Keywords:

The mentor. Stormtrooper. Cybernetic soldier. "Junkyard". Father of the restless dead. Nostalgia. Smoker. Master tactician. Military tech expert. Storyteller. Silence lover. The collector. Weaponmaster. Mountain guy.

Personality:

People oftentimes misjudge Xander by only evaluating him on how he looks. He's got a bit belly fat, usually looks tired, moves like a sloth, loves napping everywhere he can put his ass (comfort is not a requirement at all, and he can go in to sleep like in nanoseconds) and smokes a lot. Actually, he is not smoking most of the time, just puts the exact same cigar on his mouth sometimes for days.

In reality, you wouldn't want to face against him in combat. Despite the looks, he's still got hell of a lot of stamina. He is quite strong, thanks to his enhancements, and his epic knowledge on warfare, tactics and solid battlefield experience makes him a deadly opponent. Or a great ally. You will have to endure his ear blasting snoozy naps, however, while going in and out the missions. Good news is, Aurora usually fix the situation by plugging Xander's own smelly socks onto the poor man's nose. Instant wake up guaranteed! (Do not try this yourself, though, the old man gets super angry and unless you are Aurora, your skull might get bashed)

Xander can be a great leader, as well as a great follower. In the past he led his teams into many missions, but also was being led plenty. He respects Phoenix's leadership, one of the few people in the party who actually follow the captain without causing any issues. This shows his military discipline and actually it has nothing to do with Phoenix being his close friend. He shows the same respect to Daeva when she has the lead, but actually it might have something to do with her enchanting beauty.

Speaking of which, Xander is really melting whenever he sees Daeva. Then he felt a sudden burst of regret and shame. Surprisingly not because Daeva utilizes the opportunity and torment him. In fact, Daeva is quite "merciful" towards Xander, at least according to her standards. Xander feels guilty because he thinks liking a woman is like betraying his deceased wife's memory. Usually Aurora comforts him but not in Daeva's case, she hates her and often punches Xander when he dares to talk about Daeva, accusing him being "Stockholm syndrome suffering old fart" (reminder: Daeva killed them before) and threatening Xander by plugging his minigun back to his arsehole if he dares to even smile that whore-witch. So Seliné is his only relief in such matters. She is always kind to listen and help.

In his idle time, you can find him in Osiris library accessing military reports and watching combat footage captured by neo-human drones which reveal additional perspectives about what happened in the past, or about some encounters against pirates and scavengers of neo-humans. Alternatively, he may be just relaxing in VR with great mountain scenic views.

Loves:

Xander really loves Aurora and Phoenix like a father. However, if you ask Phoenix and Aurora, they often reply with the exact same words that says "...he loves his wife and son the most." Unfortunately, he lost both of them tragically.

Xander is a nostalgic guy, maybe to extreme levels. It is a known fact that neo-humans suffer a phenomena known as "backwards sickness" but Xander's uproot to the past is different. It is more like an old guy who cannot stop remembering the past by painting it even better than it actually was. If you want to befriend him, bring lots of booze, cigars and open a subject like the old movies, songs, friends, etc... Expect some tears, though. He is good at making everybody cry with his amazingly emotional stories, and believe it or not, he is an epic storyteller.

He adores old firearms, the ancient ones. You want to make him happy? Just find some long-obsolete arms like hand cannons from 14th century ("Dinosaur age weapons" as Daeva puts) and see what happens!

He longs for mountains, both sharp and snowy ones and the ones with dense forests. He just likes their majestic feeling as well as the loneliness and silence they can provide.

Hates:

He hates pirates. He hates pirates, and yes, he hates pirates. Even if you repeat this hundred times, it wouldn't be enough to describe his hatered in full.

He also "strongly dislikes" the corporations. He avoids using the word "hate" for anything, this sacred word reserved for the pirates only.

He is quite cold blooded and calm, actually. Possibly it is because he had is fair share of pain in his life and there is not of a much things left to shock him. Therefore, he is usually quite neutral and indifferent. Just don't make loud noises, don't touch his scarf because it was his wife's, don't touch his metal box which contains his father's message (he only lets Aurora, not even Phoenix) and never praise pirates and the corporations.

Xander's most prominent memory about the Earth is the day when he was forced to leave it. He was just 16, and his family was suffering a tremendous tragedy. His father was severely injured by scavengers during their latest mission, and his body was permanently paralyzed due to a crushing blow to the back of his head. His cerebellum was damaged a lot, and he lost his motor skills mostly. Also, his father had a tracheostomy to aid his breathing, and that process also made him unable to talk. Xander's mother lost her job at one of the local corporations since she had to spend a lot of time with her husband and failed to show up at work regularly. She got some psychological problems, mostly schizophrenia, and eventually she committed suicide. Then the day that changed Xander's lifepath forever came. He still remembers that day. He describes a grim, rainy day on the outskirts of mountain Denali, in Alaska. His father sitting in a semi-automated wheelchair tried to say something but the tube on his neck did not let him. Shortly, a shiny, clean military shuttle belonging Hoshi Ryū arrived on the scene and some armored, muscular, mean-looking people greeted his father. They had various military-grade cybernetic enhancements, and it was clear they were respecting Xander's father.

They took the boy away from the planet, leaving the old man behind. The only thing Xander got from his life on Earth was a small metallic box the soldiers gave him. Apparently, it was from his father, and it just contained a message and a pile of soil. The message was: "This soil is here to remind you whence you came from. Don't forget your roots, but don't get stuck either. Fight, survive and build a new life for yourself. We failed, you won't. Good luck kid." That's it. No further explanation. No emotional messages, no nothing. After some briefing from the leader of the soldiers, Xander realized the soil was also there because he will never see the Earth again. For all he remembers, Xander's family was originally from southern parts of North America. His father was a legendary merc, and eventually joined Hoshi Ryū as a field captain. They had to relocate to Alaska to fight against some rebels and scavengers there.

The only mistake he did, according to his father's own words, was refusing enhancements. He failed to catch up with the competition, became obsolete, and was eventually beaten. That's why he asked his former soldiers to convince Xander to become a cybernetic soldier. So Xander's destiny was set by his father, and while following his footsteps, he was to avoid making the same mistakes. Xander welcomed cybernetic enhancements, for he suffered from being weak and was ready to sacrifice anything just to increase his survival chances. Thanks to his strong physiology, robust immune system, and iron-willed personality, he began a successful military journey. His body adapted to the enhancements well (which is not always the case, and complications can cause a painful death easily), his determination made him a robust soldier, and his discipline made him a loyal comrade. Over years, however, he began to change. Lost many friends, was betrayed by others and was forced to betray, and started to lose his idealistic worldview. Going into missions was no longer a chance to get some glorious victory, but a concerning, risky encounter that could cost another comrade's life or see just another tragedy.

One day, he led a group of SpecOps commandos and hunters to raid a pirate den. Nobody expected it but they stumbled upon a crimelord and Xander had to blast the guy's head off to protect his squadron because he refused to surrender and even tried to blow everyone including himself. Repercussions were going to be drastic, however. The lord's sister didn't take the news lightly, and she found Xander's family. She captured his pregnant wife while Xander was away on duty. She killed the wife after tormenting her and split her belly open, grabbed the baby, and throw him away to outer space. The worst part is, she had the entire thing captured and had it turned into a VR experience. The virtual experience was then sent to Xander under disguise. You wouldn't want to learn how Xander "experienced" it in virtual reality, and what happened next. Xander received the package when he returned to the Nexus.

He demanded a vengeance operation, but the command refused him. He begged for some help from his comrades, but they were all terrified and didn't want to help. They also had families, after all. Disappointed and enraged, he resigned from Hoshi Ryū and applied to the Celtic Triquetra. He was welcomed with great joy by the CT military department. He was fool enough to believe the CT would help him to get his revenge. In reality, the CT management was just using him as a propaganda item, featuring how top-tier heroic soldiers join their ranks and how their competitors were failing even to protect their loyal employee's families. Xander realized the Triquetra would never actually act on the subject, because he received an anonymous tip from an insider, who must have sympathized with him and was informed that the pirate group was secretly being funded by the CT itself, to make their competitors' lives harder!

Ultimately heartbroken, lost all of his hope, and was about to attack the pirate cove all by himself. He didn't want to go his last mission sober, so he rushed into an infamous, small bar in the Nexus. By pure coincidence, Zarya "Aurora" Mólnija was also there. It was hard to miss her because 4 men were lying around her. Xander sat down at the bar and managed to convince Aurora that he was not there to grope her or something, but just to drink. After some time the talk got quite emotional since both parties had suffered some turbulence recently. Yet, Aurora's concerns were nothing compared to Xander's agony. Realizing this, maybe with some additional nudge from the excessive alcohol in her blood, Aurora genuinely offered to join Xander to help him exact his rightful vengeance. She insisted. Xander paused for a moment, put down his glass, and looked into Aurora's eyes seriously. Where many see a sexy doll, a short-tempered and even capricious young girl, or an agile killing machine, he saw something else. From Xander's perspective, there were two bright eyes, hiding their pain in the mists of aggressive tempests.

It became apparent she was weaving a deadly barrier around her sensitive and lively hearth to protect it. So he made up his mind, and replied: "No, kid. I am not going to kill you, too. You will live. I failed, but you will not..." then he suddenly stopped. Remembered something. A message from a long-lost figure. Smiled for a second and continued: "Well, f*ck this all. Let's go somewhere else. Somewhere away from this reekhole." Aurora, with a big smile, "Now that's the mood. Can I bring someone else, he is a bit idiot but also a fun guy." This is how they met. Xander, Aurora, and Phoenix. Actually, in the beginning, it was hard to convince Phoenix to steal a ship from the ports and join their craziness. Then Aurora whispered something to his ear, and Phoenix turned 180 degrees and became super enthusiastic all of a sudden. Xander asked Aurora what the hell she said to him. Aurora replied: "No way I'm telling you, but someone gonna burn a lot of calories tonight."