Reen was a human, the child of Imperial employees Bevelyn and Jon Melton. With their parents and sibling Zelly, Reen resided on the second Death Star, also known as the mobile battle station, as Bev and Melton were employed on the station. During their time serving the Empire, Reen's parents grew disillusioned and became spies for Lady Qi'ra's criminal organization, Crimson Dawn. Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, Reen's parents made the choice to defect from the Empire and inform the Rebel Alliance about the Death Star's existence, seeking safe passage and protection in return.
Following the family's theft of a shuttle and their departure from the Death Star, TIE/IN interceptors pursued them. After failing to secure assistance from the Rebel Alliance, Melton utilized programmed coordinates to escape to Al'doleem. Upon reaching the moon, they were compelled to escape to Coruscant, the Imperial capital, where Melton hoped to either locate Crimson Dawn members for assistance or vanish within the planets vast population to begin anew. After the shuttle entered orbit around Coruscant, Bev entrusted Reen with the special task of watching over Zelly as the family convened in the cockpit, preparing to use the shuttle's emergency pod for landing. Once they touched down on Level 2685, Melton disabled the pod's emergency beacon, advising everyone to blend in and avoid attracting attention. As residents began surrounding the shuttle, Zelly pointed out to Melton that they had already attracted attention. Bev and Melton pleaded for help from the residents, who refused and fled as Imperial ships approached. Bev then suggested the family should run.