In his youth, Mahel Naresco had worked in the Republic Judiciary Force’s Electronics and Cyberwarfare Division, and he spent nearly three decades working with military technology. His passion for computers eventually led to Dex’s interest in electronics, and Dex became Mahel’s unofficial apprentice. His earliest tasks would involve rewriting a piece of faulty code developed by a novice programmer, but he learned quickly under Mahel’s guidance. When Dex wasn't in school, he was involved as a scout and a thief for a street gang, where he learned a number of languages and was able to practice slicing into computer systems and security locks. He was in the gang for five years, but eventually, Erina found out about it and forced him to break off all contact with them, or else risk her telling h