Strays

Quinel Neviden is a pragmatic smuggler with a haunted past and one hard rule: he doesn’t smuggle people. Too much risk, too much Imperial attention, too many ways it can go wrong. He and his reprogrammed experimental battle droid partner Dezmyn keep their heads down, run “mostly legitimate” cargo, and stay out of trouble.

That policy lasts right up until a desperate family approaches him in a cantina on the Outer Rim colony world of Ghauba. Two adults and a nine-year-old Zeltron girl named Tammea need passage off-world, no questions asked. Quinel refuses—until Tammea’s genuine wonder at his eccentrically painted blue and purple ship breaks through every defense he’s built. Against his better judgment and Dez’s protests, he agrees to help them.

But when the Empire comes calling, the peaceful world of Ghauba becomes a war zone, and when the unthinkable happens, it is left to Quinel to look after the orphaned Zeltron. What follows is their story, as the small crew of the Misfit Stray tries to keep flying in a galaxy far, far away that seems to be growing darker with each passing day.

Strays is an episodic, multi-arc serialized space opera set within the dark times, three years after the end of Episode III and 16 years before Episode IV, following the small crew of the Misfit Stray as they discover the meaning of found family. Inspired by the likes of the OG Cowboy Bebop manga and anime and taking some extra motivations from Firefly/Serenity, Mass Effect and others, the story examines what life is like for the little people in the galaxy just trying to stay flying in the black when everything feels like it’s barely holding together.

It takes place between Episodes III and IV, in a universe mixing current canon with a great deal drawn from Legends. It will not involve galaxy-affecting plots and schemes — this is about what life is like for the little people, a couple of strays doing what they can to get by. If you’re looking for a fight between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire, you won’t find it here. There may be a cameo here and there, but the point is a different perspective, not retelling the story of Star Wars for the billionth time.

A note from me

This has been a pet project of mine for a while now. I have every intention to work on this more, but I can’t promise a regular posting schedule, hence why this isn’t up on a site like AO3 and the like.

That said, these characters mean the world to me and I hope they will matter even half as much to you. Subscribe to the feed to get updates when they happen.