If anyone's interested, here's what I came up with, using bits and pieces of some of the suggestions.

Jayna Valeri

Some childhood memories are as vivid as if they'd happened yesterday. Back on Dantooine I used to spend the summers with Grandpa and Grandma Valeri. Grandpa and I would just sit, watching the sun slowly set, creating a play of ever-deepening colors on the gently rippling savannah grass. If we were lucky we'd be out on an evening where both moons would rise at the same time. Grandpa was an explorer, too, back in his day. I guess you could say he's the reason I became one. Him, and Brick.

Brick is what Grandpa calls a salamandyr. Found him after crash landing on an unknown planet, but the little guy kept him as warm as a brick oven throughout the cold night. All along the length of his tail spouts candle-like flames, usually only when he's upset but he must have known that Grandpa would be cold that night.

Brick's still around, actually. Grandpa always said he seemed lonely, so far from his home planet. A planet that Grandpa couldn't remember how to get to (he never got the astrogation data after being evacuated offworld). Spent most of his late career trying to find it again, and when he passed I just couldn't let the work remain unfinished. So I'm always on the lookout for Brick's homeworld as I ply the spacelanes. Some might say I spend more time hopping around in Wild Space than doing my actual job. But someday I'm going to find that planet.

That is, if I can ever get Vassen Rell off my back. Vassen's a sector ranger. A corrupt sector ranger, I should add. He had no right to tag my ship, that job was totally legitimate. It's the one after that was the problem. I never should have stolen that secret Imperial hyperspace route, but there was a promising slice of unmapped Wild Space, and that was the only way around the region's nebulae. Needless to say it didn't lead to Brick's homeworld. There was an Imperial space station there, but I didn't see anything, I swear! Vassen jumped out of hyperspace shortly behind me, and I thought I was dead. When he told me he wouldn't report me, I was relieved. I should never have taken that twinkle in his eye for kindness. There is no kindness behind those eyes. And now I get to run regular missions for the bastard, because if I refuse he'll turn me in.

Sometimes I wonder what was at that space station. Sometimes I wonder if there's any dirt on Vassen that I can throw in his face, maybe get out from under his heel. Sometimes I wonder how far I have to go before I can get away from all this crap. I will NOT be Vassen's runner forever, I swear to that!