The McManus family are a relatively well off one on Virgon, Paul's mother, Jan, being a dealer in antiques and art for the rich and famous while his father, Pieter, is an author and historian, well known in his field and often called as a guest lecturer to universities on the subject of ancient colonial history.
Paul is the eldest of three boys, all of whom grew up in comfort and were educated at a private school, where, given Paul's size and strength, he and his brother were recruited to play front row for the school's rugby team.
Encouraged by his parents, Paul worked towards a career in medicine, unfortunately graduating high school with not quite high enough grades to enter pre-med. Undeterred, and with the considerable assistance of his father, he gained a place to study history with a minor in divinity at the local college, but his interest soon wandered and he spent more of his time playing rugby (gaining an international under 21s cap) and working at the student bar than actually studying. Informed by his tutor that if he didn't start to pay attention, he'd flunk the course, Paul took the preemptive step of quitting and concentrating on his rugby instead.
Still with an eventual aim of being a doctor, and encouraged by his team physio, a former Navy Corpsman himself, Paul signed on the dotted line to train as a medic with the fleet, representing the Navy rugby team along the way and finally gaining both a full international cap and a certain amount of celebrity among rugby afficionadoes throughout the fleet and the colonies.
There is a rumour that he was once blood substituted during a match, walked off the pitch, stitched up his /own/ wound, and came back on ten minutes later to finish the game. This may, however, simply be an urban myth.