Isla Aukate
Socks (left) helping remove a Sirenidae (center) from Bane's ear (right)
Socks (left) helping remove a Sirenidae (center) from Bane's ear (right)

Jade was raised in a smaller, out of the way village on the island of Mé, having always been part of a small family where nothing very interesting ever happened. She never really knew what she wanted to do with her life, since in this town there really wasn't much to do. In her early teen years, Jade started hearing whispers of interesting happenings on one of the nearby islands, a new ruler elected into power. At first people acted as though it was just another thing that would pass, but as time went on news of the exploits of this empire became more frequent, and it became obvious that this was no temporary thing.

Socks marveled at the thought of becoming part of something big, something important; part of something that could actually influence the archipelago, if not the world. For a few more years, she studied and practiced lots of different subjects, still unsure of what part she wanted to play in this new empire, but now she had a goal to strive for. Finally, on her 18th birthday, she gave her goodbyes and set off for the Overlord's empire, enrolling in the university on Aukate.

Once she arrived, Socks found things very different from the home she knew. Strange new devices from what seemed to be another world, though she would later find were actually created by the engineers at the Citadel; species she had never encountered from islands elsewhere in the chain; and a much wider range of educational opportunities that may help her decide her path. Alas, the expanded selection of vocations didn't help her find one to settle on; quite the contrary, she wanted to do them all.

Her inability to decide would show, however. While she knew a little about a lot, she never studied a particular subject enough to truly become proficient at it; a prime example of the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none." She would often grasp the basics of a subject, then be distracted by some other opportunity to pursue. Feeling that she was not strong or fast or quiet enough to participate in the armed forces, or studied enough to participate in R&D, she was very nervous when she finally bit the bullet and submitted her application with the hope that someone in the lair would know where she belonged.

Bootcamp was a strange experience for Jade, having to quickly adjust to the more military-like organization she figured would be present at the Citadel. She was assigned to R&D as a lab assistant, which after a few weeks Jade decided was a good fit. She could see a project through to completion but wasn't under the pressure to come up with the ideas driving R&D, and was exposed to a wide variety of fields of study. After a couple of years and a glowing review Jade was assigned to be Bane's personal assistant, tasked with helping her on any project; no matter how dubious the usefulness.