Flipping forums at my background. It was pretty good too. Oh well basics time:
Spend most of life serving on one ship or another
won ship in a game of cards from a merchant who probably should't have been gambling it
lured mates she'd sailed with in the past to be her kick ass crew
Takes on a smuggling job for odd wizard
Cargo explodes right as they are sneaking past the blockade
Crew dead, she lives, can't find client to extract revenge
Captains are generally reluctant to hire her these days between her pride and her having poached crew in the past