Stark was a Banik slave imprisoned by Scorpius and subjected to his Arora Chair for no telling how long, perhaps, long enough to drive him mad? Half of his "madness" was in pretending to avoid being "bothered so much" by Scorpius who desired to see a very special place only Stark knows about hidden inside his mind. Half of Stark's face was destroyed by the Peacekeepers, thus the mask to cover the golden shine that radiates from the unhealing wound.

He is a Stykera, capable of easing others by "showing" them the beautiful place that he knows and is a guide of those about to die, making their process into death more comforting though in the many cycles he has "developed a deep reservoir of evil" in retaining some of the memories and essence of those who pass.

Crichton helped Stark escape during his capture by Scorpius in "Hidden Memory". He remained on board Moya after a return in "The Locket" bearing information that D'argos son was sold into slavery. Stark remained until they were accosted by the Plokavians in "The Ugly Truth" and put on trial for Talyn destroying one of their ships. Stark saved the others by proclaiming he made Talyn fire and was decomporalized as the punishment. Zhaan kept his mask.

Much later Stark returned in "Liars Guns and Money", able to re-comporalize himself since his human form isn't his "true corporeal self" with a plan to rob a Shadow Depository as a means to save D'argos son from slavery and ten thousand of his own kind at the same time. However the plan failed for him as all ten thousand Banik's were thrown out into space, useless to Scorpius who bought them to obtain Jothee first as a playing tool against John Crichton. Stark's second and perhaps worst blow came when Zhaan died, sacrificing herself to save Moya in "Wait For the Wheel".

Stark leaves the crew again in "The Choice" hearing the voice of Zhaan on a strange planet for the dead, he decides to remain until he can discover what is pleading to him.
A sort of Freudian slip of jealousy for Stark, blaming John for the death of Zhaan, Stark "shows up" again in John Quixote when Chiana has bought a game Stark helped create, using designs from his memories of John in order to trap him inside the game and imprison his existence into it forever.
In the meantime Stark himself has been captured by the Scarran's and cloned into a bioloid that tortures Scorpius for the Scarran's in order to discover his knowledge of wormholes. After John is forced to go back for Scorpius on the Scarran secret base, Stark returns to Moya for "Bad Timing".

Stark is an extremely sensitive man who has been tormented and tortured, tottering between inner forces of light and dark. Both contrasts inside him are extreme though his nature is gentle and light hearted.