Corwin Ballast

Corwin Ballast
Biographical information
Homeworld	Mordal
Descriptive information
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/him
Family information
Family	Ballast family
Partner(s)	Lynnta
Children	Corwin Ballast's daughter
Chronological and political information
Affiliation(s)	Ergel's Bar

"You brought your family here?"
"I did. Wanted to take them as far away from the fighting as I could. A place where the war will never find us. The farthest–flung nowhere rock I could find on a star map."
"Well, you found it, buddy. You don't get more nowhere than here. War ain't got no reason to roll up on this rock."

―Ergel and Corwin Ballast

Corwin Ballast was a male native of the planet Mordal who lived on the world with his wife, Lynnta, and his daughter. In 4 ABY, Ballast and his family became trapped in a firefight between rebels and Imperial forces. He and Lynnta attempted to rescue their daughter, who had become immobilized amidst the fighting. However, by the end of the ensuing fighting, Ballast's wife and daughter had been killed.

Wanting to bring the memories of his family somewhere war would never reach, Ballast traveled to the planet Jakku and settled there. He became a bartender at Ergel's Bar, a local establishment. In 5 ABY, Ballast met the travelers Rae Sloane and Brentin Wexley while working in the bar, unenthused by the former's request for information. Super Star Destroyers arrived in Jakku's atmosphere during their meeting, deeply saddening Ballast.

Biography

Grief and wandering

"War. I'm tired of war."

―Corwin Ballast

Ballast traveled to Jakku's Tuanul settlement after his family's deaths.

The male individual Corwin Ballast lived on his homeworld, the terrestrial planet Mordal, during the Imperial Era. Ballast; his wife, Lynnta; and their daughter settled in his hometown, the city Maborn, during the Galactic Civil War. While in Maborn in 4 ABY, he and his family were caught in a battle between Imperial forces and rebels and sheltered behind crates. Ballast attempted to assist Lynnta in rescuing their immobilized daughter from the middle of a street, running out from behind their cover. The man saw his wife get hit with blasterfire and then was struck himself. While unconscious, he was transported to a crawler and treated with healing bacta. Several weeks after the battle, an injured Ballast woke up in the crawler and mourned the loss of his daughter and wife after learning they had died and were buried. Grieved, he kept a picture of his family in his boot to remind him of their memory.

Ballast left Mordal to travel to the Inner Rim planet Jakku, a location he considered desolate enough for war never to reach. On his way to the world, Ballast acquired a HyCor laser repeater to defend himself. After arriving at the Tuanul settlement on Jakku, he bought a dilapidated speeder from a few local anchorites, paying them more than he owed as a gesture of apathetic charity. Ballast disembarked his speeder and surveyed the terrain around him, deciding that he liked the world's bleak surroundings. A rag-man then attempted to intimidate the newly arrived Ballast, but the Mordal native quickly brandished his laser repeater and waved off the rag-man's threat.

Ergel's Bar

"Again, I sell drinks here, so if that's not what you want…"
"This is a bar. Bars are usually excellent places to get information."
"Oh. You want information? Here's some: The planet you are on is called Jakku. Nothing is here. Everyone on this world is a ghost. If you're here, you might be a ghost, too."

―Corwin Ballast and Rae Sloane

Ballast was horrified to see Imperial ships entering Jakku's atmosphere, knowing it meant war had come to the world.

Ballast then visited the nearby drinking establishment Ergel's Bar, greeting the Uthuthma Gazwin as he took a seat at the bar. The business's bartender Ergel served the Mordal native an oil can filled with Knockback Nectar, an alcoholic beverage he downed swiftly despite his initial wariness of the drink's murky appearance. Ergel attempted to recruit the newcomer to work as a bartender at his establishment and inquired how the man ended up on Jakku. After briefly thinking about the deaths of his family, Ballast replied that he had come to the world to escape war and to bring the memories of his loved ones somewhere peaceful. Ergel assured Ballast that military conflict would never come to Jakku, reminding him that the world was desolate. Afterward, Ballast accepted Ergel's offer of employment at his establishment.

While working as a bartender at Ergel's Bar in 5 ABY, Ballast was approached by the human travelers Rae Sloane and Brentin Wexley, dismissing them when both established they were not at the establishment to order a drink. When Sloane repeated her inquiry for information about her former Imperial colleague Gallius Rax, the bartender informed her he did not know him and that the only people present on Jakku were ghosts. Moments after, a fleet of Imperial Super Star Destroyers arrived in Jakku's atmosphere, casting large shadows over the planet. Ballast was horrified by the ships' arrival, solemnly noting that war had come to the world.

Personality and traits

"I got Knockback Nectar if you want some. That'll be ten credits apiece or one quarter-portion from the Orkoon Hub."
"I don't want a drink."
"Then we don't have anything to talk about."

―Corwin Ballast and Rae Sloane

Jakku's bleak surface reminded Ballast of his outlook on life.

Corwin Ballast loved his family and was devastated when his wife and daughter died. In his grief, he decided to leave his homeworld and settle on a world that matched his bleak, apathetic outlook on life. After arriving at one of Jakku's barren settlements, he felt that the desolate world perfectly suited the emptiness he felt after his family's passing. Though still willing to engage in brief conversation with friendly individuals he met, Ballast adopted a more ruthless mentality toward those who threatened him and readily brandished his laser repeater at a rag-man to ward him away.

Despite his melancholy demeanor, Ballast tolerated the company of Gazwin, one of the patrons at Ergel's Bar. He grew annoyed when Sloane revealed that she had visited the bar to gather information, only interested in serving customers drinks. Ballast's desire to avoid war persisted, and he was dismayed when Super Star Destroyers arrived on Jakku, as he had hoped the world would remain uneventful. While working at the bar, Ballast maintained an unshaven appearance.

Equipment

During his travels, the Mordal native owned a HyCor laser repeater and carried some credits with him. While on Jakku, he bought a junker speeder and kept a photo of his family with him. Ballast also donned a jacket and a pair of boots. As a bartender at Ergel's establishment, he had access to glasses to fill with Knockback Nectar for patrons.

Behind the scenes

Corwin Ballast first appeared in Aftermath, a 2015 novel written by Chuck Wendig as the first installment in Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy.

Appearances

• Aftermath (First appearance, simultaneous with Aftermath audiobook)
• Aftermath audiobook
• Aftermath: Life Debt
• Aftermath: Life Debt audiobook

Notes and references

In other languages

• français
• 日本語
• polski