v.Cyber Max

Little is known about the Horsebreeder Corporation except that it disappeared shortly after the fall of Legacy. One of the only remnants of its secretive existence is the Omega Cortex, a unique bit of neuro-tech that runs a Polysonae identity mod that allows users to select from a catalogue of pre-coded personalities. 

Max was an old friend of Pretty's and when Plureality managed to steal the Omega during the chaos of the MacroCorps War, Pretty bought it from them and convinced his pal to have it implanted. Depending on the Contract, Max selects from 'Simon' – a tactics and espionage expert, 'Marshal' – a hacker with an internal database of rare Meshes nicknamed the Spellbook, and 'Mick' – a brash and sometimes violent investigator. There are likely other polysonae versions in the Cortex that Max has yet to unlock.

The one time that Max tried Plex after the Omega was implanted he disappeared, literally vanished, for three days. He claims that he remembers nothing that occurred during his absence. 

v.Cyber Tatterdemalion

Every Contract intersects with the Grid because the Grid is everywhere. Forged identifications, masked interfaces, cloaked communications, disabled security systems, counter-surveillance, hijacked transportation, decryption, downloading, uploading, viral warfare. For any Contract to be completed someone at some point will need to run at least one Mesh on the Grid. Tatterdemalion is the Van Gogh of Mesh-work. On a dose of Plex she's Van Gogh, Picasso, and Magritte all at once. Whatever augments she is using are hidden away in a Black Box Cortex; any attempt to hack or even just scan her neuro-tech will only cause a sound file to play on all interface channels – 'Also Sprach Zarathustra'.

v.Cyber Trump

Although Pretty would likely never admit it, the one Meta he knows who could out-charm him would be Trump. Black-belt level social-engineering, enhanced by an Aphrodite Cortex that regulates pheromone output and manages subliminal physiological responses, in addition to running Lunar and Medallion perception mods. He also has a solid stealth game due to a custom genetic augment using hybridized cat cells. For negotiations, interrogations or infiltrations, Trump is worth his price.

v.Cyber Aqua

Pretty's favourite bruiser, Aqua is the perfect Meta for when a building needs broken into, or out of, because Aqua can actually punch through walls. The Arcanium-alloy gauntlets that she has grafted onto her hands are powered by Hyper-Gravity micro-batteries and are outfitted with contact-activated Nova Burst generators as well as short-range counter-security EMP emitters. Aqua's designer Hermes Cortex runs Resilience immune boosts, Throne pain-regulation stimuli, and comes with an echolocation field that translates environmental data into dance music, which may explain her somewhat unique freestyle fighting technique.

v.Cyber Akimoto

If Pretty knows that a Contract is likely to get violent, Akimoto gets the call. Full-spectrum muscle, bone, and epidermal augments. Military-grade Ares Cortex implants, running Altar and Retribution nervous system boosts. Multiple Regen chemical nano-factories. Besides being a terrifying warrior, Akimoto is famous for playing Barbarians & Basilisks sim-feeds in realtime while in combat, superimposing the epic fantasy gameplay over the real world action. On a dose of Plex Aki can't really tell the difference between the two, but he becomes an even better fighter...

v.Cyber Pretty George

When the Legacy Corporation finally collapses – due in large part to the leak of top secret research by the underground hacker group Plureality – a war begins. It is a war of information, of data, of money, and just as often a war of bombs and bullets. Omegatropolis – the vast city that covers most of North America, including the 13 artificial islands along the Atlantic coast – descends into chaos as Legacy falls apart and the ravenous horde of MacroCorps begins fighting over consumers, resources, profits and power. The soldiers in this war, beyond the private security companies and in-house agents, are the Metas.

Metas are hackers, gunslingers, thieves, smugglers, and spies for hire. They use the latest bio-mech enhancements and neuro-tech upgrades to out-sneak, out-fight and out-think the competition. The bravest and craziest use a drug called Plex that can boost their capabilities to borderline paranormal levels.

Whatever their talents, motives, or personal demons, Metas need Contracts to work. And Contracts come through Fixers. And the best Fixer in Omegatropolis is Pretty George.

v.Space Lt. Max Cube

Justice-class vessels were outfitted with a compliment of ten Fighters (a combination of single-pilot Hangman and Devil-class craft and co-piloted Reaper-class ships). Fighters were essential for space combat, ship defence and planet-side actions. After Magenta's decision to go rogue, only four pilots remained onboard. Commander Washington and Lt. Comm. Wraith were also trained pilots but the Wing squad needed support. The Captain decided that one of their first anti-Legacy missions would be to break former Lt. Cube out of prison and return him to service onboard The Dragon.

No one was certain how exactly Cube and Magenta knew each other, or why he was in jail. There were rumours that they had been romantically involved, but they seemed to fight a lot. Cube was the archetypal cocky pilot with the skills to back it up, but his dedication to taking down Legacy was never in doubt.

v.Space Lt. Darius Angellus

When Captain Magenta decided that she was going to fight back against the Legacy Project she gave the crew of The Dragon a choice: they could remain onboard and join the resistance or they could be dropped off at a nearby Temple Base in the Haven Zone. Many of the crew had families, many were afraid, and some – even after seeing the evidence – still believed in Legacy. Of the initial 107 only 23 stayed. Some had served with Magenta before, some were motivated by the evidence, but Ensign Angellus' reason was perhaps the strangest – he had dreamed of the Captain and had foresaw the coming war against Legacy... 

Angellus didn't told anyone else about his visions, but he started keeping a dream log.

Only three other members of the Engineering Team, all of them Ensigns, chose to stay – Angellus was promoted to Lieutenant and became acting Chief of Engineering. He worked tirelessly to maintain the ship's Plexdrive, the only thing keeping them flying and fighting.

v.Space Lt. Callan Lokk

Callan Lokk served briefly as an Ensign under (then) Lt. Comm. Magenta at the Oracle Outpost Wind where he assisted in running the Metawave transmissions that allowed for interplanetary travel and communication within the Haven Zone. Lokk was always a more talented Meta-tech than his rank or posting suggested, and when his curiousity led him to conduct some off-book scans he discovered encrypted clues to Legacy's many conspiracies. 

Lokk kept the knowledge secret for years until he was re-assigned to The Dragon. His trust in Capt. Magenta finally prompted him to reveal what he had learned. He brought his expertise to the fight against Legacy as the acting Chief of Science.

v.Space Lt. Comm. Wednesday Wraith

Wednesday Wraith was the acting Chief of Tactical aboard The Dragon when Magenta took command. The two did not always get along personally but they challenged each other professionally in a way that inspired both of them to do better. When the evidence started to accumulate that the Legacy Project had ulterior motives, it was Wraith that pushed her Captain to dig deeper. And finally, when it was necessary, to go rogue. 

Wraith's tactical skills were unmatched and she was instrumental in helping The Dragon evade capture by the Project. She led a squad of five soldiers – known as her Shadows.

v.Space Comm. Dexter Washington

Dexter Washington was the Commander-in-Charge of Fortress Base Haskins when it came under attack by Cryo-type Exos. When (then) Commander Magenta arrived with a tactical squad Washington immediately recognized her to be a powerful and capable ally. Their teamwork saved the Fortress and thwarted a large-scale Cryo invasion. 

Years later, when Captain Magenta was discovering the corruption of the Legacy Project, she knew that she would need to surround herself with a crew that she could trust. She requested that Comm. Washington be re-assigned as her First Officer. When he began learning the truth behind Legacy's lies he followed Magenta without question. His loyalty was to the people he served, not the Project.

v.Space Capt. Maggie Magenta

Maggie Magenta was a shining exemplar of the Legacy Project's mission to guide humanity to their future in the stars. She managed an Oracle Outpost within the Haven Zone of settled planets, she led a tactical squad to victory against Cryo-type Exos at a Fortress Base in the Border Zone, and she oversaw the safe passage of hundreds of refugees aboard a Chariot-class vessel.

When Magenta was promoted to Captain and granted command of the Justice-class Starship The Dragon it was the greatest day of her career, but it also marked the beginning of the end of that career. Now that she had reached the upper echelons of the Legacy Project, Magenta began to discover the true nature of much of their work in the galaxy. Secret experiments on colonists, exploiting planets' resources, enslaving alien species. Rather than succumb to the lure of greed and power, Magenta resisted and went rogue. 

The Dragon started a one-ship war against Legacy, sabotaging their experiments, liberating the aliens they oppressed, and warning the citizens of the Haven Colonies about the true dangers of life in space.

The Warning

Suki continued to wipe the sweat off Max's brow when he opened up his eyes. Angst had left to get more soup, while Frank and Dexter were tending to some other business that had to be taken care of; she didn't know what was going on but she knew it wasn't good at all.

"They are coming," he said calmly.