Jay Ortega
| Jayceon "Jay" Ortega | |
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Race | Codru-ji |
| Homeworld | Vandor-1 |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5'8" |
| Weight | 285 lbs. |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Political Information | |
| Affiliation | Blackskull Trading |
| Positions | Former Governor of Siluria |
| Prior Affiliation | Trade Federation, Total Outer Rim, Eidola Pirates |
- "If you're good at something, never do it for free!"
- — Jay's father to a young Jay
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 big game hunting guide. He is best known for being the former Governor of the Siluria while working for Total Outer Rim. He now works 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. Jay is sometimes referred to as the "Man of a Thousand Runs," a testament to his career as a smuggler.
Contents
Early Life
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
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 years of 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.
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.
Personality and Traits
Being a bachelor, Jay is known to indulge in some of the finer delicacies in the galaxy. Jay is an avid gambler, and is known to bet on anything that money can be made on, whether it's sabacc, podracing, or when dinner will arrive. His favourite drink is Merenzane Gold and comes from the world of Devaron. With no contact with immediate family, he has nobody to keep him in check from engaging in his two favourite sins, gambling and drinking.
Jay is a proud, blunt man. He is eager to talk back to warlords, make demands to the current galactic government and refuses to show any sign of shame for it. He considers himself a self-made man and does not accept dominion from anybody. When the basic force fails, he is all too willing to resort to bravado. His only true loyalty is to his close friends. He has a passion for information and its ability to be a powerful asset, sometimes more important than brute force. He felt himself to be a relatively sophisticated and genteel individual and avoids violence whenever possible, but is not against engaging in it when absolutely necessary. He has a strong sense of humor, sometimes leading to the confusion or humiliation of alien peers.
Jay does not believe in displays of wealth and power, instead preferring to remain inconspicuous and avoid drawing possible foes. He does not hold strong personal grudges, realizing that foes could become allies if it was profitable; he was friendly and charismatic toward friends and enemies alike. Despite this—or perhaps because of it—he is perceived as calculating and mercenary by many of his peers. He also has no desire to ally himself with either side of the Galactic Civil War, instead playing both sides off each other and profiting from both.
Notable Ships
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