Max’s parents worked in and around Mars but were killed in an
accident. Max grew up to become an asteroid recovery team leader (a
rock jock). When we meet him in Book One he is assigned to the
Dragonfly, one of several recovery vehicles attached to the Minotaur, an
asteroid recovery space ship. These crews select metal-rich asteroids
and then equip them with propellent and guidance to send them back
to the Mars Orbital Smelting Array (MOSA) in orbit around Mars.

While recovering an asteroid, Max is injured and repaired by an alien
(T’chell), equipping him with a prosthetic second skin. This repair
comes with a number of surprising capabilities.