Dunny's Backstory

History

Homeworld

Sam Dunn, not only biologically but as the individual he is today, was created in the turbulent prison world of Timbra Ott. To understand the man, one must first understand his homeworld.

Timbra Ott, located at the end of the Galtea Run, is the one planet in the Kathol Outback known to most people – even if they don’t know how to get there. It was originally a sister colony to Gandle Ott, for those who really wanted to get away from their neighbours. Like Gandle Ott, Timbra Ott was a very nice planet upon which to settle. That is, before the unstable tectonic activity and the quakes it caused sundered the planet’s mantle and caused massive tidal waves to sweep away the colonies.

The planet never really recovered from this disaster, and it was converted into a Penal Colony in the days of the Old Republic, with some of the worst criminals sent to this now inhospitable planet at the back of the galaxy, far away from civilization. For many years, the convicts laboured to restore the planet’s infrastructure enough to make re-colonization possible. However, during the chaos of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire, the prison colony was forgotten, and abandoned.

A year later, the colony's food supplies ran out. Riots quickly broke out as the inmates realized that the only food source left on the planet was each other. Forgotten by the galaxy, Timbra Ott became a brutal, cannibalistic riot for almost a decade. Eventually, a few individuals were able to organize, seize power and declare themselves the rulers of Timbra Ott. Instead of the totalitarian rule that was expected to follow, these leaders inspired and organized the people to rebuild their community and create a self-sufficient colony, and after Timbra Ott was restored to some form of peace, they hosted elections (and, of course, won them).

Timbra Ott is now one of the main centres of trade within the Kathol Outback, with supplies destined for all parts of the sector passing through its markets - and not all of it is legal. With little regard for galactic law, Timbra Ott allows smugglers to operate openly, though the local law enforcement agency ensures that safety of its citizens. The community-based mindset of the Timbra Ott people, coupled with their highly effective law enforcement and lax attitude mean that violent crime is almost non-existent. The security force mostly has to deal with offworlders.

There is still a stigma associated with being from Timbra Ott, thanks to the criminal origins of its initial settlers. This association is more than a little unfair, however, as there have been two full generations born since the last prisoners were shipped down to the planet. The planet, however, has gone in a remarkably short time from a doomed, abandoned and rioting prison colony to a flourishing centre of trade, commerce and civilization, something of which the Timbra Ott people are immensely proud. They remain neutral between the struggle of Imperial Remnants and New Republic, but have trading contracts with both the New Republic and the Vast Empire. Unsurprisingly, they refuse to deal with crime rings, except through independent smugglers.

Early Life

Sam Jack Dunn was born on the 23rd of the 1st month, in 10BBY. The riots had been in progress for four years by this time, and they took the lives of both of his parents whilst he was young. Sam spent a tense childhood as a street urchin, hiding amidst the rubble whenever anyone was nearby, and only sneaking out into the open when the coast was clear. He lived more like an animal than a person, never thinking further into the future than the next meal, or the next place to hide, or where he was going to sleep that night. Small and malnourished, he avoided fighting whenever he could, knowing that he wasn't strong enough to be able to win.

It is little surprise that, with food so scarce and so many violent convicts running about, Sam turned to the only food source that was available in abundance - the other convicts. What the urchin lacked in strength he made up for in cunning, and he taught himself the intricate art of ambush and murder at a young age, killing and eating his first fellow human when he was a mere nine years old. He taught himself how to make traps, how to strike from in hiding and make a kill before his bigger, stronger prey had a chance to retaliate properly. For Sam, there was no cruelty or malice in his mind: His only concern was pure survival, and he had no doubt that anyone else in his situation would do exactly the same.

It was not until he was finally cornered by a group of vigilantes and beaten to within an inch of his life that the deeply disturbed young convict first saw true kindness. His life was saved Huang Ju'kai, an exiled Gand Findsman who took pity on the young boy's plight and used the unique martial arts of his race to fight off the attackers and drag the injured orphan to safety. He nursed Sam back to health, and attempted to raise the turbulent child properly, teaching him kindness, patience and self-discipline. At first, this was met with violent resistance from the youth, who had never known kindness before, and naturally suspected it was part of some cruel trick.

Apprentice Findsman

Eventually, however, Huang’s patience and kindness won Sam Dunn over. The Gand Findsman treated Sam as his own son, and in turn, Sam considered Huang to be a father. Huang taught Sam much as the child grew up. Having been a bounty hunter himself, Huang was very well versed with the arts of camouflage and concealment, and taught Sam to not only conceal his body, but his thoughts and emotions as well. He also taught Sam basic maths and grammar, attempting to give the youth the skills he would need later in life.

Most importantly, he inducted Sam into the ranks of the Gand Findsmen, making Sam one of the only non-Gand to learn their art. Their mysterious martial art relied on their physiology, but Sam shattered and healed his fists and arms again and again until he was able to strike with the same power as the exoskeletal Gand, able to punch even through durasteel armour. He also learned the mystical arts of the Findsman, the art of tracking a target by ‘seeing through the mists’, though not sensitive to the abilities required, Sam is able to use this art to clam his mind and heighten his instincts and reflexes.

He used the arts that Huang taught him to range out and find the most violent and dangerous criminals he could, assassinating them and using their bodies to feed both himself and Huang. He never mentioned to Huang where he found his ready supply of meat, and the little Gand never asked. They learned, grew and most importantly, survived together in one of the most hellish environments in the galaxy, finding comradeship and mutual respect in the last place anyone would have thought to look. The cannibal convict child and the disgraced mystic bounty hunter made for an unlikely pair.

Rebuilding Timbra Ott

After many long years, a group of hardened criminals organized and used their combined power to seize control of the Timbra Ott colony. The colonists expected a brutal regime of oppression and slavery, but the new rulers of the planet had something completely different in mind. They intimidated the people into putting aside their differences and working together to prove the Republic that had abandoned them wrong – that even a society of criminals could rebuild and create a civilization together.

Sam and Huang played their part in the rebuilding effort - though malnourished, they worked hard to help rebuild the infrastructure of the colony, assisting with manual labour in return for a share in what little food could be produced and what shelter could be arranged. For the first time in living memory, Sam Dunn could rely on at least one meal a day without having to first murder it himself. Though life was hard until an agriculture system could be set up, the air was one filled with hope and co-operation, and Sam Jack Dunn remains to this day proud of the part he played in rebuilding his homeworld.

Huang soon joined the newly formed Mediation Corps, a body of volunteers who helped to solve disputes between inmates peacefully. His ability to ‘see through the mists’ helped him greatly at cutting to the heart of a dispute. At his encouragement, Sam also joined the Mediation Corps, and although he lacked the mysterious abilities of Huang, he proved to be very good at finding things, with uncanny instincts. Though capable at mediation, Sam was more often called in when a violent crime was actually committed, to investigate the exact cause and find the perpetrator. He was a detective from the moment Timbra Ott became civilized.

Security Force Agent

Working for the Timbra Ott Security Force, Sam Dunn helped to enforce Timbra Ott's fledgling laws and to protect its people. Though negotiation and dispute resolution was still a large part of his duties, he was now responsible for tracking down and apprehending criminals (almost always offworlders), patrolling Timbra Ott's territory both on land and at the cockpit of his V-Wing Starfighter, and a wide variety of other roles. Even in the TOSF, Sam earned a reputation as remarkably adaptable, able to learn quickly and master a variety of different skills and tasks, then combine them in ways that others didn't think of.

Huang eventually became Chief of Police, a position he still holds. Dunn never accepted a leadership-based role in the Security Force, despite being on of its founding members, simply because he found the best way to watch against corruption in the system was to remain somewhat apart from it - he was most interested in investigating crime and bringing evil people to justice than he was in working his was up in the organization. He earned a reputation as an uncannily effective detective, able to locate perpetrators when no-one else could, probably as a result of Huang's teachings.

It was when he was piloting his V-Wing Starfighter, tracking down rumours of a slaver ship that was going to pass through the system, that he first encountered the Vast Empire. A Immobilizer 418-Class Interdictor Cruiser jumped in-system, and shortly after interdicted a pirate convoy that was indeed carrying slaves (Captured VE personnel, it turned out). Sam Dunn assisted in the space battle that resulted when the pirates resisted arrest, and was so impressed by the Vast Empire's military prowess, impeccable teamwork and their sheer style that he enlisted on the spot.