Shael was born on a small, rim world named Altion in 17BBY. The world only had a few cities of any reasonable size, with much of the rest of the world being dedicated to food production. Shael grew up in one of them with her parents, her father often traveling as a pilot, and delivering foodstuffs out to a hungry galaxy. When Shael was five years old, the Empire turned their eyes on the world, wanting to mine their mineral resources to continue building their war machines. The people of Altion resisted, and Shael's father piloted a ship in a futile effort to repel the enemy. He was shot down during the battle. Shael and her friend Whisler were trying to evacuate the city during the chaos of the attack, and ended up separated from Shael's mother, who was never found. Whisler's father was also presumed killed in the devastating attack.

Whisler and Shael ended up in foster care together - and Whisler showed a knack for repairing and building mechanical things, while Shael's talent followed her father's. Together, the girls managed to cobble together a speeder bike, which Shael would pilot in local illegal street races. This repeatedly landed the girls in trouble with authorities, and when it looked like it would get them separated and possibly sent off to juvenile detention, they got their hands on a pair of fake idents and took off for the stars.

Together, they worked oddjobs - piloting, repairing ships and ground vehicles, and entering swoop races whenever possible. Shael continued to excel at racing, which eventually brought unwanted attention down on them in the form the Empire's Inquisitors. Though initially helped to escape despite Shael's dubious remarks on the veracity of the Force's existence - Shael couldn't resist the urge to race again, this time under the assumed name of Brin Harper. Shael narrowly escaped - and only then because of Whisler's sacrifice. Whisler had assumed she would be of no interest to the Empire. Little did they know...

15 - Debt (Swoop)
10 - Bounty (Force Sensitive)