There are flowers that mean 'I love you', there are flowers that mean 'I'm sorry', and then there are flowers that mean 'you're about to have a catastrophically bad time'.
~~~
I can't help but wonder if the characters of the beta lore would've been allowed to leave the confines of codex pages and enter the gameplay proper, had it been decided to proceed with the initial storyline. Which roles would've they assumed in relation to the protagonist? to each other? to the new faces that popped up after the rewrite?
Thing is, with some careful handwork, the legacy and the release versions can actually fit together quite nicely. The hero could have fled under the Protectorate's wing from whatever issues had been plaguing their people, only to land themself right on track to watch Earth get expeditiously Xipe Totecked some months or years down the line.
Greenfinger is curious to see what came of this fiasco – great, I wouldn't put it past him to wriggle into the hero's favor to secure inside scoops on the Protectorate's and Earth's fates. Shouldn't be hard at all, he's a real charming and friendly fellow. Just remember to place the codices in which he apparently puts a hit on his own bestie somewhere closer to the end of the story, just so you can accumulate your own collection of red flags about him before the grand reveal.