"My life isn't about money or status. I couldn't really care less about those things. Life, for me, is about the ability to seamlessly transition from being awestruck by this galaxy's wonders... to blasting the hell out of those who would prey on others." —Vendryk Isalar
Born in 3281 on the planet Capitol in the Achenar system, Vendryk Isalar spent his early years as a tired, miserable young man. He always did his best to live up to the expectations of his family and the Empire that they looked up to; however, every time he thought he was a step ahead of the curb, reality would show him that he was two steps behind. This led to an early demoralization of the boy, who started to take on a rather nihilistic and jaded view of the world around him. Every time he saw the smiling face of his planet's ruler, Arissa Lavigny-Duval on propaganda adverts, he would only stare with an annoyed expression. His fellow students slowly gravitated away from him as a result—they didn't want to be associated with "the kid that never smiled."
As Vendryk grew into a young adult, he started taking more and more steps out of line. He stopped seeing the point in giving the time of day to the classes of formality the Empire so loved. He stopped joining his family on their little get-togethers with the board of educators—who wanted nothing more than to see him succeed. He quite literally gave the middle finger to the counselor who tried to sit down with him and figure out what was wrong. Vendryk wasn’t happy with the way things were and he knew nothing was going to change unless he made it happen himself.
Eventually, the school system afforded him the opportunity to learn the basics of piloting. This was the only thing that Vendryk even cared to put effort into by this point—and it was something that quickly became a passion. Unfortunately for him, this came with the price of having to keep up with his other classes just to stay in the training program. It was almost as if the board of educators knew the exact carrot to dangle in front of him. His parents weren’t all that happy with his path, however; what they had in mind was something more along the lines of a businessman.
That was never going to happen.
At the age of 18, Vendryk graduated from the Duval Academy with a shining certification from the Pilot’s Federation. He was a fully-fledged pilot, with his record branded with the bottom-rung “Harmless” rank. Of course, this didn’t come without strings attached—the Imperial Navy took notice of his development while he was still in school and insisted to the board that he be “encouraged” to join their ranks. This “encouragement” was more like a demand. The situation that was presented to him was either join the Imperial Navy or be barred from employ to any establishment that needed pilots.
With that kind of presentation, it truly was an offer he couldn’t refuse.
So, Vendryk refused, and decided to run away.
Vendryk managed to stow away on a trader's ship that ended up at Zel'Dovich Ring, a small outpost in the Lambda-2 Phoenicis system. This outpost was still within Empire space, but it was so insignificant in comparison to everything else within Lavigny-Duval's territory that Vendryk felt safe enough to try to make something for himself there. Of course, as he soon discovered, the Imperial Navy had put a black mark on his record—a warning not to hire. This was enough that almost every single attempt he made to find work fell flat.
It was only by a ridiculous stroke of luck that one person took intrigue in the black mark and extended an offer. This person was Kazi Benton, who presented under the moniker of "Mirage." He claimed to be one of the senior members of a small group of pilots that went by the name "The Monarchy" —an ironic reference to the Imperial monarchy—a group that largely smuggled goods and liberated slaves. They seemed to operate in opposition to the Empire's doings... and as a scorned son of the Empire, Vendryk liked that.
The more Vendryk told Benton about himself, the more Benton sympathized and became amenable to the idea of bringing him on. Apparently, he had lived through a somewhat similar experience.
"I had heard stories about the Imperial Navy; how they would take what they want without a second thought. I’ll be honest, I never felt like their sights would land on me." —Vendryk Isalar
"I didn't either. Nobody ever does. That’s because the Empire has their sights set on everybody." —Kazi “Mirage” Benton
With his mind more or less made up, Benton sealed the deal with a handshake and brought Vendryk aboard his ship, a Python-class freighter that had two others already aboard. Benton revealed these two to be the other members of The Monarchy; one, a rugged and suave looking male by the name of Nauta Sinneau, moniker "Stormtalon" and two, a scrappy young female that went by Alexis Watney, moniker "Lunar Howler."