For any Terran child born in Corporate space, life is often grueling and short. Adulthood isn't guaranteed, and even then, all that awaits is years of back-breaking physical labor in miserable and dangerous conditions. Cado, however, was different, and his mother knew it. He was stronger, more resilient, and as he grew older, his mother feared that this would be noticed and exploited. Clophia did her best to insulate Cado from the dangers of life on Drome, using her considerable survival skills to sneak him out of the settlement as often as possible.
Cado and his mother would spend many such evenings together, huddled close around a cautiously-small fire, and he would listen to his mother's many stories of life among the stars, outside of Corporate oppression... tales of magic, ancient worlds, and adventure. Clophia wasn't born into slavery, and by Cado's understanding, led a rich and interesting life before Drome, though she never explained the circumstances which led to their current misfortune. The whereabouts and identity of Cado's father was another subject which Clophia seemed reluctant to discuss. All Cado knew was that he was non-Terran, and a great warrior who traveled the stars hunting for fame, fortune, and glory in battle, and subscribed to a philosophy, or religion, known at the Song.
As the years went on, Cado and his mother would toil together, either working in the Dromian mines, or performing unskilled tasks in the foundry. When Cado was younger, he was typically working alongside Clophia, but as he grew older, it became increasingly common for the two of them to be assigned to different work sites. So one night, when Cado was 11 in Earth years, it didn't strike him as unusual when the masters came to collect Clophia for some unknown purpose.
He never saw his mother again.
As Cado grew into a young man, he had grown distant, and bitter. The Corporate masters were unable, or unwilling to provide any reasons for Clophia's termination, and any time Cado pushed the issue, his captors would push back with vicious beatings. At first, he thought only to endure the abuse. Things could only get better, he believed. But, after a few more years, the beatings seemed less severe, if only for Cado's burgeoning resilience. In time, he learned to pay "lip service" to punishment, pretending he was in more pain than he actually was, in order to end the ordeal. His life on Drome had taught him many things... including how to hate. Incensed by the arrogance and impotent torments of his "benefactors," he gained confidence, and his mind began to turn towards hitting back. He began to keep his head down, immersing himself in the foundry work to which he had been permanently assigned. All the while, he listened and he watched as his mother taught him, gathering information and looking for weaknesses and opportunities in the oppressive alien intelligence staring coldly down on the Terrans.
