| The son of a Republic - and later Imperial - politician, Tristan and his brother Aiden grew up expecting to enter service of the Galactic Empire in some way or other. After Aiden managed to secure a place at the Imperial Academy however, sibling rivalry - and a little bit of adoration towards his elder brother, too - compelled him to follow in his footsteps.
Aiden had applied for TIE Pilot training, but had not scored highly enough on the preliminary exams to pursue that route. Instead, he had been identified as a potential Shuttle Pilot candidate; though a less glamourous job, Aiden had managed to secure himself a posting on the private staff of the Moff of Doldur and, after her coronation as Empress Miranda Tarkin, had become one of her personal Pilots.
In applying to the Academy, Tristan had hoped that he would be able to outdo his brother, and earn Aiden's envy by becoming a fully-fledged TIE Pilot. However, he to failed to qualify during initial training; worse than his brother, in fact. The Academy gave him two potential options. He could be trained as a Helmsman, and spend his service flying multi-engined and multi-crewed small craft and starships. Alternatively, he could let go of his ambitions of becoming a Pilot, and train in an alternate Flight Crew role. He was given the opportunity to serve as a gunner but, feeling that "If its good enough for Aiden, its good enough for me", he opted to train as a second-seat in Imperial Shuttlecraft, qualifying as both a Navigator and an Electronic Countermeasures Officer (ECO).
As an Ensign, Tristan accepted a posting to the Strike Cruiser Kalidor, where he accepted a post as the Navigator/ECO aboard one of the ship's rescue and support shuttles.
|
