Once a nigh-indomitable militant order, the Angelos have been reduced to lawless drifters and equally dangerous zealots. Even with most of their number gone, the Angelos are still a distinguished force in America due to their literal harnessing of an incomplete Gemini Project. 

In the height of the Burnout, a caravan of refugees from Los Angeles sought shelter in the Providence Mountains. They found that the site had already been claimed by Mojave refugees. The refugees from Los Angeles were allowed to set up their encampment in the range if they contributed to its mutual defense, gave all of their food and water to a communal stockpile, and provided assistance in accessing what appeared to be a substantial bunker-complex that had been built into the mountains. 

Believing that the bunker had been set-up by billionaires or other elites and thus contained enormous stockpiles, a plan was made to blast open one of the vents with the refugee’s vehicular fuel. The team within the bunker, members of the Gemini Project: Exo-s/SW, used a PA system to dissuade the refugees from compromising their facility. In exchange for their cooperation, they would be granted access to the finished prototypes. 

Exo-s/SW was a rough conglomeration of various private firms who were trying to create wearable exo-skeletons. U3C had literally grouped them together and thrown them into the bunker (in exchange for granting most of their CEOs access to a Last Stand). As such, two designs were being prototyped. The various companies had agreed on the following terms to optimize their workflows and overall compatibility:

• Non-electric power-source for the exoskeleton
• The exoskeleton must be concealable under clothing
• The system must utilize a fluid medium that requires the user to manually re-pressurize it for extended operation.

After three weeks it became clear that the Project needed to deliver something usable or the refugees would storm the bunker. A significant amount of personnel were killed during infighting and “testing” of the two final projects that were unveiled to the refugees in June, 2030:

• An air-powered launching-system that was recharged by the user’s movements.
• A fuel-powered exoskeleton that enabled a limited range of “empowered” movements, as well as short-range flamethrowers. 

The refugees from Los Angeles claimed the launchers, while the Mojave claimed the flamethrowers. Knowing that resources on the mountain range were running low and that both groups were in possession of incredibly dangerous weapons, the refugees agreed to part ways. The Los Angeles group would attempt to retake their city while the Mojave remained in the Providence mountains. They both swore an oath of friendship and mutual aid if they ever met again.

Before their departure, the group from Los Angeles formally elected retired LAPD sergeant Renee “Boy!” Boyar as their leader. Boy proposed that they travel along the I-15 for their return and try to establish a base in either Santa Clarita or San Bernardino before overthrowing whatever junta was currently ruling Los Angeles. Over the course of 7 months, the group weaved between marauding convoys and occupied settlements. They made several duplicates of their exoskeletons with salvaged resources and perfected various modifications to the original design. One of these modifications allowed users to curve their projectiles. This enabled the group to take on enemies with military-grade weapons, as they could reliably hit targets from behind cover.

It was during this period that the refugees evolved into a tightly disciplined fighting-unit. In response to the barbarism surrounding them, Boy required the members who used the exoskeletons to agree to a strict moral code (which was largely inspired by police-doctrine with a bit of Catholicism) regarding the use of their weapons and the causes they should engage in. This “rule-of-law” had the added benefit of making the group extremely attractive to other survivors. By the time they reached the outskirts of Los Angeles, the group had swollen to include hundreds of various other refugees. The exoskeletons had also come to be known as “Los Vientos De Los Muertos”, Spanish for “The Winds of the Dead”. After two weeks of fighting, the group had dispatched the rogue military controlling the city. During their victory-celebration, they declared an intent to bring order to the region. They also started calling themselves “The Angelos”.

From 2031 to 2038, the Angelos were in a golden-era. Somewhat aware of the struggles taking place in the regions to their North and familiar with the extensive area-denial campaigns in the South, the Angelos embarked on a campaign of horizontal expansion. By 2033 they had made contact with Proto-Clans in the New Mexico area and established several outposts in the Southwest. They created several market towns in the region and enforced them as peaceful trading zones. Duplicates of the Agribine were brought in from the East and modified for use on desert-faring vehicles and a few aerial craft. Second-generation Callers permeated the region, giving greater depth to the cultures of the Angelos and their allies. The Angelos continued improving their exoskeletons to allow for increased maneuverability and firepower. In 2035, they started using wider “wing-shaped” projectiles that enabled more precise trajectories and higher lethality. The geographic domain of the Angelos, which had become known as the “Swells”, consisted of extremely small, self-sustaining, pockets of survivors, and Indigenous communities who had mostly reverted to their ancestral practices. At the time, the Swells had the country’s lowest technological level and highest political stability. 

This order began to unravel with the rise of the West-Range Federation and increasing violence amongst the Clans. In exchange for their surrender, the remaining Scifics were granted safe passage to the south-most extent of the Federation’s territory. The deposed marauders saw an opportunity to use the Swells as a base to involve themselves in the Passage Lands. They effectively “claimed” an area stretching from Death Valley to Las Vegas to use for developing their clan. Simultaneously, Clan was being forced West by their rivals. The Angelos adapted by treating the newcomers as “states” within their domain. Clan and the Scifics had to abide by the Angelos’s laws and give a yearly tribute to faction. In exchange, the Angelos handled relations with the Federation and tried to limit fighting between the two newcomers. 

While this system of political-balance and tributes persisted, the Angelos were on a slow decline. They had evolved as arbitrators over mostly peaceful groups and were unable to compete with the fanatical warlords they were encircled by. Many of their members were killed trying to stop raids or prevent the expansion of new groups. The technologically and militarily aggressive cultures of the Scifics and their counterparts forced many communities in the Swells to adopt similar tendencies in order to survive. The incredible distances between Angelos outposts meant that it was hard for the organization to coordinate effectively. By the time the first Dreadnaughts were being made, the Angelos had lost over half of their territory. In the early 50’s, Los Angeles was forced to defend itself from raids. Individual Angelos either abandoned their faction and tried to start new lives within the clans, or started functioning autonomously as wandering lawmen.