Originally born on Reilly Dock in LTT 15449, his father was a lawyer and mother an entertainer. Mostly dealing in contract agricultural law, his father expected him to follow on and provide a meager, safe life for a future family on the station. "Don't go out there, it's dangerous, stay home where it's safe." His mother, not able to stay in the on-station facilities, took to hopping to the surfaces of planets, other stations, and other ships to perform exotic dancing supplementing the family's meager "farmer law" earnings. John and his younger sister didn't see staying put, and although the sibling chose medicine he chose to reach for the stars.

As soon as possible he hit the space simulators, specifically the Cobra Mk III, flying with outdated line graphics, the sim was good enough at mirroring the real galaxy, including the occasional attack in hyperspace by Thargoids, landing on Coriolis stations and the like. When he was old enough he joined the Federal Navy, but due to his eyesight he wasn't allowed to fly their fighters and was transferred to the space control job, clearing ships for landing and departure. After 4 years he had saved enough to get his shot at flying with the Dark Wheel. A few connections made over the years gave him a small insurance discount, access to SOL, and Shinrarta Dezhra plus an Eagle in addition to the standard Sidewinder. With the prior Cobra experience, jumping into a real ship wasn't a big challenge and he began trading to plus up and then on to bounty hunting.

As new modules hit the market, he was awarded gifts from the Wheel for bravery and performance. A Viper Mk IV and Cobra Mk IV both showed up in his hangar and as the Emperor Lavigny Duval took the throne, his efforts to her coronation gave him the right to purchase any Imperial ship regardless of rank, which is when he bought an Imperial Clipper and began a major trading effort. Being based in Shinrarta Dezhra was a bit taxing for runs to the Empire as needed, but the availability of all modules was too good to pass up. As well, the Dark Wheel treated him with more respect than he'd been used to with the Federal Navy, and allowed him to get an Asp at a deep discount. This was the point that unlocked his financial future.

Over the years he did move up both Imperial and Federal ranks, and also aligned with every major power at some point in order to amass ships and modules, but the Imperial way of life particularly called to him. Honor was important to John, dignity and also the ability to fix one's own problems. While the Federation espoused democratic ideals, in reality is was a huge corporation dedicated to profit and pushing people into a welfare state level of consumption and atrophy. The Empire held its citizens to task: say what you mean, mean what you say, if you can't pay your debts with money you can pay them with service.

Aligned with the Emperor herself, and roaming her systems for criminals, he has excelled in the galaxy, now residing on his own Drake class carrier, The Atlantis, with billions of credits in the bank, relationships with almost all engineers and heads of state, top ranks in both major superpowers, and is known to be a bane to pirates across Imperial space. It's better than agricultural contract law.