[center]NCQ5: Rebellion in a Howling Age[/center]

In the year 2270, mankind's golden age of progress, understanding, and liberty was destroyed by its own hands. A nuclear apocalypse wrecked the surface of the globe, destroying the icecaps and causing a new great flood. Gigantic 'Burrows', built just in time to survive the catastrophe, were the new residence of mankind as it slept away the radioactive fallout and the rebirth of the oceans. Before fifty years passed, the governments of old were replaced by the megacorporations that built the Burrows, and a new corporatocracy emerged. As the radiation subsided, mankind began to return to the surface, and the Ruling Corporations waged war once again.

This centuries long period of consistent warfare and controlled drudgery has been the status quo for four hundred years, and the most iconic implement of this period is still in use today; the 'Neural Combatant'. Originally forged during the golden age of technology, each NC is built around a 'Neural Frame', a skeleton woven from synthetic neurons and an alloy lost to the ages, worked into many shapes. Each NC, many from before the fall, is a totally unique machine, yet all share the same necessity for a special pilot, with a special psychic trait.

This trait, the specifics unknown, allows a person to interface with the machines directly through a set of Neural Plugs, built into the pilots' spine, that jut out from the skin. These plugs allow the pilot to control their Neural Combatant directly, as if it was their own body. This fusion of a myriad of advanced technologies allows each Neural Combatant to fight with the ferocity and power of a small army.

Uniquely for the forces of the Ruling Companies, NC pilots were allowed freedom and individuality, due to necessity, each NC being its own unique construct. In many cases, NC pilots were even allowed to break off from their Ruling Companies and become free agents, capriciously assisting each and every corporation as mercenaries. The front-company that serviced these mercenaries, Maverick, was cooperatively shared by all of the major players. For four hundred years, this status quo of controlled drudgery and emotionless, monetized warfare was accepted.

But one day, April 14th, 2756, some of the thirty most powerful and renowned NC pilots in the world, mercenary and corporate alike, completely broke off from Maverick and the Ruling Companies. Each and every chairman of all of the Ruling Companies received a message.

"We, who christen ourselves as the New Union, order the Ruling Companies of the world to dissolve, and allow mankind to choose its own destiny once again. The Ruling Companies have woven the future of mankind for too long, and the reigns of fate deserve to be in the hands of the greater populace once more. If these conditions are not met in the three months provided, we will declare total, open war. We have the technology, manpower, and simple determination to see each and every one of you to be executed. The clock is ticking."

Today is May 1st, 2756, and the entire community of NC Pilots is preparing for this war, with the vast conventional armies of the Ruling Companies following. This war, no matter its victor, will change the future of mankind.

One NC Pilot, retired due to combat injuries, mentors a divided group of rookies from across the world. Operating for Maverick, this band of pupils will be forced to choose a side, either together, or divided. Will they tear themselves apart, being lost to the annals of history? Will they fight for the corporate masters of the world? Will they raise their flag for the New Union, and allow mankind to choose its own future? Or will they blaze their own trail?

Only time will tell.
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This story takes place shortly before, and during the 'Corporate Rebellions', where the status quo of the mega-corporations that controlled the planet was assaulted. One type of unit will be instrumental in this war; the Neural Combatant. As aforementioned, a Neural Combatant is a very large warmachine (25-40 meters high or long), directly connected to the pilot through an implant that runs along the person's spine.

This story follows the adventures of one retired NC pilot, Christopher Fenix, or more precisely, his school of students. This group of pupils will help decide the future of humanity during the course of the war... They will meet new allies, new enemies, and their strength and skill will be tested as a new world war rears its ugly head.
[hr]
Alright, coming completely out of character, this RP takes place in a derivative of an older setting that I've used not a few times before. I do apologize if it seems a bit roughly hewn in comparison to other 'Advanced' RP's, but I can assure you I have the general setting down pat. I've done this sorta stuff before.

Anyway, here's how this'll work. Every player can have up to four characters. Only one of them can be an actual NC pilot. The other three can be anything; friends, family, off-the-battlefield rivals, drinking buddies, whatever, preferably as long as they're distinctly related to the first character. Obviously, you aren't forced to have multiple characters.

As your characters have to have some type of history with Fenix, their combined mentor, I'll give you guys his character sheet so you can get an idea of who he is.

[hider=Christopher Fenix]
Name: Christopher Fenix

Nickname(s): Warhawk

Age: 56

Pilot Rank (Before Retirement): #4

History: Christopher Fenix was born in Global Acquistion's central Burrow, somewhere near what used to be New York. He keeps his early life a mystery, and data on his childhood is slim, as the facility in the Burrow that happened to keep his records was damaged in a terrorist attack in 2723. A year later, during a medical examination after an innocent accident gave him a concussion, it was found he possessed a Synchronization Score. He was implanted with a Neural Plug weeks later and was trained under Global Acqusition's own NC pilot training programs. His military education was uneventful, scoring average in most fields.

He was assigned the same machine he has to this day, the Warhawk, in 2725 after finishing his two year training. Due to a leak of plans, on his first mission against an Invictus naval force, two enemy NC's were sent to deal with him. After a long, drawn out and heated fight, he was the last man standing in the combat zone as one sank to the depths and the other, Kriegwerks' F-321, piloting NC-057, was forced to retreat.

He came back as a war hero, and the Warhawk was refitted to suit Fenix's apparent combat style; As he showed a reliance on close-range combat supported by sudden, unexpected disengagements to confuse the enemy with long range fire, his NC's standardized armaments were replaced with an automatic shotgun, a machine cannon, missile launchers, an artillery gun, and overcharged, high-output thrusters to allow for his confusing, three-dimensional methods.

For years, he served with distinction and parted amicably with Global Acqusitions when he left the company's military arm in 2738, finding himself in the then-young Maverick Company. For fourteen years he was one of the most feared men alive, until one day, he made an innocent mistake, and his NC was torn in half at the cockpit. Fenix himself was nearly bisected; his right arm and leg being sliced off by a high-frequency vibration-type blade. The perpetrator was F-321, the same pilot who he humiliated years before. His allies managed to drive her off and recover Fenix, and he miraculously survived, but the damage to his own nervous system meant he could never pilot again.

He drank his sorrows away at one of Maverick's pilot clubs for months, until he got the bright idea to assist in creating the next generation of NC pilots. Thus, calling in a few favors from his friends at Maverick, he began training independent rookies who were interested in learning from the mistakes of the past. And, as they say, the rest is history.

Personality: Fenix was originally a man of genius, possessed a will of steel, and held his head high. After 'the incident', he learned humility, and had a tendency to drown his sorrows and pretend to live in the past. He maintained his hopes for the future of others, but believed with all his heart his time as a man of destiny and renown was finished.

After he started teaching rookies, he quickly began to come to terms with his predicament, and even if he can't change anything by himself now, he can at least make sure the next generation has the skills they need. He makes sure that each NC pilot learns what they need to survive on the field, and what they want to learn, since he knows firsthand some people just aren't meant to do certain things.

Fenix likes meeting new people, and loves talking about nothing in general. He had a tendency to keep the radio on for entire engagements to talk about letter adhesives or air conditioners with his friends. Fenix has a sense of honor, but when 'the incident' that took half his limbs occurred, a need for revenge was born deep in his heart. If he could kill that sneaky bitch F-321, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Appearance: Fenix is a man that certainly looks his age, with a squarish face and darker skin, blemished by the evidence of past battles and glories. His short brown hair is beginning to grey, and his body looks tired from experience. His most distinguishing features are his right arm and leg, replaced by cybernetic prosthetics. By request, his right hand has various tools and storage spaces, all tooled for him to burn away cigarettes and not make a mess. That would be rude. Overall, he looks his age for a military veteran, but is in decent shape considering what he's been through. You could tell he used to be quite the looker before his lifestyle took its toll.

Personal Skills: Fenix's long history of piloting has given him experience in almost every type of combat, either by being the user, or the victim of such styles. He's dabbled in everything over his long career, but what made him famous was his original, confusing, all-dimensional combat style. He doesn't exactly have a name for his family of related techniques, but most describe it as 'rocket-assisted gun-karate', as he used anything, from his actual weapons to his NC's exhaust or spent shells, as an attack. Even he isn't sure how the hell he came up with such a combat style, but he doesn't question it, since you usually don't get old in that job.

Outside of battle, Fenix's friendly demeanor and charisma, plus the many people he's worked with over the years, means he has a long list of contacts, and he can get information or various kinds of favors easily enough. While he was a pilot the entire time, he's picked up on some of the realities of corporate politicking, red tape, strategic thinking, and the ins-and-outs of Maverick.

Tactical Preferences: As aforementioned, when Fenix was an NC pilot, he focused on his unique, three-dimensional, confusing combat style to dazzle opponents and go straight for the kill once a certain threshold of damage was met beforehand.

Neural Network Synchronization Score: Right before and during 'the incident', Fenix's Synch-Score was a very impressive 86%. Currently, it sits at an effective 0%.

Other: Fenix loves the sound of heavy artillery firing, the smell NC boosters make when they activate afterburners, and the warm fuzzy feeling of victory. He also has a soft spot for pancakes, whiskey, and steak.
[/hider]

As you can see, Christopher was designed to have a decent amount of shit going on, so it should be easy enough to think up a way for your character and him to meet. If you'd like help, feel free to ask.

Anyway, the CS you'll be expected to fill out;
[hider=Prototype CS]
Name: (obvious)

Pilot Rank: (I'll give you a pilot-rank in character, so leave this blank or something at start. NC pilots are given a rank to denote their general effectiveness. They're a matter of pride, and Maverick has a council that denotes corporate and independent pilots' rankings.)

Nickname(s): (obvious as well, but each NC pilot is usually called by the name of their NC in battle. E.G. 'Warhammer, target that truck' or 'Lilith, protect the VIP')

Age: (pick a number preferably between 18 and 45, but you can go higher and lower than that if you really want to, to a certain point. No 9 or 99 year olds, and if they are old you have to have a good reason why they're considered a pupil.)

History: (Generally, NC pilots came from one of the Burrows themselves, which are basically the capital cities of the Ruling Companies, or one of their surface colonies. If you'd like some of the specifics of each of the 'big five' RC's and their Burrows/colonies give me a shout. Anyway, they must've met Fenix a while before the main story is going to take place. If you'd like help writing this section just say so.)

Personality: (NC pilots come from all walks of life before they find out they have 'the trait' necessary, and their lives change forever. Just make sure it fits the history, one way or the other. Of course, that's pretty obvious)

Appearance: (Now this is a no-brainer)

Personal Skills: (These are skills they may have, and they aren't necessarily limited to being related to NC's. E.G. are they a good boxer? Strategist? Too angry to manipulate? For NC-related skills, are they adept at using heavy weapons? Are they good at dodging guided weapons? Do they interface well with NC sensors, making it hard to hide from them? Things such as that.)

Tactical Preferences: (These are the character's usual operating procedures in a fight. Are they quick and brutal? Are they methodical and make certain to never miss a shot? Do they just fire and dodge wildly like a maniac?)

Neural Network Synchronization Score: (This is the character's ability to interface with a Neural Network, and by association, an NC. Given in a percentage, higher scores and lower scores have downsides and upsides, but the pilot interfaces with their NC better over time, making older pilots naturally have higher scores. Lower scores allow an individual to feel less pain when damaged, feel less 'wrong' when modifications are made to their NC, and aren't as affected if something is malfunctioning with the Neural Net. However, their ability to control the NC is diminished, having to put more effort into subconsciously maintaining the NC's systems and maneuvering it. Likely obviously, higher-scored pilots have the opposite traits, while also being able to control more complex systems, such as NC's with multiple arms or very non humanoid designs, E.G, spider or bird-like.)

Other: (Miscellaneous things of note)
[/hider]
For your other characters, remove the irrelevant sections from their CS and fill out as necessary.

Now, onto NC's and their sheets. I have to admit; I'm still thinking about how I should do this. In my previous adventures with this setting, too much freedom and individuality of NC's made for an over-complicated mess often. So, I'm thinking of making pre-made NC sheets for use instead of allowing the players (AKA you) to make their own. Call me a control freak; the accusation certainly has some merit! Nonetheless, I do see it fit to give an NC sheet, and some more information on them.

[hider=NC Sheet]
Designation: (Obvious)

History: (Where the NC's frame was found, who built the original design, operators, et-cetera)

Frame Type: (The type of frame the unit is built around)

Offensives: (What type of offensive implements the NC has available)

Defensives: (What type of defensive measures the NC has available)

Equipment: ('Equipment' denotes sensor systems, propulsion, power generation and storage, and heat management equipment)

Special Equipment: (Special equipment is non-standard equipment, such as removable armor plates, self-repair systems, stealth measures, chaff launchers, et-cetera)
[/hider]

Before I finish this wall of text, I'm just going to admit that while I have everything that's absolutely necessary, as I've changed a bit of the setting and its history/characters compared to what I usually do, we may not start in earnest for a while. I have to write up a lot of things, but I can assure you I know what I actually want at least, hah!

Edit: I forgot the rules! Aside from the standard, universal implied rules (as set by the staff here and by common sense), if you'd like to play you obviously have to give me your CS and whatnot. However, once you do, I'd like to write a small short-story with you on how your character met Christopher Fenix and/or a combat situation it'd be reasonable for them to have been in. If the story is up to snuff (Which shouldn't be too difficult), you'll be fully approved.

Anyway, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments on anything at all, please say so. I'd love to answer questions, and it can help make the specifics of the universe more visible. I'll be editing this with more information on occasion, so re-check the OP and a 'codex' post I'll be adding to the characters tab every so often.