Edge of the Empire: Book 01: Outcast Origins

Chapter 1: Life

Author's Note: Star Wars was my first love. It was one of the first things I remember my dad and I ever bonding over. It taught me so much or at least fleshed out what my parents tried to teach me about right and wrong. It helped define what made heroes and villains; and the importance of standing up for what's right even against overwhelming odds...and giant superweapons. It also taught me how 'Hope' can spring from the most random places(Luke Skywalker), that the ability to do what's right is in all of us(Han Solo), and that just because you were born a princess doesn't mean you can't kick a little butt(Leia, you will always be royalty. RIP Carrie Fisher) Not to mention that with only having 5 lines a character can be immortalized by simply wearing the coolest suit of armor in the galaxy and inspiring an entire culture and language (the Fetts). Dialogue is good but sheer Presence is better. (Oya Mando'ade)

As the years went by that love of a galaxy far far away waxed and waned but the feelings remained. Almost everything I did or became interested in can be traced back to that first moment the Star Wars text scrolled across the screen. I was hooked and thus doomed myself to a lifetime of geekdom. Back in the 90s in the beautiful state of Missouri being a sci-fi fan wasn't an incredibly attractive trait. I certainly didn't help my case by preferring crafts and watching movies over sports and hunting (two big mainstays in my family and community) or that as I got older I supplemented Star Wars with shows like Stargate SG1, Andromeda, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, etc...(Never could get into Star Trek though, sorry Spock fans) Needless to say grade school sucked, that was until Pokémon finally became popular, then Toonami, and eventually Yugi-oh. Suddenly it was ok to be a geek, but since I didn't ride the mainstream geek train I was once again relegated to the outskirts, least I wasn't alone by then. (Shout out to Samantha Montana, Alex Shepard, Corky Weegrum, Elisa Belcher, and Dallas Terril for always having my back)

And then I turned 17. Finally, my 5ft even lanky self-filled out at 5'9'' since I started doing JROTC and Track and Field. I was still a geek and a devout Christian though and the hierarchies of High School were not about to let me forget it. So rather than sinking myself into student loan debt like everyone else who went to college, I joined the Army, served 4 years active (with 1 deployment to Iraq in that time) I did 2 years in the GA Nat. Guard. By then I was much more confident in myself and what my passions were. I'd supplemented my fandom with fabrication, prop-making, cosplay, and miniature painting (and randomly doomsday prepping (thank you, Jericho!))

Now I've come full circle, with the release of Clone Wars, Rebels, Rogue One, and The Force Awakens my Star Wars love has rekindled. I created a story for my cosplay character Jarek Orion (because Mandalorians are so cool, ref. Republic Commandos by Karen Travis) who was also the character I role-played in the original Star Wars RPG game and later on in the Fantasy Flights RPG game. So, like many D&D and Pathfinder players, I decided to put pen to paper and chronicle Jarek's story drawing inspiration from my own life experiences and his own in-game experiences. It has taken several years with one or two ret-cons to his character and story arc before it finally fleshed itself out.

I don't want to do a character Bio simply because it would reveal too much of his past which is intentionally kept shrouded. I will say the inspiration for his origin was drawn from Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn) Ryu (Ninja Assassin) and Zuko (Avatar the Last Air Bender) as well as a few others. I also tried to avoid staging any of his adventures on worlds/environs seen in the films. Why you may ask? Because the Star Wars universe is HUGE! There are so many more adventures, species, cultures, and locales to be had! However, as a fan, I appreciate anchoring any Star Wars story to the familiar which is why Book 02 picks up on Tatooine approximately five years after the Rise of the Empire. The six-book series is known as the Edge of the Empire (after the Fantasy Flight Game) with Book 02 to 05 being named after individual game modules and expansions. Book 04, being the longest, had to be separated into five parts. But I have rambled on enough.