A/N: This is almost certainly a one-shot documentation story thing. Mostly done a while back, I just finished it up because I was bored and stuck in a rut of what to write for the next chapter.

"STG Master, I have the telemetry from the cell doing recovery on the Delsa operation." The junior agent's voice still had the more reedy registers of youth than the blandness of age, but was otherwise pleasant. The fact that Junior Agent Sasan was one of six females in the STG was merely a testament to her mental skill at organization.

The STG Master tapped the control on the chair. "Thank you, Sasan. Have the Executives assemble and meet me in my office in twenty minutes. Additionally, Korals finally finished his updates to the Field Manual. Push it out to all non-flash clone operatives by midsun."

"At once, STG Master." She clicked off the intercom, and he leaned back in his comfortable chair.

Despite being in some ways the most powerful salarian alive, the STG Master was in many ways a prisoner and slave. An identity had been destroyed and erased from the fragmented memories of yesteryear. The body that answered to the Master's mind was so neutered, cybernetically enhanced and altered that the Master did not know - and could not remember - what sex he or she was originally. There was a mental tendency to think of one's self as her, so she assumed she had been female.

Perhaps that was why more females were in the STG now than in the past two centuries.

Her power was titanic - near onto half a million STG Agents answered to her and her alone. An entire fleet of ships, thousands of vehicles, billions of credits, entire planets and moons were hers to command.

She was tracked and traced by six different systems, had two bombs in her head, and couldn't even remember her name. She had a palatial home and an office that often made dalatrasses envious, and yet could not mingle with anyone. She would never have children, never breed, never pass a name down to enhance a Family's glory.

For all her power, she noted as the ngagi-wood doors to her office opened to admit the Executives, she was less free than the lowly Junior Agent. She exhaled slowly, feeling stale air in cybernetic lungs whistle past equally false lips under her metallic face-mask, and inclined her head.

"Let us discuss the tasks before us today."

STG Field Manual

If you are reading this, you have completed basic training to become a part of the shield of the salarian people, the Special Tasks Group. (Or you are a really good hacker, in which case, you might as well enjoy your victory before the Shieldbreakers find you.)

This manual is a guide and a reference. Quicklinks exist in the text that are touch sensitive, linking you to pertinent sub-files. If you have questions or concerns, your Field Agent, instructor, or guide will be able to answer them best.

The purpose of this manual is to cover the organization, goals, measures, and focus of the Special Tasks Group, the reporting you are expected to produce, and a quick overview of important personnel and cells. It is not a guide on how to do your job. If you are an idiot enough to need a book to tell you how to spy, you will end up dead (or worse) in short order.

Despite what you might think, this field manual is protected by several security measures preventing it being downloaded or hacked. It is also not recommended you try shifting it from UV display or your omni-tool will helpfully blow up.

You are expected to know everything in this manual by the time you reach an active Cell. Ignorance is not allowed.

This guide will not belabor the origins of the STG. We will not waste time on credos, slogans, pithy statements of 'intent' and we will certainly not engage in garbage such as ideology. You are expected to be efficient, to be cautious, to be prepared for the worst, and to strive to excel at whatever task you are issue. Failure is not merely discrediting - we are the line upon which our people will stand and rise, or fall and be mercilessly butchered.

It is, not to engage in melodrama, upon your back and spine to carry the salarians into the future.

Organization and Structures

The Special Tasks Group is the organization dedicated to ensuring the salarian people remain in the forefront of any threat by way of knowledge, infiltration, and assessment.

Unlike most special operational groups or intelligence organs, the STG is not controlled directly by any state organ. All STG units and cells answer only to the STG Master. It is at the Master's discretion to align units with Citadel C-SEC and Special Response, requests from the SIX or the Salarian Union, or requests from the League of Zero.

Under no circumstances are any STG operatives to conduct any operation at the order of external parties without STG Master authorization.

The STG does not take 'sides'. We support the SIX and the Union because that is our tasking, but we are also prepared to destroy them if they become a threat to salarian survival. We cooperate with the LoZ because that is the wish of the SIX and because conflict serves no purpose at this time, but we are prepared to work against them if their actions become unmanageable.

For all intents and purposes, the STG is a self-contained organization. We have facilities that produce our gear, food, medical supplies, and cloned recruits. We have dedicated fleet and ground assets, internalized training facilities, and everything required to ensure the cohesion of the STG does not suffer due to political infighting, military action, or unforeseen natural disasters.

The highest operating level of the STG is held by the STG Master. The Master's identity, gender, nation of origin, name, and all other information is deleted upon selection. The Master reports to the SIX and to the League.

The STG Master is assisted by a trio of Executive Agents, each of which is chosen from Master Agents via a process of scoring, assessment and demonstration of aptitude. The Master and the Executive Agents all undergo complete cybernetic conversion that removes any hint of their identity and gender. When the STG Master dies, the senior most Executive Agent is tapped to ascend to be the new Master, while a replacement Executive Agent is recruited and converted.

The Executive Agents do not have any oversight or command authority but are often utilized as support by the STG Master or are tasked with directing and organizing polling done by the Circle of Decision.

All STG units are grouped into Operational Tasking Assignments (OTA) at the highest level. Each OTA has one Administrator who reports directly to the STG Master. Administrators are all Master Agents and are selected based on efficiency from Operational Division heads. Administrators not only direct and control their OTA but assemble in the Circle of Decision, which determines detailed operational tasks based on the high-level goals of the STG Master. Each OTA usually is either assigned to a specialty (asari commercial intelligence, anti-pirate operations, etc) or to a specific target (Cerberus, Broker, Eclipse, etc). There are currently a total of one hundred and sixteen OTA's in operation.

Each OTA is comprised of between five and ten Operational Divisions (OD). An Operational Division is lead by a Master Field Agent and a Master Agent. The former provides all day-to-day operational management leadership tasks and coordinates with the STG Master. The Master Agent determines tasking for units and debriefs agents.

Each OD is identical, comprised of five Operational Cells, five Investigative Cells, two War Specialist cells, two Heavy Combat Cells, one Support Cell, and a single Specialist Cell.

All cells share an identical layout (with the exception of Support Cells). A Cell is lead by a Senior Agent and is comprised of three ten-person Teams, each lead by a single Field Agent and made up of Agents and Junior Agents. Support Cells are also comprised of thirty Support Agents, but is lead by a qualified Field Agent.

The team is the lowest formal organizational group – some Field Agents make 'sub-teams' with one Agent in charge of the Junior Agents, but this is optional.

Cell Types

Operational cells conduct counter-measure and counter-intelligence work within the Union. For cells assigned outside the Union they focus primarily on direct operations to thwart alien intelligence organs.

Cells of this nature are comprised of two teams of Operations agents and one team of Intelligence Agents.

Investigative Cells are usually focused on direct infiltration and penetration of alien nations. For cells inside the Union, they are focused on internal threats (Lythari, Fhanrism , Black Rim Free Sexuality movement, etc). Investigative cells are usually made up of two teams of Investigative Agents and a mixed-response team of War Specialist and Specialist Technical agents.

War Specialist Cells are used as primary combatants and rescue elements, mostly in support of deployed Investigative Cells but also as strikeforces on their own. Given the diverse nature of War Specialists, the three teams can vary in composition. Most have one full team of War Specialists, a mixed cell of War Specs, Medical, and Technical Agents, and a heavy combat cell of Shieldbreakers, Heavy Combat Specs, and FCA Combat Agents.

Heavy Combat Cells are rarely deployed outside of direct assault. While War Specialist Cells are designed to support operations in the field, Heavy Combat cells are only used at the discretion of a Master Field Agent and are usually a response to hostile contact. All cells are identical – one cell of War Specialists, one cell of FCA Combat agents, and a mixed cell of Shieldbreakers, Medical agents, and Null Agents.

Specialist Cells are usually formulated based on the task the OTA is assigned to, and thus can vary wildly. For the most part, however, such cells contain limited use assets – Transcendental Assets, Science Agents, and Shieldbreakers. Tasking for such cells varies almost as wildly as their composition, depending heavily on both location and function.

Silent Step: On occasion, we are faced with threats of a technological or research based nature that present a danger to the Salarian Union on multiple levels – economic, disruption of our own scientific leadership, even cultural or memetic due to influence in our society due to the penetration of such technology. As threats of this nature are not a clean delineation that can be easily typified and responded to, a special cell type is custom fitted to the task. In honor of the heroes of old who kept the Salarian people safe, these are known as Silent Step teams. Each team is lead by a Master Agent, and composition varies by the task, but includes almost every kind of agent we have, as well as on occasion civilian or military specialists. The Silent Step agents are deniable assets – by agreeing to join the team, they undergo the same deidentification and cybernetic process as Executives and the STG Master undergo. Silent Step teams are implanted with upgraded Protocol Nineteen remote detonation devices and plasma charges to ensure they cannot be captured or interrogated.

Operatives

The STG is comprised of operatives – trained salarians focused on specific endeavors as part of a larger operational ideal. As such, there are levels of both training and responsibility that define what agents perform what tasks.

Agent Grades

There are two 'grades' of agent: natural born agents and clone-typed agents. For the purposes of the STG, clone-typed agents also come in two grades: FTL accelerated clonal developed and flash-cloned. Finally, all Transcendental assets are specially modified and bred.

Flash-cloned agents (FCA) are created from a template blank using conventional rapid-cloning techniques augmented by technology we have acquired from various sources. While conventional flash clones have an operational span of anywhere from two percent to four percent of the mean lifespan of the species being cloned, we have increased this to almost eleven percent, meaning flash cloned agents have roughly four years of operational lifespan.

FCA are given hyper-hypnotic programming packages and are deployed primarily as specialist combat agents attached to Heavy Combat Cells. These packages include modifications to psychology to enjoy combat, an implanted false history designed to nurture additional devotion to the STG and the salarian people, and modifications to severely increase shock resistance, bravery and pain suppression.

For obvious reasons, FCA's are not allowed access to this Field Manual (they have their own version) and should not be informed of their status. They are disposable combat assets by design, but they should not be abused or wasted.

Oversight of the FCA program is controlled by the STG Master in conjunction with three FCA units who are informed of the truth and make modifications and suggestions to the program in the name of both celerity of function and ensuring there is no abuse of FCA.

FTL accelerated clonal agents (FAC) are clone-typed beings created in creches under constant FTL bubble acceleration to reduce the time it takes for the being to come to functional maturity. As with all full-clonal beings growth rates are the same as a natural-hatched salarian, and even with FTL acceleration a new agent requires six years to complete (to age nine). As with FCAs, FAC are given a hyper-hypnotically programmed background history.

Transcendental assets are hatched naturally from modified eggs in special creches. They are trained from birth in specialist facilities and are typically outside of any ranking or organizational system.

Operative Levels

All STG agents are given assessment testing upon entry – be that enlistment for natural-hatched citizens, or cloning completion and education resolution for clone-typed agents.

Salarian law restricts natural citizens from joining the STG until they are at least nine years old. For FAC agents, they are cloned up to age nine. For FCA agents, given their restricted lifespan, they are cloned at age fifteen. Transcendentals start training at age three but are moved into a transcendental asset state at age nine as well.

The complete career path of an STG agent is as follows:

Trainee

Support / Qualified

Junior Agent

Agent

Field Agent

Senior Agent / Senior Specialist

Master Agent

Master Field Agent / Administrator / Executive

STG Master Agent

All non-FCA agents are inducted as Trainees. They undergo a six month training and hyper-hypnotic imprinting course covering STG regulations, basic first aid, basic weapons, navigation, law, and at least two alien languages. All trainees are given proficiency and retention testing at the end of the six month period.

Those who fail the testing are moved into Support Agent status and ranked as Support Agents. These go through another six month course in various specialties and, barring something extraordinary, will remain support agents and unranked for the rest of their career.

Those who pass the testing are given a provisional status of 'Qualified' and issued a basic equipment package. Testing determines if they are moved into combat or non-combat positions. For six months they are given additional testing, training and qualification runs until they meet the minimum requirements and are promoted to junior agents.

Junior agents are expected to learn from their superiors and support cells as a whole. Junior agents are given barracks on STG facilities and do not deploy unless in active duty. When not actively deployed junior agents are expected to be training, qualifying for rank, or engaged in learning. After two years as a junior agent with no disqualifying errors, they may test for full specialization and promotion to Agent.

Agents are allowed more freedom than JA's and are not restricted to base: they may move out, own property, and if selected by their family mate. (STG agents engaged in yindo based activities are to be executed.) Agents are moved into a speciality (intelligence, operations, medical, etc) at this rank.

Field Agents are promoted from the top ten percent of all agents every third year, based on a mix of performance metrics, qualification, testing and personal initiative. Field Agents are the leaders of most Teams inside a Cell, the first rank at which they are expected to begin to demonstrate leadership qualities. Field Agents who excel at leadership and cohesion are promoted to Senior Agent and given command of an entire Cell. Those who demonstrate no leadership capabilities but excel in all other areas are promoted to Senior Specialist, which pays more and has more perks but is functionally identical to Field Agent Rank.

Senior Agents are promoted as needed, based on Cells being created. Most Senior Agents are in their twenties before promotion, and most Senior Agents are therefore in their physical prime at this point. Senior Agents are expected to being learning additional specializations at this rank, as well as qualifications in non-combat support skills (hacking, medical, scientific) on a basic level. For those who did not demonstrate leadership ability, Senior Specialists are expected to focus instead on their own given specialty to the exclusion of all others.

Master Agents are chosen from the ranks of Senior Agents over the age of twenty five, when a vacancy occurs or a new OD is created. Senior Agents must undergo a grueling eight-month preparation course to even qualify for this promotion, and once promoted are given extensive and exhaustive profiling and testing to ensure outstanding performance. Master Agents are given almost complete freedom of action in terms of how they choose to deploy their OD, and are usually highly skilled at multiple tasks too time-consuming for lesser agents to study, such as differential xenolinguistics or mass effect theory.

Master Field Agents are promoted from the Master Agent in an OD when the previous one in charge of an OD dies or retires. They are given an five-month long training class they are expected to complete alongside the tasks required of an MFA. Promotion to MFA is usually the end of an Agent's career – most MFA's retire at thirty or so.

Administrators are chosen as needed when new OTA's are created or an existing Administrator dies. They are not promoted from MFAs given the likelyhood that an MFA will be pushing thirty five or older already. Administrators are never forward deployed and are strictly non-combat personnel, expected to serve until either death or disability from age. As such, they are extremely well paid and are afforded direct access to the SIX when required. Administrators constantly train and learn about the focus of their OTA.

Executive Agents are, like Administrators, chosen from the ranks of Master Agents. Unlike Administrators, however, this promotion is involuntary : agents who are chosen will have their identity erased and are usually removed from service by faking their death in operations conducted by the LoZ. As such Executive Agents are often chosen from the ranks of FAC agents and groomed from birth to hold such positions, in conjunction with monitoring. Executive Agents sole purpose is to be a replacement pool for the STG Master – as such they are briefed in on everything the STG Master knows and in some cases are even deployed to pretend they are the STG Master.

You have no doubt concluded that, once one is a full Agent, the higher you rise in the service of the STG the more freedom you have, but at the highest levels you have almost none. The STG is a sacrifice for the salarian people – a respected one, but a sacrifice nonetheless. Those of you who are unwilling to give everything should therefore not take the Senior Agent Promotion Preparatory examination, as once you are a Master Agent you could be chosen for the ranks of the Administrators or Executive Agents.

Operative Typing

There are a great many tasks undertaken by the STG, each of which often requires a myriad of talents to complete to suitable levels. As a result, the STG fields many types of operatives.

Support Agents: Older agents no longer fit for open deployment, agents trained in support functions and sub-optimal performance clone agents are all designated as Support Agents. These are non-combat and non-deployment agents that perform the bulk of tasks best defined as logistical or support in nature : setting up and operating bases and communications equipment, procurement, piloting ships and/or ground vehicles, repairs, non-medical support functions, and the like. Support agents are typically considered non-combatants and as such are only lightly armed.

Operations Agents: The bulk of STG forward cells are comprised of the general agent. Agents are cross-trained in hacking, sniping, info-war operation, xenocultural studies, alien language, and financial tracking. Almost all STG agents will begin their career in this field. While combat is not the specialization of this agent type, they are trained to engage in combat if required.

Intelligence Agents: Agents who focus and excel in pure information gathering are given this tasking. Training and focus includes heavier use of hacking, infowar and cultural training and the pursuit of alien language skills. Intelligence operatives are not expected (nor equipped) to engage in combat.

War Specialist Agents: Agents focused on the protection of other assets during operations, or those dispatched to conduct deniable military strike functions based on STG data. War Specialists are heavily cross-trained in multiple combat specialties along with some generalist training in one field (medical, technical, hacking, infowar, etc). While certainly not as skilled in infiltration as intelligence types, nor as flexible as operational agents, War Specs have a higher survival rate when operating in hostile territory.

Specialist Science Agents: Agents with a direct focus on a field of scientific study. Sub-ratings include astronomy, chemical, biological, metallurgic, cybernetic, geologic and field science. Specialist agents are not trained or equipped for combat and should always be accompanied by protective assets and / or STG War Specs.

Specialist Medical Agents: Agents who are medically trained personnel – this can include combat medics, surgeons, cybernetic doctors, neuropathic programmers, and all other medical fields. Medical agents are, unlike Science Agents, trained for combat and field triage. Junior personnel tend to be field medics, gaining knowledge and becoming more specialized with seniority.

Specialist Shieldbreaker Assets: all Shieldbreakers are STG agents who have suffered critical level bodily damage – either via combat or by design. Shieldbreakers have all limbs removed and are cybernetically wired into the Shieldbreaker Combat Suit. Technically, the Shieldbreaker Corps is not a formal part of the STG – in actuality, given that all Shieldbreakers are STG Agents, this is a polite fiction. That being said, the conversion process tends to make Shieldbreakers disdainful of the more nuanced aspects of our work – they are cold, blunt and have a tendency towards utter neutrality.

Specialist Technical Agents: Similar to Science Agents, technical agents are non-combat personnel who focus on highly technical concepts or jobs. Sub-ratings include hacking, info-war, memetic programming, omnitech, FTL technology, and vehicle theory. Technical agents create our weapons and armor, operate our communications, and focus on studying alien technological advances in conjuction with the Science Agents. They are not trained for combat and require escort when forward deployed.

Heavy Combat Specification Agents: War Specialists who are not satisfied with defensive operations (translation: Solus clan lunatics) often move into the Heavy Combat Specification. Agents in this role are given extensive cybernetic upgrades, heavy armor, and a staggering array of weapons and demolitions equipment. While War Specs are often cross-trained in multiple fields, HCS Agents focus on one field – killing. Deployed when we absolutely have to down a target, these agents are not recommended for more delicate operations. Or anything requiring subtlety. Occasionally, groups of FCAs are boosted in physical spec to the point they can be deployed as HCS Agents for large scale military operations.

STG Transcendental Assets: Biotic specialists, Transcendentals are the most mission-critical and sensitive of STG forces. Our biotics are unlike that of other races – we focus on speed, reactions and flexibility. Transcendentals are deployed only as needed and are to be given the very highest level of protection – we can replace a Senior Agent, or an STG Master, more easily than a Transcendental. Due to the process that creates such agents, few of them live past thirty five – and eight years of their lives are lost to training in biotics, giving them a limited deployment span.

FCA Combat Agents: Flash clones are assigned this combat role if they are typed as heavy combatants. Attritional assets, to be used as needed to support more critical personnel or slow pursuit of hostile elements.

Null Agent: The details of this program are limited to the highest levels. All you, as an agent, need to know is that the League of Zero will occasionally actively field agents alongside an STG team. They are all called Null Agents and are not to appear in any report, recording, or other format that could ever possibly fall into alien hands.

Equipment and Loadout

In general terms, all STG agents have the same basic loadout: sidearm, primary weapon, grenades, and support items.

In specific terms, STG agents above the rank of Junior Agent are given wide discretion to pick their own armaments and customization. That being said, it is expected that most will adhere to the guidelines and recommendations of what to use.

The Scorpion Blast Pistol is the default sidearm of all STG personnel, even non-combat ones. This fires delayed-blast explosive squash-head munitions at ranges of up to sixty-five meters. Alternative fire mode results in a proximity-explosive deployable 'mine' mode. The Scorpion should be used to break enemy charges, for cover denial and to stagger units into the line of fire of other enemies. Defensively, it can be used not only for direct damage and to deny access points but to trigger environmental damage or hazards.

The Scorpion is heavy and has limited omnigel to form rounds with. The mass rail firing the rounds is weaker than a normal pistol and the weapon cannot be juryrigged. Modifications to increase blast power are authorized but not recommended.

The other authorized sidearm of the STG is the Solus Needler. This weapon is never sold on the open market and is limited to War Specialists. It fires a cloud of disruptor-enhanced saboting flechettes at a high velocity in a tight spread, with a range of twenty meters. Against any unarmored targets this is lethal, even against krogan, vorcha and batarians with headshots. Light and medium armor does not stop the rounds and it will usually kill non-krogan with two or three shots. Heavier targets, mechs and warsuits have enough armor to absorb the damage but it will weaken all known forms of non-Silaris armor, even laser steel. The weapon has a very short range and does not do much damage to biotic barriers or kinetic shields, so a shield-stripping weapon is required for full utility.

Primary weapons depend on focus. The Rapier and Venom shotguns are the weapon used by most combat forces in close quarters, using unconventional ammo types to stymie and kill enemy combatants. The Cobra Blast Rifle is recommended in all other situations.

All STG agents are expected to carry an eight-grenade loadout with at least two smoke grenades. Grenades above this are best carried on the standard combat harness (the enhanced shield harness also has a pouch for grenades).

Support equipment includes omniblades, omni-shields, deployable kinetic barriers, drone deployment racks, and tripod-mount mobile BRKR crew-served weapons. These are granted on as as-needed basis with approval from your divisional Master Agent. Heavier or more destructive weapons require Master Field Agent approval, including backpack nuclear devices, eezo-air-explosives, and black nano systems.

Each Cell will have a discretionary budget for additional support supplies. This is augmented by designated supply packs (medical gear, spy beams, taps, drones, disguise gear, biomedical augments and the like) as well as packages of gear assigned to the Cell upon mission assignment. It is expected that the Cell deploy its limited assets in such a way to allow for recovery – captured equipment can lead back to STG support groups or be used to frame us for acts we did not commit.

Goals and Directives

The Special Tasks Group is the supra-national defense espionage and tasking organization defined by the Mutality Agreement Accord of Dalatrass Shiron and the Framework.

The STG is expected to uphold the following mission goals. Each goal is of increasing importance.

Goal One: To prevent the destruction of salarian culture as a distinct ethnoracial grouping by way of cultural, societal, alien immigrant or infomemetic penetration.

Goal Two: To identify valuable information that can be used to support the growth and prosperity of the salarian people, including but not limited to information that will reduce the growth and prosperity of aliens.

Goal Three: To maintain stable societal control of the Salarian Union via the rule of the SIX as a counter-measure to the manipulations of the Thirty. In pursuit of this, to limit and eventually remove variant social elements such as the Lythari Movement.

Goal Four: To ascertain, describe and catalog all actors of note that are a threat to the existence of the STG's ability to operate as an integral component of the Salarian Union. In pursuit of this, when possible, the destruction or destabilization of such actors of note.

Goal Five: To destabilize and weaken the Asari Republic to the point where the Salarian Union is the premiere and undisputed controlling power in the galaxy.

Goal Six: To reduce the power, ability and penetration of all non-salarian intelligence organs.

Goal Seven: The containment, identification, deflection or destruction of all external threats to the survival of the Salarian people, STG itself, the SIX, the Salarian Union, the Citadel Accords, and galactic stability in that order of importance.

In the pursuit of the above, there are a multitude of standing orders and operational guides. While these vary from cell to cell and operation to operation, a handful are in effect at all times for all STG personnel.

Protocol Six: Vigilance – Identification, assessment and imprisonment of all Lythari-identified individuals who refuse to leave salarian society. (Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis, as with Wirtu Gana, but should be excluded from STG Command Decisions). This does not imply nor authorize that salarians who have removed themselves from salarian space and society (such as Mantur Dasso or Senior Agent Mordin Solus) should be pursued or harassed.

Protocol Eleven: Counterwatch – preparation of tasks and events in the case that the SIX become a liability to salarian survival. Coordination with League of Zero to remove them and replace them with more tractable figures for leadership.

Protocol Nineteen: Prudence – detonation of internal ocular flash-bang devices and automated wipe of any onboard grayboxes when agents are likely to be captured and interrogated.

Protocol Twenty: Defiance – triggering of onboard power sources to scuttle any STG vessels in imminent threat of being boarded and captured.

Protocol Twenty-Nine: Social Preservation – destruction of groups, political elements and support for yindo-based families and the pursuit of deviant social structures.

Protocol Fifty-Four: Obedience – Blanket authorization to perform any action, regardless of conflict with Citadel or local laws, in the event that the STG Master and the SIX are slain and there is no overarching command profile, to ensure the safety of the salarian people.

Protocol Sixty-Six : Revenge – authorization of biological, nanological or other agents or delivery systems in the event that STG agents survive complete destruction of Salarian Union. The goal is to genocide the attacking race or races and provide cover for any salarian survivors to regroup.

Reporting and Analysis

STG Report Structure, Types, and Classifications

The Special Tasks Group is not merely the first and last line of defense of the Salarian Union, nor is it the unseen hand of the Council. We are also the method by which risk, danger, and opportunity are assessed and dangers or allies evaluated.

In the pursuit of achieving STG Goal Seven (threat containment / deflection), the Threats branch of the STG is constantly pursuing informational leads and data on known possible dangers to the Salarian Union, be that insurgents, dissidents, terrorist groups, religious fanatics, mega-corporate structures, or singular and dangerous entities.

There are three main tools used to describe these threats: STG Investigative Reports, STG Threat Assessments, and STG Incident Reports.

As a junior agent or agent, you are not expected to write up such reports – your Field Agent or above will usually do that. That being said, there may be times where your team leader is incapacitated, dead, or otherwise unable to provide such a write up, and you will be tasked with performing such.

STG reports of any kind are not directly seen by the SIX, only the STG Master. Unless otherwise stated, reports should follow the outlines detailed below, but aside from that there is no requirement for formality. The STG Master feels that reports that concentrate on tone more than content sheer valuable context away from said report.

That being said, since the STG Master sometimes just forwards the whole thing to the SIX, any jokes had better be funny if you include such.

All STG reports are filed using VisualQuivertalk format (the 4.42 version if at all possible, 4.6 is a bug-ridden mess) and thus will not include rich data types (images, haptics, recordings etc) in the text. All such attachments will be rendered as encrypted sub-files with the entirety of the report converted to STG Technical Cant Six as the primary private key and your cell identifier as the public key.

The goal of reports are threefold.

First : they provide a baseline of information on elements of alien society that need oversight and preparation. The alien is always alien. Assumptions made on the basis of what might be normal to a salarian is often invalid when it comes to alien actions, reactions, or motives. Aside from the asari few races fall into neatly defined swamps for us to muck through, despite the always illogical allure of stereotyping and racism. In this fashion reports strive to cut through our misunderstandings where possible.

Second: by reviewing documentation after conflicts or in after-action reporting, we can identify and fix holes or weaknesses in said preparation. Many STG operations fail. Some fail completely. Failure is not a negative, it is merely a binary value that should be approached in such a way that one still obtains something of use from a failure rather than merely corpses. Thus, report review (especially Incident Reports) often allow us the luxury of saelhawk-keen eyesight when looking backwards over operations that went badly or assessments that were completely out of band with reality.

Third: they provide clear outlines of what threats need to be dealt with immediately and which can be allowed to lay fallow for the moment. While the salarian people (and by extension our Union) are very powerful and influential in both the Council and wider galactic arenas, the STG cannot afford to deceive itself. For every Eni Galsha or Shift there are a dozen ugly and nearly unkillable threats in the hands of other races. We seek to make the impossible merely unlikely through knowledge and understanding.

Tiers of Threat

There are several methods of subdivided classification for most reports – security level, the threat level of an individual or group, the sensitivities of the political implications of their removal, etc. These are all summated by four large tiers of threats : Linear, Intangible, Ramifications and Ideological.

While these tiers are rarely if ever actually directly mentioned in the reports, comprehension of their return on investment of STG time, personnel and resources is critical in achieving effective force utilization. Despite the use of flash-cloned agents, chipped subvertees and even external mercenary assets the STG is spread more thinly today than at any other time in our history.

We are tracking (as of the writing of this document) over thirteen million threat entities and the number is rising daily. Priority classification is, thus, not merely pro forma paperwork shuffling, but vital to determinations of what agents to send and when to merely watch situations unfold.

The lowest kinds of threats are linear ones – those which only threaten in a single area or from a single source of power, easily countered or prepared for. Most purely military threats and small to mid-size groups fall into this group. Threats of this level are unique in that they rarely become problematic without provocation. Our reports, where possible, should focus on preventing them from becoming problematic rather than neutralization – there are simply too many for removal to be feasible.

Intangible threats are those that impact the Union without direct contact or confrontation – economic, political and intelligence based threats usually fall into this category. Threats of this nature require constant monitoring and can grow to be much larger hornaches at any time. Reporting on these threats must perforce include detailed analysis of long-term ramifications as well as the significance of such if the topic is obscure, as well as methods to counter it.

Ramifications threats are those derived from the results of technological, biotic or nanonic research and development, or other disruptive techniques. These are some of the gravest possible threats to salarian supremacy and safety, but (as the title suggests) they can be deflected or disarmed given they take a great deal of time to come to fruition. Most reporting on these threats should therefore focus on exactly how to deflect the danger or even take advantage of the technological disruption.

Finally, ideological threats are disruptive elements or movements within the salarian race or government. Counterwatch, the League of Zero, the Lythari weaklings, and the Black Rim Free Sexuality movement are all under constant watch. Threats of this nature not only risk the survival of our people but the ability of the STG to safeguard them.

As a general rule, STG field teams (aka, most cells) deal with intangible threats. Heavy combat teams deal with linear threats. STG Silent Step cells deal with ramification-level threats and the STG Master details out specially built war specs or other units to deal with ideological threats.

The scale of the threat is not usually related to its power – the High Solarch of the Temple of Athame has a Black-Collapse Nine rating for her threat level, but the tier of her threat is mostly linear. A weak political figure who has begun a movement that embraces Fhanrism (rejection of technology, a movement most races have) is perhaps only a Sunlight-level threat in terms of danger but if successful would be an ideological nightmare.

The intersection of power and scale can be a complicated one to determine. In short, however, assume that ideological and ramification-level threats are the very worst dangers to our people and act accordingly.

Classification

STG reports are classified in terms of security level on a seven tiered system. The point of this system is to determine the encryption level of such reports, as well as their clearance to be viewed by the SIX, the Wheel Mystics, or the Union. In some (rare) cases, reports will be reformatted to be viewed by the Citadel Counsel or alien militaries.

A point of caution: the higher classifications, especially Dashan-Black and Salarais-White, have extensive and exhaustive requirements for both transmission and access. Notably, agents who do not possess a 14.0 score or greater on the Ergii-Hanthus Representative Scale will be chemically mind-wiped after submitting such a report. This is due to the fact that the mere idea we can capture detailed intelligence of this nature would undoubtedly result in open war.

Salarais-White : the very highest and rarest classification, this should only be used in the rare cases where the contents (or existence) of an STG report would result in calamitous political or intelligence fallout. The SIX, the Council of Matriarchs, the Council of Woe, the High Lords of Sol, and the League of Zero are the five organizations with such files. Uressa T'Shora and Delanyder the Indulgent have separate files of this classification, and some aspects of the Batarian Emperor's file and the file for Maxwell Manswell also apply. A warning: even knowledge of who the files are on is technically Virshan-Orange.

Dashan-Black: Files that are of the highest security clearance, which would reveal critical methods and vitally important sources if revealed. All Spectres, most heads of government, and figures or groups of galaxy-wide impact should be classified at this level.

Virshan-Orange: Commonly used methods and/or specific sources could be revealed if this fell into the wrong hands. Severe threats are usually cataloged at this level, and this is the level for most military or intelligence writeups.

Dethan-Blue: The primary classification level for most intelligence write ups on political or economic figures of note. There is little chance of revealing methods here, although low-level sources or vulnerabilities in alien encryption could be revealed.

Choram-Green: The primary classification level for most internal STG documentation. While these files are, in and of themselves, not usually capable of revealing sources or methods, a large enough cross section of such files could provide useful methodologies to thwart STG actions.

Ulaman-Brown: A specific sub-rating used for internal STG documents regarding the Makana Project. Please note this classification should not be actually designated in the file structure, unlike all others. Additional information on the exact nature of the Makana Project is Dashan-Black.

SPECIAL-ZEROPOINT: ZEROPOINT classification is restricted to reports utilizing sources in the League of Zero. All ZEROPOINT documentation should be transmitted using highest and strongest encryption along hardened networks only, and then all physical copies and transmission equipment destroyed. Use of Class B amnesics and/or chemical mind wipes are mandatory.

Threat Levels

While not directly tied to classification, threat levels are a critical piece of any report submission. There is often confusion between the threat tier and the threat level, an unfortunate casualty of inarticulate cant process.

The difference is simple: the tier indicates how far-reaching the item is. The scale defines how dangerous the threat is. The STG defines threats as anything (person, group, philosophical or religious belief, technology, or item) that has the capacity to inflict harm on the SIX, the Union, or salarian well being.

The threat scale starts at Sunlight and proceeds through Black Collapse.

Sunlight 1-9: Harmless to mostly harmless. Examples include corruptions of salarian culture by asari and Lythari 'culture'. At this level, most reports are little more than references. In generalist terms, Sunlight level threats are only really dangerous if the STG suddenly becomes completely incompetent or ignore the threat for years.

Sieltar 1-9: Low-scale threat to individuals. Examples include small-scale criminal groups or racist organizations of non-militant stances, or individuals who can sway salarians away from the Union in large numbers. Recommend observation.

Renthar 1-9: Medium-scale threat to individuals or low-scale threat to colonies. Can include slaver organizations and the like. Recommend preventative action.

Reach 1-9: Medium scale scientific threats – specifically research that is a detriment to the Union. Recommend sabotage.

Red Collapse 1-9: Serious threats to the Salarian Union, with capabilities less than that of a standard STG strike team. If action must be taken, recommend full pre-emptive action (assassination or infiltration) and if possible direct removal.

Black Collapse 1-9: Existential threats to the existence of the salarian race as a whole if utilized against us. Note that all beings or groups rated Black Collapse anything are beyond the capabilities of a standard STG field or strike team to deal with.

Black-Collapse Nine, in particular, is a threat that we have currently not devised any possible method to stop. BCN ratings are extremely rare – less than twenty beings in the entire galaxy have this rating, most of them super-powerful biotics, experimental cyborgs, or anomalous beings such as Delan and the Batarian Emperor.

STG File Structure – Incident File

Incidents are groups of actions that severely (whether positive or negative) affect galactic balance and, by extension, the political and economic health of the Salarian Union. Most incidents star off small and build to a giant mess in short order, which the STG is often called upon to fix as if we were ancient shamanic magicians.

Incidents have their own file type for a single reason: reviewing the situation allows us to identify where we could have (or should have) intervened to head off such drastic shifts in power. In the Samclao Incident, if we had assassinated the turian ambassador to the elcor, we would have prevented the creation of the turian ion-bombardment system currently being tested by the Palavanus, a system that can most likely make the bulk of our naval tactics risky.

Likewise, if we had paid closer attention to the antics of Benezia and Saren prior to the Benezia Incident, we would not have been in the unpleasant situation of requiring a military grunt with a penchant for appalling violence to save the galaxy.

This cannot be overstated: every incident report is an example of where the STG has failed its most basic task. We review carefully not only to prevent such failures in the future but to follow up on every possible lead just in case the threat is not truly passed.

Roughly 35% of the time, we find additional threats or problems based on such reviews.

All reports follow the same basic structure:

A condensed timeline of the Incident, from inception to conclusion, usually accompanied with several sub-files to clarify minutiae.

A summary of participating parties, including links to the pertinent STG Investigative Report if one exists.

An inclusive profile write-ups of the principle actors, with an assessment of why things occurred in the fashion they did.

Projected, attributed goals and likely outcomes.

A root cause analysis, derived action plan , and summaries of costs (financial, casualty, investment, etc) are also commonly included.

Reports are reviewed by the STG Master and then presented to the SIX (and on occasion, other elements of government, such as the RRC or even the League) and then the Master will make personal observations.

For the most part the reports should follow the outline provided in your omni-tool as closely as possible.

STG File Structure – Investigative File

As noted earlier in this text, the Investigative File focuses on a single being – usually military figures, but on very rare occasions political figures with vast military or combat power will be listed.

Investigative Files are only done on individuals who have a threat capacity that is a severe danger to STG forces if they are hostile. Furthermore, we only produce an STG file on targets we actually intend to act against. We do not have an STG file on Edat Kurass because he is ancient and barely capable of movement, much less combat. That does not mean his Circle of the Fallen is not dangerous – it means the Shifter himself is not going to be a threat in direct conflict and, given his cooperation, we have no reason to want to kill him.

At the same time, we have a file on Maxwell Manswell, who is even more physically incapacitated than Edat Kurass, because it's very likely at some point we're going to need to kill him before he does something dreadfully stupid.

This cannot be overstated: any being who has an STG Investigative Report is very likely not defeatable by anything aside from a heavy strike team, and some are beyond even that level of power. You will routinely see suggestions of the use of Shieldbreaker, anti-mech, anti-tank, anti-capital ship assets or even orbital bombardment.

At least five of the known Black-Collapse Nine threats are capable of taking down Shieldbreaker units on foot by themselves. The most dangerous of the BC9 threats, Thana Vathan, has literally destroyed starships while wearing a bathrobe and has bounced orbital kinetic strikes. There is no combination of tactics and firepower that will avail you against that, so the reports also cover methods besides direct conflict to stop a target where possible.

The report structure is simple: basic facts, a psychological summary, personal history, motivations, any organizations they are involved in, tactics, allies/enemies, and a tactical summary of abilities.

The point of assembling such information is to provide field teams with basic tactical and behavioral information. Many subjects who have an Investigative Report have heavy cybernetics, advanced biotics, extensive military training, experimental equipment, or all of the above. As each report repeatedly warns, all summations should be taken as a baseline of abilities.

Also be aware that in many cases, what is 'impossible' for an STG team to accomplish using standard tactics doesn't mean the target is invincible. Even the most fearsome targets (except maybe Thana Vathan) can be taken unawares or put into situations that mitigate their advantages. Priority in most STG missions, however, is data recovery and survival.

Keep in mind that reports on some of these targets should indicate guidance from the STG master on engagement – some should never be engaged, and Protocol Nineteen (ocular flash-bang liquidation) triggered if hostilities are forced.

The two key points in the report are the psychological summary and the tactical writeup. While the latter is straightforward, the psychological assessment is usually done by Xenopsych, and requires some familiarity with the model for it to be useful.

STG Tactical Writeup

Most targets that have an STG file fall into one of two groupings : assassination targets or military figures. A third grouping, individual hard targets such as the Solarch, also require analysis.

As such, each file will include a full tactical workup.

The primary information provided, where available, is a listing of the target's known weapons, armor, defenses and other abilities, along with a range-dependent breakdown of target's likely tactics and special notes or observations.

You will note (at least for the more sane targets) that our preferred approach is long-range indirect combat, sabotage, or use of traps.

Standard STG psychological model – Five Tier Quadrant

Alien psychological structures are often baffling. Most aliens do not (or cannot) abandon or let go of curiously useless and cumbersome moral, ethical and honor-based frameworks of behavior. Many of them do not have a concept of 'the many' and those that do, such as the asari and turians, have such skewed ideals that they are almost incomprehensible.

Xenopsychological analysts from the Reach Research Institute have been attempting to model alien behavior for centuries. Unfortunately, attempting to create a working model using alien modalities has failed repeatedly. Thus, we now utilize a system that makes sense to us.

Keep in mind that this means all psychological projections may be badly out of band from the reality of the individual being analyzed.

Per most salarian methods, psychological basis points are plotted on a vertical cylinder of internalized

and externalized views. This is broken into four quadrants and five layers.

Standard STG psychological model – FTQ Quadrant overlay

The four quadrants are blends between the two axis of salarian behavioral patterns – active/passive and selfish/selfless. This is overlaid the five ethical layers, which are split between internal and external views.

Active positions focus on actions instead of reactions, while passive is reactive and rarely takes independent action. Most active positions are more aggressive, but that does not mean passive ones are not also capable of such. The difference is active personalities initiate events, passive ones react to events.

Selfish and selfless, the other axis, is predicated on how a salarian views others. Selfish positions mostly focuses on how events interact with the self, while selfless ones are more concerned about how one's self fits into or interacts with the outside world. While many would assume selfish natures are self-serving, this is not always the case. The fundamental difference in the two is the focus of attention – either on greater society, or on one's own efforts.

Active/Selfless (A/Sf) personalities are those who tend to wish to act through the use of others. Many leaders and military officers fit into this quadrant. A/Sf has tendencies to measure events based on feedback from subordinates and are resistant to the idea that any single person matters.

Passive/Selfless (P/Sf) personalities, on the other hand, are the inverse – they see themselves as part of something larger, but do not want to act through others – they want to add their own contributions and make the whole greater. Regardless of moral level, P/Sf types are always problematic, as they resist corruption, cynicism and often refuse to violate their own personal credo.

Active/Selfish (A/Sl) personalities is obsessed with their own personal strength, abilities, and efforts, not really caring about the outside world. Many A/Sl types are flashy and loud, most of them are poor at grasping social nuance, and (like many Solus types) are fearless in the face of death.

Passive/Selfish (P/Sl) personality quadrants are almost always the most dangerous. They see the outside world as merely opportunities, blockages, or challenges to be defeated. Unlike P/Sf, they don't see themselves as part of a greater whole – instead they see any 'greater whole' as something to be utilized for their own purposes.

Standard STG psychological model – FTQ Ethical Overlay

Despite the lack of context (or common sense) most alien ethical frameworks provide, they are very useful in providing additional insight into the basic views of most sentient beings. As mentioned earlier, from a salarian viewpoint all such reactions are either internalized or externalized, which mostly lines up with selfish/selfless.

The five ethical tiers used in the FTQ model are listed in pairs, the first being the selfless attribute, the second the selfish one. From the most to least benevolent they are : altruistic/heroic, flamboyant/narcissistic, combative/secretive, oppressive/destructive, and malevolent/villainous.

Each one of these is subdivided by the quadrants into aspects.

Altruistic/heroic persons have a positive outlook on things. In general, these people are best described as 'good', for most alien races use of this concept. The four quadrants are Compassionate (A/Sf), Pragmatic/Stubborn (P/Sf), Hothead/Gloryhound (A/Sf), and Healer/Thinker (P/Sl).

All four types demonstrate the following traits: a respect for laws and justice, refusal to engage in things they find morally or ethically repulsive, extremely high levels of mental and emotional resilience, and (most troublingly) an almost lunatic unwillingness to admit that their viewpoints on life are invalid and childish.

The Passive/Selfish quadrant of Healer/Thinker is curious in that for a selfish condition it is fixated on externals and helping people. This flies in the face of both being passive and being selfish but makes sense when by 'healer' you often mean mental healing, not doctoring. Most psychological types don't do so out of altruistic values, but to explore their own mentality and to 'prove' their theories.

Generally speaking, altruistic personalities want to help or defend others, while heroic personalities want to prove themselves or their ideals. Very few figures of note hold to these kinds of ideals, although it could be said that this is due more to the nature of our civilization than any flaw in the concept.

Flamboyant/Narcissistic personalities are less concerned with 'good' and more concerned with 'reactions'. In general, these people are best described as not caring much for morals or ethics as long as they are the center of attention. The four quadrants are Preacher/Guru (A/Sf), Hero/Martyr (P/Sf), Adrenaline Addict (A/Sl) and Depraved (P/Sl).

As with A/H personality, the Passive Selfish type (Depraved) is worthy of note. It is odd in that it most often destroys the person's ability to operate in normal society, the exact opposite of the Healer.

All four types demonstrate the following traits: disregard for laws and a focus instead on intentions, a disturbing level of self-referential justification for acts, high levels of charisma and/or leadership ability, extreme psychological flexibility and finally (even in selfish types) a fixation on praise. These are also the most religiously-focused of the various types.

In general, flamboyant personalities want to be admired and looked up to, while narcissistic personalizes focus on their own needs and expect admiration due to their inflated self-image. Many of the more negative aspects are enhanced by a staggering level of arrogance, entitlement and lack of perspective. Many batarian and volus fall on the selfish side of this scale, and many turians and humans on the selfless side.

Combative/secretive persons view the universe along an axis of reaction or action and are the most neutral of the tiers in terms of what most aliens look at as morals. In general, these people are best described as unconcerned with larger issues. The four quadrants are Promotive (A/Sl), Aggressive (A/Sf), Intense/Suppressed (P/Sl), and Defender (P/Sf).

All four types demonstrate the following traits: a focus on viewing the universe in very harsh 'us or them' conditions, a respect for power and influence, a belief that they are the most qualified to do anything, a disregard of laws and even mores or customs as for 'lessers', and an almost blinding belief in themselves. As could be expected, the vast majority of leadership figures almost almost all alien races tend to fall into this section.

As with all types, the Passive/Selfish quadrant of Intense/Suppressed requires exploration – while the most focused of the types, the Suppressed implies that the person sees themselves as being in combat with literally all of existence, and thus hides themselves and their true persona, beliefs and acts behind masks and veils.

Generally speaking, combative types want to quantify things in terms of, well, combat. Secretive types also see life as combat, but in the context of perception of reality and understanding rather than physical conflict.

Oppressive/destructive have a negative and controlling outlook on life and people. For lack of a better word, 'cruel' or 'hard' can be utilized here. The four quadrants are Affable/Hateful (A/Sl), Disdainful (A/Sf), Mocking/Hateful (P/Sf), and Tyrannical (P/Sl).

All four types demonstrate the following traits: a complete and utter disregard for laws, for sympathy, for altruism and above all else a dislike of weakness. Extremely high levels of mental toughness paired with emotional deafness or limited emotional response. A dismissal of people's motives as always being selfish or self-deluding, and a belief that might (be it combat power, wealth or something else) determines morality.

As with all types, the Passive/Selfish quadrant (Tyrannical) is the most curious, in that it tends to engage in the construction of control mechanisms and domination, be that of people or of cultures and mindsets while the other quadrants focus entirely on physical outcomes or destruction.

Generally speaking, oppressive types want to control others to prevent them from being a danger, while destructive types want to tear down things and people who challenge their supremacy. All quadrants view life as little more than a contest between the strong, with the weak being at best tools.

The most dangerous and 'evil' of the mindsets is the malevolent/villainous grouping. They have a nihilistic view of life at best, seeing most people as idiots and fodder and in the most extreme cases hating the very idea of life itself.

PsyProf (STG group responsible for the Quadrant Classification) has faced many questions and criticisms over this grouping, which is best described as outright evil. There is nothing positive or of any benefit in behaving in this manner. The four quadrants are Plotting/Corruptive (P/Sl), Omnicidal (A/Sf), Cruel/Disdainful (A/Sl), and Defeated/Nihilist (P/Sf).

The Passive/Selfish quadrant (Defeated/Nihilist) is curious in that it is the least outwardly destructive of the quadrants, usually resulting in a fatalistic outlook that finds no value in life. The rest are... worse.

All four types demonstrate the following traits: a complete disregard for laws and the concept that justice is a lie, a refusal of all ethical and moral norms or restrictions on actions, very poor emotional control and mental stability and a varying but inevitable belief that all life is pointless and the universe itself is a hateful construct. There are also mystical overtones to this in some cases.

In general terms, villainous personalities will at least engage with other beings, even if only in a negative manner – malevolent personalities actively plot to commit acts of mass murder, destruction and sanity-breaking cruelty as amusement.

The value of the FTQ model is that it allows for quick sketches of the viewpoints and outlooks of a being, which can be used in planning counter-intelligence, operations or even assault. A Gloryhound personality will be vulnerable to setups that allow him to gain media attention and admiration, while the same setup could work for an Adrenaline Addict with some changes. But it would not work well for a Compassionate type, or a Tyrannical type.

STG Operational Tasking Assignments

While STG Executives have no direct command oversight, for reporting purposes each one of the three manages the logistics and streamlines communications for large groupings of OTAs when they interact with the Salarian Union. For purposes of organization they are thus grouped here.

Operational OTA: 44 Tasking Assignments: the Operations group handles almost all internal STG activity, training, equipment, and development. A pool of eight Tasking Assignments is left free and is usually assigned direct action by the STG Master.

STG Operations Command (responsible for STG HQ, Communications, Security, Encryption, etc) : 12 TA

STG Training Command: 7 TA

STG Supply Command : 7 TA

STG Science Directorate : 3 TA

STG War College : 3 TA

STG Transcendental Studies : 3 TA

STG Silent Step : 1 TA

STG General Task Pool: 8 TA

Focused OTA: 39 Tasking Assignments: Focus OTAs deal with one issue, group, or problem and do not deviate from it.

Shadow Broker: 3 TA

Cerberus : 3 TA

Circle of the Fallen: 2 TA

Eclipse: 2 TA

Mercenary Groups: 2 TA

Lythari : 2 TA

Yindo/BRFS Movement: 4 TA

Asari Republic: 4 TA

Turian Hierarchy : 2 TA

Batarian Empire : 2 TA

Hanar Illuminated State : 5 TA

Quarians: 1 TA

Volus: 2 TA

Vol Corporate Court: 1 TA

Noveria : 1 TA

Elcor: 1 TA

Systems Alliance: 1 TA

Lords of Sol: 1 TA

General OT: 33 Tasking Assignments : Non focused OTAs available for general deployment. Some of these overlap or reinforce Focused assignments.

Combat Focus: 10 TA

Investigative Focus: 10 TA

Infiltration Focus : 4 TA

Commercial Espionage Focus : 2 TA

Industrial Espionage Focus : 2 TA

Anti-quarian development: 4 TA

Alteration Framework : 1 TA

STG Special Operations Cells

The following cells are dedicated to very specific operations.

Mannov-Kiron Cell: command cell of Master Field Agent Danith. Used for all special-insertion operations and the only SALARAIS-WHITE cleared cell.

Yrtha-Vov Cell: command cell of Master Field Agent Korals. Used for LoZ interfaces.

Umbra Cell: command cell of Master Field Agent Kossi. Used for asari deep insertions. (No jokes, please).

STG Command Agents

The following Agents are specialists assigned to particular tasks and advise the STG Master on these.

Executive Agent SOLUTHUS : turian specialist, assassination specialist, poison specialist

Executive Agent ERGOHAI : hanar specialist, science specialist, cybernetic medical specialist

Executive Agent MAITHAN: asari specialist, infomemetic specialist, LoZ historian

Master Field Agent Korals : LoZ liason, geth specialist, AI specialist

Master Field Agent Danith: Broker Specialist

Master Field Agent Yanthis : hacking and info-war specialist

Master Field Agent Kossi : Thirty Specialist

Master Agent Valgra : War Priestess tactical specialist

Senior Agent Soril : Systems Alliance specialist, Cerberus specialist

Senior Agent Milunis: specialist, Spectres and Spectre equipment loadouts.

Senior Agent Vinaris: anti-infiltration specialist, Cerberus specialist

Senior Agent Kathan: Reaper specialist

Senior Agent Rasha: cybernetics specialist

Senior Agent Jethoth : Systems Alliance specialist, special forces focus

Senior Agent Vessi : infiltration and reporting specialist

Senior Transcendental Sonni Dasso : biotics specialist