Some odd 20-30 years ago, Salvatore and Caterina Sarelli gave birth to their only child, John Sarelli. Salvatore, having been a smuggler for the Empire for many years, decided it was time to put his dangerous life on a backburner and settle down. Having been born on Corellia, Salvatore moved his family back there in hopes of a better life for his son. Salvatore, now working merely as a trader and merchant, was often away finalizing transactions. He was never gone for longer than a few days.
John’s youth had been no different than any others. He played with other kids and went to school. He received very good grades since his mother never wanted him to be like his father. Caterina loved Salvatore very much, but she did not want John to have to take risks and be on constant alert for danger, especially the dangers that came from working with The Empire. Although, John was good with his studies, he didn’t find much fun in being disciplined and was often in trouble with teachers and fighting with other students. Unknown to his mother and father, John would often sneak around town where his father would be and tried to learn as much as he could about trading. One time, Salvatore caught John listening in on a very important trade. But, Salvatore was quite surprised how John knew about his business. After several weeks of begging, and many hours of arguing between Salvatore and Caterina, John was allowed to go with his father on a few of his easy, non-risk trips. Immediately, John fell in love with the art of trading and wanted to learn about smuggling. Salvatore would nothing to do with this idea and forbid John to ever learn about or even live the life of smuggling.
John’s uncle, Alphonso, was a very small time smuggler and could see the determination in John to learn this way of life. In secret, he would tell John about his missions and explained the business to a certain extent. Unfortunately, Salvatore eventually found out about this and had a fight with his brother. Salvatore told Alphonso to never speak or see his family again. A very short time later, Salvatore was off on another trading expedition. Only this time, weeks and weeks went by and Salvatore did not return home. Being extremely worried about their past, Caterina petitioned to the high council on Corellia to conduct a search for her missing husband. Several more weeks went by and the search ended with no results.
John, now 21, and having just graduated top in his class from Corellia’s finest piloting academy, decided he would search for and find his father better than anyone else on the planet. Caterina was extremely hurt by John’s decision, but knew that, like his father, he was very stubborn and could not be persuaded. In secret, she missed her husband very much and wanted him to come home. She gave John a lot of money they had stored away and told him not to be distracted or deterred from his mission. He should find his father and return as quickly as possible. John, having never left his home planet for longer than a few days before, told Alphonso to take care of his mother and would send word as soon as he could. Alphonso had been spending a lot of time with Caterina and John after Salvatore disappeared, especially since the last time the two brothers saw each other ended in a fight.
For just over a year, Sarelli searched for his father. He went all across the galaxy, searching through every trading, merchant, smuggler post he could find. But, John was young and inexperienced, and no one would give any information to a no-name, temperamental ‘kid’. One day, while fixing some minor repairs on his YT-1300, John received word from Alphonso that his mother was very ill and he should return home immediately.
Upon his return to Corellia, John discovered that his mother had grown sick with cancer and did not have much time left to live. Caterina could see in John’s eyes that nothing was found about her husband, but she tried to look delighted to see her only son. She explained to John that she had this cancer once when he was very young and once more when he was 14. She had beaten it both times and both her and Salvatore thought it was better to keep it from him. She new she it had come back again, as cancer always does, when John left for his search. She explained that she only wanted John to concentrate on finding his father and not to worry about her.
John sat with his mother day after day, hoping she would get better. He told her of his travels and the amazing places he had seen. Then, the inevitable day came and Caterina died. Three months had past, and John was unsure what to do next, but he knew he could not stay on Corellia. When he went to settle his mother’s estate, he found out that most of the money they had left had either been used for John’s quest or was spent on Caterina’s doctors. There were too many memories on Corellia of his youth. The pain was too unbearable to be able to stay. With his mother dead and the feeling of abandonment from his father, John fixed as much of the repairs on his ship as he could and decided to set out and make a life for himself.
Since he had no money, John went out in search for work as a smuggler. He figured he could learn the underworld and possibly learn some info about his father. Besides, smuggling provided some really good income, and with the places he would have to go, money would be needed. Sarelli eventually found a small time smuggling operation to start out with and began to work. He was perfect for the job since the events in his life made him very private and untrusting. For four and a half years, Sarelli worked from a small time smuggler to a fairly well known hustler. He always had the trait to learn new things quickly and in no time, he was making money hand over foot. But, the money could never be saved, because he was always searching for Salvatore every chance he got.
One day, during an average smuggling run, Sarelli landed on Boragia, a planet not much different from Corellia. While waiting for his contact at the local tavern, Sarelli saw the most amazing and beautiful woman he had ever seen. Sure he had been around the block several times, but never was awe-stricken before. She had long blonde hair, about 5’ 7”, 105 lbs, with very voluptuous curves. She came in and picked up a bag, which Sarelli assumed was lunch to go, and walked out just as fast as came in. Sarelli was about to follow her, when his contact came in. They finished their deal and, after questioning the bartender about the girl, he sent out to find her place. Sarelli learned that her name was Corrine Baren and she worked with her father, Darien. Darien Baren was a well-known and major merchant on Boragia. Most of the trading that was done went through him. His dealings were legitimate and had nothing to do with smuggling or other shady dealings.
After eventually meeting Darien and Corrine, Sarelli spent several weeks on Boragia trying to get to know her better. Eventually, she gave in to Sarelli’s charm and, despite Darien’s objections, became very found of the young smuggler. John decided that his father could not be found and he needed to live his own life. He yearned for something normal and told Darien everything about his past. Darien and Sarelli came to an agreement that John could live on Boragia and worked under Darien. With John’s vast experience of the galaxy and different systems and sectors, Darien’s business could grow wealthier and hoped someday to help fund the Rebel Alliance’s war against The Empire.
Two more years went by and Sarelli was now 27. He had been saving his money to buy Corrine one of the most expensive rings he could buy. A major trade came through and Darien sent John away for three weeks with his own personal pilot, Breeja Kebook, an Arconan. The night before he left, John asked Darien’s permission to marry his daughter. Darien had grown fond of John in the two years they had known each other and was quite delighted to hear the news. He knew that when the time came to pass on, John could not only be able to protect Corrine, but also be able to handle his business with no problems. John told Darien he would ask Corrine when he returned. But, when John returned, there was no more Boragia. It had been destroyed and there was no one left to find out what had really happened. Darien had often talked about The Empire trying to weasel their way in on the prosperity of Boragia, but the discussions had never been lengthy and John new very little about The Empire.
Once again, feeling that all of his close loved ones and friends either leave or die, Sarelli wondered the galaxy mourning yet more loss in his life. Not knowing where to go or what to do, and having only the money he made on his last trade, Sarelli went work as a freelancer. Instead of keeping himself exclusive to only smuggling, he also expanded his work to trading, bounty hunting, pirating, ship transportation; anything legal or illegal.
One day, after finishing up an extremely lucrative trade deal, Sarelli found a lead on his missing father. He spent nearly four months on a wild goose chase only to find out that the lead was hollow. The expedition, however, proved to be of some non-monetary value to him. Near the end of the second month, Sarelli came across a small group of Imperials beating on a Wookiee and a Noghri. Sarelli couldn’t stand the brutal torture the two mismatched friends were receiving, no matter what they may have done to receive the beating. Sarelli interrupted the Imperials business by blasting away, killing four of them before they could react. The two remaining Imperials knocked Sarelli unconscious. When he came to, the Wookiee, Furyyraar, and the Noghri, Cajbos, were standing above him. Furyyraar vowed to Sarelli his life debt; the most serious of all commitments for Wookiees which meant they owed their life for having been saved. This was such an honorable way of life for the Wookiees that Sarelli could not turn it down. Cajbos didn’t have any family or friends and he had become close to Furyyraar during their time as the Imperials’ slaves. He, too, decided to stay by Sarelli’s side and live as his bodyguard.
With Breeja as his co-pilot, and Furyyraar and Cajbos as his bodyguards and close friends, Sarelli returned to his part of the Galaxy and went back to his freelance business.
