Cybertribe
The Cybertribe (or simply “the Tribe” as they often refer to themselves) began as a rescue effort. While researching a variety of neurological problems in an attempt to save her own life, Motherboard came across several young people who were essentially prisoners in their own bodies. The plight of these individuals resonated with her and she liberated them from the facilities in which they were housed, then gave them the means to interact with the world around them. Digital Demon, Pulse, and Rez, similar to Motherboard, have bodies kept safely in medical pods while highly advanced technology lets them roam free outside of those bodies. Both Sister Steel and Heavy Metal were rescued by Motherboard before she discovered the Hard Light Interactive Construct (HLIC) technology the others use and have decided to retain their cybernetic and robotic shells.
In the relatively short time the Tribe has been active, they’ve built a reputation among the tech-criminal community as thieves of the first order, able to get into practically anywhere and steal what they want. They’ve also managed to make allies among other “victims” of corporate and government callousness, and helped fund some social initiatives from behind layers of shell companies.
The Tribe’s problems are about to escalate. Motherboard stole the technological know-how she used to help Pulse, Digital Demon, and Rez from a secret government program. The schematics and other files belonged to a rogue black-ops outfit, an outfit with a strong anti-extraterrestrial stance and the technology to pose a threat. They have figured out the connection between the Tribe’s technology and their own computer breaches and intend to terminate the problem with extreme prejudice.
Structure
The Tribe avoids fighting whenever possible. It’s not their focus and they don’t like the risks it entails (when Sister Steel or Heavy Metal are loaned out as “muscle,” it’s always with a very good reason). They prefer the fast insertion… snatch, grab, and gone. When forced to fight, they use Heavy Metal as their walking shield wall, with Sister Steel and Pulse combining lightning-fast strikes to keep their opponents off-balance, and Rez and Digital Demon running interference while co-opting accessible gear and equipment (duplicating opposing leaders to give contradictory commands, making targeting systems lock on the wrong targets, and so on). They do this to expedite the fastest withdrawal from the field they can manage.
Public Agenda
First and foremost, Motherboard and her crew pursue the means to keep themselves safe. That safety requires funding and cutting-edge technology. Secondarily, they work to stay together and protect one another. On many levels, the members of the team are like family and are extremely loyal to one another.
Originally, the crew supported Motherboard in her vendetta against Arwin Kessler and KessKorp just to make her happy. Over time, exposure to the man and his schemes has convinced them of the righteousness of their actions and they consider bringing down KessKorp a crusade worthy of their time.
The Tribe views property differently than others—they would never steal from private individuals, from government programs they find worthy, or from corporations they feel contribute to a better world. They have no such qualms about stealing from the corrupt or dangerous, or what they consider ‘institutional parasites,’ whether those targets are criminally-minded corporations or clandestine government operations of a morally-objectionable nature (against whom they view their actions as ‘punishment’).
Assets
The Tribe makes its home in a converted cave system several hundred feet beneath an inconspicuous single family dwelling in a rural area north of Emerald City. There are amenities of a sort to make Sister Steel comfortable and keep Heavy Metal entertained, but the other four members are generally occupied elsewhere while their bodies remain safely ensconced in dedicated life support systems within the facility. A good portion of the facility houses the maintenance and support equipment for the central area, including truly massive data processing assets.
Critical support, repairs, and general upkeep are provided by autonomous robots used as testbeds for some of Motherboard’s experiments in synthesized organs and cybernetic learning matrices. The team members have named these vaguely crustacean-looking, hyperactive, and relentlessly perky units BRATs (“Bio-Robotic Autonomous Technoids”).
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