MaxOx

MaxOx is a human manufacturer of personal and spacecraft weapons based on Reisse in the Rhetor system. The company was originally formed in the late 28th century to produce medical lasers. Impressed by the power and precision of those lasers, United Empire of Earth (UEE) government officials contracted with MaxOx founder Burl Hitchens in 2778 to adapt his work to the then-classified weaponized terraforming project codenamed Vespa. Hitchens clandestinely sabotaged the project to keep such a destructive weapon out of government hands. When Vespa failed to produce results, the government ended Hitchens' contract and released MaxOx's medical patents to the public. With the company's sales severely affected, Hitchens pivoted MaxOx into weapon development. The company now produces weapons such as the NN-series of neutron cannons and the 35mm Dredge ballistic cannon. MaxOx builds mostly kinetic weapons for ships, such as the 35mm Dredge Gun, as well as personal weapons, including the MaxOx P4, a rapid-cycle energy-based submachine gun built as an attempt to remake the Behring rifle as an energy weapon. Although the company pursues military weapons contracts, its weapons are commonly used by criminals, which has affected its reputation.

History

MaxOx was founded by Burl Hitchens and initially manufactured lasers for medical purposes. Hitchens was born on Charon III in 2747, where he fixed machinery and helped his parents run a hydroponics operation while studying at night. A strong equivalency score earned him a full scholarship to the University of Rhetor, but the rigid structure of formal education did not suit him, and he was expelled after failing to attend several disciplinary meetings.

An old physics professor recognized Hitchens' talent and secured him a job at a local research lab, where he distinguished himself with breakthrough theories on laser manufacturing. After raising funds for a small staff and lab space on Reisse, he named the company MaxOx, a reference to a "maximum oxygen" warning sensor that his refined production method tended to trigger because of the atmospheric conditions it required. Following six years of silence, the company emerged with one of the most powerful and precise surgical lasers yet invented, and demand quickly outstripped supply.

In 2778, government officials, impressed by the power and precision of MaxOx's lasers, asked Hitchens for help with a classified project. Realizing that refusal would result in his patents being seized by the administration, he reluctantly agreed and relocated with a few researchers to a secret lab on Persei. There he was given the file for Project Vespa, a top-secret attempt to weaponize terraforming technology into a capital ship weapon for the Vanduul front. Aware of how the Messer government used such weapons against its opponents, Hitchens kept his team productive but ineffective, presenting minor advancements to avoid losing the project. After years of slow progress and inflated budgets, the overseeing bureaucrat cancelled MaxOx's contract and hired a new team, while Hitchens left behind misleading, mislabeled, and fabricated data to impede further progress.

As retribution for failing to deliver, the Messer government revoked the patents associated with MaxOx's medical lasers. The company updated its medical equipment to stay ahead of competitors that were now using its formerly proprietary technology, but it maintained only a brief advantage and seemed close to failing. In 2792, the Messer government was overthrown, and the company's patents became public, prompting other firms to weaponize its technology. Hitchens concluded that the only way to save MaxOx was to enter weapon development himself, and months of research produced a prototype for the AA-1, the company's first energy-based ship weapon. Under Hitchens' guidance, MaxOx declined every offer to sell weapons to the military, holding that its weapons should allow people to defend themselves, and its line later expanded to specialty weapons such as EMP burst generators and personal protection.

After Hitchens retired, MaxOx shut down its medical and laboratory laser divisions because of low profit margins. Following his death, the executive board reversed course and accepted government contracts, although many still associate the company's weapons with private citizens.

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