[center][h2]In The Black[/h2][/center] [b] Welcome,[/b] You have obviously passed our many vigorous background checks and qualifications to be here today. Here of course being a member of Acheron Recovery Services; one of the premier members of our field. Not only that, you have been selected along with many of your peers to staff the latest branch of ARS. Built out of a decommissioned US Air Force base and abandoned missile silo complex; Silent Mountain, Montana is our latest and greatest facility in our strive to deliver our product. Excellent consumer protection. Now while you should have received several materials covering our company and its work. I pride myself on thoroughness. So allow me to reiterate the purpose of our new branch. Many corporations and government agencies constantly partake in various experiments and test in efforts to push the boundaries of the known. However, sometimes they push too hard. Or maybe someone gets too squeamish. Or perhaps they should have sprung for a stronger lock on the cage containing the dimensional warhound. Whatever the reason; accidents happen. Rather then throw more resources, time, and lives, trying to contain these incidents; we are instead called. For a competitive fee at varying levels of coverage; Acheron Recovery Services handles the containment, disposal and clean-up of whatever mishap might have occurred. With our wide roster of specialist and personnel we are more then capable of proving ourselves in any situation. And it shows. We are one of the youngest entities in our business and we have already bought out our previous North American competitor, Sandstorm Consulting. Of course our efficiency is well noted by several competitors who are jealous of our success. Something that has led to less then cordial relations on occasions when interests or contracts conflicted. But don't worry about that. Acheron is the top of the business for a reason. And I know you will continue to contribute to that reason. [b]Signed, Samantha Norr Acheron Recovery Services HR Director; Silent Mountain Branch[/b] [hider=About]Welcome to [i]In the Black[/i]. Here you take the part of an employee of a sizable damage control agency. They employ everyone from soldiers to submariners; mechanical engineers to herbalists, neurosurgeons to archeologists. They are prepared for anything because they respond to anything. As long as the client's policy is paid and the checks clear; Acheron will deploy. Whether your back at base crunching the numbers on the latest zombie virus, garroting a plucky whistleblowing reporter, plundering an Egyptian tomb or battling a psychic super soldier; Acheron has a use for you. Of course these scenarios are dangerous. Casualties are high. But the paycheck for those that survive is tempting. That being said. Acheron isn't the only game in town. The world has a host of like minded groups and entities who provide the same services; all that's different is the branding of the helicopters that fast rope the commandos in. Conflicts tends to arise often in the field when two groups tend to clash; some more then others given proximity of their "established" territories. As of recent; a downtick in business has led to an increase in conflict of remaining contracts. Whether this is a temporary dry spell or the beginning of a corporate shadow war are unknown. All that is known is that the industry is at its most dangerous. But you know what they say. Great risk means even greater reward. Good luck.[/hider] [hider=The World]Welcome to the world of Damage Control (DC) in the year 2030. Its a cutthroat, dangerous game played in the shadows that has grown more hazardous as of late. Pharmaceutical and bioengineering corporations have recently unlocked more secrets of gene sequencing and manipulation. Causing an upheaval in the bioweapon market with the sudden influx of tailored weapons and viruses. Of course the development of those weapons have had their own snags. The past three years saw a two hundred percent increase in deployment for all DC agencies for such incidents. With Acheron most noticeably having to firebomb one town in Arizona to contain a mispackaged leak of one such agent. Of course other threats have increased too. A decade and half prior, a Slavic based corporation attempted to make an interdimensional portal. Events occurred that resulted in the Volkoff Syndicate, Eastern Europe's largest DC agency, shutting down the test after two weeks of fighting in the Urals. However, the experiment both made the notion of interdimensional travel feasible and made the fabric of our dimension thinner. Such occurrences happen with more regularity as of late; with four such incidents occurring within North America alone in the past year. One of which without the prompting of any experiments or tests by those on our side. These breaches have also had the startling effect of giving some individuals powers described as psychic in nature. They run the gamut on practicality and actual power. However, it also opened up another can of worms with the sudden rush of shady corporations and quasi government agencies creating artificial psychics. That led to one incident in the Pacific with an artificially created psychic carving out a brief domain on an island chain. Then there's the sudden surge in nanomachines and portable reactor technology that have started a boom in robotics and the potential of viable cyborgs. Some of which were more successful then others; with some even retaining services within DC entities. The failures however have led to a rather large uptick in the private sale of anti tank and armor piercing munitions. These just being an example of the most common threats the various DC companies face. When they're not busy warring with each other that is. The recent boom in potential danger has also sadly seen the downfall of several previously steady customers of various DC entities. With the surviving clients having gobbled up the remains of their failed peers. So while the danger has increased; contracts have gone down as these various corporations and agencies turn to exclusive contracts. Or in some cases, trying to cut costs by training in house DC teams to various degrees of success. However, a DC corporation that has no personnel obviously can't perform a contract; which has led to some of the more ambitious and cutthroat DC's to launch raids on competing contracts or even bases in some cases. But at least the dental is good.[/hider] [hider=Acheron Recovery Services]Acheron Recovery Services found humble origins as Acheron Transport. An armored car company in the Midwestern United States. Founded by British expatriate, Gabriel Norr, in July of 1960; the company found moderate success with the casinos of flyover country. Then, as the times grew more turbulent they switched from armored cars to armored limousines. A chance contract saw the company take a small security gig at a then nascent company in the early 1980's. A virus outbreak saw a zombie like infection spread through the facility before Acheron guards put it down. With the Acheron CEO of the time receiving a sizable bonus for his discretion and competence. This relatively profitable event saw Acheron open a seldom seen door that led into the lucrative and dangerous world of Damage Control. Acheron quickly began to expand its roster as it took contract after contract. Luck and greed helped pull Acheron from a fledgling DC entity to somewhere around mid-tier by the time they switched firmly into their new area; rebranding themselves as Acheron Recovery Services. With an agreement with the then up and coming German Werewolf LTD, the struggling Central American Coyote Protection Inc and the well established Excalibur International in the UK. With these alliances, Acheron quickly rose to challenge Sandstorm Consulting; the then eminent North American contractor of the time. Bidding wars, espionage and the occasional skirmish eventually led Sandstorm Consulting to take a costly contract in New Guinea. That contract proved however a desperate gamble that resulted in the bankruptcy of Sandstorm Consulting. With the resulting buy out's leaving Sandstorm's former assets and contracts within Acheron's ( and it's allies) control. This has left Acheron with a large area of responsibility. North America for the most part is theirs; with the exception for Northern Canada and Alaska. Which is defiantly held by the Canadian Woodsmen Insurance Company. Central America is an uneasy alliance between Acheron and their erstwhile Guatemalan allies, Coyote Protection. The Pacific is for the most part a free for for all between Acheron, Japan's Sakai Group and Australia's Bushmaster Consulting. The rest of the world Acheron leaves to the various other DC agencies; avoiding creating more enemies and problems then needed. However, the board is tired of seeing decreased profits. With their recent branch in Montana intended to being a new international response hub; one can see that the status quo is going to tip again.[/hider] [hider=Silent Mountain (Home Base)]Built in the 70's as part of the Cold War O'Neill Air Force Base consisted of an airfield for the 924th Refueling Squadron and a missile complex under the 375th Strategic Missile Squadron. Neither saw much activity outside the normal before they were mothballed a year after the end of the Cold War. They remained unused until 2021 when Acheron purchased the installation in its entirety. Since then; Acheron has been hard at work modernizing and refurbishing both the airfield and missile base. The airfield hosts the most visible notice of Acheron's presence; an assortment of fixed and rotary wing aircraft that range from surplus Huey's to a next generation tilt-rotor that's set to replace the V-22 Osprey. Its facilities have been modified for Acheron's new purposes. With most of the day to day personnel living in refurbished barracks or newly constructed apartment complexes on the base. Its perimeter is ensured by constant patrols and an automated senor and camera network tied into an array of linked defenses. To the inhabitants of the town; the air base is a newly constructed DoD testing facility for classified avionics; and Acheron works hard to keep that as the perception. The missile base on the other hand is where the sensitive aspect of Silent Mountain is carried out. Located a twenty minute drive away; the route to the missile base is a single road secured via a checkpoint at the mountain's base and an array of electronic surveillance measures. Built into heavy granite mountains; the missile bases silos and tunnels have been expanded and refurbished to act as the nerve center of this latest branch. The top levels house the barracks and equipment of the direct action portion of Acheron. Next being the R&D labs; responsible for either helping solve current crises or exploiting resolved ones for gain (often under the nose of clients due to vague wording in contracts). Lying below the science and technological heart of the base; lies the prison level for whistleblowers, malcontents and/or the occasional corporate spy awaiting processing. At the bottom of the base; below the command centers, offices and briefing rooms of the branch's leadership; lies the containment vault. A heavily guarded and surveilled portion where the branch can lock up dangerous articles, entities or anything else of dangerous value awaiting for transportation to the company's disposal site in Texas. It might not be the most glamorous abode. But its home.[/hider] [b]Branches[/b]: Specialization is the key to any successful Damage Control Operation. Acheron having broken down itself into three semi-distinct chunks for ease of deployment. [b]Direct Action:[/b] The doorkickers and frontline troopers of Acheron. First in and last out; Direct Action is where a good chunk of Acheron's work is done. It ranges from the troops fast roping out of helos to the pilots of said aircraft. They are make up a good proportion of Acheron's personnel. That being said it also has the highest attrition rate within the company; with the experienced survivors tending to transfer into management or other branches at the first opportunity. Some like to stay however; whether it be for the thrill or the hazard pay. Direct Action might not be the safest posting in Acheron; but its definitely among the most lucrative. [b]Field Research:[/b] The brains to Direct Action's brawn; this branch often masterminds the solutions to containment problems incapable of being solved via more ammunition. Ranging in expertise; this branch draws from the main and fringe bodies of known knowledge. Psychics and self-proclaimed sorcerers working alongside the likes of nuclear physicists and roboticists. Usually with the second wave of Acheron to arrive on scene (but not always; Field Research typically has the lowest casualty rate among the company. Though accidents do happen and there have been incidents of R&D taking a turn for the worse in some of Acheron's self-performing research. That, and lowest casualty rate doesn't mean its a minuscule rate. But the optometry plan for Field Research is the best of the company. [b]Concealment Teams:[/b] An oddity; Concealment Teams are a mix-mash of personalities and skills. Former international assassins to con men. Hackers, demolitionist experts to pr specialists. Their sole concern being destroying any knowledge of the incident leaking to the public at large. Ranging from straight up assassination to discrediting via social media platforms; the concealment teams have as much leeway as they need to get the job done. Often following, if not in tandem, with Direct Action teams; they focus not on the threat itself but rather making sure no one outside the company or the client know of the threat. Concealment Teams are one of the most critical aspects of Acheron's contracts. As such they are a highly monitored and regulated branch that tends to attract those the company finds reliable (or malleable). It pays to be the best of the best though. [b][u]Application:[/u][/b] [b]Name:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] (Can be a picture or description.) [b]Nationality:[/b] [b]Branch:[/b] (Direct Action; Field Research ; or Concealment Teams) [b]Role/Occupation:[/b] (No need to get specific unless you want to.) [b]Skills:[/b] [b]Weaknesses:[/b] ( Not needed but it helps make your character feel rounded out) [b]Background/Biography:[/b] ( Two paragraphs minimum please. No need for excessive detail. Just the gist of how they came to be where they are; whether that be valued employee, naive new hire or incidental press ganged survivor).