Jess Castle

"“Any fool does something he know ain't right, always claims 'twas his duty.”"

- Jess Castle, during a standoff with a terrorist.

Appearance
Jess has a hardened look to him, despite the fact that he doesn't look the 33 years of age that he is. His hazel colored eyes show the true age he feels, they reflect the horrors he's seen in his life time and warn those who look into them to stay away. His skin is slightly darkened, as is the case with most native people from Dorlon II, and has the hard lines and callouses that career soldiers earn. He has a jagged scar two inches in length that runs over his right eye. Jess keeps his dark brown hair trimmed short, and while he knows he isn't in the service any longer, he still tries to keep his facial hair neatly trimmed as per regulations. Though depending on the mood and what he might be up to, he has been known to carry a beard of stubble. He stands at a respectable 5'11" height and carries an athletic build over top a broad frame.

Personality
Cynical, at best. Jess has seen the hardships of the outer rim as very few ever can. He's served an Empire for years that at times forgets its very own citizens. He lost his parents when he was but a boy. The woman he loved and thought he could trust with his life betrayed him and had him imprisoned. There isn't much about Jess' life that leans towards happiness, much less optimism. He is fiercely loyal, almost to a fault, and does not understand the concept of failure. If he sets out to do a job, the job gets done. And that's just that. New to the mercenary life, the past 3 years have taken their toll on Jess, and while he refrains when he's on a job, during his downtime he tends to lose himself in several bottles, the only way he knows to cope.

History
Born on the desolate, volcanic planet of Dorlon II, there wasn't much expected from Jess Castles life. Existence on Dorlon II was basic, at best. With luck, strong healthy sons were drafted into service by the Empire and its nearby training world of Carida. Service to the Empire was truly the only way off the rugged rock of a planet that his family called home, and when the time came, Jess went willingly.

He was taken from his home at the age of 13 and placed in intensive training on Carida. He trained for 5 years at the Academy before graduating as an Imperial Stormtrooper. During that training, Jess had recieved word that his mother and father had died in a natural disaster back on Dorlon II. He was devastated by this, and vowed to make them proud by his service.

His first action was during the Rethyal Campaign, a long, arduous ground assault that lasted months. Eventually, Lord Vader and the Empires forces re-took the Ag-World from the rebels, but not without cost. Most of the unit Jess had been assigned to had died. It was near the end of the Rethyal campaign that an ISB operative witnessed Jess in combat and immediately selected him as a candidate for the Sector Rangers.

Jess would be called out of his duties around 12 ABY to join the new war against the republic under Damascus' rule. It was during this time that he was betrayed by his fellow Sector Ranger and lover, sold out to a Hutt Kingpin and eventually captured by a team of bounty hunters. He would spend the next 3 years held in captivity by the Hutt.

Roughly around the time of the New Mandalorian Crusade, Jess managed to escape, destroying the Hutts palace and fleeing the planet in an unarmed shuttle. He learned of the Xen Chi invasion, and all of the havoc being wrecked across the galaxy during his time in captivity. When he attempted to return to his chain of command, they attempted to place him under arrest. He would later find out that his lover had sold him out to more than just the Hutts.

Forced to flee the only place he'd ever known as home, Jess found his way deep into the outer rim, where he rebuilt his life from the ground up, becoming the one thing he'd spent most of his adult life tracking down... A mercenary.

Training

 * 3BBY-0BBY Imperial Stormtrooper Academy
 * 2ABY-6ABY Imperial Sector Ranger
 * 7ABY-12ABY Special Enforcement Officer

Jess is highly trained in all the disciplines one would look to find in a soldier of fortune. He was instructed from a young age by some of the best trainers in the galaxy, first learning all there was to know about ground combat, armed and unarmed through the Stormtrooper Corps. Then he received specialized training in the form of the Sector Rangers where he was taught to work on his own, espionage, investigating, and covert operations.