Zdenek Malek was only five years old when both of his parents and most of his extended family were killed during the battle for the city of Baroda on Andurien during the Andurien revolt. Young Malek was placed into an orphanage where he became a sullen and withdrawn child who blamed the Mariks for everything that had happened to him.

Upon his emancipation, he made his way to Solaris VII where he begged to be taken on by the Andurien-oriented Fitzhugh stables. He initially was hired as a janitor, but eventually made his way into the apprenticeship program, finally graduating as a full-fledged Solaris jock. He ultimately became a well-regarded gladiator who was instantly recognizable in his heavily customized Wraith.

Malek was one of the members of a loosely organized band of Solaris warriors who attacked the Flaming Devil Monkeys in July of 3071 during the blakist occupation. Upset over what they perceived as the Monkeys’ hoarding of repair facilities, the solaris jocks decided to push them out by force. That effort failed, and despite a good showing, Malek’s Wraith was disabled and he was captured. The Monkeys offered to release him a few days later, but he insisted on remaining on site to oversee the repair of ‘his’ mech. He even started helping the techs on their repairs. When Marcus Kanai was killed a month later in fighting with the blakists, Bane offered Malek a slot on the Monkeys. There didn’t seem any way to get rid of Malek and he was clearly a talented pilot.

As a result of his upbringing, Malek is extremely anti-social and introverted. His only close companion is his mech whom he often refers to as “bratić” which is croatian for “cousin.” He is especially fond of his ride and many wonder what will happen if the two are some day parted.