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The trick with significant NPCs is to engage them in conversation to learn more about them. But you don't have to go overboard, because you know they'll have some deep plot-relevant secrets that the GM is just dying to tell you about, to show just how clever the background story is.
In most situations, about two sentences worth of mildly interested questioning should be enough to get the GM to spill the beans.
[Reminder: Our guest commentators have not seen Rogue One. Part of the fun is seeing how their untainted impressions re-interpret the movie through the lens of our comic.]
Job security.
In Babylon 5, we had somebody who got a job in politics because he wanted a job, and at the end of the show is putting the crown of his home planet on his head.
But it is heroic. Remember, the Empire is the good guy to the Galaxy. This person has done a lot of hard work, has tried very hard, and probably did nothing worse than shipping someone else's secret.
Ship someone else's secret, end up in a prison that's about to be destroyed. Sounds like a movie, "the transporter". Ship a secret, get in trouble.
— Keybounce
So they're both pilots, interesting.
Since Cassian described himself as a "rogue" pilot, I always took that to mean he defected along with K-2. Obviously, not every Imperial pilot would know each other, but they might have some shared acquaintances or something. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm getting the feeling that there's some sort of connection between the two characters, maybe something in the backstory involving Wedge.
Also, counting K-2, this team is now 50% pilots. That seems a little lopsided, and unfortunately lowers Cassian's usefulness a little more.
On the plus side, I am giving Cassian some leadership points here. He seems to be doing better, and might actually prove useful. Yay!
— aurilee
Transcript
Cassian: Right, I'm off. Bodhi, with me.
{they leave the ship and start walking}
Cassian: So, tell me about how you joined the Empire.
Bodhi: Well, I always wanted to be a pilot. It sounded heroic to me. I got a job with the Empire, because of the job security.
Bodhi: I worked my way up and became a courier and then an inter-system business agent.
Cassian: And you ended up in Jabba's prison?
Bodhi: Yeah, Jabba was unusually paranoid.
Cassian: Funny how right after Jabba left, the Empire blew the place up.
Bodhi: Hmm. Funny's not the word I'd use.
Cassian: "Ironic", maybe?
Bodhi: Yeah, it's like an orbital bombardment on your wedding day.
Cassian: And a free ride from Tatooine, when you've already paid.