Illegal Gods: The PCs
I see PCs as playing any of the following kinds of characters:
1) God Merchants (selling, buying, trading gods...think a cross between slave trading and missionary work.)
2) Pirates (because every interstellar story ought to have pirates!)
3) Alien Observers (um, see "pirates" above.)
4) Members of the Enemy (particularly Missionaries)
5) Quasi- or decomissioned Military for the "other side."
6) Scavengers and Salvage Artists (because "Alien" is one of the influences.)
7) Tribal Priests, Demon Summoners, and Shamans being Transported
8) Ex-members of the decomissioned Human Science Experimentation League. (See my gaming fiction for Illegal Gods.)
9) Translators and other professionals.
10) Bureaucrats