Ever since Carignan was a child he somehow knew he was different.
Not in the "Special little snowflake" way.
No. It was more in the way of something that he could never fully explain.

There was no word that could accurately translate to human understanding, of what he just knew.
It wasn't just a feeling to him, it was a knowing.  

Now, as he travels through the Galaxy, at rates much faster than the speed of light,
he replays one of his earliest memories over and over again in his head.
Sitting on his Mothers crossed legs, together, staring up at the fast sea of stars in the pitch black night sky,
He asked her, "mom, who is my daddy?"
When ever he brought up the father he never met, he could see the sadness weighing in on his mothers beautiful eyes.
Carignan remembers her slowly shaking her head and saying the very words that still haunt him to this day.
"Your daddy came from the stars."
That's all she would ever say about him. Therefore that's all he knew about him.
He came from the stars.

When Carignan turned 12, his Mother, the only family he ever had, passed away from a common illness that was made worse by pure exhaustion.
However, being a poor family living off the messily 10 credits a week her slave master provided her with.
She was unable to afford appropriate medical care.

He remembers hearing their masters snarky barks of him yelling;
"Get up bitch! Do you expect me to pay pitty to you because your not feeling good?
Or maybe your just taking me for a fool?
Do you think I'm that stupid?
I've witnessed every trick you can think of, attempted by you worthless scum"
Now get back to the crops!"

Carignan pleaded with their master to let him work the crops so his mother could rest.
But their master was a cruel man.
Playing on the love between a mother and child, he took Carignan by the arm, pulled him close and grabbed hi, by the neck.
"Maybe I need to give you some motivation. How about I tear this little shits head right off his shoulders? Maybe then you will get the hint!"
Terrified for her child's life, the one and only thing she had to look forward to every day.
The only thing that gave her the strength to keep living this awful life.
She yelled please don't, and gathered the strength to pull herself up off the ground to join the other slaves in yard.

Carignan watched as his mother collapsed no more than 20 feet away from him.
Master kicked her in the side screaming get up.
She didn't move.
Their master looked at Carignan and grinned. Then turned and nodded to the other slaves as he walked away.
Tears streamed down the little boys face. Before his very eyes, she was dragged away.
And for the first time in his life, he was alone.

Thinking nothing of the boy, he was soon sold to another slaver.
This one was different than the others.

He never hit Carignan, nor yelled at him, or even put him to work for that matter.
His only orders were; to get an education.

Days were spent learning at the Academy and nights were spent studying in preparation for the next day.
Before long Carignan was a young man graduating among the other boys he served in the Academy with for the past 10 years.

On that very night he was summoned to his Masters chambers.
Even after all those years spent living together, they rarely spoke.
He looked at Carignan and said
"This is it. This is where our paths separate now. There is no more I can do for you. You are a man.
Go out and seek your own path and may it lead you to all the answers you have questioned in your life"

And with that he got up and gestured for him to follow.
Carignan trailed his Master as he was led through house, through the yard and into a large hanger.

Never before was he allowed to enter this area of his masters compound.
Never before did he even question what lied within.
Yet now there he stood.
And before the both of them, sat a ship.
A ship that had written in gold along its wing that said;
Sidewinder.