Bio:
Born on Carida, home of the Imperial Academy, Josh Caton grew up at the center of the Empire's war machine. His father Feran was lead instructor in the Academy Starfighter Command's Heavy Assault Division. The elder Caton, highly respected among his fellow officers, excelled at turning green young pilots into the elite of the Old Republic's TIE bomber squadrons.
Feran Caton, however, was never very interested in galactic politics. And as a result, Josh's father remained a loyal military man despite the increasingly authoritarian regime of Palpatine. Even as the first flames of rebellion in the galaxy began to burn, Feran continued training his pilots with little thought about rebel claims of tyranny. Above all, Feran Caton was a soldier and loyal to the Navy that he'd served for so long.
As the son of a flight instructor, Josh had flown sims for as long as he could remember. Josh spent countless hours creating engagements for himself to run on the simulator installed at the Caton family home. His father often commented Josh had more hours in the TIE bomber simulator than half the Navy's active pilots.
Then came Alderaan. At the Caridan Academy, none dared speak openly against Tarkin's heinous act. What happened there was too far away to have much of an impact on the 17-year-old Josh. But it served as a wake-up call to his father.
Feran told Josh he could no longer stomach service in Palpatine's military. For his own conscience's sake, he had to stop contributing to the Emperor's power. Yet at the same time, he was too old simply go AWOL and start a new life. Father and son concocted a story where Josh would steal a shuttle and flee the planet, and Feran would resign from the Imperial Navy in mock "shame" for his son's action, free to live out his twilight years in relative peace. Josh lifted off in the dark of the Caridan night and left his father behind for good.
For the first time, Josh was free to live life outside of the military epicenter, away from the toils of war. Under an assumed identity, he enrolled in the University of Charmath in Farfin Sector. He concentrated his studies on writing and literature. Later in his university career, his military upbringing showed itself, as Josh became interested and took courses in naval tactics and strategy.
While at Charmath, Josh was exposed to the more liberal political element--and supporters of the growing Rebellion. Among his friends was an unusual Verpine named Tulk. A rally supporting the Alliance cause was held one afternoon on the steps of Charmath's Seoni Hall. Josh and Tulk were in the crowd when the Imperial governor decided to put an end to the insurrectionist gathering. Stormtroopers, supported by AT-STs, ordered the crowd to disperse. The students only shouted louder, their cries of tyranny justified by the white-clad army staring them down.
It was never determined who fired the first shot. The riot that ensued claimed nearly a hundred lives. Most of the casualties were students. During the massacre, Josh took a blaster bolt in the arm moving Tulk out of the line of fire. When it was over, the University's doors had been closed by the governor, "pending curriculum review."
Unable to arrest the hundreds who participated in the riot, the governor instead chose to place the humans who rioted on probation, and "deport" alien species. It did not take a Charmath educator to know what the governor meant by "deport."
Josh regretted that he never got to say goodbye to Tulk. But Tulk found a way to say thank you to him. Four days after the riot, Josh showed up in the repair bay he and Tulk had spent so many hours in tinkering with starships. There, amazingly, was a stock B-wing starfighter. How the fighter came to be there Josh might never know. But in the cockpit was a hand-scrawled note from Tulk, written in the best Basic the Verpine's insectoid appendages could manage: "Josh ... take this ... and fight." Josh left Charmath a few credits short of a degree.
Using his student contacts, Josh got in touch with an Alliance recruiter. Soon after, he and his B-wing were assigned to fill a hole in Blue Squadron's bomber wing. After a short stint aboard the Happy Jack, Josh was transferred to the Alliance's elite heavy assault unit, Buccaneer Squadron. While still a relatively green pilot, Josh's natural talent and thoughtful approach to combat help him overcome his inexperience.
His R5 unit, R5-I6 or "Ice," is quick thinking little droid that tends to take everything literally. Josh uses flechette weapons as his primary firearms due to an allergy to most forms of blaster gas.
