JD Lykaios
Not the Cavalry
BIOGRAPHY:
I
In the days before, when no branding tools had burned red hot against her skin, there was a peaceful life. Little trouble
ever bothered to go to her home planet. It was far out, in the reaches of space, where neither the light of the Jedi nor the
dark of the Sith had existed for generations. Few even knew that any life still existed on the world. But, as with almost all
things, the bliss did not last. The life of Astrid Nostromo was burned to a crisp within six years of her birth. Pirates of the
most devious kind discovered her family's homestead, along with those nearby it. They did not feel any remorse when
they lit the first match, nor when they heard the first scream, nor when the last spark died out. Why would they? 'Twas
not the first town they razed- and it would not be the last.
Astrid ended up as the sole survivor, only alive because of sheer luck, because she had gone out to pick flowers just before
the criminals touched down. Somehow her fortune continued long enough for her to be rescued, although her safety was
only temporary, and paper thin. A small group of mercenaries had been tracking the pirates, hoping to settle a past
grievance. Their leader was a kind enough to 'take' her in until she found a more permanent home. When he asked the
child what her name was, he received no answer, for she was too scared to speak. Not wanting to call her 'lassy' forever,
he dubbed her "Lykaios". 'Twas an old name, once meaning wolf-like. The color in her eyes was enough to make the name
a fitting one. Of course, the youngster's toothy, crooked grin made it even more so.
In the days after, while the mercenaries caught up to the pirates, the little cub learned to like the nickname. And by the
time she grew into her own, it was the only name she remembered.
II
Three months passed. Little Lykaios grew terribly fond of the Captain, he grew fond of her, and she started to feel better
about the loss of her previous family. It wasn't perfect, as no things are, but it was lovely all the same. The mildly merry
mercs behaved like something akin to a clan. If it took a village to raise a child, they were the village, and the wolf cub was
the youngling. Out of all of those she traveled with, only one never grew to care for her: Eliza Monroe, the ship's XO. She
claimed that 'her' ship was no place for a child. Although she was right, the crew had grown fond of Lykaios, and the girl
was soon able to prove that she was more than just dead weight, more than just another mouth to feed.
During her fourth month aboard the Legionnaire, little Lykaios watched as the Captain finally caught up to the pirates who
had killed her kin. They had laid siege to a small space station, claiming it as their own, and had been 'toying' with the prior
residents for a fortnight. Only a few citizens remained by the time the mercs arrived. Despite that, it didn't end up being too
hard to catch the rascals by surprise. Apparently they had taken it upon themselves to open up quite a few bottles of wine- or
at least most of them had. The leader remained sober, along with his closest crew members, as if he knew that his old buds
were coming to get him. When the storm arrived, he refused to fear the rain.
Dozens of his men died before the Legionnaire's forces reached him. A shootout lasted twenty minutes between them, while
Lykaios waited back at the ship. After the last bolt was fired, the pirate Captain surrendered, intending to reveal a hidden
blaster when he was given the chance. For a few minutes it seemed his plan might work- the mercenaries took him aboard
their ship, as if they planned on turning him in alive. But that wasn't their plan at all. Because of all the trouble that he had
caused the crew... they intended to kill him. Just not quickly. They dragged him to the cargo hold, tied his wrists together,
and prepared to hang him by them. If not for the appearance of a concerned Lykaios, he would have met his end without
more trouble. Instead he got one final chance to sin.
Refusing to deny the workings of fate, the man slipped his hands into his jacket, managed to get a hold of his weapon, and
pulled it out. The mercs were too focused on trying to shuffle the child out of the room to notice the sounds of rustling. In
the end it was the wolf herself who realized what was happening, and in the end it was she who saved her own Captain from
a painful end. Her bright eyes caught sight of the barrel's glint, the reflection of light, the trajectory clear even to someone so
young. With the speed of a demon she had lept towards her father figure. Before anyone else knew what had happened, she
had taken a bolt to the shoulder, while the Legionnaire's leader remained unharmed. A split second later the child was
launching herself towards her attacker with indescribable fury.
The pirate learned to never underestimate the jaws of a wolf... or a Firrerreo.
III
After the 'incident', the mercenaries officially took in the youngster, raising her together. Though the XO still didn't trust
the girl, all of her comrades considered her to be part of the team. For four or five years they continued to take care of her.
It wasn't until the Captain caught a mysterious disease that they parted ways- and not for the right reasons. Lykaios stayed
with her second father up until his dying breath, when he passed away inside a station's medical bay. The only other soul
nearby during his last moments was Eliza. She had called it her duty as the second in command, saying that she needed to
stay with the one whose place she was going to take. That had angered the wolf, who was there purely to try and comfort her
dying friend, almost causing her to storm out and miss the end of an era.
It would have been better for her if she had. Without the Captain or the others to protect her, nothing stood between the
XO and her. Eliza, that heartless witch, proved to be even more treacherous than anyone had thought. Once her boss had
taken his last breath she pulled a trick worse than any of her others. The older woman feigned sympathy for the cub, and
offered to take her somewhere quiet, so they could reflect on the life of the man they had both known. Lykaios, naive as a
child could be, accepted. But instead of a peaceful park... she found herself led to a slaver's ship. And despite her speed, and
despite her strength, the side of a pistol hit the back of her head too soon. All of the world fell away, leaving her in a state of
wicked, cruel slumber. By the time she awoke, the last sign of the station had faded away into the void of space.
The cub was bound, branded, and broken.
IV
None really know how long Lykaios, now given a 'proper' first name, stayed with the slavers. Her inability to read took away
her chance to find out for herself, and her owners never bothered to help her with that. So she counted the years with stars
passed, collars switched, and scars gained. Memories fell by her like leaves caught by a bitter storm. They melted with age,
her mind locking them away in an attempt to save her sanity. By the time she was handed off to a group of pirates, who
wanted to use her for extra labor, she had replaced all of her past with falsehoods. She was 887 stars, 26 collars, and 203
scars old. Her name was JD Lykaios. She had been born to a lovely family on Coruscant, who missed her but messaged her
often, and had taken up a job as a freelancer after her father lost his job.
The pirates were employers, not owners. She was not a slave.
These things, these sweet nothings, were what she told herself every day, they are what help her sleep at night.
In Rough Chronological Order:
