Driss Meriana

Driss Meriana, better known as Scorpion, is a nomad of the Aldecaldos clan and a war veteran of the Unification War.

Biography
During the years of the Unification War, Scorpion had been drafted alongside a number of nomads - including his best friend Mitch - to serve in the name of the Free States as a panzer pilot. Similar to other soldiers, his well-being had not been put above the provided results of his role, so in addition to being provided with top notch combat implants, he had also received drugs notorious for causing cyberpsychosis, to prevent losing integrated control of the vehicle over time. He was not known to talk openly about his experiences on the battlefield, although he had not been able to sleep soundly since, often screaming through nightmares.

Scorpion came back from the war with opened eyes, new ideas and new contacts, and attempted to get the clan leader, Saul Bright, to get the family into joining Snake Nation in order to get strength by numbers. For this insurgence, he was punished by being demoted within the clan ranks and not being given any assignments for a full year - shameful exchange he did not share with those that weren't directly involved. Scorpion also, more or less jokingly, suggested to his friend Panam Palmer to get Mitch on board and just leave for Oregon on their own.

The rest of his days, Scorpion devoted to the clan, from participating in smuggling operations to tinkering and keeping the machinery in order. He understood the value of prioritising the family and, despite being a loyal friend, turned down Panam's request for help once she abruptly left the Aldecaldos over a dispute with Saul, similar to what Scorpion himself went through. Nevertheless, refusing to assist with a job due to having obligations within the clan did not mean that he somehow stopped caring, and he did what he could to indicate Panam will always be considered a part of their family.

Following this brief meeting, a Kang Tao AV was shot down in the southern area of the Badlands, so a group of nomads, Scorpion and Mitch among them, rushed to the aid of potential survivors. Not seeing the AV markings, they had, all but one, succumbed to injuries defending themselves from corpo security.

Scorpion's Thorton Galena "Gecko" fell to the ownership of his best friend Mitch, who decided to use it as a vehicle to send him off according to his final wishes - flying off the edge of a cliff while behind the wheel. Mitch was assisted by V, who not only enabled the funeral by rescuing Mitch, but indirectly participated in Scorpion's final days. For this, they received a little memento in form of an action figure. A good luck charm of dubious history but something he always had with him.

Associated Quests

 * Ghost Town
 * Lightning Breaks
 * Life During Wartime
 * I'll Fly Away

Trivia

 * Scorpion himself seems to be either a fan or a reference of Mortal Kombat's Scorpion.
 * The action figure given to V after Scorpion's funeral - Yellow Jacket Warrior produced by KO Kombat - is a direct reference to Mortal Kombat.