Yann Orllock was born in the year 3283 at Euthymenes Orbital located in the HR 7169 system, his father was a farmer and his mother a terraforming scientist. When Orllock was 17 years old, during a trip to Alioth, his parents were kidnapped by pirates and sold as slaves to the Empire but Yann managed to escape and never heard from them again. This caused Orllock to grow a deep hatred of the Empire, which led him to join the Federation Navy to fight them.

After 5 years of service and been promoted to the rank of Petty Officer, Yann defected from the navy disgusted by the corporate influence within the Federation. After a year of living as a bounty hunter for independent factions, Orllock started working for communist systems and felt represented by this ideology. In 3309, Orllock regressed to his home system, HR 7169, to join the Communist Interstellar Union to prepare the neighboring systems for a future revolution.