Jay Ortega

Jayceon "Jay" Ortega
Biographical Information
Race	Cordu-Ji
Homeworld	Vandor-1
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Height	6'1"
Hair Color	Black, graying
Eye Color	Brown
Political Information
Affiliation	Blackskull Trading
Rank	Master Smuggler
Positions	Former Governor of Siluria
Prior Affiliation	Trade Federation, Total Outer Rim, Eidola Pirates

Jayceon "Jay" Ortega was born on the world of Vandor-1 to two Cordu-Ji scouts that worked for the Ypsobay Trading Company. He worked for the Trade Federation for a period of time before becoming a professional hunter. He is best known for being the former Governor of the Siluria while working for Total Outer Rim. He now works as the Master Smuggler for Blackskull Trading. Jay is an avid fan of podracing and has a weakness for gambling of any kind. While Jay is a Cordu-Ji, a highly xenophobic race, he tends to hide his extra arms underneath his clothing in order to avoid prejudice from the greater galactic populace.

Early Years

Jay starting out as an explorer

Jay was born in Fort Ypso to two employees of the Ypsobay Trading Company. While they were not married, they were partners and were generally partnered for exploration assignments. For most of his childhood, his parents were absent while on missions. With no formal school at Fort Ypso, he was forced to learn under a protocol droid with the other child inhabitants of the fort. Not only was the 3PO their teacher, but also the sentients that found Vandor-1 as their jumping off point in the galaxy. Many of the children he grew up with became smugglers, arms dealers, or big game hunters. While he was still young, the Trade Federation bought out the Ypsobay Trading Company and hired the former employees. As a teenager, Jay was hired by a hunting guide to serve as his aide. For the next few years, Jay helped pack out animals and gear of wealthy tourists that would visit the world. When he became of age to get his pilot's license, Jay decided to become an explorer like his parents. He would later return to Fort Ypso to purchase the 3PO unit that served him as his teacher. He renamed it Vice, and it is currently the concierge on Jay's CR-90 Assassin-class Corvette, the Dynasty.

Adulthood

While in the Trade Federation, Jay worked in the Department of Logistics as an explorer. The job proved to be unrewarding and uneventful, Jay wasn't sure how his parents had kept it up for so long. He stayed in this position for a few years of his young adulthood while he looked for more work in a more active lifestyle.

Hunter

Jay soon returned home to Vandor-1 to start his own hunting guide business. Instead of restricting himself to just Vandor-1, he used Fort Ypso as a home base while he took paying customers to various locations in the Outer Rim. This gave him an edge over the competition by providing customers with a greater range of big game to hunt. In this period of time, he helped bag over 100 different species of big game animals. After a couple years of this, Jay was approached by a high-paying customer that requested a different kind of hunt to take place. This sentient wished to find a rival business partner and track down a special cargo that he was shipping across Hutt Space. Up to the task, Jay borrowed a ship from his mysterious customer and set out to Nar Shaddaa to get a lead on his rival.

The rival was a Gran named Grurgo Zoere. After frequenting an inhumane number of bars and cantinas in the Duros Quarter, Jay got a lead from a loose-lipped Siniteen. Grurgo was meeting with a supplier of Heavy Battle Armour the next day at sunrise. Sure enough, at sunrise, Jay watched from above as Grurgo entered the ship of his supplier as they negotiated. After nearly an hour, Grurgo departed and Jay chose to follow him back to his ship, a gray/green JM5000. There, he boarded the vessel and interrogated Grurgo until he received the information his employer was searching for. He left the Gran hog-tied in his docking bay and stole the ship, later dubbing it the Andrasta. It would become Jay's ship-of-choice for smuggling because of its secret smuggling holds. Jay contacted his employer and was paid handsomely for the information. It was enough for him to buy a spacious apartment on Cato Neimodia and a small warehouse not far from his home. This would serve as his smuggling outpost for many years.

Governor

Jay Ortega, Governor of Siluria

Just past his 30th birthday, he was approached by a liaison from the mining group Total Outer Rim. They had heard of his shadier reputation but were willing to ignore, should he run for the position of Governor of the Siluria system. He was desired for his connections to many small independent groups. T.O.R. wanted to gain mining rights for the system, but the other candidate was already backed by another mining group. Jay took the nomination, and after minimal campaigning he was elected to serve a two year term. After being elected, he sold his property on Cato Neimodia to buy a proper home in Siluria.

During his two years, Total Outer Rim was able to bring an unprecedented number of jobs into the system. The economy flourished to the point that the government was able to purchase a small defense fleet to help protect mining ships as they traveled to refineries. When his term was over, many attempted to convince him for reelection. But the two years as governor had taken its toll on him. He was sleep deprived and depressed from such a stressful job. Jay was able to sell his home to the next elected governor, and not long after he bought a ticket offworld. He departed the Siluria system on a transport headed back to Nar Shaddaa to continue his career as a smuggler.

Smuggler

After over a dozen years serving as a small-time smuggler and information broker, Jay caught wind of the conflict in the Hosnian system. Dozens of different groups muscled for control of the newly discovered system, and Jay was tasked by one group to discover who had discovered it. His search led him to the G-1A, the Spirit of Huk, the supposedly haunted ship that had been responsible for the discovery. The former owner was looking to get rid of ship because of the trouble it had caused, and Jay took advantage of the fact. He bought it for the price of a Rho-class Shuttle and 20 million credits. Hoping to rechristen the vessel and scrub its record clean, Jay commissioned a new paint job for the vessel and brought it to a shop on Giju.

Jay being escorted on a smuggling run near Berrol's Donn

Here, he ordered the new paint along with a tune up and full sweep of the ship/s computers. In its last few days in the shop, the ship's doors reportedly locked in two engineers who had stayed after closing to scan the ship's AI. When employees returned the next morning, they found the bodies of the two dead engineers. It was an apparent murder-suicide committed by one of the engineers using a blow torch and a wrench. Upon returning to Giju to retrieve his ship, Ortega found out about the catastrophe and brought the ship to a computational intelligence scientist on Antar 4 to be analyzed. The primary hypothesis from the scientist was that during construction, a self-aware droid had somehow managed to download its consciousness to replace the main AI. The scientist refused to do further research on the vessel, claiming an eerie feeling whenever he was inside.

Jay brought the ship to a station that a friend owns and locked it in a docking bay until it was needed. In the meantime, Jay also stored his JM5000 which his operation had outgrown. He opted for a Simiyiar-class light freighter, a popular choice considering Mon Calamari was a nearby ship-building hub. After storing the ships, Jay returned to the galactic stage and engaged forces in Hosnian. While there, he connected with Zann Consortium forces, specifically Hondo Walker. While the fighting took place, Jay agreed to join his fledgling company, Blackskull Trading, as a smuggler. Before the grand opening of the group, Jay was asked to head the smuggling portion of the operation, given his experience.

Notable Ships

	The Dynasty (ID#238822) is a CR-90 Assassin-class Corvette and a former ship of the Zann Consortium that was sold to Jay in Year 19. Formally known as the Nether Baron, the Dynasty is an aging corvette that was built in early Year 12. It now serves as Jay Ortega's flagship and home base. The Dynasty also serves as an executive transport for important guests and associates. He has outfitted the ship with a series of suites in order to take governors, business associates, or powerful individuals on trips throughout the galaxy.		The Andrasta (ID#15756) is a modified JumpMaster 5000. The ship has secret smuggling holds that increate cargo capacity, but have resulted in less room for passengers as well. The ship was built in early Year 3 and was a cheap ship used by Imperials to scout the borders of Imperial space. In early Year 18, the ship was found on the junk world on Ord Mantell by Jay, where he restored it to it's former glory with new paint and the installation of new smuggling holds.
	The Ronin (ID#426768) is a Z-95 Headhunter and is an escort ship for the CR-90 Assassin-class Corvette, Dynasty. It was purchased by Jay Ortega in mid Year 19 to serve the Dynasty and protect the corvette. It's pilot, the Devaronian Yelkin Mano, was a former pilot for the New Republic's elite fighter group, Rogue Squadron.		The YT-510, Cal Ómbre (#200177), is the ship of a former Mandalorian from Death Watch. After personal issues and taunts from his past, "Slick" decided to end his life, shamefully and disrespectfully. He put a shame to Kyr'tsad with his death but this is his last remaining location and it is said the body is preserved inside, and his ghost taunts it. Only rumors, but people still fear to enter it. The ship was bought in Year 19 by Jay Ortega as his contending ship for Krieg's Run.