For years, Nepleslia's capitol city had been under the control of Nepleslians. Rather it be crime syndicates, or the fledgling Green faction. In YE 32, the NMX staged an attack on Funky City, and in turn, Nepleslia's ruling senate. The wave of destruction claimed the lives of several senators, as well as an untold amount of citizens and defenders. This left valuable infrastructure destroyed and lawless chaos on the streets. The Nepleslian people did not take kindly to this move. Rallying in the basements of run-down high-rises and the slums of the South Shores, the people gathered their strength to prepare for a massive undertaking: The removal of the infestation of their fair city.

The resistance was initially made up of street gangs, but word spreads fast in the seedy underworld of the city. Soon, citizens from all walks of life joined in the rally call, and the attention of outside forces was turned onto the struggling resistance movement. The leaders of the resistance had their ears to the ground, trying to find the source of the attacks. They found intelligence suggesting the presence of numerous cells set up within the city, and set out at once to remove them. The scene is set first on a cold winter night, deep within the bowels of the city. A group of men, once powerful, meets to discuss the future or their movement. Thus far, only small attacks have been made– a minor inconvenience to the NMX aggressors. They needed something better at their fingertips to really progress in their cause. They needed something for the masses to rally behind, a group of leaders that not only drove the people onward, but helped them get there. They needed a team.

The group of men orchestrating the resistance movement had been made up of fat, middle-aged, former bigwigs up to this point. They are: Angelo Barton, an politician aspiring to be a Senator now left behind in the dusty confines of the decaying city; Lyle Clemente, the leader of a powerful crime syndicate hailing from the South Shores with a record of brutal tactics; and Samuel Dalton, an airbike and hovercar dealer who's been known to have “insane” deals available for the whole city. Together, they selected one man to put together a team of Nepleslian Supermen, with enough experience and expertise to lead the citizens to victoy. His name was Alex Foster.

Alex had always been a little strange, but he was considered the third best man for the job, and the other two were already dead. His career had been varied, and throughout it he'd been successful over every challenge. His only fault was his incredible lack of fulfillment in any position. He served in the Marines, joined gangs and rose through their ranks, and even delivered food with the twice the speed of his competitors. He was smart, fast, and extremely sociable. And yet, he couldn't hold a job for more than six months at a time before he got bored and lazy, eventually quiting or being fired. The three men sitting around their table hoped it wouldn't take that long to get the city back.

News traveled fast once again that Alex Foster was organizing a team of super-rebels, and he was the go-to guy if you wanted to be a hero. As one can imagine, the applicants were many and varied, but most of them stunk. After weeks of inactivity on Foster's part, just when the big-wigs were starting to fear he'd given up already, Alex arranged a meeting with the few candidates he approved of in a “safe, private location.”

The safe, private location the team was supposed to meet up at turned out to be a Neppy's on the South Side of Funky City, deep in the heart of NMX chaos. Alex sent anonymous messages to each member of his future gang, urging them to gather at a certain time. Upon their arrival, he revealed himself to them and explained the plan. Soon, they were on their way to meet with a trio of high-profile businessmen and beg for money before recapturing an abandoned Red Faction submarine left in the waters off of the Southern Shores. After a harrowing ordeal involving zombies, stingy mafiosi, and a group of ID-Sol clones in NMX uniform known only as 'Mr. Brown', the group finally reached the submarine and set for safe-haven in the waters outside the continent. But not without cost. Alexis Styrling had been severely wounded during the action, and it was looking like she was about to be forced through a Nepleslian rite of passage: Gaining a cybernetic prosthesis.

The next morning, Alex and Lucas prepared breakfast and helped the team prepare for an operation on the West Side of Funky City. Upon landing, they recruited Mikhael Chandler and Babs Rosa to help with the plans of the day. Then, once loaded and informed, the team (Minus the two Alex's) departed for a police station on the west side. After an extremely confusing battle, everybody managed to kick some briney ID-Sol clone ass and reconvene on the Submarine for snacks. The world was safe one again, excepting the fact that it wasn't. The crew was in for a three week trip around the coast and then another mission with derring-do for probably equally disappointing results.

An ID-SOL and former marine, Lucas served under Alex Foster ten years ago. He continued his service until the succession, and then joined up with the Red Faction. Although he was a loyal soldier, his faith was questioned when his squad was ordered to pursue more and more pirate-like actions as time passed. Being fed up with the Reds, he deserted and began work in the private sector. When his former friend and CO, Alex Foster, contacted him, he didn't know what to expect– he'd even forgotten what the man looked like. Lucas has short brown hair and greyish-blue eyes.

Lyle Clemente is a powerful organized crime boss, with ties to the Black Syndicate. He mainly specializes in drug traffic, although his eye has recently turned towards black market weapons. His 'turf' is most of the “Southern Shores” area of Funky City.

Always with an eye for bargains, Samuel Dalton is a greedy, fast-talking salesman from The Tee. His new and used auto/aeromotive dealerships are speckled across the entire city. His television commercials are famous on Nepleslia, as most of them feature him blowing up the cars that just won't sell with a well-placed grenade and his signature, “Come on down and buy it for cheap, because I'm just going to incinerate it anyway!”

Angelo Barton hails from Argent Towers. He's a politician by nature, and although the recent attacks have certainly increased his chances for becoming a senator, the loss of his house and family have set his career back to a more personal level. Devastated and fearful, the would-be senator is desperate to get his vengeance in some form other than forms and paperwork.

This plot is closed.

Taking It Back has scored straight A's for the time being! Here are it's cumulative plot audit scores:

A piece of trivia: Did you know that Lucas Jackson is the name of the titular character in the 1967 prison film, “Cool-Hand Luke”?

You certainly should, it's a right good movie, and I'm ashamed to have accidentally named an NPC after the main character and not make that NPC anything like him.