Halbech, Merlin J. was born on September 30th 3260 in the town of Wryport on Home, Reorte.

The son of Lynwood and Veronica Halbech, respected farmers, Merlin hated the slow pace of life on Eden and would constantly argue with his father about leaving to explore the galaxy. When he turned 18, the sheer prospect of being just a simple farmer for the rest of his life drove him to leave. He hitched a ride aboard the first freighter leaving the system, a Type 9 bound for Zaonce.

Before leaving the system, the ship docked at Davies High and Merlin met a company of Federal Marines. By the time they had finished regaling the young farm boy with their war stories he had made up his mind, he would join the Federal Navy as a marine.

He completed tours in some of the most inhospitable environments the Navy was engaged in. He applied to the Marine Forces Special Operations Command in Eta Cassiopeiae and made the rank of Chief Petty Officer, becoming team leader of a special operations unit. Excelling in counter insurgency and intelligence gathering, he eventually transferred to the Federal Security Service. He was partnered with Benedict Arleth, an FSS officer of 20 years. The veteran agent wrote stellar reviews of his new partner and the pair were noted for their work. When Arleth retired, Halbech was partnered with Thaddeus Morgan, a man he had met during his time in the marines. The two went on to build a fearsome reputation around the Old Worlds for their relentless pursuit of suspects, with many of their cases being highly classified, and incredibly dangerous.

After leaving the service, Merlin decided to stay in the Old Worlds region and put his skills to use in the asset retrieval business. After making some money finding lost corporate merchandise he purchased an old Type 6 freighter and refitted it for mining operations. The peace and quiet of an asteroid belt was a nice break, and the return on investment proved to be healthy. Which was helpful as after all, Indi Bourbon isn't cheap.