Joshua Jeb Nolan is the Chief Lawkeeper of Defiance, formerly St. Louis, a town where humans and alien Votans coexist. He was ten-years-old when the alien Arks arrived and he saw his comfortable life turned upside-down when the war between the humans and Votans began. (The Votans are broken down into seven races: the Castithans, the Irathients, the Vulge, the Gulanee, the Indogene, the Liberata and the Sensoth, with the Vulge generally being viewed as the least likeable.)Jeb grew up during the ten-year negotiations between humans and aliens. He is a former corporal in the Earth Military Coalition who fought in the alien conflict known as the Pale Wars. He was one of the few fighters, human and alien, to lay down his weapons and work to end the war, a group that became known as the Defiant Few. Shortly after the war ended, Joshua hunted down and killed a criminal Irathient, leaving his daughter, Irisa Nyira, an orphan. He took her in and raised her as his own and the pair traveled the lawless badlands for years. They joined von Bach Industries Bay Area Expedition and took advantage of an accident to take a Roller, a type of vehicle, which they hoped to sell. Next, they took a job from Varus Soleptor to recover the Libera Nova Gem from North Point Mine, but that mission went awry and they had an unfortunate encounter with Spirit Riders, a roving motorcycle gang. They were saved by Garret Clancy and Lawkeepers from Defiance and taken there.They met Tommy Lasalle, who would become Nolan's deputy, and ended up in the middle of a dispute between the McCawleys and Tarrs. When one of the warring families was killed, Joshua hired out his services to track down the murderer and discovered a plot to attack on the town. This led to him becoming Chief Lawkeeper.Background: Originally from St. Louis. Was part of the Earth Military Coalition's 9th Mechanized Division. He was a Private First Class but earned a battlefield promotion to corporal when half of his unit was killed. He likes Johnny Cash and plays Jackson to bring his sulking daughter out of her shell.