Born to wealthy Panemian Onionhead farmers William Schaeffer and Tamiya Misosuki, Jeremy is the third oldest son of nine children and fifth oldest overall in his family, consisting of four sons and five daughters. Shortly after Jeremy turned 15, his parents decided to sell their farm, retire, and move to the Lave system so as to avoid coming under Federation scrutiny, ending with the Schaeffer family buying part of an apartment block on the famous Lave Station, including a Penthouse suite.

During the 15 years Jeremy spent on Panem, his father would often take him out fishing, hiking, or stargazing, often telling his young son about humankind's ancestral homeworld of Earth and how humans once looked to the stars as their future and that in order for the human race to continue to thrive and flourish, they would have to continue to look to the stars. Jeremy often cites this as the impetus that drove him to seeking out a job that required working on a spaceship, and ultimately join the Pilot's Federation.

Four years after moving to Lave, Jeremy learned about the Pilot's Federation while bar-hopping with Yumi Kozumaki, a girl from Planet Lave who worked part-time as a porter on Lave Station. While she had no interest in joining the Pilot's Federation nor working on a starship, Jeremy was excited by the idea of commanding his own private vessel and doing freelance work, rather than working as hired crew or as a freelance photographer as he had been before. Pooling his credits, Jeremy began to take the rigorous examinations and tests required to own a civilian shipman's licence, then wound up logging 10 hours in non-simulated flight before earning his Pilot's Federation licence.

Currently, Commander Schaeffer is working under the tutelage of a Commander Karic Hovath, and can list visiting Sagittarius A* and several major nebulae near human space and discovering a handful of potential colonies for further human expansion as some of his achievements.

As an explorer, Commander Schaeffer is renowned for his sheer determination, not allowing any obstacle impede his progress toward any goal. To prove this, he has enlisted on the Distant Worlds expedition to the system known as "Beagle Point" and is dedicated to reaching his destination no matter what he faces.

As a fighter, Jeremy's name is well-known among bounty hunters in the systems he frequents, often cited as taking down Anacondas and Fer de Lances singlehandedly. However, he has significantly more trouble facing down other Commanders, as they generally tend to be head-and-shoulders above other pilots of a single calibre.

In CQC, he is also well-known for being a ruthless killer... and being an easy target at the same time. In spite of this, he is considered a well-rounded pilot who wins more than he loses when he enters the rings of free-for-all and team-based death-matches.

Jeremy's name is less-known among traders as he prefers to work as a hired gun or cartographer, though he does keep a Type-Seven on hand for heavy lifting. He has had a few run-ins with the infamous Pilot's Federation pirate group known only as "The Code", though his interactions with them have been cordial.