| Birth | January 3rd, 2635 |
| Home | Thanatos IV |
| Position | Shōgun |
| Creator | Spiketickett (User) |
Jackson ‘Jack’ Jensen, known as the Shōgun to the ranks of Tavish Augmetitech, is the current right-hand-man of Leena Tuonen. Born on the planet Thanatos IV, he was positioned by his parents- both working for Tavish- to succeed them as an accountant. But this was not meant to be, and instead years of suffering hardened him into a trained killer for the corporation’s interests.
Being the first Ringleader from outside the the primary timeline, he revealed to them the potential for there to be other, much different universes to both study and protect. At the same time, he became acquainted with Lumina Valo, who began to work for Tavish and with Jack after she was apprehended by Leena in a sting operation. This partnership eventually lead to her introduction to the Ringleaders as she was tasked to covertly keep an eye on him when he went to meet them for the second time.
Biography
Origins
Jackson Jensen was born January 3rd, 2635 on Thanatos IV to two Tavish Augmetitech employees. Growing up, he was placed in Tavish’s own complimentary educational programs rather than going to a typical school. This was meant to place him down the path to work in a similar line of work. His education focused almost exclusively on STEM topics, with special attention paid to science and math. It was believed this would make the most productive workers for the Tavish corporation- however, in Jackson’s case, it was a failure.
He retained what he learned quite well, of course, but failed to apply it when it came time for his internship as an accountant. His work performance languished as he failed to meet deadlines, struggled in making it to work on time, and required assistance from his coworkers. These, together with a ‘poor attitude’, fueled his superiors’ resentment for him- and his family ties were all that saved him from being sacked. And so, this state of affairs continued for a while until his supervisors had enough.
As they could not go through typical channels to handle this, they decided an example needed to be made out of Jensen. If he could not offer anything to the company as an accountant, then he would instead offer his life as a lab rat. At first, this was just played off as pranks around the office. But rapidly, it would become more of a hazing ritual intended to humiliate him. All of this culminated into one final “prank” that would permanently alter Jack’s life.
On June 5th, 2654, an unidentified Tavish employee slipped an experimental cocktail of psychoactive chemicals into Jackson’s morning coffee. An hour later, as he was shuffling papers around on his desk, the drugs struck him like a freight train. His hands trembled as his heart throbbed out of his chest, beating from his head to his toes. Spiders crawled from below his worksheets, their silhouettes throbbing in time with his heart. He heard his coworkers wail out strings of unintelligible words, and he ran to their cubicles, only to realize they were all empty.
Looking out the window, Jackson saw Cal Seaamm in the reflection behind him, his spindly, bony figure watching from afar. Jack turned to search for the figure, but only dead air surrounded his gaze. He returned to the window, but the environment was blanketed in shadow when it had just been… morning? Noon? Sunset? All sense of time melted away as he continued to stare. The walls began to shift and close in on him, and the ceiling lights went out wherever he walked.
Finally, a door exposed itself in Jack’s view- an exit from the cubicle farm. The walls began to melt away, giving way to the outdoors. The amethyst foliage was standard fare for Thanatos, of course, but it was shifting, shambling towards Jack. He took off running, the many shadowy spiders from before following close behind. The spiders crawled on one another, their silhouettes melding together, forming again into the gaunt Cal Seaamm. He gave chase to Jackson, his bones clacking with each step.
Time continued to speed by, hours turning to mere minutes. Clouds flew by overhead and the sun set over the mountains once again already. Stumbling, trembling, throbbing, Jack found a running Tavish aerodyne- and jammed both arms into its turbofan, intending to crawl further in to escape from his skeletal assailant. A jet of crimson sprayed from the fan and he collapsed rearward. He had believed this would set him free from this 72-hour hell. But unbeknownst to him, this would only push him deeper into a new one.
Air-Conditioned Nightmare
Found steeped in a pool of his own blood, paramedics arrived on site and dragged his limp figure back indoors to the onsite Tavish infirmary. Measures were taken to ensure he would survive the ordeal- vitals stabilized, tourniquets applied to his injuries, and finally, the loathsome cocktail flushed from his system. Once these steps were taken, he was rushed into the operating room to preserve whatever he had left of his limbs.
During the surgery, only his shoulders and upper arms could be spared. The elbows were mangled beyond recognition, and everything below was left outside as a puddle. His wounds were sewn together and rigid casts were placed on the stumps. All of this effort was for naught, though. Despite the vast strides made in medicine within the last six centuries, nothing could undo the damage done to Jensen’s psyche.
Instead, as staff discharged his comatose body from the intensive care unit, his gurney was rolled through the labyrinthine corridors. Not to the exit, but rather deeper within the hospital. The oddly-dressed staff began to rush Jack towards the rear of the building, where a thickly fortified freight elevator was planted within the wall. As the staff approached, a bulky autocannon extended from the ceiling. The most unique man in the group, one with a clear braincase and long, mechanized limbs, flashed his badge upward at the gun’s sensors. It seemed to nod, then retreated into its alcove.
An infernal odor permeated the air as the dense gates parted. The men continued their course into the lift. As they stepped in, all in attendance sat and removed their suit jackets, revealing their reinforced spines. Each of them took a cable and coupled themselves with their chairs. The gates slammed shut and a klaxon blared overhead. As the men’s identities were verified, a deep, garbled spoke over the intercom. “Welcome, Director Schafer. Going down.”
The lift shuddered as it began its descent, lights along the walls passing overhead. One of the men stood to check on Jackson; his dormant body laying peacefully in the gurney. The rest of them rose as the lift’s journey came to a close, pulling out their cables and preparing themselves to roll Jack to his new home. As they wheeled him down the hall, they passed halls lined with locked freezers from floor to ceiling.
Dozens and dozens of these continued down the hall, each engraved with a name. Jack’s fate was not to join them. Not yet, at least. They continued rolling, until they reached a room freshly labeled “JACKSON JENSEN” and turned him into there. Lifting him out of the gurney, the men transferred him to a new bed suitable for treating his comatose state. All but Director Schafer stepped out of the room, leaving him alone with Jackson.
”Maybe you’ll be the one to survive this… Then we’ll be closer to understanding the secrets of Ousia and Pneuma, just like Leena told us to all those years ago.” Jackson’s body twitched in response despite his dormant state. And with that, the Director followed his subordinates out of the room. For the first time since he was interned in the ICU, Jack was truly alone. Monitors beeped softly as he lay peacefully for some time.
A few hours passed. Three of the staff entered, rapidly attaching devices to Jack’s body. Magnetic neuromodulation leads were hooked to his scalp, a PICC line was inserted through his arm and passed through his veins, and he was placed on a mechanical ventilator. However, this point was where “procedure” ended and “experiment” began. His employee file was combed through, gathering material for psychotronic attacks for which to release on his psyche.
It started with subliminal messages played over the room’s speakers, cooing inaudible affirmations into Jack’s ears. Next, doses of psychoactive drugs were mainlined directly into his bloodstream along with the typical saline and TPN nutrient slurry. Then, electrodes were placed across the surface of Jack’s entire body, intended to stimulate nerves through his skin. The purpose of these was twofold- his muscles’ deterioration would be reduced, and he would suffer indescribable pain.
All of this combined was intended to open his mind and body to suggestion, following documentation that was up to 650 years old- some of which was produced by the American CIA’s MKULTRA and STARGATE programs. Their procedure obviously had some differences- their goals were different as they now understood the mechanisms which caused the radical changes in human physiology. The suffering these researchers inflicted would signal every cell in his body to awaken things once thought vestigial.