The Ascendancy

The Ascendancy (Turkish: Yükseliş), also known as The Ascendants (Turkish: Yükselenler) formerly referred to a syndicate of Turkish right-wing politicians and Turkish ex-military officers, reformed ex-criminal gangsters turned vigilantes, ex-law enforcement and former intelligence agents who believe that the Turkish government has been overcome with corruption and must be reformed through violence. Initially, they were created with the intention of purging the government of injustice. 
This changed around 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the organization saw an abrupt and stunning increase in recruits from across the world, many of them expressing their beliefs that the way their respective countries of origins' governments handled the pandemic was proof of internal government corruption on a worldwide scale. This happened again in 2022, when scores of Iranians abruptly began joining and pledging their allegiance to The Ascendancy following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. 
As of 2022, they have changed their mandate to fighting injustice worldwide.
== History ==
=== Creation and early accomplishments ===
According to Mehmet Ozberk, the origins of the Ascendancy can be traced back to the Cold War, when he led a splinter group of Turkish intelligence operatives, and rogue Soviet spies who grew disillusioned with the Soviet Union and sought to destroy it by any means necessary, which he called Red Rock (Turkish: Kızıl kaya). Ozberk asserts that the basic idea behind the Ascendancy was born from Red Rock. Red Rock recruited Soviet defectors, renegade intelligence officers and soldiers from Warsaw Pact countries, essentially creating a precedent and a "prototype" of sorts for the Ascendancy for years to come. 
However, The Ascendancy as the world knows it today was formed during a violent coup against a Turkish mob family, securing its mineral wealth and cementing itself as a major power in Europe by 2016.
Following their rise to power, the Ascendancy embarked on a bloody war against rival mafia members in a bid to purge Turkey of any potential enemies that could threaten its new status as a powerful syndicate, which came to be known as the Istanbul Campaign. 
Following this, Mehmet Ozberk, who replaced Nihat as head of the Ascendancy after the latter died of natural causes, set his sights on the Turkish government, claiming that the Turkish government under the current Turkish president was corrupt and needed to be purged. From 2016 to 2020, the organization would see many various rogue military and intelligence personnel, as well as several prominent members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Turkish Judicial System, and even Turkish law enforcement officers join its ranks; Mehmet Ozberk, head of Turkish National Intelligence at the time, even recruited disgruntled agents within the organization into the Ascendancy, considerably increasing its capabilities as an organized syndicate. 
Thus was the start of what Ozberk called the "Great Purge", during which they assassinated various politicians they perceived to be "corrupted beyond redemption", ultimately culminating in a bloody coup d'etat against the Turkish President and his entire administration, codenamed Iron Fish.
=== From local faction to global syndicate ===
In 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ascendancy saw a massive influx of new members, oddly from outside of Turkey, This influx came from nations that bordered it, like Greece, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Syria and even Iran. However, the murder of George Floyd later that same month later prompted people in the United States of America to sympathize with and join the Ascendancy. 
The Ascendancy would not see another influx in foreign recruits overseas until 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iranian police custody, and masses of people in Iran expressed anger and outrage through protests and rioting against the theocratic Iranian government. 
This prompted the leadership of the Ascendancy to change their mission from a purely local crusade against corruption to an international one against injustice across the globe.
== Ideology ==
The Ascendancy's primary motive is publicly portrayed as an organization fighting for the globally impoverished and downtrodden. Opposing economic inequality also appears to be a political motive.
Interestingly, they also vehemently oppose eugenics, believing the eugenics movement to be solely responsible for various perceived social woes like economic inequality and various tragedies throughout human history that resulted in immense loss of life like the Jewish Holocaust by the Nazis, the rising acceptance and popularity of veganism, the Japanese invasion of China during the 1930s, the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, the legalization of abortion in America in 1973 through Roe v. Wade, the legalization of American slavery, the legalization of LGBTQ+ marriages and protection of LGBTQ+ rights, etc.
They believe abortion is an attack on life itself and is so horrible that the only justifiable punishment for it is the death penalty.
They are self-proclaimed "abortion abolitionists", though they reject the usual "Christian Nationalist" association they're usually given. They believe that the only other solution, besides incrementalism, other than opposing pro-life laws, is launching violent attacks on abortion facilities across the globe. They also aim to destroy Planned Parenthood.
== Subdivisions ==
=== Red Legion ===
Main article: Red Legion
The Red Legion is considered to be one of The Ascendancy's "wetwork" units. This organization recruits primarily from the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, though they are known to recruit outsiders from outside Turkey in the name of plausible deniability. Americans Ralph Rager and his sister Jordyn were the first such foreign assets to this group. 
=== Red Wolf ===
Red Wolf (Turkish: Lırmızı Kurt) is considered to be another wetwork unit for The Ascendancy. This organization became the successor to the Cold War-era organization founded by Mehmet Ozberk, codenamed Red Rock. This organization recruits from all walks of life, evidenced by the fact that its members comprise mostly of rogue military officers, intelligence officers, and law enforcement officers, but they also have student activists in their ranks as well. To maintain plausible deniability, this organization maintains a cover story as a social activist movement. 
=== Devil's Breed ===
Devil's Breed is the name given to The Ascendancy's cyber-warfare branch. They are known for wearing multicam black-colored variations of standard Ascendancy gear. This branch also contains and recruits UCAV operators.
== Weapons and equipment ==
Initially, members of the Ascendancy were very well equipped for an unofficial military entity, having been supplied by both Western and Eastern countries. In terms of weapons, the Ascendancy initially possessed a mixture of Soviet-era hardware and some examples of NATO weaponry (predominantly German weapons produced by Heckler & Koch). However, as they grew into a large nationwide syndicate, their arsenal became much more diverse, ranging from assault rifles, machine-guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers.
In 2022, members of the Ascendancy were seen wearing highly advanced body armor and tactical clothing that seemed years ahead of the time. Notably, they began to wear capes and longcoats in combat, as well as metal or thermoplastic polymer face masks, 3M Peltor Comtac headsets, nylon and plastic polymer tactical gloves, military grade nylon ammo pouches, pants and military gaiters, and military grade nylon boots, in addition to all-black battle dress uniforms and balaclavas. They also began to use NATO weapons such as the M4A1 Carbine (USA), M4 Carbine (USA), AK-74M (Russia), IMI Tavor (Israel), etc.
=== Small arms ===
* AEK-971
* AK-74M
* G3A3
* KH2002 (Captured)
* UMP-45
* MP7
* PKP Pecheneg
* RPK-74M
* AKS-74U
* SVD
* M98B
* Saiga 12K
* 870MCS
* Benelli M4 
* M9A1
* G17C
=== Explosives ===
* M67 Hand Grenade
* Incendiary Grenade
* Semtex
=== Melee weapons ===
* Karambit
* Machete
* Axe
* Hatchet
* Combat knife
* Tomahawk
=== Equipment ===
* Interactive Wrist Mounted Display (I.W.M.D)
== Operational statuses ==
The Ascendancy uses unique code-phrases for operational statuses of its operatives. A breakdown of these operational code-phrases and their meanings follows below.
* Disavowed (Reddedildi): Agents are marked disavowed after Protocol 66 is invoked. This status prohibits any and all agents and their associates from operating in sanctioned operations. In the words of foreign asset Ralph Rager, "We're shut down."
* Excommunicated (Aforoz): This status means that an agent has committed treason or has gone rogue and is effectively an enemy of The Ascendancy. Agents marked Aforoz are to be terminated with extreme prejudice.
== Known members ==
* Nihat Aydin/The Ascendant (Deceased)
*Mehmet Ozberk/Kingpin 
* Bahar Zeybek/Half Tooth
* Maya Hussein/Red Orca
* Sera Onan/Fatmagul Agca
* Isin Ahmad/Bathsheba
* Fahir Aldemir/Sand Camel
*Dag Erem/Gold Locust
* Kadir Dikmen/Blue Fin
* Klaudia Sozen/ Venus
* Ilgin Pamuk/Empress
*Ralph Rager/Pit Viper
*Jordyn Rager/Broken Butterfly
Category:Factions