Ash Tanto's earliest memories all start at the swoop tracks on Nar Shadda watching his father race. It seemed as though they lived there at the track until his old man just didn't have the reflexes anymore. It'd been a steady and relatively slow decline in the elder Tanto, and as his nerves of steel continued to rust, Ash became very adept at repairing the swoop, but the last race was the end for the swoop and the old man both.

Ash watched in horror from the pits and barely registered what the Twi'lek emissary from the Racing Guild was telling him his father didn't own the title on the swoop- he was leasing it from the Guild and now that it was wrecked, Ash had to pay the balance of 2,000 credits. When Ash told him he didn't have the scratch, the Racing Guild had him taken into custody and detained.

Ash was convicted and sentenced to ten years. Obviously this incredibly long sentence was courtesy of the Guild and their enablers in the Empire. The bid was tough- Nar Shadda is a pretty rough place to begin with, imagine what a prison full of beings who managed to get arrested in Nar Shadda would be like. He did his time though and after six years, he was offered a position in a Imperial Penal Regiment. Ash though that sounded at least marginally better than continuing to do time in the detention center, so he accepted.

The soldier life wasn't a great fit for Ash, but he made the best of it. He learned how to fight and he learned how to shoot. Learned about discipline and staying cool in extreme circumstances. After a couple of promotions, he even managed to fit in some training on repairing transports, freighters, and on a few occasions even some fighters. In order to make repairs, it helped him to narrow down issues by flying in the ships before he'd start diagnostics and repairs. At first, this really was necessary for Ash, but after awhile it was more just being able to get away in a ship, even if only for a few minutes and even if he was being targeted by every defense turret on the base.

After he was released from his service to the Empire, he'd considered joining up, but the Guild got ahold of him before he could make his decision. Turns out he'd repaid his debt to society, but no to the Racing Guild. He was still on the hook for the 2k, but they were going to let him work it off by doing mechanic work for them. And other work. Whatever other work they felt like giving him.

A year into his stint as a slave, Ash decided he'd had enough. He'd been making repairs to a YT-1300 called The Sucker Bet that the guild had picked up as collateral for a loan (which was never going to be repaid) and needed modification so it could be used to smuggle. As he was nearing the end of the requested mechanic work, he overheard the Guild's client mention he could fit a lot of Twi'lek in the newly installed smuggling stowage compartments. That evening, Ash slipped out of his quarters at the Guild Hall and snuck over to the light freighter.

Firing up the engines for the first time in what must have been several months blew dust and debris from the shop area all over the grounds of the Racing Guild. It was a pretty rocky take off, but Ash quickly got the hang of the YT and flew toward the horizon only to return rather quickly realizing he had no idea where he was going or how to astronavigate. He flew The Sucker Bet around to the day side of the planet and laid low until now.

Really there's nothing Ash Tanto would rather do than just race swoops for a living, but with his taking of the YT-1300, it seems like that future is rather unlikely now.

Cause: Emancipation
Ash Tanto knows what it's like being under the yoke of the Empire and wouldn't wish imprisonment or servitude on anyone for any thing. Ash will actively work against slavers, kidnappers, and ransomers as most any one would, but he'll also help out folks who are being arrested, oppressed, or otherwise put upon by anyone- local gangs, the government, whoever.

Mr. Tanto was spared by the Racing Guild because they saw his talent as a mechanic and put him to work in order to pay off the debt. He originally owed the remaining 2,000 on his father's chit, but stealing The Sucker Bet adds to his ledger entry substantially.

White Caucasian human, brown hair, brown eyes. Medium height, relatively heavy build from physical labor. Appears to be in his mid to late 30's. Dirty hands, disheveled. Clothing is a mechanic's shirt, jacket, and pants. Heavy looking toolbag he wears like a backpack that clanks and rattles with every step. Slugthrower pistol in a holster on his right hip.