Chapter 4: Hands of Fate

The role-play known as Rise 4: Hands of Fate was a new addition to the main series with a whole new cast of characters which begins the next chapter of Rise several years after the events of the previous.
=Cast=
==Ray's Team==
Erif'Nevar Huntrillae- Mercenary Gaalgaeret who escaped his homeworld after destroying his own tribe, he relishes the hunt. He is a powerful warrior with a focus on violence and destruction than other subtle skills. He would be ambushed and killed by the Terra's Amazons upon the initial outbreak of violence on Oasis.
Damien Rogers- A famous actor due to his use of the drug known as Star Dust, he shifts between the Crimson Ranger Kamen who is called Luke Hanson and himself. Eventually, he would become himself once more after a near-death scenario and be reunited with his wife, Andrea. Once the mission was completed, the two leave to become an intergalactic crime-fighting duo that many organizations fear.
Erin Whitehorse- Niece of Clyde McConnelly who she searches for due to his lack of communication with the rest of his family. A skilled martial artist and a superb athlete, though lacking in skills when in comes to fire-arms.
Ghost Rider 'Prime'- The relatively silent and distant leader of the PMC Red Rider Private Army who is capable of recloning himself should he die, though lacks the memory of his previous self if he did not 'save'. Near the end, his DNA in the cloning machine begins to deteriorate leading to bodies that are less capable than the previous. He also learns he is a clone of Wraith who has hunted down every other clone except for himself.
Florence O'Malley- Former maid who is seemingly cheerful. She would eventually leave the team by the end decide to join Masquerade's group after learning her mech was actually sentient and believes it to be a threat. 
Jhareed - A Jawhen who is a powerful psychic, if incredibly distant, physically weak, mentally unstable and anti-social. Suffering mental trauma from past events, he finds himself warring with the voice of a Mi-Go while maintaining both a mental and physical link with his organic-like machine, Bloodlust due to experiments performed on him. 
Kayla Eyre- Test-tube human who escaped the process of becoming a super-soldier. Sniper and expert pilot who suffers from a personality disorder between a cheerful, optimistic girl and a cold, sadistic soldier. The personalities slowly begin to get along better and bicker less as they have more contact with other members of the team.
Lilith Haruka Keyes- Daughter of Autumn and Abraham Keyes. She searches for the origins of her father who she never met. An expert with explosives and technology, she constantly puts herself at risk of brain damage due to a special system known as WTF.
Lucas Hawthorne - Medical expert with distrust for other sentient species who has a knack for drinking and getting in bed with others. By the end, he would be reunited with his sister on Oasis, though her condition begins to deteriorate shortly after. 
Owyn Zander - A religious Christian woman who believes in aiding others and being kind and generous, even if they oppose her or her religion. Shrouded with mystery, she is somehow able to regenerate through unknown means. She would later disappear from the team during the mission on Vegas.
Pierre- A Lykofian assassin who is exceptional at maintaining the appearance of a gentleman even in the worst of times. He tends to be quiet and distant from the affairs of others unless approached. He would later be assassinated by Masquerade while he was unconscious during his recovery from a head injury suffered on Vegas.
The Machine/Mack - Sentient mech who tied himself to Florence when she purchased him. Past experience has made him extremely fearful of revealing his true nature to sentient organics which only begins to break away when the Neo-Hydras threaten Florence and the rest of the team.
Margaret Erachin- Rebellious daughter of Axel Erachin with many of the similar skills such as gun slinging. She designated as the team's tactical leader, though lacks experience and loyalty of the team. She is somehow important in the grand scheme between Ray and Masquerade due to a strange vision.
Padraic Flanigan- A inventor responsible for Cryos, a system which can create and shatter ice with a flick of the switch. He generally keeps to himself due to his past which saw him responsible for the death of a world's population despite also wanting to die. Near the end his mindset become more focused, unbound from his past.
Raikegi Izanagi- Skilled swordsman who had trained under the Achean known as Achilles. He later becomes close to Margaret Erachin.
Sabishii Okaasan- Leader of the Lost Children PMC and a veteran of war. She acts as a mother figure for some and tends to advise on combat situations given her experience. She asks Ray and Axel Erachin for additional payment when she discovers the mission will continue which may need the aid of her Lost Children.
Shizuru Yukimura- A woman who acted as an assassin for a powerful crime family prior to being revived, resulting in her body being comparable to a deteriorating corpse, though her mind was still intact. Blunt and rarely apologetic reinforced by her condition and disownment by her grand-father upon the experiment's failure. Killed by Masquerade during his retrieval of Ulysses.
Vash'Ta Taker- A curious, yet loyal female Dreath explorer and mechanic who has a knack for remaining unseen. She is, however, naïve and places considerable amount on her specie's abilities. She would be one of the first casualties on Vegas after being drugged and then later shot by Roxanne when the assassin fails to appear.
==Important Characters== 
Ray Shishigami- Once the Empire's top assassin, he now hunts down Masquerade and his Hands of Fate. Distant from his team, yet calculating, he treats the current hunt as a sort of game, keeping his true motives on the need to bring down the Hands of Fate to himself. 
Roxanne Valentine- Initial target of the Hands of Fate. Valentine, despite her origins as a call girl, is the ruthless, de facto leader of Vegas. She has little care in understanding the full situation of things, preferring to get rid of problems that come about should they arise due to the nature of Vegas' underworld. Later killed by Padriac after a combined effort by Ray's team to subdue her mech.
Wraith- A member of the Hands of Fate, Wraith had been part of the initial expedition to Mjolnir, eventually replacing much of his body with cybernetics and the skulls of his clones which he hunts down.
 
==Plot Summary==
Set in the future around 120AF, Ray Shishigami leads a team of hired mercenaries to hunt down the shape-shifting mutation time-traveler known as Masquerade who is in control of the organization known as the Hands of Fate. His search grabs characters from all walks of life –thieves, veteran soldiers, movie actors– yet each is best in their own specific field of expertise despite the many flaws each posses.
Within a few hours of assembling onboard the Hamlet, Ray's mobile base of operations, the team is assigned to secretly oversee Roxanne Valentine during the Gonair Destruction Festival. Due to the woman's power who is currently the de-facto leader of Vegas, a world where power struggles are common, her appearance presents an opportunity for the Hands of Fate to appear and in turn, a chance to take one of their members captive.
Upon arriving on Vegas, the team splits into smaller groups, each trying to find a way to either meet or protect Roxanne before the announcement so that they may engage the Hands of Fate when they appear. The threats Masquerade sent to Roxanne were all done under the guise of Ray, compromising the team and leading to the death of Vash. The assassin, Wrath, already engaged with part of the team soon has reinforcements in the form of rabbit-like HMVs called in by Nathan Erachin, Margaret's brother, now a member of the Hands of Fate.
The Hands of Fate soon disappear, but Roxanne personally takes the battle to Ray's team in the massive Dominatrix. After a failed assault, the group reorganizes and manages to keep Roxanne distracted long enough for Padriac to freeze her entire mech before shattering the colossus. With the mission seen as a failure, the group falls back with a new ally, Laertes, a sentient HMV. However, under the guise of Logan Blackfang, Masquerade manages to infiltrate the team's ship.
The Hamlet is soon intercepted by the Paladin's mobile base, the Diety, however, Ray is able to diffuse the situation by offering to the leader, Achilles, a prisoner known as Ulysses.
As the crew discuss various issues with each other, Masquerade sets his plan in motion, infiltrating the security network of the Diety granting Nathan Erachin control while picking off various members of the crew. He soon releases Ulysses and with that, the Black Knights launch their attack on the vessel. Ulysses escapes after severely wounding Achilles, though Masquerade is captured leading to the team heading to the Confederate capital of Oasis.
Within the capital, the Hydra League's leader, Terra McConnolly places Guildenstern on a public trial, seeking to rally support to destroy the Immortals, the sentient machines released decades ago. To worsen matters, Masquerade soon escapes with the aid of Wrath and enters where the trial is taking place. He reveals that Commander Allan Fury would return and destroy everything with the aid of the Immortals. Soon afterwards, he places his support behind Terra leading to a fight between Confederate troops and Neo-Hydras. 
The initial battle sees a hostage situation erupt as members on the Confederate side within the trial area are taken prisoner and slowly executed. The battle soon turns against the Neo-Hydras as the conflict spreads leading to a withdrawal from the planet. However, the Hydras manage to escape with Guildenstern and proceed to head to the world of Automation.
One of the people captured by the Confederates is Axel's son, Nathan who is executed soon afterwards. Soon issues on how to reach Automation before the Neo-Hydras leading to the recruitment of Aerion Freeman to help navigate the area known as Pirate's Bay. 
The end leaves the team preparing for their next mission where the world of Automation awaits.
Category:Events