Background

Born to dual pastoral parents in deep south Georgia, Chance grew up being expected to the brightest and largest supporter of the faith. When his parents realized that wasn't going to be the case, they wrote him off as a causality of the 'secular ways' and left him to his own devices, which were often actual devices whether mechanical or electrical. Growing up with essentially absent parents hammered in the need to be independent from a young age. As such, Chance dove into what he could learn about life, electronics, and being self sufficient as soon as he figured out how to read. As soon as he was eligible, Chance enlisted in the Navy as a mechanic, eventually being assigned to the Boiler Mechanic crew on board the USS Say My Name. When the daisy's first started popping up, Chance didn't pay them much mind; being more in tune with metal and wires than roots and spores. Though when the weeds became deadly, he shifted his frame of mind and began to prepare for what he believed was to come; the end of the modern age. On board the ship, he started stowing away what spare scrap and electronics he could, anticipating something bad on the horizon. When the first city fully fell, he knew he was right in his preparations. As the government fell apart, the Say My Name crew took a vote, and broke off from the military and US Government, striking out deeper in to the Atlantic Ocean to safeguard themselves from what was happening on the mainland. For the first year or so, it was fairly smooth sailing; able to rely mostly on their own stores and resources. Though as that began to run out, the crew turned to piracy and raiding in order to keep themselves fed and afloat. As the crew devolved into piracy and violence over the first few years, Chance began joining the raiding missions, as by that point he'd become head mechanic on the ship and had the keenest eye for what materials and components they needed to keep the Say My Name in seaworthy condition. Though he wasn't merely a gopher; he fought and killed when it came down to it. Around 7 years after the first city fell, the crew found themselves in dire straights; their engines were on their last legs and they didn't have the materials to repair them any further. The boiler itself had became aged to the point of needing a full replacement rather than a patch job, and barring finding a ship with a proper replacement? This was it for the Say My Name. The crew took a vote for their own future, choosing between rolling the dice and searching for a suitable vessel or calling it a loss and heading to shore. The vote was split and the crew eventually experienced an internal feud, escalating into a war between two sides. Chance's side came out on top, though not without heavy casualties. After licking their wounds, burying their dead at sea, and consulting their outdated carts; they turned the ship westward towards the United States. When the Say My Name washed up on shore of the outer banks of North Carolina, Chance struck out on his own after it was evident that the remaining crew had no direction or goals; choosing to trust his gut. Over the next six month Chance made his way inland, pushing west day by day to reach the so called "Quarantine Zone" somewhere in Kentucky. It was a rough road filled with temporary loose allies, sudden betrayals from others and occasionally himself, and many sleepless nights watching the darkness outside of his campfire. Eventually Chance found himself at the edge of the KQZ. At first, they guards were wary to allow him entry. But after explaining, and finally convincing them of his skills in mechanics and electronics, they allowed him to meet with leadership and eventually be granted residency in the quarantine zone. He spent the next several years fixing up generators, power grids, and maintaining the meager motor pool that his new home had to offer. It wasn't a glamorous life, but those who lived with didn't judge him for his past. Though, that may simply be because they didn't know of his years of piracy and violence. For now, that was all in his past where he hoped it would remain.