A former experimental child soldier of the corporation Legacy of Adam, Aubrey fled the organisation as a teen and has spent the years since trying to move past the unspeakable trauma inflicted on her. She now works for the Zodiac Security Company. Though weighed upon by the self-inflicted pressure to keep her history a secret, she's managed to scrape together a precarious semblance of normalcy. Everything changes when a stark reminder of her past comes cannonballing into her life, leaving a slew of revelations in hir wake that force Aubrey to turn and face the monsters she's been running from.
Though somewhat abrasive and prone to mood swings, Aubrey is deeply caring and stubbornly protective of those she loves. Her time with LoA has left her with a slew of mental and physical health issues, but her lightning-fast, combat-attuned reflexes have saved lives on more than one occasion. She loves old and obscure animation and is extremely fearful of doctors and hospitals.
Nein comes from a different cohort of soldiers from Aubrey, but is like a sister to her nonetheless. She was one of the youngest to escape Legacy of Adam alongside her. Unable to cope with the culture shock, she comes back into their possession shortly afterwards. Her poor experience with the outside world is used to turn her against the life she once longed for, and through her teenage years, Nein is trained and modified to become a lethal, highly-specialised assassin unit. She takes genuine joy in her gruesome craft and believes her life's purpose - and the keys to her full potential - lie with LoA.
The methods LoA used to supposedly win her over were cruel, and her deference to them was often out of fear; Nein is often sadistic and aggressive, reflective of the behaviours they nurtured in her, but a different side of her shines through when shown true kindness. She has great difficulty in processing and expressing her emotions, though, which often leads to explosive outbursts.
June was part of Aubrey's cohort, and is a brother to her and Nein. Despite detesting the life they were forced into, he generally kept his head down; the promise of HRT and future surgeries held over his head kept him compliant. After escaping the corporation, he ran the shadows for a while for the pay before taking on more conventional work once he was able to pay for the healthcare LoA never provided to him. He now plays guitar and sings for the band Dead Center, and has almost entirely put his old life behind him.
June is warm and friendly, but also sensitive and introspective. The instinct to suppress his emotions that LoA instilled in him has never completely gone away, and he finds it hard to fully open up to people. He understands the value of patience, and in doing necessary work even if it's unpleasant.
Iloya is never found far from Kaveh, usually at the gym. Despite Aubrey's initially cold reaction to their bold, overly-familiar nature, she warmed up to them fast and has become almost as close to them as she is to Kaveh. Iloya is a skilled adept, unafraid to play with figure (literally and figuratively), even if it gets them burned once in a while. Though they can be brash and sometimes appear not to take things seriously, they are equally caring and doting, though sometimes to an overbearing degree. Sharp-minded and decisive, Iloya has been the one to pull Aubrey out of anxiety spirals where Kaveh's more cautious approach has failed.
Iloya comes from a big, boisterous family, one that has semi-adopted Aubrey into their ranks: she's spent every winter holiday period with them since moving to Maine. Iloya and their family can be overwhelming to spend long periods of time around, but they're always someone you want fighting your corner.
Kaveh is Aubrey's best friend, and has been for almost as long as she's worked for Zodiac. A workplace injury rendered her dependent on him for several weeks at the start of her employment, and he was the first person in the Portland-Augusta Megalopolis that she was able to fully trust. They've been almost inseparable ever since. He helped her through the lengthy process of adjusting to life outside of the strictly-controlled environment she grew up in, and they lived together for a couple of years after Aubrey lost her first apartment.
Kaveh is a rules guy; he prefers to follow protocols whenever possible. This often clashes with his tendency to be too nice for his own good. Years of work as a security guard have left him somewhat jaded and desensitised to systemic injustice, but he hates to see vulnerable individuals exploited or abused, a result of growing up in a large family with several siblings and parents who foster children in care who have often come from traumatic living situations.
