Supernatural Defense Agency

“magicis, mentis, scientia” – motto (“magic, mind, knowledge” [Latin])

The SDA performs many duties, but the first and foremost among them is the monitoring and regulation of the users of magic and psionic Abilities, particularly those with abilities that can be used for the invasion of privacy and criminal activities. An outgrowth of the self-regulation that the supernatural empowered peoples did when their abilities were still for the most part secret and/or dismissed. The SDA is also in charge of defense against supernatural threats to Earth’s populace. Namely, they monitor and defend against renegade spirits seeking vengeance against humanity for the destruction wrought by decades of environmental mismanagement. Officially, the SDA is also in charge of the environmental cleanup efforts on Earth.

Operating outside of the command structure of the Terran Alliance Armed Forces, the SDA instead reports to the Council of Ten as a whole (as well as being on the Council). The Joint Chiefs technically have no command over them, but requests for support that are made of them are almost always answered, as are requests that the SDA makes of the Joint Chiefs.

The SDA is best compared to the a national guard or a militia. Almost all of its non-staff members go about their civilian lives as normal, save for routine training and deployments. Unlike the guard forces, however, SDA members are armed even when they go about their civilian life, normally with the agency-standard FN Herstal Five-seveN pistol, however more combat-oriented agents carry the tools of their trade.

The SDA is headquartered in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the United Kingdom, at Balmoral Castle. The Castle is on permanent lease to the SDA from the British Royal Family, and SDA High Council meetings are held here on a monthly basis. All Directorate chiefs have an office at the Castle, but for some of the Chiefs, these offices are only used for the few days surrounding the High Council meetings.

SDA staff with magical or psionic abilities who work directly for the SDA are referred to as ‘Agents.’ Those with magic and psionic abilities who do not work for the SDA are referred to as members.

SDA members may be activated to service at any time as situations demand, and must engage in SDA-run training for 1 weekend a month, and 2 weeks per year, barring extenuating circumstances.

The SDA maintains a small fleet of starships which are used for transportation of personnel as is needed.

SDA Standard Equipment – The SDA uses older firearms, preferring to rely on them as opposed to the newer caseless ammunition-firing ones used by the Terran Marines and Army. This serves two purposes. First, the older technology tends to hold up better around mages (electrical ignition gets finicky around some mages them due to spirit interference). Second, it allowed them easy access to ammunition, with the large stockpiles left over from World War III. Standard ammo is the 5.7mm round, used by the FN Herstal Five-seveN pistol and P90 assault rifle.

The SDA is broken up into several directorates, each covering a different aspect of the Agency's duties.  Each member of the High Council oversees a different directorate.  There are two major power blocs on the High Council, one that advocates greater freedom for mages and psions and increased involvement in the activities of humanity (some say they are driven by guilt over their actions during WW3), and another block that advocates restraint and a return to the withdrawn nature that the magically-empowered used to engage in.

1st Directorate - Earth Cleanup Operations

Oversees environmental recovery and repair operations, along with elements of the Martian terraforming plans and the environmental protection of the Alpha Prime colony.

Chief: Waldek Wronski (SDA Classification: Shaman [Nature, Tradition Unknown] - The second-newest member of the High Council, Waldek Wronski was formerly a member of the Shaman's Council responsible for a block of territory in Eastern Europe. He is the second Chief of the 1st Directorate.

2nd Directorate - Administration

Clerical work. Also covers Diplomatic Corps assignments.

Chief: Fahim El-Amin (SDA Classification: Psion [Investigation, Influence, Networking]) - A psion hailing from Saudi Arabia, Fahim El-Amin was an official with the UNNS before his psionic talent surfaced. Lacking in skill with telepathy, he is instead talented at pulling knowledge out of the collective unconscious. He frequently sides with the Chief of the 5th Directorate, but also frequently butts heads with her over geopolitical issues, especially regarding the Middle East.

3rd Directorate - TAAF SDA Members

Oversees all SDA members that are in the employ of the TAAF. The 3rd Directorate is also in charge of the mandatory Magic and Psionic potential testing undergone by TAAF recruits.

Chief: Brigadier General Alexander "Sasha" Markovic (SDA Classification: Contractor [Battle]) - Alexander Markovic is an old teammate of the 1st Directorate Chief who enlisted in the Terran Marines after performing black ops with that Chief during the Third World War. While he appears to be in his 40s, he is in actuality 80 years old. While he has no natural magical talents, he has been bound to a spirit of Battle for his entire life, and he has no idea why, but it has slowed his aging drastically. Born in the Soviet Union in 1950, he was conscripted into Soviet Army. He served with distinction, and was eventually transferred to the KGB's Vympel unit. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he retired (with honors), and left to travel the world. In the mid-2000s, he moved to the United States and settled in the Adirondack Mountains, where he met the previous chief of the 1st Directorate. During the Third World War, he was part of the NSA and ESA's Brightlight POW Rescue operations, and after the war he chose to put his extensive (comprising numerous black ops missions, three wars, several 'security operations', and more) experiences to use with the Terran Marines. In the span of time since he has joined the Marines after World War Three, he has risen to the post of Brigadier, commanding the detachment aboard the TASS Leningrad, which operates in the Sol System area. Due to the deployed nature of his job, he is usually not present at High Council meetings unless they are planned in advance, and the 1st Directorate Chief is known to speak on his behalf. A boisterous and jovial man, he is not one to deny keeping a bottle of vodka in his desk, and is held in high regards by the Marines under his command.

4th Directorate - Civilian Members

Oversees all SDA members that are civilians. The 4th Directorate also handles the public educational institutions that the SDA runs for magically and psionically talented individuals. The 4th Directorate also oversees the detection of new psions and mages.

Chief: Frances Sommer (SDA Classification: Theurgist [Familiar, Catholic Theurgy]) - Frances is a traditional theurgist, an old-school mage, and comes from a long line of mages. He is a member of the Order of Saint Focherini and serves as the Sanctioned Catholic Orders' representative to the Council.

5th Directorate - Internal Affairs

Internal Affairs oversees the regulation of the members of the SDA, both agents and civilians. Making sure that mages aren't abusing their powers, ensuring that telepaths aren't running around ripping secrets out of everyone's minds, etc. Magical Policemen/Detectives.

Chief: Noam Wallach (SDA Classification: Psion [Influence, Networking, Investigation]) - A skilled telepath from Israel, Noam Wallach was Mossad until she retired after WW3. She routinely butts heads with the 3rd Directorate chief, as she is suspicious of their activities during WW3. Noam works out of Balmoral Castle.

6th Directorate - Spirit Relations

Spirit Relations oversees peaceful relations with high-power spirits (i.e. ones that achieved sentience. Genius Loci, knowledge spirits, etc)

Chief: Kenneth Maccallum (SDA Classification: Elementalist [Diverse (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Electromagnetism), Wiccan Spellcasting]) - Kenneth Maccallum is an earth elementalist from Scotland and a representative of Grand Lodge of Theurgy, well-known for his ability to calm angry spirits. He hails from a long line of mages, and was opposed to the outing of magic. Kenneth often sides with the 5th Directorate Chief, but he enjoys the freedom he now has to act in the open, especially when spirits start popping up in populated areas. Kenneth works out of Balmoral Castle, but is known to spend much time wandering the world incognito.

7th Directorate - Spirit Defense

Spirit Defense is in charge of defending against renegade spirits that seek to take vengeance upon humanity. The 7th Directorate oversees agents who tend to be on the high end of the power scale, including 36 highly-capable individuals known as 'Beastslayers.' These talented mages come from all walks of life and magical capabilities, but just one of them has the potential to take down a Threat Level 3 spirit beast. Of these, 10 of the 36 are known as the Number Agents, each of which have the ability to take down a Threat Level 5 spirit beast on their own. The identities of the beast-slayers are closely guarded by the SDA, and are instead referred to by their designation, though the identities of several agents are 'known' in the sense that it is a bit difficult to avoid identification when taking out a spirit beast in a civilized area. The Number Agents are each assigned a number ranging from 0 through 9, while the other 26 agents are referred to each by a single letter of the Roman alphabet. Chief: Svanhildur Hilmarsson (SDA Classification: Device User [Weapon (Artifact Tyrfing - Fiery Blade of Accuracy)] - A Device User from Iceland, Svanhildur Hilmarsson is the wielder of a sword that is known as 'Tyrfing,' the relationship of which to the Norse sword of legend is up in the air (aside from the fact that it is an artifact-level item). She is more concerned with her job as chief of the 7th Directorate than with the 'petty squabblings amongst the chiefs.' Svanhildur works out of Balmoral Castle, but is often out doing her job. Svanhildur maintains a low profile and avoids the media spotlight, as this allows her to do her job without attracting attention from the press. Chief Hilmarsson is a known Number-level Beastslayer, designated Agent 7.