Meg Steward

Meg Steward is a later member of the Dust, and possibly the member most skilled at knocking DOME agents out cold.

Biography
Meg Steward was born with autism, and she is basically nonverbal. Despite these challenges, Meg has learned to read, but her autism is still severe enough that Peck feared she would flunk her Pledge. The Dust kidnapped Meg—a kidnapping which cause DOME to issue a warrant for Peck’s arrest—but found itself initially ill-equipped to deal with some of her more erratic behavior. Eventually, however, Meg adjusted to life with the Dust, and her stalking skills prove invaluable.

Swipe
"“She’s playing with a mouse she found in the cedar chips. Says she’ll only cooperate if we let her keep it for a pet.” “So then we keep it. Big deal.” “But it’s dead!” —Eddie and Blake"

Meg’s kidnapping marks the beginning of Swipe. She has trouble getting accustomed to life in the Dust, and she sometimes does dangerous things, in one case trying to burn the Fulmart down. Neither Jo nor Blake knows to care for an autistic person, and they often resort to tying her up so she doesn’t injure anyone. Meg develops a strong loyalty to the Dust, however, despite their initial clumsiness in dealing with her.

Meg was present at the attempted playground meeting with Logan. When Logan and Erin followed the Dust into the cornfield, Meg snuck up behind them and used a rock to hit Logan in the head and Erin in the arm. Erin hits Meg in the hand with a taser bean, effectively stopping her from attacking again.

When the Dust kidnapped Dane, they left Meg tied up at the Fulmart in order to keep her safe. They freed her immediately afterwards, which saved Blake’s life: Meg was the one who attacked Mr. Arbitor after he pinned Blake to the floor, allowing Blake to scramble away.

Sneak
"'Meg, what'd you do to the guy? Clobber him?' --Blake"

Because Meg is mostly nonverbal, she shows little disapproval at Logan’s mistakes or Peck’s intentions to rescue Lily. She accompanies the Dust to Beacon City. Meg remains behind with Tyler and Rusty during the initial Acheron break-in.

Storm
Meg remains in Beacon City with the Dust, helping to carry out schemes against the IMPS. She helps the Dust sweep DOME headquarters for protein samples, and she enjoys borrowing Tyler’s anti-gravity boots afterward.

Physical Appearance
Thirteen-year-old Meg has blonde hair that is cut into thick bangs above her square face. She is small for her age, but sturdily built.

Personality
Because of her autism, Meg struggles in adjusting to new people, which accounts for much of her erratic behavior after she was first brought into the Dust. She may also have been abused in her old life, as she meets the Dust with a large bruise under one eye. She seems to eventually understand the conflict with DOME, although it can be difficult to know exactly what she is thinking. Meg shows great loyalty to the other members of the Dust once she has become accustomed to them. She enjoys playing with Eddie and Tyler.

Skills
Meg has savant characteristics where numbers are concerned, which allows her to use her counting abilities to help the Dust complete missions in more urban areas. Meg’s quietness helps her to launch surprise attacks on those who threaten the Dust. Despite her size, she is surprisingly dangerous—particularly if a frying pan is anywhere within reach.