Zahnmar Raine

If one were to put Zahn in a line up with others of his kind that had left their homeworld to find work in the galaxy at large, you would find him to be much like every other Barabel there, always happy to fight and seemingly ornery all the time.  Zahn wouldn't step foot off of Barabel I until his was 16 years old, and he would never step foot on the planet's surface again.  After scrounging enough money together to buy a weapon and some basic equipment, the Barabel would immediately go to work in the Outer Rim as a mercenary, quickly finding work as a bounty hunter and general enforcer for Jabba the Hutt.  Despite being young, Zahn would prove to be quite the asset to the Hutt, and quickly built a reputation for himself as someone able to get difficult tasks done, not to mention someone that would go to any lengths to track down and bring in a target.  Unfortunately, his primary employer, along with most of the Hutt's court, would meet a rather grizzly end, ushered in by a Jedi no less, the Barabel even heard a rumor that famed Boba Fett had been among the casualties.  Zahn himself was in the process of bringing back a bounty when he received the news of Jabba's death.  The reptilian was surprised by the Hutt's untimely end, but not particularly perturbed by it, he was bothered more so by the fact that Jabba had been his main source of income.  Seeing as Jabba's death had nullified their last contract, Zahn would release his bounty and arrange for transport to Nar Shaddaa, he didn't wish to waste much time finding another employer to stand in Jabba's place. 

Within a couple of weeks Zahn would find work again, once more to a Hutt, but gone were the long term contracts the Barabel had become accustomed to when Jabba held power.  Hutt territory would explode as the power vacuum left by Jabba's death was rushed to be filled, Zahn finding himself employed by at least a dozen Hutts over the next several years, seeing more work as a soldier than a bounty hunter.  It wouldn't last however, his work started to get far to personal for his liking, Zahn finding himself targeted by some Hutts for working with others.  It baffled the simple minded Barabel, he didn't work for any of them because he liked them or was loyal to them, he did work for them because they payed the highest for his skills.  Still, a few attempts on his life were enough to convince the Barabel it was time to leave the Outer Rim for awhile.  Ironically enough, Zahn would quickly find himself employed by the xenophobic Imperial Remnant, frequently tasked with tracking down New Republic VIP's and being deployed as a Pathfinder to important worlds believed to contain an enemy presence that the Imperials wished to get their hands on.  On a few occasions, Zahn would find himself employed as a general soldier on battlefields during the course of the ensuing conflict, though these missions weren't nearly as common as his other ones.

This would go on for nearly 12 years before a botched pathfinding mission resulted in Zahn's capture by Republic forces.  Rather than slapping him with a hefty prison sentence for his dealings with the Imperials, the New Republic would extend an offer to the Barabel.  The mass desertion of a large portion of their special forces had left the New Republic in a tight spot, eager to train new recruits to fill the void but lacking the veterans to do it.  So a deal was struck with the reptilian, in exchange for cutting all ties with the Imperials, as well as divulging everything he had on them and their dealings, Zahn would be hired on as an instructor on Coruscant, primarily focusing on pathfinding and general scouting.  The work wasn't quite as exciting as serving on the front lines or behind enemy lines as the Barabel was used to, but it brought a hefty pay check and comfortable living conditions, so he couldn't complain very much.  Zahn had never tried teaching others the skills he'd learned and honed over the years, but he didn't mind the challenge it presented, and it wouldn't take him long to throw a training program together, though it would change regularly over the years as he improved upon it.  The Barabel's training techniques quickly brought controversy however, he was hard on his trainees, and his SERE training (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) was particularly brutal, it wasn't uncommon for men and women to suffer broken bones and various other injuries whilst going through his program.  While they voiced their disagreement with his methods frequently, Zahn's handlers would never move to shut him down or force him to change his teaching methods, for his harsh techniques were producing very high-performing results.  The trainees themselves were often fond of their instructor, the bulky Barabel quickly earning the nickname 'Mother', which he found rather amusing considering he was anything but motherly, which was the point.  Even trainees that absolutely hated Zahn often had a grudging respect for him, and he quickly earned a reputation as an instructor that could whip the sorriest of soldiers into crack troops given enough time.

Overall Zahn is pleased with where he's at, though he does miss the 'old days' of his youth working in Hutt space, and the dangers it posed.  That isn't to say teaching doesn't have it's hazards, just a week prior a fresh recruit discharged his weapon accidentally and blasted off Zahn's tail.  Despite being startled, Zahn would have found the whole thing humorous if the human man hadn't stammered out a timid apology, breaking Zahn's number one rule, 'No apologizing for anything.'.  The bulky Barabel would promptly pick up his severed tail and hit the recruit hard enough to knock him over, and as further punishment Zahn has since forced the recruit to carry the severed appendage with him every where he goes, telling him he cannot shed the extra weight until his instructor's tail regrows.