Following the death of his mother, Liam Payne spent more than eight years isolated on the periphery world of Nevara, largely raising himself through operating as a salvager, and teaching himself to pilot and maintain a battered old shuttle he acquired through a card game.

Eventually, taking his shuttle to the Filtvelt system, he was able to broker himself into the school, hoping to turn that into a better job. In 3029, he was recruited from the graduating class, and offered a position within the unit’s interstellar trade organization, taking command of the “Meteor”, along with several young engineers.

His twin brother, William Payne is a successful commander of a Federated Suns DropShip in the service of the national naval reserve, largely assigned to service among the periphery armed militias.