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OPUS

Written by Engineered Sorcery
Commissioned by HarmonyMotion
Shard-Strike Universe created by Au Goose

StrikeWatch.net Your source for all things Paranatural
OPUS: Opportunity, or Exploitation?
By Cora Hawthorne, Editor at Large

“What is OPUS?”

The Office of Paranatural Utility and Support (OPUS) is a United States federal organization focused on the training, supervision, and support of Paranaturals in the country, offering a variety of assessment, instructional, and logistical support services across the nation.

Among the tasks under their purview include free quantum-fortification and neutrino-opacity factor assessment, legal assistance (including  name trademark, vigilante case resolution, and emancipation of paranatural minors), and some degree of combat training. Many credit this central organization with the relative acceptance of Paranatural intervention in the US legal landscape.

Though some have expressed concern about OPUS’ focus on the criminal justice utility of their Paranatural charges, others have noted and lauded the relatively swift response to crimes where Paranaturals are involved in cities which maintain an OPUS office.

Opus’ Organization:

Callsigns use a chess motif, with different pin colors used to differentiate full-time employees and “contractors” hired for specific specialized tasks or skills (white are full-time, black are contractors, possibly another color for SIB?)

King: Official head of the organisation and support staff thereof. Currently held by Rowan Anderson. Serves as the public face of OPUS, giving it a veneer of accountability.

Queen: Highest coordinating position of the intelligence apparatus of OPUS (see “bishops”, “pawns”), currently held by Selina Lopez. Almost never seen in public, but technically at the same director-level decision making point as King.

Bishop: Signals Intelligence specialists, analysts, and other “desk jockeys”. Second to Knights in number of Paranaturals employed. Causes friction with NSA and FBI due to their extensive use of Paranatural abilities for intelligence/counterintelligence purposes, making it much more difficult for other intelligence organizations to acquire Paranaturals of their own.

Knight: Direct field agents who often see the most violence of any OPUS group. Deployed in teams of 4 (3 Paras and 1 null) for standard field teams, or 2 (1 para and 1 null) for SIB teams. Given extensive combat training, both with Paranatural abilities and mundane weapons. Occasionally coordinate with external tactical teams (usually Joint Special Operations Command, but occasionally CIA or FBI) for situations where more firepower is needed, but more OPUS agents can’t be spared.

Rook: Base support assets and bases themselves. Often under-appreciated by Knight and Bishop staff, but provide important logistical and requisition capabilities. Light Paranatural presence, focused on those capable of easing travel.

Pawn: Human Intelligence(HUMINT) assets. Confidential Informants, whistleblowers, and undercover agents. Provide the majority of Queen’s actionable intel, but mostly contractors. Causes primary friction with FBI and CIA, as they are often recruited as the result of plea bargains and other methods considered to be “escaping justice” by some law enforcement.

Special Intervention Branch:

The existence of the SIB is a semi-open secret, conveyed primarily via rumors and supposed fear-mongering. Taking promising Paranatural candidates found through the organisation’s more mundane activities, those recruited for the SIB are offered additional scholarships, payments, and support in exchange for being paired with a case worker (often a Null) who is expected to both keep them in line and facilitate their actions within the program.

When a rogue Paranatural of exceptional power outmatches local OPUS assets, or an extranational task requires the additional abilities afforded to a demigod, an SIB agent and their handler will be activated and given broad jurisdiction to neutralize the threat, whatever it may be.

Due to the somewhat-clandestine nature of the SIB, however, agents often find themselves at odds with local law enforcement when in pursuit of a high profile subject. Most law enforcement know to stay out of the way of a paranatural, but there have been rumors of armed conflicts between the two groups in the past.

OPUS and the US Intelligence Community:

CIA: (Not sure)

FBI: The nation’s premiere law-enforcement agency sees OPUS as a group of unstable cowboys and soldiers by any other name. While occasionally they are pressured to loan assets to each other, neither OPUS nor the FBI enjoys these working relationships. In budget meetings and hearings, King and the director of the FBI show particular enmity for each other.

NSA: The NSA’s intelligence often proves useful for OPUS to act upon when pursuing high-profile Paranatural subjects, but there is some degree of friction between the groups as they compete for talent and budgets. The previous interim Queen was poached by the NSA for a directorial position, which has led to a blend of those who appreciate having a sympathetic individual in the agency and those who believe they were “betrayed” to a rival.

“They are kinda evil bastards, but only kinda.”

The breadth of OPUS’ services and operations have given them a rather checkered record morally, with many national and international watchdogs contending that the organization uses its altruistic actions to serve as a cover for its more aggressive, clandestine activities meant to enforce the United States’ will on the Paranatural community. However, OPUS has contemporaries all across the world which fill a similar role for their own countries. If the US were to abandon their own Paranatural interventions, it would only further open the door for nations such as China or the New Irish Commercial Commonwealth to hold the monopoly on use of demigods for forceful intervention. A fear of OPUS’ behavior also ignores that their assets are often instrumental to preventing hostile Paranaturals from wreaking havoc on our own soil. Furthermore, OPUS also provides a number of invaluable training and financial resources to the Paranatural community, increasing everyone’s safety in the process.

Current Figures

King: Director Rowan Anderson. Former naval intelligence, was tapped by the president to lead OPUS after overseeing one of the first Paranatural villain related incursions (so-called Operation Firebreak, described in Fight/Flight). Confident, handsome, and best suited as a strong-jawed public face for the organization. Not a paranatural, which has been popular among the general public but unpopular in the paranatural community.

Queen: Selina Lopez. A Paranatural with the ability to mentally commune with others around her, she serves as the Cloak that hides the SIB's dagger. Rumors have it that she once used her powers to coordinate hits for a mercenary organisation, but these are unconfirmed.

Bishop Actual: Theodore Cheung. A rare male Paranatural, Theodore's abilities relate to interrogation. By entering a trancelike state, he can view recent memories of a person he is touching. Combined with traditional forced-recollection techniques (cognitive interviews, social engineering, etc), this power is particularly potent. He rarely is seen outside of the direct presence of other OPUS agents as a result of this ability's value, but some claim that the man can occasionally be found selling his services as a private investigator.