Ayden Cater

"There are two kinds of smugglers in this galaxy; the dumb kind and the smart kind. The dumb kind lie, cheat, steal, get lost, pick fights, cause mayhem, and end up in jail. The smart kind do all those things and never get caught." -Unknown Smuggler
== History ==
=== Birth ===
Ayden was born on Corellia to Gerrik and Rachael Cater. Growing up, Ayden quickly learned to hate the Empire. Gerrik ran afoul the local Governor and, in the ensuing fight with Imperial forces, was killed. No apologies were sent. No cards. Nothing. Life became difficult for the young Corellian and his family. Rachael took up odd jobs here and there to support Ayden and Imara. Left to his own devices, Ayden began to tinker with things. Anything that he could lay his hands on was at his mercy. He would stare at it, analyze it, take it apart, study the pieces, then attempt to reassemble it. His mother was patient, like any loving mother, and supported the boy's hobby.
When he was thirteen, Ayden was forced to accompany his mother to Dathomir after his aunt's husband was found to be cheating. The trip served as an eye-opening experience. Before hand, he had been a painfully shy boy who preferred to remain indoors in seclusion, tinkering away at things, than socialize with others his age. His confidence was bolstered, in part, thanks to a young Dathomiri witch who 'claimed' him as her own. Neither he nor his mother understood the customs, and so simply let it be. For months, he learned new skills that would greatly serve him later in life, and the girl slowly grew on the young teen. When it came time to leave, Ayden tried to find her and let her know what was happening but could not. This unspoken good-bye would trouble him for years afterwords
In time, as Ayden grew older, so too did his skills as a mechanic. Soon, he was working in repair shops, working on speeders and other personal craft. He also learned about gambling, smuggling, and other methods of less-than-legitimate lines of work from his time on the streets. Years went by, and Ayden worked as a mechanic, doing anything and everything he could to get enough credits to purchase a ship of his own. Beyond the freedom it represented, there was a plan behind the ship. Word of the Rebellion was growing and he knew he wanted to be a part of it. Finally, at the age of 21, Ayden collected enough credits to purchase a Hawk-series HWK-290 freighter. Six years went by, and while Ayden tinkered and ran cargo missions, he looked for the Rebellion.
A less-than-pleasant run in with local Imperial forces almost ended the Corellian's life, much like his father, but fate had other plans. The ship, though crippled, managed to survive crashing to give Ayden a second chance. Bruised, beaten, but not broken, the incident only fueled Ayden's desire to join the Rebellion. So with the scraps of the ship, Ayden managed to gamble his way into enough credits for a YT-2000 light freighter. Christening it Unyielding Faith, Ayden spent almost a year modifying the ship along with the assistance from a used, and somewhat eccentric, droid designated R2-E9 and nicknamed Haywire. Finally, with nothing left to do, Ayden left Corellia to begin his search for the Rebels.
=== The End of a Search ===
Months passed, and Ayden was running low on morale and supplies. Landing in Tatooine for refueling, resupplying, and a quick inquiry, Ayden had little hope of finding any clues to the location of any Rebels. Fate decided to smile on him in the form of a large bar fight. While ducking for cover, Ayden crossed paths with a rude alcoholic named Ramixan Thaylen and two Nautolans. One of them was Sergeant Tal Niko of the Fourth Rebel Division. Years of searching had come to an end. A side trip to Ryloth was necessary for Sergeant Niko to contact the Rebellion and have security run checks over them. A week later, Ayden and Rami both were accepted into the Rebellion. Rami quickly became Ayden's best friend and drinking partner in the Rebellion.
His first assignment came in the form of a wargame with the Jedi. Once again, Ayden found himself working along side Rami, as well as Saelia Santori, Lyndon Shaye, and several other Rebel trainees. Their goal was to acquire and relocate several items off Cloud City before the six hour time limit. Ayden spent his time search several levels for the items. In the journey, he clashed with a local gang attempting to rape a young woman. Following another item, he jumped down a garbage chute and was later nearly crushed by a faulty elevator. His troubles paid off and he collected three items. For his effort, and the efforts of the other Rebels, the wargame went to the Rebellion.
He participated in the last hours of the Mygeeto raid by the Empire, supporting retreating Rebel troops in his YT-2000. Some months later, Ayden participated in a Rebel raid on an Imperial outpost in the Outer Rim territories for secret data. During the course of the raid, Ayden had three confirmed kills and provided support for the commando team to and from the station. For his actions in the raid, Ayden was awarded the Rebel Flight Medal. He would also go on to serve the Rebellion in several engagements along the Outer Rim territory as Flight Leader in Rogue Squadron.
=== Work for the Galactic Underworld ===
At some point, several prominent Underworld figures got together and held a party on the beaches of Velusia. Here, Ayden met Rami for the first time since the latter left the Rebellion. They spent several hours catching up on old times. He also met Morgan Kade, a courtesan, and spend many hours conversing with her on the situation of the galaxy and other matters.
In the weeks following the raid, Ayden found himself with a lot of free time. So, he began pursuing an avenue of work he had done previously; smuggling. One of of his first missions was to locate an Imperial weapons depot and redirect the weapons. His coworker, a Mandalorian by the name of Anija Ordo, aided in the endeavor. For their efforts, they succeeded in capturing the Imperial weapons, loaded them onto the two ships, and made for the closest Rebel ship.
Later, Ayden got word of a smuggling ring being formed and responded to the invitation. Once again, Ayden crossed paths with Anija, as well as several other smugglers of the Galactic Underworld.
=== Further Rebel Service ===
In preparation for their return to the Galactic Scene, the Rebellion plotted to bring Dac under their flag, but covertly. To this end, Ayden was selected to lead a squadron of modified Z-95s to Dac under the guise of a private security firm sent to deal with raids against the Dac shipyards. Shortly afterward, Ayden took to the planet in his YT and dropped off crates full of weapons and armor for the ground forces to give and train the Mon Calamari.
Months later, Ayden was present on Muunilist when the Arc Hammer II dropped out in high orbit over the planet. He, along with Admiral Angel Hawkmoon, flew in modified Nantex fighters, posing as Muunilist Security Forces. Unfortunately, shortly after they confirmed the location and identity of the Arc Hammer II, High Marshal Gil'tak launched a squadron of X-wings to their death. As Ayden returned to the planet to get into his X-wing and return to space, he saw the High Marshal begin strapping bombs to Red Squadron. Unable to sit by and watch such madness unfold, Ayden pulled his blaster and shot the mad High Marshal. That would be the beginning of the end for his Rebel service.
=== Disillusioned ===
Many long months, Ayden had served the Rebellion with diligence, loyalty, and utter belief in what he was doing as being the right thing to do. However, a plot came about that brought forth a man claiming to have evidence of Rebel atrocities akin to the Empire. Unusual in this case, it was ordered that they track this man down and bring him in, or kill him. This troubled the Corellian greatly, but he maintained his belief in their course and hoped it would all work out in the end. It did not. Threats were traded, things were said, and in the end the man was dead, by Ayden's own hand no less. That proved to be his last action within the Rebellion, for soon after he collected his things and left the Rebellion.
For a long time afterward, Ayden wandered the galaxy with no real purpose. He was on Coruscant looking for a crew when Imperials began to bombard the city. He briefly ran into his old acquaintance, Ramixan, and the two had a string of adventures before parting ways once again. Around this time, a would-be-pirate attempted to hijack Serenity, only to have himself forcibly removed and his own ship crippled by Ayden. In retaliation, the man tracked Ayden back to Corellian and detonated twelve plasma grenades within close proximity of Ayden and dozens of innocents.
Though he survived, Ayden lost his left arm, all the ribs on his left side, his liver, a kidney and much of the muscle around his shoulder. With some contacts in the Underworld providing information, Ayden hired a Kuati genius named Anna to craft several different mechanical replacements for his left arm. The cost was tremendous, but Ayden was satisfied with her work and began to get back to his smuggling roots.
=== A crew of his own ===
On and off, many had served with Ayden in various jobs over the years, but Ayden grew tired of the constant searching, never learning to trust his new crew, never being confident in their skills, always wondering when one would try to betray him. To that end, he set out to recruit a more permanent crew for a cortosis raid on Apatros. For the first time in a long time, Serenity, his YZ-900, had a full crew. Rebels and criminals alike came together for the raid which, although successful, nearly resulted in the death of one of his crewmates who, unbeknown to the rest of them, had been a Jedi and had a bounty on her head.
It wasn't a perfect crew. Many of them were misfits, and some preferred the solitude of their quarters, but they got jobs done together. Two of his most prominent crew members were the Kiffar Lana and the Rebel clone general, Nomad. Both served him well with their expertise and helped the crew get out of many tight spots.
=== Taris and After ===
To Be Completed
== Equipment ==
Ayden's list of personal weapons includes a DC-15s blaster pistol, a modified DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle, and a retractable blade. The only weapon he has real training with is the blaster pistol. The other weapons he' s competent with, but not particularly skilled. Haywire, his R2 astromech droid, has been operating for thirteen years, seven in Ayden's service, without a memory wipe. This is what lead to the droid's nickname, as it has a habit of being mildly annoying and unpredictable.
== Starships ==
Ayden owns two ships with which he does the majority of his smuggling in. Both of them have been extensively modified to make them the best at what he designed them for. The YT-2000 was built for speed and to ensure no one came after him. The YZ-900 on the other hand was built for power and intimidation, taking him to places he would otherwise be incapable of traveling.
Category:Ayden Cater
Category:Human
Category:Corellian
Category:Neutral
Category:Smuggler
Category:Elite
Category:The Galactic Underworld
Category:The Alliance
Category:Serenity
Category:Jedi Padawans of The Jedi Council
Category:The Syndicate
Category:Elites of The Galactic Underworld