Sigma Blue

The European Union's Europol and the international organization Interpol were once international powers that pursued the worst criminals in the world, the child brokers, sex slave merchants, international drug cartels, weapons runners, serial murderers who crossed international borders, and other criminals who have made a large enough impact to warrant international attention. As the Resource Wars raged, the role of Interpol and organizations like it were deeply undermined. Crime became rampant as more and more resources were funneled away from domestic purposes to keep massive militaries functioning. Then, the lights slowly went out, and the global community crashed.

A cadre of Interpol, Europol and American intelligence officials saw that in the fading light of the Global World that crime was going to go through the roof. And they were right. Fuel smugglers ran like Prohibition gangsters while the drug cartels maintained their operations by supporting barter systems and running non-traditional transportation systems. While the vastly weakened nations struggled to convert their infrastructures to non-petroleum power systems, the drug runners and fuel pirates were employing horses, mules, sailing ships and vast numbers of stolen solar panels. Nearly a generation after the end of the Global Era, the fuel cartel known as Armas was as powerful as any middle sized European nation, fielding it's own private army and controlling a large swath of southern France and the French Riviera.

The remnants joined together and reforged themselves as the Sigma Task Force. The task force sent emissaries to several of the stronger remaining European nations and were recognized as an extranational anti-crime organization. The Task Force started Operation Blue that sent more than two thirds of the Sigma resources into France to undercut Armas. Lacking international tribunals or a generally accepted codex of laws to prosecute war criminals under, the Sigma teams took a pragmatic approach. More than half of the Armas leaders that were targeted were assassinated. Those that survived were frightened into keeping their heads down. By the end of the year, Armas broke up as a major power and splintered into seven regional organizations.

By the time the first arc reactors powered up and the cities were relit by cheap abundant power the Sigma Task Force was so strongly associated with hunting international criminals and dealing with them by force that the organization received funding, and support from many nations. The organization was better known as Sigma Blue, and in the modern age has jurisdiction in the western provinces of the Eurasian Alliance, the entirety of the Atlantic Federation, the Kingdoms of Scandinavia and remains of the Middle East. In other parts of the world, Sigma Blue is allowed to operate, but they are not given autonomous permission and instead have to work with local and regional law and intelligence agencies.

Sigma Blue

Sigma Blue is an internation crime fighting force that has eschewed the legalese and years long criminal and civil court cases in favor of dispencing vicious and violent justice. Criminals and leaders targeted by Sigma Blue are vigorously investigated before a Sigma agent or rarely, team, is sent to deal with them. This is because there isn't usually a follow up investigation on a Sigma operation. Criminals have to be of a certain calibre and prominence to attract Sigma attention and a corrupt politician must be a major problem, not just lining his own pockets with stolen money. The politician has to be hip deep in crime, and be involved in international circles, supplying gun smugglers, support human trafficking and the like.

In the Cosmic Era, Sigma Blue has increased the scope of it's operations. With the discovery of parapsychic and parakinetic abilities it was found that there was almost no police agency that could handle the practitioners of true superhuman ability. Sigma Blue had been very quietly deploying parapsychics and parakinetics for several decades and were uniquely equipped and trained to deal with rogue superhumans and criminal warlords who invariably had the resources to keep bodyguards of power armor troopers and have their own power armor suits. Sigma Blue is also involved with hunting down and eliminating rogue and criminal P-Psis and PKs.

The Current leader of Sigma Blue is Dr. Charles F. Burke, a soft spoken Intelligence officer and doctor of parapsychic studies. He is a well groomed man, in his late fifties and is distinguished by his neatly trimmed mustache and adhearance to social manners. Doctor Burke was a pioneer in parakinetic studies, using the recently discovered and codified 'Satsui no Hado' school of martial arts to better understand how parakinetic abilites function. His work was adapted into the Sigma Parakinetics school of martial arts training to quickly teach Sigma Blue agents how to harness incredible physical abilites so that they were not dependent on carrying cumbersome or diplomatically difficult weapons into foreign countries. Burke is a consumate politician, blending New England rustic charm with French 'laissez faire' as a facade to hide his sharp scientific eye and keen mental insight. Dr. Burke is a trained empath and can read minds, which he rarely does. 'You have no idea how dull people are until you can actually read their minds'

Agents of Sigma Blue

Sigma Blue is an elite organization, accepting only the best of the best into it's ranks. There isn't a gender bias, and there are many Sigma Blue women. The majority of solo operatives are women as the rest of the world is still willing to consider women to be the weaker sex when parakinetic training can allow even the most waifish girl to crumple a car with her bare hands or shatter a piece of armor plate with a focused kick.

Solo Agents:

Solo Agents are well trained and often work undercover, assuming an alternate persona before infiltraiting an organization to take it down from the inside. Roughly 60% of solo agents are female and are trained in parakinetic martial arts as well as mundane weapons, diplomacy, acting, and a plethora of other skills and abilities.

Special Agent Camilla le'Blanc: le'Blanc is a half French half British woman of strong anglo appearance, with blonde hair and the body of a gymnast. She trained with the local French Special Forces and latter was recommended to the Diplomatic Corps where she was a bodyguard to several French ambassadors and emissaries. She attracted the attention of Dr. Burke and was promoted to Sigma Blue. She excelled in parakinetic training and explored her own 'cannon' style that places emphasis on devastating focus attacks that end fights with one kick or knee strike. Her self titled 'cannon drill' flying kick has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to disable medium power armor, or completely incapacitate light armors, and unarmored vehicles.

Agent Tiffany Cook: Cook is a Republic of Texas girl who was raised in the often violent frontier region where she abandoned the idea of raising a normal familiy after cartel border raiders attacked the Cook family ranch and killed her brother and her boyfriend in a violent shoot out. Cook is a naturally erupted parakinetic and was trained by the Republic of Texas Special Rangers. She applied for Sigma Blue after the men who repeatedly attacked her home state were able to so easily slip across the border and avoid pursuit by authorities. She spent several years in training, and emerged as an excellent agent, capable of moving faster than expected and able to easily take on three professionally trained combatants at the same time. She hasn't made Special Agent yet, but her vendetta and motives are known to the agency and are considered something that needs to be dealt with before she can be promoted.

Major William G. Able: Able started his military career as a pilot in the Federation Air Corps and then moved to Air Corps Security where he was trained in a variation of Dr. Burke's PK training regimin. Able demonstrated the ability to manipulate air and sonic energy and to turn them into modes of attacking and blocking. Able isn't a subtle man or a subtle fighter, his most powerful PK ability is to create a sonic boom by manipulating the air around him. This can cause deafness, knock people down like a grenade explosion and he can project the sonic ability as far as 100 yards from him. Able tends to work as a visible member of Sigma Blue in tandem with local agencies, using his intimidating physique and natural flair for leadership to it's full effect.

Sigma Blue Teams

Sigma Blue seldom uses teams, often a solo agent working inside a criminal enterprise or liaising with local intelligence and law agencies is able to handle most operations. Teams are deployed in investigative roles, or to work with a larger organization in a supporting role. The Republic of Texas has two full time Sigma Blue teams working with it fighting the drug and tech cartels that have flourished in the unregulated and lawless deserts of the southwest and nothern Mexico. There is also a full time team in Paris that works to undermine Armas. That organization remains a threat, but near the level it used to. Teams are three to six members with no more than two members being PK field agents. Other members include parapsychics specializing in remote viewing, mind reading and emotional manipulation and mundane agents specialized in technological surveillance or whatever special skill might be needed, or useful. Teams also have revolving membership, and often serve as training for new members. The presence of 2 PK field agents is usually a mentor/student pair where the student has demonstrated their ability but need to hone their skills in actual use not just training and simulation.

Symbolism

Sigma Blue has a simple logo, the Greek letter sigma in blue. Agents in the field operating openly as Sigma Blue agents wear a blue beret with a sigma in black on the front. In the rare occasions that a dress or parade uniform is called for, they wear a uniform similar to an American Airforce uniform in a darker cerulean color with the accents picked out in darker blue. Rank is displayed with silver and gold shoulder bars and cording and any parallel rank in another organization is displayed under the Sigma Blue rank. It is not uncommon for a Sigma Blue member to retain their rank and position in a prior organization such as Federation Air Corps, Eurasian Army, Scandinavian Navy, French Intelligence Corps, Federal Security Bureau, Metropolitan Police Force, Private Security Company and a dozen other agencies that the Sigma Blue agency recruits from. This cross pollination between agencies is a sort of glue that holds the agencies in at least a position of communication and provides some friendly bases to Sigma operatives. If there is a problem in a country and there is a Sigma agent with ties or contacts (that aren't involved) in that area, that agent is going to be sent.

Resources

Sigma Blue is not a military force, they do not have tanks or gunships, naval craft or space assets. The agency does maintain a fleet of helicopters and has various rapid transit craft (electrojets, etc) that are funded by member states to facilitate quick and private transport for Sigma teams and members. Most of these are small craft and aside from the blue sigma on their tails, are indistinguishable from conventional or regular government service craft. When Sigma needs military firepower, they work with an existing military, and use their equipment. An agent working the Eurasian Alliance can expect neo-Soviet gunships, heavy power armor and super-heavy tanks, while the same op working in the Federation could reasonably expect mecha support. Agents are generally expected to be able to use the gear of the region they are working in. While a Sigma agent isn't going to be trained to command a Neo-Soviet Behemot assault tank or a Federation Wolverine mech, they will be able to field strip and service a Eurasian AK-109 assault rifle, or Federation P110 automatic rifle.

The biggest resource of Sigma Blue is it's cadre of parakinetic and parapsychic soldiers and investigators. These individuals are trained to be living breathing weapons, the absolute limit of what an unaugmented human can be. They can walk through any metal detector, bomb sniffer, or any medical evaluation and there is no way to tell that they have supernatural ability to wield para-abilities. The only way to detect a para-specialist is by observing them use a paranormal ability (of which many parakinetic abilities are not immediately obvious) or through the use of another detector/sensor ability parapsychic.

The Role of Sigma Blue

Sigma Blue has a simple role in the Cosmic Era, they are the good guys. The Cosmic era is marked by unexpected advanced in humanity, ranging from eugenic genetics, biomodifications, cybernetic modifications, parapsychics, androids, and stranger things. This combined with the presence of new powerful technologies such as personal powered combat armor, hovercraft, drones, etc means that things are harder for law enforcement agencies. In the modern age, drug cartels can fight national armies and win, armed with nothing more than black market weapons and stolen guns. In a more futuristic era they have their arsenals bolstered with looted power armor, stolen military vehicles, and their own parapsychics and in some settings and regions, sorcerers and arcane magic users (roll for sanity loss). That is a lot of firepower on the bad guys side, and while the national powers have spaceships, super tanks, and mecha, those things aren't going to be rolled out into heavily populated areas, and nothing sparks an outcry quite like military hardware being used against non-military forces, such as when US Army tanks were rolled in to take out the Waco TX Branch Davidian compound. These situations require a more surgical application of force.