The slaver known as Cain Shepard was born on Planet Leeds, the only child of a BMM miner and his wife. After his father died in a work-related accident; his mother committed suicide, forcing the young boy onto the streets. Cain was found months later by a middle-aged smuggler who, recognising the potential use of the boy in a number of scams brought Cain aboard his Camara-class freighter and raised him as his "son."
As the boy grew older, the smuggler imparted his knowledge; teaching Cain how to fight, shoot and trade. If Cain made mistakes or otherwise disappointed his "father" he would often receive a beating. Despite this, Cain admired the smuggler, as if he were his biological father.
Several years later; the aging smuggler was left crippled after an attack on the freighter leaving Cain, now in his late teens, to take over the piloting and day-to-day running of the ship. After the damage to the freighter was repaired at Beaumont Base; the pair continued to transport illicit goods while Cain cared for the smuggler, despite his insistence that he could look after himself.