ship was hit. The Kamians struck hard and fast, and as Gene(the only survivor) reports "There wasn't really time for anything. They didn't even get a chance to sound general quarters, the order to abandon ship came so fast."

The only crewmen to make it to an escape pod, Gene spent four and a half months alone in space. With very careful rationing he made the meager food supply--meant to support six people for only a week--last almost the entire time. The pod was damaged and he had no readouts of where he was, nor the ability to control the small vessel. They had been passing by a solar system on a FTL cool-down pause at the time of the attack, so his pod carried considerable speed. Unbenounced to Gene, the capsule's automated guidance system used that speed and a small available fuel supply to home in on an inhabitable planet.

With the internal displays damaged, Gene's first indication of a problem was an auditory alarm. He piled in to a re-entry couch and tried to figure out what was happening. The pod landed without issue, and, half starved and beaten, Gene found himself stranded, alone on what he presumed to be an uninhabited planet.

Fortunately, he had landed amidst lush surroundings, and had little difficulty surviving. For the next five years, Gene lived alone in the wilderness, convinced that he was the only living being on the planet. He descirbed it as a difficult life, food was available but not overly plentiful. Water was not a problem, fortunately, but there were some hard times. Eventually he began to cultivate small gardens and taught himself techniques for preserving food to get through the winter months.

After five years and five very difficult winters, Gene decided to finally abandon his escape pod and look for a more temperate place to live. The pods electrical systems had failed long ago, and as far as he could tell, the beacon never worked. He left behind a hand-written note and took what supplies he could. For five years, the pod had been of little value to him, even as shelter it was not of much use. He'd only stayed with it in the hopes of rescue.

After months of travel, Gene made a rather startling discovery. In his time on the planet, the only man-made objects he had seen were his pod and his own tools. Yet, like stepping out of a dream, he saw it. While walking in thick forest, he found a road. A single, paved, well-maintained road.

He followed this road to a town, and while remaining as inconspicous as he could, learned of his fate. He had lived these past five years on a world called Fangora by it's inhabitants. They had no space travel of their own and were largely isolationists, refusing offers of trade or contact with the outside world. Notionally, the planet was a member of the Alliance but had had no formal contact with them in thousands of years. The planet had semi-regular contact with the Foundation, but nothing remotely formal.

This did not help Gene, much. He considered contact the authorities, revealing himself, and asking to be returned to the Crimson Blade. But as he discovered, the recent Kamian advances had soured what little diplomatic relationship the world had with the Foundation. It was likely his request would be ignored, or, worse, he would be jailed as a spy.

For another three years, Gene lived on the margins of Fangoran society. He spent much of his time outside of the city of Lekket, still living in the wilderness, but going in to town regularly for supplies. He made friends with other transients and even traveled for a bit. But living out his days homeless on an alien planet was not a pleasant thought.

After years of hard work and determination, Gene established an identity for himself and was eventually able to secure employment and a permenant residence. He'd worked his way up from destitution and made many friends in the process, all the while conceling his true background. So far as anyone on Fangora knew, he was Gene Cur, he had grown up poor and lived on the streets for some time, and had finally made a life for himself.