~ Technological Uprising

The technological uprising intensified during the Eisenhower administration, although the world had witnessed a fleeting glimpse of it's horrifying capabilities way before, during the second World War. An extermination camp built in Treblinka, a village situated north-east of Warsaw, was wired with an artificial intelligence called "Jäger". Since it was a prototype, the A.I was set to follow a very simple set of guidelines, simply opening the gas ducts and locking any point of entry so as to make sure none of the internees escaped. The Nazi R&D division didn't fully calculate Jäger's field of work and what is now called a glitch, caused IT to malfunction and gas the entire camp, killing everyone there, including the Nazi soldiers. In the aftermath of that same war, the Allied troops recovered the algorithm that helped in shaping Jäger, and the same algorithm would later serve as the basis for the uprising. In March of 1955, Eisenhower secretly signed a contract with a shadow corporation called "Quicksilver Continental", which would share it's developments with the government in exchange for a considerable sum of money and limited access inside what would today become known as Area 51. Their breakthrough invention came in 1959, when the first electrically powered recon drone came into play, and got credited a minor part in the American victory against the Vietcong. Later on, the first attempt at sonar goggles was made in 1961 and was put to use shortly after in The Bay of Pigs Invasion. While the goggles were functional at best, the weight and size of them was a major deal breaker, but what really sealed the deal was an accident that caused several members of Brigade 2056 to lose their sights. From there on, the deal got sour, and while Quicksilver still worked for the government during the remainder of the contract, the leading cabinet refused to charge them with supplying large numbers of troops, instead temporarily serving as a type of Q branch for the CIA Special Activities Division. Their contract was renewed again in 1964. Quicksilver Continental was again promoted to it's former position in 1983 after some of their top researchers were appointed by executives of the SDIO, which was tasked with overseeing the developments of the initiative, to construct what the press classified as incredibly unscientific and light years ahead of their current standards - the Strategic Defense Initiative, an intercepting defense system which would allow for all intercontinental/sub-marine launched ballistic missiles to be neutralized while on the move. The initial concept that Ronald Reagan suggested didn't make it to the real thing, instead being replaced by a similar concept that suggested placing interceptors in orbit and targeting them at potential Soviet bases. Since the ICBM emitted large chunks of infrared signatures, it was easy to spot them and destroy them on launch, avoiding the practice of the MAD doctrine (Mutually assured destruction; the complete annihilation of the defender and the attacker, in case of a nuclear launch) which Reagan considered to be a suicide pact. The interceptor was later modified to target numerous hot spots at once in a government sanctioned NASA operation in 1998, where it also got the name "Hecatonchires." Everything was a bed of roses, until a life changing incident in May of 2006, where Hecatonchires malfunctioned and the command center was led to believe there was a potential attack coming from a non-existent secret military installation in Gulangyu Island, China, causing over 5000 native casualities, and over 1500 tourists, not counting billions worth of damage. With pressure from the UN, the USA was forced to abandon the project temporarily, after managing to gather evidence that the attack wasn't deliberate. Quicksilver officials and researchers were scolded for their inefficiency by the Bush administration, but they didn't have the guts to shred the contract, still seeing them as a valuable asset. So, they were yet again demoted to creating tools for individual use or for a tiny circle of operations and remain like that to this very day. Hecatonchires was reactivated in 2012 with full consent from the UN, but the data gathering is now done via mobile control units which are spread around the world and are supposed to confirm for any potential threat, as the Hecatonchires data assessment algorithm was deduced to be fragile and prone to viruses and glitches. Another notable but small corporation which had a key role in the Technological Uprising was called "CyberTek" and was based on Denver. They also signed a contract with the leading cabinet, but it was a pretty short-lived one, lasting to about six months. They seemed to specialize in the field of cybernetics, so the government tasked them to develop enhanced cybernetic limbs and exo suits which would do well for the troops, but their attempts were fruitless. After their government contract was severed, they made a deal with the Paralyzed Veterans of America to gift them with spare limbs and provide them with other commodities. The corporation was shut down in 2016 after their executives were accused of using it to develop and sell guns in the black market, and are considered to be guilty of supplying terrorist cells from third-world countries with a chance to topple governments.

What was once an abandoned subway station was turned into a well furnished underground path of transportation by John Kennedy in late 1965, almost two years after the thwarted assassination attempt that could have cost his life. After that, Kennedy's foreign relations policy got more aggressive, especially when pitted against the Soviet Union. Besides his roughened political stances though, JFK also got imbued with an unhealthy dose of paranoia, often refusing to go for the usual strolls and even cancelling his meetings and press conferences. His paranoia met an end when he decided to build an underground station for himself and future presidents to pass. However, the station was long forgotten after the early 70s and only made a comeback in the late 80s, expanded and accessorized to serve as a new base of operations for the Rasetsu Clan and all it's potential candidates, after their old one got demolished. From there on, the place inherited the name The Kennedy Platform. It's situated below the 800 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. As for the tour... -The Entrance - the gateway to the place comes in the form of a cart which will emerge from the bottom of the station, once the hidden cameras within the platform confirm that you're not a threat. Upon entering the cart, it will start moving horizontally towards a huge point of entry. -The Waiting Room - once out of the cart, you'll be stranded in a hall among other Shinobi candidates or usual people who want to gain jobs as Rank C personnel. After a five minute wait, you'll be contacted by one of the staff who has enough clearance to give you a tour guide around the place. The door that leads out of the waiting room is fitted with a retinal scanner, a six-digit code and a voice recognition software for security purposes. -The Oversight Department - now we're onto the heavy stuff. The Oversight department is a group of 30+ government employees, i.e analysts, chief analysts, programmers and CCTV operators on loan to the Rasetsu Clan, which is technically part of the government now. The Oversight specializes in gathering SIGINT (Signal Intelligence), deciphering and analyzing potential threats. Usually, employees that belong in the Oversight department possess Rank C clearance, however there are a certain few which possess Rank B and are qualified enough to provide the tour guide. The work place is filled with small monitors which serve for individual use, and an enormous 370 inch TV set in the middle which is connected to all the small monitors and will display any valid intel. The Oversight department also has a small role in unlocking/locking and overseeing all security protocols within the Kennedy Platform. -The Morgue - adjacent to the Oversight department is the Morgue, which, as you probably have figured out by now, is infested by dead people. Shinobi, members of the Rasetsu Clan, will be dragged in there in case they ever meet a shifty demise. Then, one out of the eight coroners there will initiate an investigation, before the body undergoes cremation and the ashes are spread across the Hudson River. -The Training Court - to the right of the hall, there's the Training Court, separated into two segments; the shooting range and the gym, which are literally separated into two by a highly-resistant, soundproof and bulletproof glass. There, the shinobi can hone their skills with long-range and melee weapons. -The Bar/War Room - after leaving the Training Court, you can make your way further down the hall. To your right, you'll find a small bar of sorts where you can take a seat, have a drink and converse with people. The bar doesn't serve alcoholic beverages for active employees, the reasons for it being quite obvious. To your left, there will be two motion-sensored doors set up one after another which lead to a small space. The small space is characterized by two doors opposite to each other, fitted with a retinal scan and which both lead to one location; The War Room. Only Rank S executives have access to the War Room, which includes the Daimyo, the Secretary of Defense, Operation Coordinators and several other government pencil necks. The War Room serves as a place to discuss future courses of action and make budget-related decisions. It may also serve as a court for Shinobi, where the Daimyo is a judge. The Briefing Room/The Armory - several feet from the bar, there's the briefing room, probably the most old-school looking place in the entire base, where the operative Shinobi are briefed before missions. The place is fitted with a projector and bears striking resemblance to a theater. Your team's handler (operation coordinator) will provide you with intel, and equipment from the nearby Armory, which is within the The Briefing Room, in a magnetically locked door. The Armory is infested with weapons, ranging from firearms to blades and other melee weapons. The Bedrooms - near the Briefing Room, there is a large area of bunked beds where full-time Shinobi can sleep and gather their energies. The Red Zone - opposite the entrance to the Briefing Room, there's an elevator, which also marks the end of the hall. Besides the elevator, the place is nothing more but a dead end. The elevator only goes down, and if you ever happen to take it, you'll descend into the Red Zone which is the most hazardous place in the entire building and is so deep into the ground that it's actually classified to be out of US borders. In there, you'll find.. The Confinement Cells - once in the Red Zone, the only thing that separates you and the world's most dangerous criminals (and creatures) is a thick and incredibly resistant yet transparent 19 inch glass. While the grills are pulled down at night, you can see what the felons are up to most of the time, with the place looking less like a structure of confinement cells and more like some weird body art exposition. While the confinement cells only serve as a temporary home for criminals (which are delivered to the Alcatraz Prison afterwards), they were built to hold something far more sinister; ABOMINATIONS. The Confinement Cells is where Rank D personnel belong, like death sentenced prisoners who volunteered to make up for their mistakes or such. The Garage - unlocking the door set in the middle of all the scary confinement cells will lead you to the Garage, where different vehicles ranging from APCs, to motorbikes, to cars are located and ready for use. The vehicles are mostly managed and maneuvered by professional drivers who get paid for their work and are more than able to handle the risks and avoid spilling government secrets. A vehicle path in the Garage will lead to the surface of an abandoned yard in Garment District, Manhattan.

The Rasetsu Clan was found in the early 1940s by Hisoka Rasetsu, a Japanese immigrant sheltered in New York after the internal war that divided the clans into thirteen separate splinter factions. While not much of is known about Hisoka, it's hinted he occupied a major position in the large Kigihara Clan and may have had several disagreements with his higher-ups, which must have eventually lead to the clan gettig shattered. At first, the Rasetsu Clan didn't have much followers, if any, and Hisoka was forced to move to different districts around New York City because his homes were being constantly vandalized. However, word of his capabilities quickly spread around the city and there were people, mobsters especially, who wanted to enlist him. Fragments of several transcripts and mugshots show Hisoka speaking to Joseph Bonnano, the head of the Bonanno crime family in what seems to be an attempt at convincing him to work as a gun for hire. Soon after, while the world was plunged into a devastating World War, Hisoka gathered a large amount of money and began hiring ex-cons and former mafiosos then taught them the Art of Ninjutsu, successfully fulfilling his wish of spreading that deadly art around the West. He was also a ladies man, fathering many children, each and everyone of them blessed with the powerful genes of a Kigihara. While business was blooming for about a decade, the Rasetsu Clan met an obstacle; the established Eisenhower administration. They got wind of the illegal activities Hisoka and his acolytes were performing, and a full-scale war was in order. But, with the Americans going through a bad start with the war in Vietnam, Dwight Eisenhower personally gave Hisoka an ultimatum during a secret meeting - either join the government and deploy his pupils in Vietnam, or face extermination. Hisoka, a wise man, chose the latter and, besides deploying his acolytes in Saigon, also worked as a government consultant, developing a series of ruses and deception tactics that got the Vietcongs pinned down. With the Americans managing to hold the vietnamese long enough for the war to count as a win, Eisenhower came to an agreement with the board and decided to merge the Rasetsu Clan with the Special Operations Group (SOG) that was a sub-division in the CIA. Their base was an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn. After an uncoordinated demolition incident in 1985, the clan was left homeless for a brief time, before the Kennedy Platform was adjusted to become their new base of operations. During the transition to the new base, The Rasetsu Clan unofficially cut ties with the CIA and became it's own leader. While the government even so much as refuses to acknowledge the existence of the clan, there is an established hierarchy within it. -Rank D - Rank D refers to all maintenance and security workers with no influence and no pay. These could usually be prisoners whom are borrowed by the state to do the dirty work, and either get reduced sentence or get nothing at all, depending on the crime they've committed. The maintenance Rank D are usually seen around The Red Zone, maintaining the confinement cells, while the security ones are spread all over the place, guarding restricted areas. The Clan doesn't recruit prisoners with a history of drugs or any sort of dangerous substance. -Rank C - Rank C includes all the commoners, your average graduated IT student who decided to enlist in that weird ad and found out his workplace was several feet below the ground. They, like Rank D employees, have no influence and are not allowed to leave their designated premises, but they do get a good salary. These are usually analysts, CCTV operators and programmers. -Rank B - Rank B includes chief analysts, lead programmers, coroners and semi-involved Shinobi. They're qualified enough to work as tour guides and have access to most of the areas, excluding the Red Zone, The War Room and The Briefing Room (although they do get limited CCTV footage of The Briefing Room, as part of the tour guide experience). -Rank A - Rank A includes all of the full-time Shinobi. They have access to all areas BUT the War Room, which is beyond their reach except when there is an urgent matter to discuss. -Rank S - Rank S includes The Daimyo, The Operation Coordinators and high-ranked government, CIA, DOD, NSA or members of the cabinet. Rank S have unlimited access to the base and can choose to not answer to anyone.

= Rejuvenix =

Rejuvenix was the name of an experimental enhancement drug developed by Clairvoyance, an American corporation with international sales whose principal business was manufacturing skin care products. The drug started out in the late 70s as a skin rejuvenating product for women, guaranteed to remove wrinkles and make aging women look like young again through it's ability to replenish dead cells. But, as soon as this new discovery captivated the attention of the government, everything went downhill. They believed that with more research, the full potential of the product could be unveiled - it's capability of regenerating dead cells could be broadened, broadened to the extent of healing a bullet wound. Naturally, the government wanted to use it to strengthen it's own military. To commence the research, liquid samples from a bunch of undeveloped creatures known as Abominations were taken, creatures who gained notoriety in the underground world for practically being immortal. However, once the blood fused with the Rejuvenix formula, whoever was subjected to the serum would lose his or her sanity. The first lab rat that did so began a terrible murder spree and it took a squadron of CIA assassins to put him down. Afterwards, the government freed Clairvoyance of it's grip and shut down all mass production of the Rejuvenix product. Before they could though, a Clairvoyance employee leaked the formula on an unscheduled TV broadcast, along with several crates of Rejuvenix which still roam around the black market to this very day. Rejuvenix increases one's intellect, power and slows down the aging process, all in exchange for one's mental stability.

= "Shinobi Jr." Training Program =

With the clan's relocation to The Kennedy Platform, there was also a slight internal reformation concerning the application rules. The Daimyo who ruled the clan at the time made a decision to no longer accept commoners as full-time shinobi, and instead resorted to more extreme ways. With the seed of the Kigihara well spread around the United States, the clan along with a CIA operative codenamed "Iblis" helped develop what became The Shinobi Jr. Program. The Shinobi Jr. Program is a grueling training session which can last about 18-21 years. Little kids, from the age of 0-4 and who bear the dominant Kigihara gene, are stripped off their families either with their consent or forcefully and are given a new identity. The training is overseen by a 'father figure', which is actually a CIA agent in disguise. After 18 years of honing one's skills, the Platform's location is unraveled before the candidate and he/she must try out to join the clan. If the tryout fails, then he has to wait for an entire year until his next try out. If the candidate fails to join the clan by the time he/she reaches 21, then he/she'll be kept under constant surveillance to make sure no word concerning the clan is spoken. One slip up, and the clan, in full co-operation with the CIA, will launch a kill order. If the candidate does manage to get in the clan though, then he'll join a group of seven accepted candidates like him. The Program was first activated in '85, with many candidates from then sticking with the clan to be mission coordinators. The Program also encountered a few complications, with Iblis having an unusual change in morals and striving to reveal the abuse the training program harbored. Needless to say, it was to no avail, as he was killed shortly after.

= Abominations =

The reason why descendants of the Kigihara have subverted in power over the last couple of centuries is simple; it's because the Kigihara gene is very unstable. It's almost like a nuclear core. And because of that, two bearers of the Kigihara gene are forbidden to mate. The last time someone did that was in 14th Century, and it didn't really end up well. The offspring started it's growth abnormally fast and tore through the female Kigihara's torso, initiating what can only be described as a bloodbath. After one entire day of trying to apprehend it, seven brave shinobi realized that the creature can't be killed and instead used their might to bury it deep into the ground. Abominations are all characterized by large statures, over 6 feet, eyeless, pale white, no facial features and oozing a strange sticky liquid. They lack the power of speech, and instead simply communicate through grunts. They served as the basis for the failed Rejuvenix enhancement drug.

~ Character Sheet

~ Rules

1. I'm no nitpicker, but please do put effort into writing at least two-to-three paragraphs. Thank you. 2. Adhere to the guild's rules. 3.Don't be a dick. Let me tell you a couple of things; first of, if someone who hasn't made his interest known in the Interest Check comes up to me with a CS when I make the OOC, and his/her CS is better than yours, then I'll accept him instead of you. Just because you were here first doesn't mean you get privileges. Secondly; I may pressurize you into pushing the timetable time to time, but I'll try to be as less annoying as I can. If you can't land a post, then at least be around and let me know that. Heck, if you're civil about it, I might even halt everything until you find some time to post. Thirdly; I don't care if you're renowned for being an awesome writer, if you insult me or any of the participants, I'll sack the living shit out of you. Finally; while I will give you freedom to reshape the Arcs however you want, I will rule out if, say, your loyal and reserved character decides to switch sides just for the heck of it, no explanation, no build up, no anything. I'm also trying to tell a story here, so please be understanding. 4. You're not allowed to kill major NPCs or other participants without my blessing first. However, NPCs CAN kill you. Once I get the "NPC Roster" updates, you'll see there's a ranking of enemy NPCs based on their reputation and prowess, followed by a line which explains if engaging said enemy is wise or not. If you choose to ignore that last quote, then there's a likelihood you'll end up dead. Don't say I didn't warn you. 5. No godmodding. Seriously. Don't. 6. No Mary Sue characters. Just because they're ninjas doesn't mean they have to be perfect. 7. Please, read the entire OOC and the rules CAREFULLY, before asking me a question. I'll probably answer a question that's explained in the OOC anyway, but I'd rather appreciate it if you didn't make that question. Also, do feel free to point out if there's a plot hole I've missed regarding the story and what not. I haven't thought of EVERYTHING.

Given Name: Luke Walker Codename: Friday Age: 20 Sex: Male Personality: Favoring training over his social life, Luke can come off retracted. Those who take the time to talk to him, mainly his squad mates, will find a person eager to help you further your ambitions. Background: For as long as he could remember he has been hearing the word "again" over and over, and that is the word that shaped him into who he is. A creature of habit, repeating the same actions over and over again, be it his training, reading a book, pushing himself farther than he had before. When he thought that he would collapse or fade into the dark, he would do it again, sometimes causing him to be dragged out of the training court. Melee Weapon of Choice: Kyoketsu-shoge Firearm/Equipment of Choice: (TBD) Employment: Full-Time Shinobi

Given Name: Mavis R. Rye Codename: Monday Age: 19 Sex: Female Personality: A silent companion to those who meet her and are her friends, she often doesn't talk much to people who she doesn't know more often due to not having much to say and comes off with the vibe of being shy. However, under that silent exterior lies a determined and competitive person that no one really expects. Background: Getting into high school a year earlier from skipping a grade in Grade School, she finished high school a year earlier and went to college. She makes her living by being a part-time archer teacher on the weekend as she is old enough to get clearance to be a teacher. Previously before this she also was a teaching the basics of archery to those who wanted lessons at the same place but that was before she was 18. At a very young age Mavis was adept with a bow as she took many lessons of archery when she was a child. Melee Weapon of Choice: Leather Gauntlets - Metals spikes attached Firearm/Equipment of Choice: Blank - N/A Employment: Freelance