Franz Messer

Franz Messer was a relatively small-time computer hacker in the Fringe in the early 2650's who rose out of relative obscurity when he joined the Smuggler's Guild under John Christian Falkenberg.

Messer served aboard Falkenberg's ship, the Zephyr, and took part in the discovery and initial survey of the planetoid of Odysseus, where he was wounded by some of the rogue Nall who had taken up residency there. Gradually, he rose to become Falkenberg's most trusted and longest-serving member of the Guild and served as his second-in-command.

When the Zephyr, under orders from Grim, visited the recently discovered ice world of M'mralu, Messer encountered an alien entity, a survivor of the Kamir, which fused with him and hitched a ride inside his body and mind. This Kamir spirit drove Messer to go to Earth, where, in the ruins of Washington, D.C., he led a group of explorers to the sole remaining tendril (at that time) of the Il'Ri'Kamm Hive Mind in Normalspace. With the aid of the Kamir that Messer was carrying, this tendril was believed to be iradicated, and it was believed (falsely) that the Hive Mind was forever destroyed.

After Falkenberg was shot by an assasin and left in a coma, Grim appointed Messer as the new (and ultimately final) Guildmaster of the Smuggler's Guild. Grim ordered Messer to hand over to him another member of the Guild, Jest'liana Warren, who had also served in the Guild under Leopold VanMahr and who had been part of the team led by Orandius Jaxx that destroyed Lord Fagin's original palace on Tomin Kora. Grim believed Jest'liana was a plant in the Guild, sent to re-infiltrate it on behalf of Jaxx and his wife, Kateri N'sha-El. Messer, however, refused to turn her over, and took Jest and went into hiding. This brought down the wrath of Fagin upon them both, and Messer and Jest barely escaped several attempts on their lives before making it aboard the Sanctuary colony vessel prior to the Kretonian invasion.

While aboard Sanctuary, Messer changed his name and altered his appearance to hide from any surviving minions of Lord Fagin. Using his computer skills, he created a new identity for himself, and wiped out all trace of Franz Messer. What became of him is unknown.

Related Links
Messer's Choice