(liable to change as i inevitably learn more of canon)
Quencin was born to pirate parents on the planet Kaddak, a lawless planet that even the New Republic avoided after an attempt to reign it in lead to the destruction of an entire fleet. His mother had been an ex-mercenary, but strayed further and further from taking jobs the more time she spent with his father. Eventually, when Quencin was just barely six years old they decided to take to the stars in search of more. Intending never to return back to the planet ever again.
As years passed by, his parents tried to stray away from the life of a pirate– but eventually something would drag them right back into it, usually the need for more credits. It didn’t help them any that his mother had an addiction to alcohol that she couldn’t break free of despite claiming she was trying her best to do so.
His parents would never set down on a planet for more than two weeks– a month, if absolutely necessary– and were constantly on the move and looking for a new score. Or running from people they’d pissed off. This left the growing child no room to ever form any real connection with anyone other than his parents, who’d taught him he really couldn’t rely on anyone, anyway.
While usually sweet and capable of coming off as a loving, caring mother Quencin’s mother had a tendency to be verbally abusive if things were going particularly wrong for them at the time– especially if she was intoxicated. And while his father did try his best, he had a habit of putting more pressure on a child than anyone should and it caused a sort of disconnect between them.
Shortly after turning thirteen, Quencin’s parents had finally made a fatal error in their target… landing themselves in the crosshairs of the slowly growing First Order. They paid for their misjudgment with their life and while Quencin himself had put up a fight the stormtroopers that had inevitably gained the upper hand were called off before they could deliver a killing shot.
Then and there, Quencin was given the ultimatum of joining the First Order himself… or dying like his pirate parents.
Despite having agreed to join the Order, Quencin wasn’t the easiest child to reign in– one of the worst, actually, at least of his batch. Though he proved to have a lot of promise, he proved difficult to control.
About two years later, one of the stormtroopers that had come in before him gained himself a high honour promotion and a name. Taking up the job of helping to train up the newer recruits as he himself once had. Captain Cardinal.
The man proved to be kind and caring despite his strictness, and Quencin bristled under how unusual such a situation was for him. Made a point of testing the man’s patience and rebelling when the option was available to him. Though Cardinal proved stubborn, and in due time Quencin grew to like the man.
It was when Cardinal slipped into the sleeping quarters one night that Quencin had woke up from a particularly awful nightmare that had been the fateful change in Quencin’s attitude– for the man sat down with the teen and listened to him rant softly about how he came to be in the Order. How, despite how much shit his parents had given him it still was jarring to have had them ripped away from him before his very eyes the way they had been.
Cardinal had provided a comfort Quencin had never received once in his entire life, and patiently explained why things happened the way they had. And Quencin couldn’t help but to agree with the ultimate gist of what the Captain had said;
They had gotten what was deserved.
