SteemHeroes Episode 0-4: The Rebellion
The Council and the Martyrs maintained strong control over the two factions of OPS for several months, with those who wanted to use their abilities for justice aligning with The Council, while those with malicious intent sided with The Martyrs. The structure seemed to work pretty well, but it soon became apparent that those rigid organizations wasn’t going to be a perfect fit for all OPS, and a rebellion within each took place.
The Fracturing of the Martyrs
At their founding, The Martyrs seemed like the perfect organization for OPS who felt rejected by society or who wanted to leverage their abilities for personal gain. The group was welcoming to anyone who wanted to join, often by manipulating the anger, fear or greed of OPS who either came to them or who they discovered.
Once a member, it quickly became apparent that you were a cog in a machine and completely at the mercy of The Martyrs command. Cyren put on a good show when meeting new members, using her telepathy to understand their motives and telling them exactly what they wanted to hear. Once they were caught in her web, however, they became her drones.
Naturally, many OPS who joined The Martyrs felt betrayed and taken advantage of, and a rebellion started to grow. Within a few months, a revolt took place within The Martyrs compound and about half of them left the organization to form their own which they named Blackrogue.
Blackrogue was made up of far more dangerous, savage and unpredictable OPS. They were those who refused to follow strict rules and structure, though it does contain an ‘inner circle’ who serve only to use just enough structure to hold Blackrogue together and assure it’s not taken down from within by Martyrs who join to sow turmoil or leak information.
Wanting to make their presence known, Blackrogue carried out an organized terrorist attack on Olympus Square, the high-end shopping district in the city which claimed 16 lives and injured dozens more. This attack has put pressure on The Council to adjust their tactics and intel operations to hopefully prevent future tragedies like this from happening.
The Turmoil within The Council
General Hastings is a good man, though he has little tolerance for failure, ineptitude or those unwilling to follow orders. OPS who don’t meet his high standards are taken off task forces if they didn’t meet those standards. Not only does this effect their chances to advance within the organization, it kills their morale. These are people who really wanted to make a difference and use their abilities to make the world safer.
People are free to leave The Council at any time. As General Hastings has said “If you’re not willing to follow orders, there’s the door.” The standards and expectations are high and if you didn’t feel command was making the right decisions, you have to just deal with it. Many OPS working for The Council have voiced their opinions about serious threats they saw brewing, which often fell of deaf ears.
About six months after the founding of The Council, The Olympus Square Massacre was carried out by Blackrogue. Several members of The Council either sensed this tragedy was going to happen or had acquired intel about the looming threat. However, the leadership of The Council ignored these concerns. This was the last straw for many Counselors who were tired of having zero input, which saw a mass exodus from The Council and the establishment of the vigilante justice organization Nightwatch.
A Third Player
Amid the rise of the conflicts between the Council and Nightwatch -- The Martyrs and Blackrogue, one last faction rose to prominence. Known as The Ravenwood Agency, little is known about this new organization of OPS or what their motives are, though they’ve made no attempts to hide the fact that they are under the command of Gabriel York, vice president of the Zenethen Corporation.
// To be continued in episode 0-5: The Ravenwood Agency
SteemHeroes news and announcements
- The SteemHeroes announcement - Learn how SteemHeroes works and how you can get involved!
- SteemHeroes character creation template - Read the guidelines and grab the template to create your own SteemHeroes characters!
- SteemHeroes Character Recruitment Drive - We're now in full swing and accepting character submissions from any Steemians who want to participate!
The SteemHeroes Story
Prologue: