Spycraft 20: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
The modern world has witnessed the passing of many aging foes, slipping away with the dawn of the millennium. Communist Russia is gone and the Cold War is over. Equality has replaced apartheid and Europe is poised to enter an unprecedented age of community. But new threats have replaced the old. Ancient hatred fuels violence in Yugoslavia. Religious tension in the Middle East is flaring up. The grim specter of terrorism looms over even the most powerful nations of the world.
The Agency saw all of these things coming, and prepared for them. They prevented countless disasters throughout the 1990’s, staving off social unrest, political upheaval, and coordinated terrorist attacks, but they could never have envisioned the storm brewing in their own backyard. In 1991, as the Agency celebrated the fall of the Iron Curtain and Russia’s freedom from the Communist yoke, they found themselves at the mercy of an enemy organization which had consolidated many smaller operations into an operation that rivaled the Agency. Due to the machinations of this rival organization, the U.S. government decided that the Agency was no longer a necessary organization, and withdrew all support, effectively disbanding them. In an effort to protect the world from itself, the Agency sought new funding, but it took several years for their financial backing to stabilize. By that time, their enemies had long-since gathered the necessary resources for a protracted secret war, but it was not until January 2005 that they revealed themselves fully, shipping home four Agency agents in pieces.
Since that time, the Agency has run numerous operations against those enemies, a task which has consumed their every available moment. The effort has stolen time from countless smaller projects deserving of the Agency's attention, including many minor problems festering around the world, and still another problem among their own ranks. In March, 2005, without warning, a large portion of the Agency’s field agents, all members of a department called Special Ops, broke away, forming their own rival agency. The reasons for the their secession are as yet unknown, as are their true goals as an independent rival agency. The Agency is reasonably certain, however, that they do not intend to expose its continued existence to the world. Beyond that, the deserters have no compunction about fighting and even killing their former allies, and have even left behind some nasty surprises for the Agency's agents, from sabotaged gadgets to disloyal agents and specialists. The Agency has burned its bridges, destroying all of their bases of operations, and establishing new, more secret locations. All of the Agency’s outside contacts remain suspect, as they may be working with the Special Ops division. It is a critical time at the Agency, where trust in one’s companions is scarce, and paranoia is the norm.
These things are complicated by the fact that the Agency is a rogue operation on U.S. soil. Not only must they be alert for enemy activity, they also try to monitor the various intelligence agencies as well. Carrying out operations while avoiding the notice of the CIA, the NSA, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and Naval Intelligence can be a daunting task.
Thus, the Agency has entered a dangerous new era, where friends have become enemies and shades of gray dominate the espionage arena. Now, they must save the world not only from itself, but also from enemies of their own creation.
***************************************After a lengthy reorganization, the Agency's agents were split into teams. One team quickly distinguished itself from the others, with one successful mission after another. As an inside joke, this team was renamed “Salvation”. Unfortunately, Salvation was too good. The enemy painted a target on them that was too good to ignore. The circumstances of their deaths is yet unknown, but the few pieces that were recovered and DNA tested were proof positive: Salvation was no more.
Salvation’s control was an innocent-looking young girl, perhaps not more than 20 years old. She alone survived the purge, as per operational procedures she was not involved in the actual operation except by communications. Perhaps there are many among the enemy who thought her no threat, but they would be wrong. Looks can be deceiving, and in Control’s case, the magnitude of that understatement cannot even be expressed in words.
Control, codename “Angel”, has been tasked to create a new “Salvation”, and to that end has been reviewing the actions and service records of every agent. In the end, seven agents made it through her screening process. Now, the real test begins…
