Black Pyramid

Black Pyramid's logo

Black Pyramid is a Splinter Cell Unit operating within The Trilliant Ring. It is run by the Founder Lulu Melune, although she only delegates major missions she wants done. Otherwise, typical operations are left in the hands of Joaquin Risha, a prominent member of Trilliant Ring's Upper Echelon.

## Origins

Started by Founder Lulu Melune, Black Pyramid started as "The Pyramid", a small group dedicated to spying on other Founders of The Trilliant Ring. Then, approximately a century ago, Melune came across a young man, attempting to escape Ergus in a half destroyed spaceship, along with a group of Erganites. Founder Melune forcibly recruited the young man, then going by the name of Vladislav Brankovich, who would later become the Upper Echelon member Joaquin Risha, Chief of Trilliant Ring's Cyberware Division.

Upon merging with the remnants of Risha's Blank Slate organization, the Black Slate, Black Pyramid formed, and with it came a change of responsibility. No longer just a spy organization, Black Pyramid became the personal assassins, spies, and overall force of change - or preservation - headed by Founder Lulu Melune.

## Mission

Black Pyramid's mission is simple in concept, yet difficult in reality. Black Pyramid is designed to keep Founder Melune up to date on all of her fellow Founders' activities, as well as enforce her will upon the world. Typically, this takes the form of hacking, assassinating, and generally removing anything that stands in the way of Melune's vision.

As such, Black Pyramid employs a plethora of individuals within Trilliant Ring, from many different departments. Most individuals are Functionaries, some of their usefulness coming from their ability to be face-less for some of the members of the Upper and Lower Echelons of Trilliant Ring, while others - typically commanders of squads - are Lower Echelon to allow for a greater freedom of movement, while the very top are made of Upper Echelon, to allow for the assignment of teams.

## Wipe Protocol: Alliance

Following the abuse of Flash Protocol, a back-up using a "clone" of Joaquin created via shapesmithing and Identity Submersion Triggers made to give Joaquin deniability and an alibi, by Lulu Melune to attempt to meddle in Joaquin's personal life by separating him from Ako Araújo, a friend, Joaquin contacted his largest rival/enemy: Adjudicator Não Nassir. Following a meeting at Haven 7 in Mona on the newly-renamed Marquise, the pair came to a deal: the dissolving of Black Pyramid, turning over of its assets, and the retirement of Joaquin from his participation in any clandestine organization in the future for the assassination of the Founder Lulu Melune as well as the freedom of Joaquin and several select individuals.

Shortly after, the assassination went off without a hitch, due to Joaquin having personally looked over the creation and implementation of the Melune Estate's security and having inserted himself into the system for his inevitable betrayal. Following the assassination, the Nassir and Joaquin had another meeting at Haven 7 for Joaquin to complete his part of the deal. Thousands of mission files from approximately 100 years of operations and 475 of the 500 or so operatives names and base of operations were turned over to Nassir.

Shortly after this occurred, Joaquin collected several of his remaining operatives to complete one final mission at the request of Ako Araújo: Find an Administrator Ruan of Hong Lu, and bring her to the Lodestone.

## Rumours

The idea that splinter cells exist within The Trilliant Ring is hardly foreign or strange, however one that is controlled by a singular elder is less talked about. Nevertheless, there is talk of Black Pyramid, not in name, but in concept. While Black Pyramid has never been discovered, there have been close calls, where people disappeared one day and then, depending on their ranking, appear out of nowhere with little-to-no memory of what happened while they had been disappeared.