CyberNinja vs. Death's Hand [Beginnings] [The Schism] [The Geisha War] [Modern Day] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beginnings Sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s the ninja were reformed in Japan. This was in direct relation to the martial arts craze of the 1970s and 1980s which led into a wide practice of ninjitsu. Although most of the self-proclaimed ninja were simply self-deluded posers, the group in Japan was dedicated to discovering the old ways of the ninja and using spying and assassination to generate income. Many of these individuals were direct descendants of ninja of the past. These, knowing the original organization of simple family loyalty, were the driving force behind creating a full-fledged professional organization. The coming of the Sixth World was a tremendous boon for the ninja. It turned out that many of the founding members, specifically the descendants of ninja from ages past, were physical adepts. Suddenly the ninja could demand huge fees and deliver on missions they would have previously turned down. Word of these new ninja spread across the globe by word of mouth, with the mass media oblivious of the group. Their customers were primarily corporations and governments trying to check each other's power. Often the ninja would play both sides and a database of secrets they compiled from their jobs was created. This database became the closest guarded secret of the ninja, a treasure to be used against those clients who would dare threaten the ninja. The Crash of '29 left most governments and corporations across the globe crippled. The ninja, however, had maintained stand-alone systems with no connections to the Grid. The ninja were in serious debate on whether or not to sell their compiled secrets back to their crippled owners when the ninja learned of Echo Mirage and the ease at which this group could penetrate computer networks. Although the stand-alone systems of the ninja were safe, this was a resource that could not be ignored. The Schism The best of the ninja were sent to perform one of the world's first shadowrun: to steal the secrets of Echo Mirage. Comprised primarily of the vaunted physical adepts, it was believed the ninja assigned would be unstoppable. Instead they were slaughtered. The only two survivors hand conflicting stories. One, a physical adept, claimed facility that house Echo Mirage was simply impregnable. The other, a normal human, claimed the guards had been ready for the invasions and accused the physical adepts, who had rejected most forms of high technology, of treason. Although nothing was ever proved , this accusation created the first rift among the ninja. As time passed, the physical adepts became more conservative. They refused to use any firearms and insisted on the low-tech methods of their ancestors. In contrast, the rest of the ninja were embracing firearms, night sights, monofilament line: anything that made their jobs easier. When cyberware began appearing on the streets these ninja grabbed on to it with zeal. Thus came the second rift of the ninja. When skillwires and skillsoft were released a great debate was raged among the elders of the ninja. The mundanes wanted to embrace the technology, but the physical adepts argued solidly against it. One side believed the technology could allow the ninja to grant members the greatest skills of the clan, while the other side believed this would destroy the ninja by eliminating the rigorous training that brought discipline and loyalty. A compromised was reached in which the use of skillwires would be totally voluntary. The result was all the mundane embraced the technology while the adepts refused. Thus came the third rift within the ninja. The final rift came in the spring of 2052 when the argument of copying the minds of the old and dying ninja to computer ROM was brought. The physical adepts were totally opposed to this stating that it violated the natural laws that all ninja must obey. Their arguments fell on deaf ears as the mundane majority of the ninja began constructing computer systems for this purpose. Despite threats of retaliation from the adepts, Hino Mondo was copied to ROM just hours before his death from VITAS on October 3, 2052. Once it was confirmed the process had been successful, the computer simulation of Hino was given the authoritative position the living Hino had held. This was the last straw. The physical adepts, and many of the mages who were fearful of the cybernetics dominating the ninja, left the ninja and founded a new organization: Death's Hand. Although both the ninja and the Hand openly wished each other well each side knew the split could not end so easily. Each side had suffered too much insult. Thus a shadow war began between the two. The Hand was outnumbered over five to one and used archaic weapons such as the ninja-to and simple bows. The CyberNinja (as they later came to be called) were armed with conventional weapons such ranging from sub-machine guns to LAW rockets. In addition, the CyberNinja shared the skills of their best members created from in-house skillsoft manufacturing. By 2054 it became apparent the CyberNinja were losing. The Hand, with their initiated physical adepts and mages, were simply more skilled and cunning. As more ninja were lost to Hand arrows, the desperate decision to recruit thugs from the streets was made. These individuals were given the highest quality cyberware and the most lethal of weapons. But, like those they replaced, they lacked the experience which the Hand had in abundance. The Geisha War Desperate for victory, the CyberNinja broke the last taboo. Both sides frequented the many geisha houses across Japan. These places of entertainment were viewed as neutral ground, where neither side could attach the other. Although there was no formal agreement, each side had honored this understanding for years. Despite this, the elders decided to stage a coordinated mass assassination attempt at the geisha houses. Knowing the Hand would recognize the subtle signs of a ninja attack, it was decided the geisha themselves would be the assassins. Across Japan geisha were abducted, implanted with the necessary cybernetics, magically healed, and programmed with ASIST Biofeedback machines. The entire operation took less than 12 hours. The CyberNinja chose the anniversary of the reinstatement of the Emperor as the target date as they knew their nemesis would be visiting the geisha in abundance. To prevent their opponents from growing suspicious, the CyberNinja elders issued renewed threats against the Hand. As expected, a huge number of Hand appeared at the geisha houses, nearly two-thirds to be precise. During the height of the televised ceremonies the geisha's programming activated. Although the job had been shoddy, it was enough to achieve the CyberNinja's goals. Caught off guard, most of the Hand present were slain, by far the worst defeat the Hand had suffered. As for the geisha, most of those not killed by the hand committed suicide once they realized what they had done. The rest fled into the shadows, afraid of both the Hand and the CyberNinja. Although the CyberNinja managed to hunt down and kill most of these geisha a few managed to escape. After its horrendous loss the Hand called for a truce, which the CyberNinja immediately agreed to. The truce has lasted until this day, although each side is constantly building their power bases in preparation for another confrontation. Modern Day Today the CyberNinja and Death's Hand live in uneasy truce. Both sects or well known by their customers, who will occasionally make the mistake of trying to play one group off the other. The CyberNinja charge huge fees, mostly to offset the cost of their cybernetics. None of the original members of this group are alive. In fact, nearly all the CyberNinja are totally reliant on skillsofts and skillwires, which are processed form the digitally stored memories of their dead elders. The structure of the group has evolved to the point where the computerized personalities of the CyberNinja elders are now in control of the clan. In short, the CyberNinja are ruled and directed by the computers that provide their skillsofts. In contrast, Death's Hand still has many of its original members are still alive. Being high grade initiates, it is hardly surprising that these individuals survived. The groups dynamics have evolved into a complicated hierarchy based on a combination of seniority, initiation grade, and experience. The hand maintains both mundane and non-initiated members, but only initiates are assigned missions. The mundane are used primarily as support personnel and the non-initiates are considered apprentices. The Hand demands a larger fee than the CyberNinja because of both the Hand's prestige and it's higher success rate. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click here to return to the index.