Always the pessimist, Mark has tried for years to commit suicide. Unfortunately for him, something always happens that causes his attempt to fail. Born on the colony planet Drudgorion, Mark grew up with the only form of entertainment being watching plants grow. Hot, bored, and upset, Mark takes the first ship off-world he can get on, and eventually winds up on a military training outpost. Unable to escape from the Top Brass, he is forced to participate in battles. Not at all liking this new life, though never dull, Mark continues to fail in commiting suicide. After he is assigned to Alpha squad, Mark's attempts on his own life go mostly unnoticed except for when he causes a disturbance that is mistaken most of the time as an attack on their outpost.