One of five children born on the Borde farmstead, Genevieve's life was a blur of activity from sun rise to dusk with chores and being home schooled by their mother taking up the majority of their childhood. Even though they were kept busy they still were allowed their fun as well; Genevieve, or Genny as she was called by her parents, took to such hobbies as horse riding and fly fishing with ease, the latter being something she enjoyed doing with her father especially. The chores were numerous but something the Borde children almost always enjoyed, the hard work as much a lesson as the math, language and other subjects they were taught by Ma. The one daily job Genny especially took to was beekeeping and she looked forward to every time she was allowed to tend to the hives and help collect the honey comb that'd later be processed for honey to sell at their stand.
By the time Genny reached the age of eighteen she realized that farming wasn't always going to sustain them. They already had threats of foreclosure on their lands despite how well they seemed to do, and the soil was rapidly becoming depleted of the essential nutrients needed for plants to thrive. The two eldest boys had already left by this time, working in one of the nearby mines to help their family survive. Mines were a lousy place to work, especially for a girl just on the other side of adulthood, with many hours spent underground in extremely dangerous conditions. Not exactly what Genny wanted to do for the rest of her life. After a heart-felt discussion with her family it was decided that she'd enlist in the CMC as an infantryman. Not exactly 'safe' but compared to working in dust-filled, dangerous tunnels for twelve hours at a shot it felt like it'd be a lot less risky all around.
Being of good health and sound mind, it took very little effort for her to get signed up and before they knew it she was wisked off to basic where she was put through her paces like she never thought possible. Toting bales of hay during feeding time paled in comparison to the ten mile runs and the numerous pushups and other such exercise the recruits were made to endure. At least she was used to being up before dawn so that wasn't so much of a shock to her system. Thankfully the brutality didn't last long and soon she was shipped off to infantry school.
The second bout of training was where Genny's potential truly began to shine through, her life back home plus boot camp having helped to hone her talents with a rifle. She didn't graduate top of her class but near enough to it to be allowed to hand pick her orders for her first command post. There was a small marine depot not too far from where she grew up that had a few billets opened, one of which she was thrilled to get. The assignment was timely as her oldest brother succumbed to wet lung not too long after she got on base, the illness the result of working too many years in the mines. She was allowed leave to attend the funeral, able to be present to offer what strength she could. Her time home only lasted a few days before leave was over and she needed to return to post.Time eventually soothed what pain her brother's death left behind, never going away entirely but dulled, strengthening her instead of breaking her. Honed her into what she felt was an 'ideal' Marine despite not yet having experienced combat.
Her next duty station took her away from home, sending her to Canceron. While no major skirmishes occurred they were called into action several times during bouts of unrest, putting in a presence at several small civil disturbances. Peace was restored quickly each time, which was good, but at the same time she found herself longing to see actual combat.
By the time she came to the Orion she was six years into her enlistment, a not-quite-green sergeant.
