CEDRIC'S BACKSTORY

Author’s note: When I write short stories and flash fiction, I zoom in on a single moment in the life of a character and a tiny setting within a larger context. Having some ideas about the rest of the character’s life and world informs the story and makes it easier to write, even though those ideas will remain mostly unstated. I wrote a complex backstory for Cedric while plotting “The Captain’s Dilemma.” An edited version appears below.

 
Cedric Wright grew up Nantivar Aglary, the capital planet of the Nantean Confederation. At age six, he learned that, one thousand years ago, his ancestors were the first men to fly. From that point on, he was determined to become a great flyer. Of course, that meant space ships these days.

As one of the most daring pilots of the Space Force, he was sent to infiltrate a powerful pirate syndicate known as The Smoking Cannons. The thrill of blockade running won Cedric’s heart. The pirates recognized his talents and gave him the respect that the Space Force never had. He abandoned his ties to Space Force, making a name for himself, Pitch, as a smuggler and later as a captain in the syndicate.

Eventually, he had a change of heart. He betrayed the syndicate to the Nantean Confederation. The Space Force welcomed him back as a hero, not realizing that he had betrayed them earlier, and rewarded him with his current position of captain on a cutting-edge, prototype frigate. Now he was at the top of The Smoking Cannons’ hit list. No one betrayed the syndicate and lived, and no one’s thirst for revenge burned hotter than that of his former boss, Drezden Groll.

After surviving two vicious scraps, Cedric realized that he had pushed his luck too far. He petitioned the Space Forces to assume a position on a dreadnaught, too large for pirates to challenge. That was off-limits since he hadn’t risen through the normal channels, but if he retired the syndicate would track him down. His only way out was to make both the Nantean Confederation and The Smoking Cannons believe him dead, but he wouldn’t go out alone.