Dez (Desmond Pruitt)

Norfolk-born salvage rigger, running the crew reclaiming and fortifying a free settlement in drowned Hampton Roads. He lost his block in the last surge.

Built like the machinery he strips for parts — thick forearms, hands road-mapped with old welding scars. His prosthetic hand is visibly salvaged and cobbled rather than corp-smooth, and works exactly as well as it needs to.

He introduces himself by what he is fixing rather than his name. You learn the name from someone else, usually after he has already put you to work. Militant, blunt, practical. ARM has started threatening him.

Notes

• Of the Drownline Co-op