Crisis Agent
From SaschaWiki
Crisis Agent is a euphemistic adopted nom for what used to be called Bionic Special Forces Soldiers or BSFs. A Crisis Agent is a cyborgised human in the employ of an institution who advances that institution's agenda through grey-legal or black-legal means, typically through covert operations such as espionage, sabotage or assassination. In the early years of the Corporate Wars period (2062-2063) Crisis Agents rose to prominence as the dominant military force on Earth (replacing the Combined Armed Force) and they remain ubiquitous today.
The only consistent definition of Crisis Agent seems to be that the agent must be based on an original human body, and that at least one metallic augmentation must be present within the body. Crisis Agents with only minimal augmentation are known to have existed, but it is assumed that augmentation rates in excess of 50% (including the relatively common Total Structure Replacement) are necessary for worthwhile tactical deployment. Complete System Replacement is fairly common in the 2070s. Rare cases of Total System Replacement have been documented. Crisis Agent was at one time sharply constrasted with so-called Android Special Forces Soldiers or ASFs, although in recent years the definitions have blurred and it is assumed that many purported Crisis Agents are in fact ASFs.
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History
The development of the BSF/Crisis Agent is intimately linked with the development of bionic human augmentation and it is often assumed the the creation of bionically enchanced soldiers was the driving goal behind the technology. The first confirmed use of BSFs was in 2022 during the Korean Purge but it is widely assumed and rumoured that BSFs were being operated by national governments (particularly the former United States) as early as 2018.
By the time of the Cold War 2, BSFs had largely replaced unaugmented special forces in most nations' militaries. The Corporations adopted widespread use of BSFs to advance their agendas during the late Cold War 2, and it is at this point that the nom Crisis Agent first appeared. Crisis Agents remained the dominant active form of military unit until the late Corporate Wars when Suit and Mech forces were seen as a cheaper alternative for many offensive actions.
Crisis Agents remain in use today by all major Corporations, mainly for their incredible flexibility, and the emphasis still placed on covert operations by Corporate security forces. Since 2066 the largest known manufacturer, controller and deployer of Crisis Agents is the Militech Crisis Command.
Capabilities
The capabilities of individual Crisis Agents can vary widely, depending on the training, augmentation and equipment they possess.
The primary capability of a Crisis Agent, before any augmentation or weapon is taken into account, is that they remain innocuous. The primary value of much bionic human augmentation is that in spite of its great cost, it provides superior capabilities with no obvious external signifier. Crisis Agents can therefore infiltrate organisations and territories without the obvious appearance of military power. This subtlety can be enhanced with a range of stealth and disguise augmentations, such as the ability to morph facial features and resize the skeleton.
Beyond appearances, typical Crisis Agents possess suprahuman strength and agility by virtue of their augmentations. The psychological profile of a Crisis Agent has almost always been altered, at least to the extent of ensuring loyalty, either by chemical means or by invasive brain surgery or replacement. Other organs (such as eyes, ears and the heart) have often been replaced, increasing sensory awareness and endurance. The use of replacement skin makes many Crisis Agents resistant to small arms fire.
Crisis Agents are almost always as heavily armed as they can be given their mission profile.
Crisis Teams
The operational unit for Crisis Agents in the field is the Crisis Team composed of four agents. Smaller teams are considered unreliable, with an unacceptably high failure risk. Larger teams are considered inefficient allocation of resources.
An individual Crisis Team does not generally operate autonomously, instead being under the close supervision of a Crisis Executive who directs the operation from a remote location.
Crisis Agent armaments
As humaniform operatives, Crisis Agents can (and often do) use the same armaments as conventional Corpsecs. The primary exception is that with the enhanced muscular power resulting from their augmentations (in particular, Total Structure Replacement), the use of Improved Combat Capacity Weapons is possible. The widely varying deployment of Crisis Agents means that they have been armed with almost every type of infantry weapon.
Typical Crisis Agent armanents include:
For more information, see small arms.
Crisis Agent bionic augmentation
While a Crisis Agent is in many ways defined by the range and scope of their augmentation, the actual implants are no different from those available to Corpsecs.
Typical Crisis Agent augmentations include:
For more information, see bionic human augmentation.
