hard-working shrewd loyal stubborn insecure defensive

Jax is very timid and reclusive, being far more confident online than in person. With time, he can adjust to being comfortable with others - but this process is slow, and usually just means he's comfortable enough to be sarcastic and grumpy around them. Despite this, Jax is caring in his own way, nearly always (albeit begrudgingly) helping his friends when they need it, sometimes going to great lengths to secure their safety.

Jax is a naturally born human in a world where designer babies are common to the upper class, with his middle class parents having many high hopes for their son, but little time or patience to listen to any of his own hopes and dreams and wants. His parents saved up a lot and pushed him to do many things, but were also incredibly invasive, leaving Jax highly anxious about privacy. Jax employs carefully-crafted paranoid-level security on all his devices and belongings (with a hotkey for throwing his computer on lockdown if anyone gets too close or so much as looks over his shoulder without warning), with multiple highly complex passwords and levels of identification to unlock stuff. He compulsively deletes messages, and really just can't deal with anyone looking over his shoulder if he's working on his computer.

It was his parents' invasion of his privacy of his tech stuff that spurned him to learn hacking and coding and things in the first place, all so he could better protect his privacy.

Eventually, he left home, spending his savings on some implants - a legitimately done memory enhancement (along with the brain wiring for future implants, e.g. limbs, so they can be wired into that network and controlled by his mind), along with a hand amputation and its replacement by a prosthetic with in-built tools. He then used the last scraps of his savings to get a backalley mech ports implant - the requirement for entering a mech pilot school which limited students to being primarily from wealthy families.

Jax joined mech school and successfully stayed there for a few years or so, but eventually grew sick and tired of it: being looked down on for being lower class sucks, being relegated to mechanic jobs rather than actually getting to pilot sucks, and his self esteem kind of sucks - as does his ability to make friends. So Jax dropped out, stealing a mech on his way out, loading it up with all kinds of fancy tech. However, Jax only made it a few streets away from the facility before realising he had made a fatal error... He'd failed to top the mech up with fuel before leaving, or bring anything to refuel with. So the mech ran out of juice, leaving Jax stranded and in very very deep trouble. Jax scrambled put of the mech, grabbed as much as he could carry, and fled into the streets with very little to show for his grand escape and few years in mech school.

Jax focused on honing his hacking skills after that, and earned some money taking various contracts. With time, Jax earned himself the lucrative reputation of being a good person to rely on for things such as information, guidance through bases on missions, disabling security, bolstering security, etc. This lead to him getting involved with a group of people that would come to call themselves CREED, becoming a tightknit group of friends doing mercenary exploits and dubiously legal activities to get by. To Jax's dismay, his cruddy apartment became their home base, but eventually they upgraded to somewhere more suited to their needs.

Now with trustworthy - if chaotic - friends to rely on, Jax is slowly overcoming his insecurities and forming social connections. He works very hard to keep his squad alive and safe, even as they go on dangerous exploits. They have a lot of fun, and as exasperated and irritated as Jax acts, truthfully he is grateful for their company.

Brain Enhancements

Includes increased memory, and networking for additional implant connections to allow for neural/mind control of such devices.

Bionic Hand (left)

Each finger hinges at the second knuckle and uncaps to reveal a tool: (from index to little finger) nanotech screwdriver; plasmacutter & blowtorch; scalpel; soldering iron. The thumbpad can scan for fingerprints which are then recreatable on the other fingertips. The wrist is fitted with numerous plug ports, along with a compartment housing a wire with an adapatble nanotech plug; these facilitate direct interfacing.

Mech Ports

Back-alley implants of questionable quality. What you pay is what you get, and Jax didn't quite pay enough. They are functional but not without their connection issues, which can make mech piloting difficult and unreliable.

Bionic Eye (right)

Information scanning and Augmented Reality, aiding his hacking and mechanics work - Jax often uses AR to plan out projects or for notes when examining tech. It is synced to his glasses and holo-screens.

• Speaks in a mostly monotone voice, often making him sound tired or disinterested.
• Prefers the company of machines to humans, but is gradually warming up to his fellow squad members.
• Highly reclusive and regularly absorbed into his work; often falls asleep in his workshop/at his desk.
• Constantly drinks coffee. Naturally, he sleeps terribly, and gets frequent headaches.
• Implants are purposefully asymmetrically placed to avoid one side of his body becoming wholly compromised should his implants be sabotaged.
• Has frequent anxiety dreams about his thieving escape from mech school (particularly the fuel issue).
• Heavily reliant on the physical enhancer drug, Zion; he refuses to leave the base without the small drug diffusion disc on his tongue.
• Short-sighted.
• Although born right-handed, Jax's bionic left arm is more adept. This makes him ambidextrous, if not left-handed.