Introduction: Richard Grayson

I am former Sergeant Richard Grayson of the Red Robin squadron, unofficial dishonourable discharged from the Republic on grounds of treason and murder. By luck and skill, I escaped captivity to find the true culprit of those crimes and to clear my name.

When I was young, I had always wanted to be a soldier, to do my part for the Republic. For that to be taken away from me, especially after I garnered the respect from the generals and made youngest sergeant in history, hurt beyond words.

My parents were entertainers that enjoyed making people happy, they wanted to give those who worked hard for our safety a time to relax and enjoy themselves, forgetting the toils of combat and warfare. Seeing all of those soldiers enjoying the work my parents put on, and occasionally my own when I was old enough to participate, had me wanting to become one of these heroes. As much as I wanted to carry on my parents' work, I wanted to be the one who defended them and carried the horrors of war so they could continue their work in peace.

Unfortunately, that desire ended abruptly when I returned from an interview with the Republic to find my parents under the blade of someone I couldn't quite make out. They called for me to grab my little sister and run for it, an order I wanted to disobey only to watch them die as their murderer realise their mistake of taking their time. Scrambling for my little sister, I got out of there as quickly as I could.

Seconds before breaking free of the building, the assassin knocked us to the ground, clearly upset at my attempt to flee. I wasn't paying attention to his rage monologue, focusing on trying to break free and save my sister who's leg was twisted after the fall. Had I not had my obsession with becoming a soldier, I would have definitely died that day, I had started carrying a combat knife in my boot for protection and to think of myself as a soldier. Stabbing it as far as I could into the eye of the assassin above me, I broke free and escaped with my little sister.

After the dust settled and the chaos ended, me and my little sister were put into an orphanage. They couldn't find the killer, nor would they extend the investigation beyond that of a home robbery gone wrong. I wanted to be upset or angry at them for giving up when they should have pushed harder, when they should have done their jobs, yet I was more focused on a pressing issue that I didn't think I would have.

My little sister got adopted, something that should have been a joyous occasion as finding a loving family to take in two broken kids was beyond rare, yet it was anything but as she was adopted by herself. I tried to protest in vain, they wouldn't listen to a word I said, telling me that I was just a child and should be grateful for what I have.

It was heart breaking to stand there and try to comfort my little sister who had no idea what was happening, as much as I wanted to keep her with me I knew I had to prepare her to never see me again. The pain that it left me with stayed with me, I started acting out and trying to undermine the orphanage as an act of revenge for their decision.

One of my feats got the attention of Bruce Wayne, a highly decorated general that held the prestige of being one of the greatest generals in the Republic. I was trying to find anything regarding my little sister, breaking into the Republic Archives I accidentally ran into him and we got into an argument, I eventually outsmarted him and escape before the troopers could capture me.

Being the great general that he was, he found me the next day, and instead of turning me into the troopers he chose to sit down and have a chat with me. A chat, that man does anything but chat, he just sat there and stared at me. I tried to glare at him down, refusing to say anything encase it made my already bad situation worse, though that seemed to be an impossibly.

Bruce Wayne's reputation was anything by hot air, his patience surpassed my determination, and I lost the battle of wills. Yelling my frustrations at him, the loss of my parents and my little sister felt as if razor wire was wrapped around my heart, every twist and turn dug the wire deeper. He sat there and listened to my rant completely impassive, he didn't even flinch when I started insulting him.

When things settled down, he simply left without saying a word. Leaving me to a sleepless night of nightmares of waking up in a cell, imprisoned for berating a Republic General and breaking into the Republic Archives. My fears were proven pointless as in the morning, I was adopted by the very person I had thought would turn me in.

Bruce had heard of my case, he was an avid patron of the shows my parents put on and was dismayed when they stopped, he used his resources to find my parent's killer in his spare time. When me and my sister were put into the orphanage, he left the matter to the system he trusted to focus on his own matters, but when he ran into me in the Archives he realised that the system had failed me. Adopting me was his way of repaying his respect for my parents.

Being Bruce's foster son wasn't anything close to being a family, he trained me and tutored me into becoming the greatest soldier I could be. Enrolling me in the academy's fast pace course, pushing me to get out into the field quickly, teaching me that to truly be a soldier is to experience the field in all its horror.

My first time in the field ended badly, my squad was pinned down by Empire forces with no way to escape. If a Jedi didn't happen on by and came to our aid, I doubted we would have survived much longer even with me shoving our useless leader to the ground and taking charge. Upon our return, our squad's useless leader tried to throw me under the bus, an unwise choice for him as my comrades stood up in defense of me.

After an intense fight with the higher ups, and Bruce's adamant refusal to side with me, I won the position of sergeant and my first squad of the Red Robins that I had fought with. I may have become the youngest sergeant in Republic history, but that didn't mean I could lounge around and bask in my glory.

Without wasting a moment, I took my Red Robins and trained them hard, pushing them like Bruce had pushed me. Running mission after mission, we were heralded as the rising stars, our success rate broke records as well as shaming Bruce's former feats at my age. The Red Robins accomplishments earned us the right to become an elite commando squadron, taking on tougher and harsher missions.

I still remember the first time we went up against our first Sith Lord, a fight that will always stay with me along with the scar crossing down the right side of my neck. The Sith had let his arrogance get the best of him, allowing us to lure him into a room full of explosives that he couldn't quite deflect. Though we won against a Sith our first time, we lost one of our own in the clash.

Returning home with a Sith kill under our belt, we were heralded as heroes, our names praised from the roof tops. However, it didn't feel like a victory, one of our own was dead and we couldn't save them. I couldn't save my parents, I couldn't stop them from taking my little sister, and now I couldn't save my comrade. I found myself hating my weakness and failure, upping my training regime and pushing myself to my limits.

The Red Robins took the loss just as badly as me, joining me on my training sessions and improving our teamwork. They were with me at first, though with time they each couldn't keep up, falling behind me and opting to blame me for every failed mission. My reputation dropped drastically, those who once praised me now ignore me, becoming just another grunt in the field. I wish I could have cared about the betrayal and the disrespect, but I didn't, all I could think about was progressing my rank within the military and find my little sister.

It all culminated in one final mission that ruined me completely, a mission that was supposed to be the greatest victory ever for the Republic. One that I thought would secure me the promotion to lieutenant, one that I would never think could end my career completely.

The Empire had a prison full of Jedi and high-ranking officers in the Republic military, kept at the edge of their territory surrounded by a massive blockade of Empire ships. After many scouting trips, and a failed attempt not long ago, it was determined that the prison was impregnable and banned for anyone to try and breach it by the higher ups.

I somehow managed to gain access to the blueprints of the prison, something that I should have been wary of, though at the time I was losing myself to desperation and needed a win. With the blueprints, I had a clear path into the prison that could secure the prisoners safely, the only problem being getting around the blockade.

My luck surprisingly got better, the ships surrounding the prison had to lessen in order to back up an outpost under fire from outer rim pirates, another clue that I should have seen. With the short lapse in the guard around the prison, I secured an Empire transport ship and took the Red Robins into the fray for our next mission. It was difficult to get them under my control, they refused to admit that the plan would work if our time was perfect, opting to berate me for being reckless and risking their lives for a win.

My plan went perfectly… too perfectly. Despite our differences, the Red Robins worked effortlessly with me, reliving the days back before our run in with the Sith Lord. We got out Jedi and high-ranking officers, though there were a lot less than we were led to believe, a lot of the cells were empty, and others had vague evidence that someone had been removed in a hurry. Yet another clue that I should have noticed.

Our escape was difficult, and if it wasn't for Bruce jumping in unexpectantly then we would have been new inmates in the prison we tried to break into. Bruce had heard of my inane plan well after it had been executed, only arriving in time to yell at me for being ridiculous and falling into an obvious trap. He spent hours berating me, explaining my mistakes and what I missed, he only dove in because he knew that despite it being a trap, he knew that I would succeed in pulling out prisoners. It was aggravating to know that I fell into a trap, that I failed to see the obvious clues laying before me.

I returned a hero for both the Republic and the Jedi, bringing home people no one ever thought they would ever see again. A reunion party was held in my honour, to welcome back those who had been liberated and to present me with a medal of honour. I wanted to bask in the glory of being the youngest recipient of the Medal of Honour, though my failure and ineptitude soured the moment as I ran through the mission over and over again, hoping that it was simply a trap.

During the party, I left at one point to be alone, brooding over the mission once more. I hid from the guard and the other party goers, I couldn't take them congratulating me, or thanking me for saving their friend or family member. As I kept to the shadows, I entered a room that I thought was empty, hoping that I could rest inside for a while before being found. It wasn't as empty as I thought it to be.

There on the ground laid an ambassador with a knife sticking out of his chest, documents scattered everywhere and blood on the walls. Rushing to his side, I tried to look for a pulse, though just as I did someone moved in the room and force me to take action encase the assassin was still in the room. Ripping the knife from the body, I whirled around to tackle whoever it was that had made the sound, finding a couple from the party trying to find a quiet place to make out.

From there it all fell apart, despite being the hero of the hour they arrested me for murder, throwing me into the cells and ignoring my pleas of innocence. Investigating the crime scene turned piece after piece of evidence that proved my guilt, from my fingerprints on the knife to the fact that it was actually my knife from my locker. The last nail in my coffin were the documents I had ignored, a paper trail that tore apart my greatest victory.

The trap that I had thought was to capture me, was actually to bury me and tear my reputation apart. Labelling me as a traitor as pictures of me conversing with Empire agents, bartering for the blueprints that I happened across, organising the blockade's departure and the particular prisoners that I supposedly wanted to prove myself as a hero to the Republic. My apparent motive was to silence the ambassador before they could out me, but I was caught red handed.

Not even Bruce tried to defend me, instead he threw me to the sharks, adding to the prosecution that I had been against the law of the Republic and he took me in to try and discipline me. Sitting there and listening to the Red Robins stand before the judge and tell them that they knew something was wrong, that they didn't want to go along with the plan, yet they followed orders as good soldiers.

Nothing I said mattered, no one believed a word I said, my name was tarnished so absolutely that I may as well have been a Sith Lord. When the verdict was rendered, and my fate sealed as they threw me into the cells to await my execution, I didn't feel upset or ashamed with myself for trusting these people. As much as I wanted to like my wounds, I knew the real killer was out there and they got away while I toiled away in the cells, I couldn't let myself wallow in my failure.

Picking myself up and getting to work, I managed to escape from the prison within a week, setting another record in Republic history. During my escape, I nearly got caught by troopers who were already out looking for me, if it wasn't for Bruce then I definitely would be back in the cells.

He explained to me that he knew I was innocent, that he didn't want to testify against me. He had spent most of the time after adopting me fending off some unknown monster that was targeting me specifically, he had no idea who or why only that they were relentless. Smuggling me aboard an emergency vessel with overriding clearance to leave the planet, he said that he would do what he could to help me but if I couldn't find the real killer then I would never be able to return home.

Ending up on Tatooine wasn't intentional, I had followed a lead all the way to Nal Hutta when the Republic gave up their active chase of me in favour of listing a bounty on my head, running from a planet full of bounty hunters and smuggling myself aboard the first departing ship only to find myself on the sandy hell hole. I slipped out of the ship before anyone noticed and trudged my way through to another town, hoping to find another ship off of this world before I got trapped here.

Entering a town, I spotted several ships parked over the far side, I just hoped that I could find a captain willing to aid a weary traveller who didn't have any credits left. I did have my blaster on hand, if it came down to it then I could force the captain into helping me. Though my luck proved to be worse than I had imagined as I ran headfirst into a Jedi and their padawan, and even with them taking a while to realise it was me they didn't lose a beat in chasing after me.