Post by Jenno on Aug 25, 2008 21:42:39 GMT -5
Name: Lash Venedray
Age: 27
Race: Human
Birth place: Corellia/Coronet City
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 154 lbs
Appearance:
Profession: Freelance Pilot
Skills: Piloting, Repair (minor), Rapid Shot, Rapid Retreat
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 6
Leadership: 3
Unarmed: 2
Melee Weapons: 3
Ranged Weapons: 7
Bio: Lash Venedray was like every other child, he had a mother and father and his birth was far from irregular. In fact, the first yen years of his life, for the most part, were completely normal. His mother, Cyala, was a nursery school teacher and so she had a lot of experience with young children, due to her job she was patient, kind and loving. She loved Lash dearly both because he was her son and because he was often the only link she had to her husband. This was because Graile Venedray served in the Republic Navy; he was one of their best fighter pilots, well known throughout the armada for his amazing piloting capabilities. He was rarely let off to spend time with his family and even when he was, it was rather brief. Due to this, for the first ten years of his life, Lash never really built up a strong connection with his father on the few occasions they were together.
Lash went to school like every other child his age, through the early stages of his education he never really stood out much, in fact, at all. But then when he was ten years old, everything changed. Lash had fallen ill one day and Cyala had to rush out to fetch some medicine for him as they had run out. On her way back though, she was assaulted by a group of thugs who were just after some credits. Since the medication and money were in the same pouch, Cyala struggled desperately to keep a hold of it. In response, the thugs beat her within an inch of her life. She was found not too long after and was rushed to a hospital. The authorities went to visit and collect Lash whilst notification was sent to Graile. It wasn’t long after Lash had arrived in his mother’s room that she passed away, her condition had been too critical for them to maintain.
A few days after, Graile arrived only to receive word of her death. He resigned from the army and turned to alcohol for support. Lash had to resume his everyday schedule as if nothing had even happened. It wasn’t too long until Graile, who was drunk or asleep whenever Lash saw him, started to beat the small boy in his drunken rage. Lash was too small or weak to put up any real form of resistance. Graile blamed Lash for Cyala’s death, at first Lash believed it was his fault as well, but after a while he began to not take to heart anything his father said.
A few years passed and at the age of 14 Lash had to put up with growing amounts of school work with no idea of where he was going, an abusive father and ever decreasing money due to his father’s drinking habits. Their total income was… irregular, Graile would get a job flying a frigate or a similar job but would be fired after a little while for being so drunk. For the most part he would only take on one off jobs and they were pretty infrequent. Lash would also see very little amounts of this money, even though he was the one who brought and made all of their meals, all his father ever went out and bought was alcohol. With this being the case, Lash managed to find himself a part time job in a store, he hid and saved up his credits, sometimes having to pull out of his own money if they needed food or clothing. But the purpose of these savings was to pay for his future.
At the age of 17, Lash brought an end to his academic career, it was getting him nowhere, he didn’t really excel at anything, he was just moderately good at mostly everything. There was no real job prospect for him, and he wanted to leave the planet, and his father, behind as soon as possible. It was then that he saw the advertisements to join the Republic military. Of course, he wasn’t well built so the army held little prospect for him, but the navy did appeal to him. He sent off an application to join one of the many flight academies across the Galaxy. It wasn’t long until he heard back, his application to the Carida academy had been accepted and he was to ship out in a few days. Lash didn’t say a word to his father and on the night of his departure, he waited until Graile had fallen into a drunken slumber before he left. The only thing he left behind was a note telling his father that he’d left to join the military, and that was all, no location, no contact details, nothing. Without a second thought, Lash left his home world and his father behind, hoping to start a new life as a pilot in the Republic navy.
Lash was both nervous and anxious as he arrived at the academy. This was his first time on another world and he was looking forward to forgetting his life back on Corellia. However, even worlds apart his father managed to dominate his life. Many of the instructors at the academy, it seemed, had either graduated or served with his father, and they all liked to talk about how he was such an amazing pilot, the best some would say.
It was due to these words and the expectation that was roughly shoved upon his shoulders that his first few weeks seemed like hell. He didn’t do as well as the other students, which put him at a disadvantage because it was essential that he learned all of the basics correctly. They had yet to even try a simulated flight; they were just running through the theory involved and scenarios which may present themselves in a combat free environment. It was not until one of the instructors took him to the side and spoke to him that Lash was able to get motivated. The goal which sparked this motivation? To become a better pilot than his father had ever been.
From there things picked up in a number of ways, going back over his notes he came to understand things better, he also started making friends with the other students at the academy. Also, when the time for their first flight simulation came along, Lash was complimented for his smooth flying; he had little trouble with flying the vehicle. Once the simulations started, he accelerated his efforts, trying to get as much time on the simulator as he could, even managing to convince some of the instructors to allow him on it when they were meant to be off. He was beginning to stand out above the rest, reaching newer heights in his ability to fly.
Also, as a requirement, all of the pilots learned to use a blaster pistol, there were occasions when they might be planet side and crash land in which case, they would need to be able to defend themselves. Learning to use a pistol was not overly difficult, it wasn’t as physically demanding as a rifle or repeater would have been. These classes carried on through all four years of his academy life.
Eventually, it was time for their first time flying the real thing, it was only brief at first, but Lash loved it, he felt so free flying in the ship, as if all the expectations upon him, the worries on his mind, the troubles which clouded his past had all been left back in that airbase. He loved it.
During his second year at the academy, they started looking at combat situations, first of all in theory sessions and then later in the year they began simulation training. It was then Lash really stood out above the rest, even on the simulations he was able to do things that even graduates would probably have trouble with. However, he never really felt that the simulators were altogether as similar to flying a real ship as the instructors often made out. There was more potential in a real cockpit.
Simulated battles soon became a favoured pastime for many of the students, each would be using a simulator and when they were all connected, the computer would set up a random scenario, such as an incursion against a small band of pirates, one team would be the pilots, and the other would be the Republic forces. It was one of the best ways to practice and due to his determination to improve; Lash would participate as much as possible. He earned quite the reputation from his skill during the matches, and when he was able to beat 3rd year students and even a few who were in their final year, he became known as the ace of his year.
When the third year rolled around, his ‘title’ was upped and he was known as the school’s ace. At first he was put off by this fact, but eventually it went to his head. However, there wasn’t anyone who could beat him in order to cut his ego back down to a reasonable size. The fact that he didn’t slack off in his training meant that he was able to improve even more.
His fourth year was the same, he was known throughout the academy, he had a number of friends and admirers and his ego never ceased to grow. He was completely full of himself and his skill at flying. Eventually their graduation examinations were upon them and Lash passed them with ease. He had to wait a little while before he was assigned to a fleet and a specific squadron, but when he left the academy he parted ways with many friends and respected teachers, he also left behind a small legacy at that academy, as one of the best pilots to ever pass through it.
Lash found himself serving in one of the most dangerous areas, the Outer Rim, the fleet he was assigned to patrolled the Outer Rim in order to stop any smuggling and to eliminate any pirate threat in the area, of which there were many. In total he spent two years serving with his squadron, in that time he proved himself again and again against a number of pirate threats. During those two years, he impressed his superiors so much that he quickly rose to the rank of Lieutenant and was then placed in second of command of his squadron, answering only to the captain and leader of the squadron. He was their ace pilot and word of his skills even reached other squadrons and other fleets. He had a promising future ahead of him.
However, all of that was cut short. It was approaching almost two years since his graduation and since he had first started serving in the Republic. Recently there had been heightened pirate activity throughout a lot of the Outer Rim territories, a clear sign that someone was trying to expand their influence. However, the Republic were unable to discover which planet served as their base of operations, or who was in charge.
They had to pool in a lot of resources, but eventually they were able to discover where the head of this growing threat resided. There was a space station hidden within an asteroid field and it seemed as though it was still in its growing stages, which meant that this would be the best opportunity to take it out. Most of Lash’s squad was assigned to the mission, himself included. In total there were ten bombers and twenty fighter escorts. Their mission would be to disable any guns or turrets on the station so that the Republic would safely be able to dispatch troops to assault the station, although they believed it was more likely that the owner would surrender if put in that position.
It started the same way as any other mission, a briefing with the intel they had managed to gather serving as the basis for their plan of attack. Each bomber had been assigned certain targets to take down; it was up to their escorts to fend off any fighters which may be in the base, although there were said to be only a handful. Flight prep was the same as always as well, a few words exchanged, a few minor problems sorted out, and then they were off, floating in space, heading straight towards the asteroid field.
Things went south as soon as they entered, their communications were blocked, a maneuver they expected but one that still bode well for them. They were able to contact one another, but the chance of getting a message through to the fleet was impossible.
There were two problems that became abundantly clear when the station came into view. The first was that the station looked nothing like it had upon their datacards a few hours earlier, it may have at one point, but right now it was far far bigger, probably the same size as a small city. However, the second problem was the more important one, there were fighters waiting for them, a large number of fighters; it was a trap. A dogfight quickly ensued, with all hell breaking loose, the shouts and yells which came over the comms was almost deafening, fighters had broken away from their designated bombers who were now completely open to enemy fire. The bombers, for the most part, try to follow their orders and take down some of the turrets and guns which littered the space station; however, there was just too much incoming fire. Lash and his wingman, Han, had worked together a lot in the past and they were able to protect their bomber for quite a few runs. However, with their loss of other fighters and bombers, they were soon being attacked. After a few runs their bomber was hit and veered off into Han’s ship, causing them both to explode.
Lash had lost both his bomber and his wingman, a dear friend who had welcomed him two years ago, as a graduate fresh out of the academy, with open arms. He felt despair at the loss of such a kind and good man, and that despair quickly turned into anger. Lash started on a rampage, taking down all of the enemy fighters he could, it didn’t matter if they were tailing one of his fellow Republic pilots or not, he sent them to their death either way. And since he no longer had to look out for his bomber, he wasn’t as limited in his movements, the battlefield was all his. It seemed like he was back at the academy in one of the simulations, and once again, he was getting the highest score and he didn’t care that each point was the loss of life.
When the squad leader called the retreat, Lash was too caught up in his revenge to pay any attention. In fact, the squad leader had to fight off the two ships on his tail before his words finally got through to Lash, who begrudgingly followed orders.
Of course, the flight back was not easy, they were hunted like rats in the chase and due to Lash’s reluctance, Juugo, the squad leader, and Lash were both trailing behind the others, and caught the attention of most of the pursuing fighters. Although they were both great pilots, they could only last so long; Juugo knew this, even if Lash didn’t want to admit it. It was then that Juugo turned his ship around and headed towards the oncoming fighters, providing a stunned Lash with the opportunity he needed to get away.
Out of the twenty five who set off on the mission, only four returned, including Lash, three fighters and one bomber. Lash was brought down by the mission and what took place. The remaining members of the squadron, those who had survived and those who hadn’t been chosen, all looked to him for leadership. But instead of leading them, he quit. He blamed himself for the death of Juugo and the Republic for their lack of trustworthy contacts. Then he fled, running from the responsibilities he should have taken up.
Lash was now alone and without a home, he only had the credits he’d saved up, a small number of clothes and his trusty L-II stubnose holdout blaster pistol. He could have gone back home, to Corellia, to his father, but that was the last place he wanted to be. After a short amount of time spent drifting, Lash found himself upon the thriving moon of Nar Shaddaa, his new home for the next two years.
Those two years were the lowest time of his life, he spent all of his time and credits drinking and gambling, anything that would prevent him facing what he had done.
It was only about a year since he had fallen into this deadly pattern when he was approached with a job proposition from one of the Hutts present on the planet. Not wanting to lose his neck, Lash met with this Hutt, as requested.
Greegar was the name of the Hutt, he was a fairly large Hutt and his words were almost as foul as his breath. Lash kept his distance to stave off the nauseous feeling that the Hutt’s breath caused. It seemed that Greegar knew of Lash’s piloting skills and wanted to recruit him to pilot ships for him, basically to smuggle contraband. Lash wasn’t interested in working for a Hutt, he didn’t want success, fame, money or power, he just wanted to get back to his local bar and have another drink. However, he was intrigued by one thing, how a Hutt had come to know about his piloting ability, he asked Greegar and the response hit him right where it hurt.
A year ago, Greegar had been at the top of his game, so much wealth and power that he barely knew what to do with it all. His organization just grew and grew up to the point he was able to, near enough, openly attack the Republic with his pirate ships. However, the Republic had been desperate to hunt him down, they had located his base of operations, it had been inevitable, Greegar had just made them find it slightly quicker. He had fed the information to the Republic contacts about his space station, which had recently grown to the size of a small city; however, the Republic thought it was less than half that size. Greegar had wanted the mission to end in a complete failure for the Republic, losing all of those they dispatched to destroy the base, they would think twice before moving against him again.
However, due to Lash’s great piloting, Greegar said, the Republic were able to reevaluate the situation, with images of the base they were able to, a few months after Lash had resigned, launch a full scale operation. The Republic had succeeded, for the most part, they managed to take down the fighters and turrets that defended the station and were also able to land troops in the base, who then took control of the station. Greegar had been lucky, one of his contacts had informed him of the attack and he had managed to flee. He had escaped with his life and freedom, but he was left with only a fraction of his wealth or power. And now, he wanted to his influence to be restored and for that he could use a pilot like Lash.
Lash, despite his lack of courage to face what he had done, rejected the offer; he felt that accepting it would be as if he had been the one to fire upon his dead squad mates. Usually, Greegar would have killed anyone for this defiance. However, the bar which Lash frequented happened to be on of his own. And he was rarely lucky when it came to gambling. If he couldn’t use his piloting skills, then he could at least use his credits. With nothing more than a grunt, Greegar dismissed him and Lash eagerly headed towards the bar and the alcohol which would be waiting for him.
From there on, finding work became difficult for Lash, no thanks to Greegar, he suspected. Occasionally he would fly a frigate for a small amount of credits or if he was lucky he might win a fair amount on the tables. However, for the most part he was just losing credits. A year passed on and he found himself nearing the end of his credits. At 25 years of age, he had a life which was basically filled with drinking and gambling. But things headed south rather quickly from there. Greegar had hoped that Lash might change his mind if put in the situation he was currently, however he just carried on like he wasn’t bleeding credits on a daily basis. To ensure that he got what he wanted, Greegar had gotten people to play Lash, he could always distinguish these people, they were better than everyone else he faced and they often walked away from the night with a decent amount of winnings.
One night, Lash knew that Greegar had finally lost his patience with him and wanted him dead. He was down fifty thousand credits. Of course, he didn’t have that amount of money, or any way to get that kind of money, but he still wouldn’t take Greegar’s job, which meant he would be taken care of; a Hutt only had so much patience. Lash managed to make a distraction in the bar and he fled, running for his life, with only a handful of credits and his blaster. He found the ugliest ship he could and snuck aboard, they wouldn’t think that a pilot like himself would opt to pilot such a bad ship, hopefully his pursuers wouldn’t find him.
But that ship, that random choice, would soon change his life forever.
Age: 27
Race: Human
Birth place: Corellia/Coronet City
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 154 lbs
Appearance:
Profession: Freelance Pilot
Skills: Piloting, Repair (minor), Rapid Shot, Rapid Retreat
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 6
Leadership: 3
Unarmed: 2
Melee Weapons: 3
Ranged Weapons: 7
Bio: Lash Venedray was like every other child, he had a mother and father and his birth was far from irregular. In fact, the first yen years of his life, for the most part, were completely normal. His mother, Cyala, was a nursery school teacher and so she had a lot of experience with young children, due to her job she was patient, kind and loving. She loved Lash dearly both because he was her son and because he was often the only link she had to her husband. This was because Graile Venedray served in the Republic Navy; he was one of their best fighter pilots, well known throughout the armada for his amazing piloting capabilities. He was rarely let off to spend time with his family and even when he was, it was rather brief. Due to this, for the first ten years of his life, Lash never really built up a strong connection with his father on the few occasions they were together.
Lash went to school like every other child his age, through the early stages of his education he never really stood out much, in fact, at all. But then when he was ten years old, everything changed. Lash had fallen ill one day and Cyala had to rush out to fetch some medicine for him as they had run out. On her way back though, she was assaulted by a group of thugs who were just after some credits. Since the medication and money were in the same pouch, Cyala struggled desperately to keep a hold of it. In response, the thugs beat her within an inch of her life. She was found not too long after and was rushed to a hospital. The authorities went to visit and collect Lash whilst notification was sent to Graile. It wasn’t long after Lash had arrived in his mother’s room that she passed away, her condition had been too critical for them to maintain.
A few days after, Graile arrived only to receive word of her death. He resigned from the army and turned to alcohol for support. Lash had to resume his everyday schedule as if nothing had even happened. It wasn’t too long until Graile, who was drunk or asleep whenever Lash saw him, started to beat the small boy in his drunken rage. Lash was too small or weak to put up any real form of resistance. Graile blamed Lash for Cyala’s death, at first Lash believed it was his fault as well, but after a while he began to not take to heart anything his father said.
A few years passed and at the age of 14 Lash had to put up with growing amounts of school work with no idea of where he was going, an abusive father and ever decreasing money due to his father’s drinking habits. Their total income was… irregular, Graile would get a job flying a frigate or a similar job but would be fired after a little while for being so drunk. For the most part he would only take on one off jobs and they were pretty infrequent. Lash would also see very little amounts of this money, even though he was the one who brought and made all of their meals, all his father ever went out and bought was alcohol. With this being the case, Lash managed to find himself a part time job in a store, he hid and saved up his credits, sometimes having to pull out of his own money if they needed food or clothing. But the purpose of these savings was to pay for his future.
At the age of 17, Lash brought an end to his academic career, it was getting him nowhere, he didn’t really excel at anything, he was just moderately good at mostly everything. There was no real job prospect for him, and he wanted to leave the planet, and his father, behind as soon as possible. It was then that he saw the advertisements to join the Republic military. Of course, he wasn’t well built so the army held little prospect for him, but the navy did appeal to him. He sent off an application to join one of the many flight academies across the Galaxy. It wasn’t long until he heard back, his application to the Carida academy had been accepted and he was to ship out in a few days. Lash didn’t say a word to his father and on the night of his departure, he waited until Graile had fallen into a drunken slumber before he left. The only thing he left behind was a note telling his father that he’d left to join the military, and that was all, no location, no contact details, nothing. Without a second thought, Lash left his home world and his father behind, hoping to start a new life as a pilot in the Republic navy.
Lash was both nervous and anxious as he arrived at the academy. This was his first time on another world and he was looking forward to forgetting his life back on Corellia. However, even worlds apart his father managed to dominate his life. Many of the instructors at the academy, it seemed, had either graduated or served with his father, and they all liked to talk about how he was such an amazing pilot, the best some would say.
It was due to these words and the expectation that was roughly shoved upon his shoulders that his first few weeks seemed like hell. He didn’t do as well as the other students, which put him at a disadvantage because it was essential that he learned all of the basics correctly. They had yet to even try a simulated flight; they were just running through the theory involved and scenarios which may present themselves in a combat free environment. It was not until one of the instructors took him to the side and spoke to him that Lash was able to get motivated. The goal which sparked this motivation? To become a better pilot than his father had ever been.
From there things picked up in a number of ways, going back over his notes he came to understand things better, he also started making friends with the other students at the academy. Also, when the time for their first flight simulation came along, Lash was complimented for his smooth flying; he had little trouble with flying the vehicle. Once the simulations started, he accelerated his efforts, trying to get as much time on the simulator as he could, even managing to convince some of the instructors to allow him on it when they were meant to be off. He was beginning to stand out above the rest, reaching newer heights in his ability to fly.
Also, as a requirement, all of the pilots learned to use a blaster pistol, there were occasions when they might be planet side and crash land in which case, they would need to be able to defend themselves. Learning to use a pistol was not overly difficult, it wasn’t as physically demanding as a rifle or repeater would have been. These classes carried on through all four years of his academy life.
Eventually, it was time for their first time flying the real thing, it was only brief at first, but Lash loved it, he felt so free flying in the ship, as if all the expectations upon him, the worries on his mind, the troubles which clouded his past had all been left back in that airbase. He loved it.
During his second year at the academy, they started looking at combat situations, first of all in theory sessions and then later in the year they began simulation training. It was then Lash really stood out above the rest, even on the simulations he was able to do things that even graduates would probably have trouble with. However, he never really felt that the simulators were altogether as similar to flying a real ship as the instructors often made out. There was more potential in a real cockpit.
Simulated battles soon became a favoured pastime for many of the students, each would be using a simulator and when they were all connected, the computer would set up a random scenario, such as an incursion against a small band of pirates, one team would be the pilots, and the other would be the Republic forces. It was one of the best ways to practice and due to his determination to improve; Lash would participate as much as possible. He earned quite the reputation from his skill during the matches, and when he was able to beat 3rd year students and even a few who were in their final year, he became known as the ace of his year.
When the third year rolled around, his ‘title’ was upped and he was known as the school’s ace. At first he was put off by this fact, but eventually it went to his head. However, there wasn’t anyone who could beat him in order to cut his ego back down to a reasonable size. The fact that he didn’t slack off in his training meant that he was able to improve even more.
His fourth year was the same, he was known throughout the academy, he had a number of friends and admirers and his ego never ceased to grow. He was completely full of himself and his skill at flying. Eventually their graduation examinations were upon them and Lash passed them with ease. He had to wait a little while before he was assigned to a fleet and a specific squadron, but when he left the academy he parted ways with many friends and respected teachers, he also left behind a small legacy at that academy, as one of the best pilots to ever pass through it.
Lash found himself serving in one of the most dangerous areas, the Outer Rim, the fleet he was assigned to patrolled the Outer Rim in order to stop any smuggling and to eliminate any pirate threat in the area, of which there were many. In total he spent two years serving with his squadron, in that time he proved himself again and again against a number of pirate threats. During those two years, he impressed his superiors so much that he quickly rose to the rank of Lieutenant and was then placed in second of command of his squadron, answering only to the captain and leader of the squadron. He was their ace pilot and word of his skills even reached other squadrons and other fleets. He had a promising future ahead of him.
However, all of that was cut short. It was approaching almost two years since his graduation and since he had first started serving in the Republic. Recently there had been heightened pirate activity throughout a lot of the Outer Rim territories, a clear sign that someone was trying to expand their influence. However, the Republic were unable to discover which planet served as their base of operations, or who was in charge.
They had to pool in a lot of resources, but eventually they were able to discover where the head of this growing threat resided. There was a space station hidden within an asteroid field and it seemed as though it was still in its growing stages, which meant that this would be the best opportunity to take it out. Most of Lash’s squad was assigned to the mission, himself included. In total there were ten bombers and twenty fighter escorts. Their mission would be to disable any guns or turrets on the station so that the Republic would safely be able to dispatch troops to assault the station, although they believed it was more likely that the owner would surrender if put in that position.
It started the same way as any other mission, a briefing with the intel they had managed to gather serving as the basis for their plan of attack. Each bomber had been assigned certain targets to take down; it was up to their escorts to fend off any fighters which may be in the base, although there were said to be only a handful. Flight prep was the same as always as well, a few words exchanged, a few minor problems sorted out, and then they were off, floating in space, heading straight towards the asteroid field.
Things went south as soon as they entered, their communications were blocked, a maneuver they expected but one that still bode well for them. They were able to contact one another, but the chance of getting a message through to the fleet was impossible.
There were two problems that became abundantly clear when the station came into view. The first was that the station looked nothing like it had upon their datacards a few hours earlier, it may have at one point, but right now it was far far bigger, probably the same size as a small city. However, the second problem was the more important one, there were fighters waiting for them, a large number of fighters; it was a trap. A dogfight quickly ensued, with all hell breaking loose, the shouts and yells which came over the comms was almost deafening, fighters had broken away from their designated bombers who were now completely open to enemy fire. The bombers, for the most part, try to follow their orders and take down some of the turrets and guns which littered the space station; however, there was just too much incoming fire. Lash and his wingman, Han, had worked together a lot in the past and they were able to protect their bomber for quite a few runs. However, with their loss of other fighters and bombers, they were soon being attacked. After a few runs their bomber was hit and veered off into Han’s ship, causing them both to explode.
Lash had lost both his bomber and his wingman, a dear friend who had welcomed him two years ago, as a graduate fresh out of the academy, with open arms. He felt despair at the loss of such a kind and good man, and that despair quickly turned into anger. Lash started on a rampage, taking down all of the enemy fighters he could, it didn’t matter if they were tailing one of his fellow Republic pilots or not, he sent them to their death either way. And since he no longer had to look out for his bomber, he wasn’t as limited in his movements, the battlefield was all his. It seemed like he was back at the academy in one of the simulations, and once again, he was getting the highest score and he didn’t care that each point was the loss of life.
When the squad leader called the retreat, Lash was too caught up in his revenge to pay any attention. In fact, the squad leader had to fight off the two ships on his tail before his words finally got through to Lash, who begrudgingly followed orders.
Of course, the flight back was not easy, they were hunted like rats in the chase and due to Lash’s reluctance, Juugo, the squad leader, and Lash were both trailing behind the others, and caught the attention of most of the pursuing fighters. Although they were both great pilots, they could only last so long; Juugo knew this, even if Lash didn’t want to admit it. It was then that Juugo turned his ship around and headed towards the oncoming fighters, providing a stunned Lash with the opportunity he needed to get away.
Out of the twenty five who set off on the mission, only four returned, including Lash, three fighters and one bomber. Lash was brought down by the mission and what took place. The remaining members of the squadron, those who had survived and those who hadn’t been chosen, all looked to him for leadership. But instead of leading them, he quit. He blamed himself for the death of Juugo and the Republic for their lack of trustworthy contacts. Then he fled, running from the responsibilities he should have taken up.
Lash was now alone and without a home, he only had the credits he’d saved up, a small number of clothes and his trusty L-II stubnose holdout blaster pistol. He could have gone back home, to Corellia, to his father, but that was the last place he wanted to be. After a short amount of time spent drifting, Lash found himself upon the thriving moon of Nar Shaddaa, his new home for the next two years.
Those two years were the lowest time of his life, he spent all of his time and credits drinking and gambling, anything that would prevent him facing what he had done.
It was only about a year since he had fallen into this deadly pattern when he was approached with a job proposition from one of the Hutts present on the planet. Not wanting to lose his neck, Lash met with this Hutt, as requested.
Greegar was the name of the Hutt, he was a fairly large Hutt and his words were almost as foul as his breath. Lash kept his distance to stave off the nauseous feeling that the Hutt’s breath caused. It seemed that Greegar knew of Lash’s piloting skills and wanted to recruit him to pilot ships for him, basically to smuggle contraband. Lash wasn’t interested in working for a Hutt, he didn’t want success, fame, money or power, he just wanted to get back to his local bar and have another drink. However, he was intrigued by one thing, how a Hutt had come to know about his piloting ability, he asked Greegar and the response hit him right where it hurt.
A year ago, Greegar had been at the top of his game, so much wealth and power that he barely knew what to do with it all. His organization just grew and grew up to the point he was able to, near enough, openly attack the Republic with his pirate ships. However, the Republic had been desperate to hunt him down, they had located his base of operations, it had been inevitable, Greegar had just made them find it slightly quicker. He had fed the information to the Republic contacts about his space station, which had recently grown to the size of a small city; however, the Republic thought it was less than half that size. Greegar had wanted the mission to end in a complete failure for the Republic, losing all of those they dispatched to destroy the base, they would think twice before moving against him again.
However, due to Lash’s great piloting, Greegar said, the Republic were able to reevaluate the situation, with images of the base they were able to, a few months after Lash had resigned, launch a full scale operation. The Republic had succeeded, for the most part, they managed to take down the fighters and turrets that defended the station and were also able to land troops in the base, who then took control of the station. Greegar had been lucky, one of his contacts had informed him of the attack and he had managed to flee. He had escaped with his life and freedom, but he was left with only a fraction of his wealth or power. And now, he wanted to his influence to be restored and for that he could use a pilot like Lash.
Lash, despite his lack of courage to face what he had done, rejected the offer; he felt that accepting it would be as if he had been the one to fire upon his dead squad mates. Usually, Greegar would have killed anyone for this defiance. However, the bar which Lash frequented happened to be on of his own. And he was rarely lucky when it came to gambling. If he couldn’t use his piloting skills, then he could at least use his credits. With nothing more than a grunt, Greegar dismissed him and Lash eagerly headed towards the bar and the alcohol which would be waiting for him.
From there on, finding work became difficult for Lash, no thanks to Greegar, he suspected. Occasionally he would fly a frigate for a small amount of credits or if he was lucky he might win a fair amount on the tables. However, for the most part he was just losing credits. A year passed on and he found himself nearing the end of his credits. At 25 years of age, he had a life which was basically filled with drinking and gambling. But things headed south rather quickly from there. Greegar had hoped that Lash might change his mind if put in the situation he was currently, however he just carried on like he wasn’t bleeding credits on a daily basis. To ensure that he got what he wanted, Greegar had gotten people to play Lash, he could always distinguish these people, they were better than everyone else he faced and they often walked away from the night with a decent amount of winnings.
One night, Lash knew that Greegar had finally lost his patience with him and wanted him dead. He was down fifty thousand credits. Of course, he didn’t have that amount of money, or any way to get that kind of money, but he still wouldn’t take Greegar’s job, which meant he would be taken care of; a Hutt only had so much patience. Lash managed to make a distraction in the bar and he fled, running for his life, with only a handful of credits and his blaster. He found the ugliest ship he could and snuck aboard, they wouldn’t think that a pilot like himself would opt to pilot such a bad ship, hopefully his pursuers wouldn’t find him.
But that ship, that random choice, would soon change his life forever.
