Kalen's mother was a Mandalorian, and disappeared when they were only a toddler. They have a few things from her, one being a Mythosaur Skull Keychain made of Beskar. They keep her lessons about community and looking out for people regardless of clan or creed close to their heart. She left a few holo recordings for them to watch when they got older. Their love of ships, their reckless, bold side, and their stubbornness comes from her. Their father told them she died, but Kalen doesn't believe it. Part of why they left home is to search for evidence of their mother. They hope to find a covert that knew her.
Kalen spent a lot of time running around the galaxy, dodging bounty hunters, imps, the New Republic, and angry ship owners. However, they often brought the ships they stole back in better condition than they found them. This earned them the nickname "The Ghost Engineer" across especially the outer rim.
They discover the truth of their force sensitivity after joining the Resistance. They quickly prove their metal, and Poe puts them in his squadron. It's in the cockpit of an X-Wing that Kalen's latent sensitivity is jerked awake. Kylo Ren is in the skies, and during a dogfight, he picks up on the way they're flying. He pushes his way into their head and find just what he thought would be there.
The confrontation rattles them so bad, they talk to Poe about it and he sends them to Leia. The general tells them about her son and what happened. Kalen saw the conflict too, and while taking lessons from Leia to erect mental walls, promises her they wont give up on Ben Solo.
Kalen sees someone who doesn't need to be "saved" - he just needs to realize that he is allowing the very past he claims to want to kill to limit him and push him into these narrow minded, binary boxes.
After the events of The Rise of Skywalker, I do see Kalen eventually learning to use The Force properly, and constructing their own saber. They give Rey time to prepare, and then, alongside Finn, they're one of her first students. Their saber would be orange for sure.
I also see them grieving Ben with Rey, and because I am a Hunt for Ben Solo supporter, I also see them teaming up with her, Finn and Poe to find Ben in the World Between Worlds. The combo of Rey feeling a tug on the other end of her Dyad Bond and Kalen also feeling a tug that feels like an old friend cant be pure coincidence, right?
