Donna Greenwood came from a good family, though they were interstellar traders, and that meant a lot of travel for all three of them. Donna was not upset by this, she rather enjoyed traveling throughout the Magistracy of Canopus. But when the time came, Donna was sent to military school. There she blossomed, even qualified for basic training early.

Just as her mother had hoped, Donna enrolled and was accepted into the Canopian Institute of War. Donna's mother was so proud that her little girl was going to become a Mechwarrior, something she would have liked to have done herself, but her right leg was badly injured as a child and was not treated properly by the doctors.

Donna want to do her mother proud, and the first chance came during her training, as she and her fellow cadets fought a vicious but successful battle against Bandits who were looking to take some of academies BattleMech assets. Thinking the cadets would be an easy target, they struck. They were dead wrong as the cadets mopped the battlefield with them, Donna scoring more kills than any of her instructors.

All but two cadets survived the battle, but all who were left completed their training and graduated as Mechwarriors. Proving yourself in battle as a cadet tends to impress instructors, and all them received high praises for their efforts against the bandits. In Donna's case, rather than sign up with the Magistracy, like all the others did, she sought out the Brotherhood of Randis and was accepted into it.

She knew what she was getting herself into by joining them, though her mother did question her on it. The Brotherhood was a hard, devote road to follow, but the best Mechwarriors out in the Periphery were with them, and Donna felt she belonged among them. In short order, she proved that theory correct.

The company she was with found themselves in deep against a large pirate group. Their company commander was killed in a unlucky barrage to his BattleMech's cockpit. Donna assumed command, as per his instructions, and they made a fighting withdrawal. It was a weeklong battle that saw two other warriors fall victim to the pirates, but in the end, Donna had made the right choice and was able to get her company back to friendly lines.

Donna stayed with the Brotherhood a while longer, taking advantage of the opportunity to learn from others that had joined with them. Her decision to leave the Brotherhood was not an easy one, but Donna thought it best to expand her knowledge and experience as a Mechwarrior.

It was her intension to go to Outreach then and try a little mercenary life, but a long conversation with her mother resulted in her serving with the Magistracy of Canopus first. She found herself doing battle with bandits mostly, but there was a battle between Magistracy and Capellan forces during the final months of her tour. The battle went in their favour, driving the Capellans away and forcing an apology out of the chancellor.

Again Donna wanted to try mercenary life, and again her mother tried to talk her out of it. It was then that Donna realized that her mother's attempt to stop her from going mercenary had nothing to do with patriotism, but rather her dislike for mercenaries in general. Donna found leaving the Brotherhood rather hard, but going against her mother was far, far worse. She was determined to give the life a try, even if it meant disobeying her mother's wishes.

It was a long conversation, just like the last Donna announced that she intended to try the mercenary life. In the end, they compromised. Donna went in search of a career as a mercenary, but the BattleMech that her mother procured for her remained at home. It was not the sort of concession Donna wanted to make, but it was the only way her mother would allow her to do what she wanted and still have a loving mother to come back to.

The bond between mother and daughter is very strong, and Donna would do just about anything to please her mother. However, the desire to explore the universe from a new perspective was too great to ignore. It was hard to leave the Magistracy knowing that her mother was a little disappointed in her latest career move. But in the end, Donna's mother is willing to give Donna her blessing, at a price. She hopes that Donna will come to her senses some day and return to her. Until then, she will wait and see what becomes of her only child.

This page was created by: Copyright November 23, 2004.