Personality: Maximilian Schneider, or better known as Max, is known to be a stone cold man. He is not the type to take jokes lightly and can have an aggressive reaction. He isn't the type to talk much, he would rather punch or shoot someone. When not angered, he is actually pretty quiet and calculating man. His past has shaped him into who he is today. He does not speak when it is not necessary. He prefers to read the room before saying or doing anything first. He is very brave, but he knows bravery can also get you killed. In this world, he feels as if you should not have any earthly attachments. Sure it is nice to be wealthy, but he knows how it is on the outside. He doesn't have many friends. He has also been betrayed and used, so it is difficult for him to make friends. He may seem stone cold, but he is at times known to do a good deed or two. He knows the world is unfair and at times, if there is something that he can do to make it fair, he will try to do so.
History: Maximilian was born in the lower ranks of the Stronghold city. His parents had stable jobs, but they were not rich either. They were fortunate to not be dirt poor. He grew up being the oldest of three brothers and one sister. He grew up having to work at a young age to help his parents come by. His parents had to provide food on the table for all of their children so they were often away working. He mainly had to take care of his other siblings. One can say he learned to survive from a young age. Even as a boy he had quite the personality. He would steal small things from vendors all around the city. Sometimes he would get caught, but most of the time he didn't get caught. His parents would ask him where he had gotten the item and as he got older, this habit stayed with him. His personality also didn't change for the best. He had a big mouth and foul temper. He would constantly be in fights and was expelled many times from whatever little schooling he was getting from the community in the lower parts of the stronghold.
He was a troublesome child and his parents ended up enrolling him in the military. He joined the military at the age of 14. There, instead of him beating up others, he got his ass handed to him many times in the first years. He would constantly get into fights, and the military was very strict. They did not tolerate his rude behavior. Discipline and ethics were instilled in his brain. He was made into a fearless combat machine. The higher ups saw quite the potential in this young man, so he was promoted to the Task Force branch. Max was sent to patrol the gates and walls of the city. A smuggler noticed that he was new and pretty young, so he tried his luck in getting into the city. Max ended up knocking the man out and having him arrested. He managed to build quite the reputation there.
At the age of 21 he was upgraded to join the Patrol squads. He was often sent out to patrol the areas around the Stronghold and to keep them safe. Just like the higher ups thought, Max has a talent. He is quite the sharp shooter and wasn't afraid of danger. He did his job well enough to be promoted to the special Task Force Branch. His first nest elimination run didn't went smoothly. The military was instructed to use any means possible to destroy the nest. There were many, too many reapers. A few casualties fell that day, but Max survived having taken down two by himself and saving a few of his colleagues. He earned his spot in the Special Task Force Branch.
His life was pretty straight forward. They trained at the military facilities, ate well and went out on missions to exterminate nests. Due to Max's personality he doesn't make much friends. However, he does have the respect of the others. This usually doesn't sit well with everyone. Max at times can be very straight forward and tell people the ugly truths in their faces. It sometimes turned into a fight, one that he knew how to win. He got smarter, he knew where and when to start one so he won't get in trouble. Some of his colleagues despised him.
One day they went to clear out a nest. A group of his colleagues that hated him had a secret agenda. They found themselves in an abandoned factory. Max found himself playing right into their trap. They entered into a storage room. There a reaper jumped to attack them. It was a close call and Max managed to take it down without getting bitten. However, his outfit was covered in the Reaper's blood. It was a close call. The guy who hates him yelled that he had been bitten. His entire group turned on him. His colleagues started to shoot at him. Max jumped out of the way, however two bullets hit him, one in his chest the other in his side. The men came at him wanting to finish the job but another wave of ferals entered the room from the other side and started to run towards them.
They retreated to the door, threw three grenades into the storage room and closed the door and jumped to safety. Max thought that he was going to get eaten by the ferals or get blown up by the grenades. It's as if he had a guardian angel that day. There was an opened trash shoot right next to him. He quickly jumped into it, the grenades exploding behind him blowing up the ferals in the room. Max went head first in the trash shoot and he landed in a pile of old trash. The smell was as if the room hasn't been aired in years. It was a rough landing, but he survived due to pile of trash still being there.
He gathered some tools and went to a toilet they had previously cleared where he treated himself in front of a mirror. When he went outside the military had already left. He was stranded and wounded. He managed to get the bullets out, luckily the bullets didn't go deep due to the uniform he was wearing. The kitchen was cleared of all foods. However he did manage to find a van. When he started the van he noticed why it was still here. The fuel light came on, Max drove off hoping to get as close to the Stronghold with the van. He ended up driving into a group of ferals, shooting the ones that survived and saved a few drifters. In turn they helped him out and took him back to their base. A few months later he was back in action, now working as a mercenary.
