Wildcards

When Mayday Omega encompassed Earth, a world and its way of life essentially died, but with the discovery of Starfall, a new world of possibilities opened before humanity. The strange material, deadly as it is, offers boundless opportunities for the future of any and all technologies. Some people lament these changes to humanity's path, some cash in on it, and some just enjoy the chaos. Others see it as inevitable—whether positive or negative, changes were coming for humanity's future, and now they have arrived in the form of Mayday Omega. These "others" are the Wildcards.

A band of loners and mavericks competing for the soul of humanity against the cold-hearted authority of big corporations and the norms of society. The Wildcards are a source of fascination to the people of orbit: some love to hate them, others love to follow them. They are the counterculture of the future, with legions of die-hard followers and plenty of haters as well. They are followed across the media in the space stations. People dress like them, mimic their dialogue and phrases, and generally treat them like gods. They are the new religion. The Hunters have taken favorably to these comparisons and often lead their followers like religious heads of the past, even forming churches.

As loose cannons in the Survivors' War, the faction is utterly unpredictable, but their growing power cannot be denied. Their temporary alliances and favor trading are closely studied by the other factions, keen to predict just what they will do next and how their disparate goals somehow come together without much in-fighting. Compelled to win battles in the Survivors' War and earn loot and Starfall—each for their own reasons—they have buried grudges and forged new alliances, more by circumstance than will.

To create a sense of belonging and found-family, Prophet has become the de-facto "master" to the masterless ronin-like Hunters, and he has started to unite the Wildcards under a single banner, symbolized by their unique skull symbology. Though the symbol has been called out as a reference to death cults of the past, Prophet argues that the skull symbolizes the unending struggle of life versus death, and what could be better to symbolize what's at stake in the fight between the Wildcards and the corporations: the very soul of humanity. Each Hunter rigorously retains their individuality, their own flock of followers, and their own rules, but a flash of color here, and a Wildcard logo there, gives them—although loathe to admit it—a surprising sense of solidarity during battle.

As testament to his character, Prophet has outwardly railed against his newfound "fame" and started publishing a series of deeper spiritual monologues that have captivated people on and off Earth. He is known to riff anti-corporation slurs during battle or offer sharp philosophical axioms to his partner or crew at all waking hours. Prophet knows in his heart-of-hearts that if he can unite this rag-tag band of Hunters, he will have a fighting chance of gaining a foothold against CPMC, B.E.S.T., The Syndicate, and others, to establish a homeland for the nomadic Hunters and their devoted followers.