When his father died in a tragic work related accident (you never can trust those fork-lift operators), Zane became a very young man of the house at a ripe age of fourteen. He and his mother were forced to move off-base to a government subsidized housing on Picon where they lived on his father's meager casualty benefits and the wages his mother could earn waiting tables and pulling double shifts.
With limited funds, Zane learned the supreme art of 'making-do'. To a teenage boy in high school, image is everything, and when you can't afford the best, you're the one that gets made fun of so Zane quickly learned to make the best out of what he had, and when he couldn't, he learned to defend himself against those that thought themselves better and stronger.
His ability to make something out of nothing earned him gratitude of his elders in his little row-house neighborhood. His jerry-rigged solutions saved people a lot of money, when they didn't have to replace things like garden hoses or engine parts. And when he couldn't fix things? He learned how to barter and trade for them, because everyone in life needs /something/, whether or not they're aware of their particular needs at the time.
When it came time for graduation, his mother and a few of the family friends surprised him. His mother had saved all the money from his father's pension, and that along with some clever grant applications and some generous (if meager) donations from others, he was able to go to community college and continue his career. Why? Because he was determined to join the military too, only as an officer.
College and Officer Training School weren't easy, but Zane is convinced it just takes a little wherewithal and a lot of finesse to get through anything. Having been stationed aboard the Praetorian since its launch, Zane was formerly the CMC S4, having just been promoted to XO aboard the Cerberus following the latest Cylon bombing and the sudden shift in personnel.
