Lissic Tano was born on Bajor, during the Cardassian Occupation. When he was fifteen, his parents arranged to have him smuggled offworld to avoid life in a Cardassian labor camp. Joining other Bajoran refugees, Tano travelled from planet to planet, searching for a new home.

Unwelcomed by most worlds, the Bajorans were abused by others. Robbed and cheated because they had no government to champion them, The refugees were often forced to accept circumstances that were no better than if they had stayed on Bajor. As he grew older, Tano often found himself defending his companions from those who thought to take advantage of a homeless people.

Tano had learned to speak Cardassian before leaving Bajor, and added Klingonaase, Ferengi, and Talarian, among others. He also learned to use weapons and diplomacy to protect his unofficial charges. He had collected a number of scars as reminders of "what not do" in hostile situations.

He met his wife, See, when she was fifteen, and about to be raped by a pair of Miradorn smugglers who were providing the refugees with transportation to another promised home. Tano was forced to kill one of the brothers, and locked his twin in the cargo hold of their own ship for the duration of the trip. Three years later, they were married.

The Lissics had lived on Oed V for a year when Tano joined the local police force. See had been working as a medic tending her fellow Bajorans, and completed the formal training to become a nurse after arriving at the colony world. Their daughter, Baya, was born on Oed V.

Another Bajoran, Prylar Hast Maff, had requested Tano's help with a matter more important than protecting the refugees. Prylar Hast had smuggled a Bajoran Orb of the Prophets off Bajor, and out of Cardassian hands. He needed Lissic's help to arranage a hiding place and security for the Orb. Only a select circle of trusted confidants know of the Orb's existance on Oed V.