- Earthrealm Special Forces - Outerworld Research and Control Agency -
Ever since Shao Kahn's failed invasion of Earthrealm, there has been a pressing need to document and study the abilities of species from other realms as well as the rising issue of meta humans emerging across the globe. At first this responsibility is left with Earthrealm Special Forces (ESF) as part of their overall mission to defend the realm. But after the Reiko Accords, it became apparent that ESF were unable to balance this responsibility with their primary directive as a defensive strike force. The key deciding factor being how easily Kotal and his then trusted fighters D'Vorah and Erron Black were able to escape and subvert ESF protocols and then abduct Earthrealm citizens.
Thus, the Outerworld Research and Control Agency (ORCA) was established. Their mission; the research, cataloging, containment, and control of those with extra-ordinary abilities that are or may be a threat to Earthrealm's safety. The agency is split into two main divisions in support of this mission. Control and Support. Control is the main division and does as one might expect, leading the charge on addressing antagonistic forces, outerworld persons, and meta humans. The Support division focus on the opposite. Their scope being the identification of citizen meta humans to help them live safe and normal lives as well as supporting and augmenting allied outerworld persons and meta humans. As a result, secrecy is paramount to ORCA. With all subjects being referred to only by code names and alpha-numerical designations in their documents, the agency dreads the possibility of their data leaking into the hands of an organization like the Red Dragon. With their penchant for human experimentation, they'd surely use the data to abduct and recruit for their sinister purposes.
While technically subordinate to the ESF, they have their own command structure that stands equal with General Blade. Still a fledgling agency at the time of the Outworld Civil War Refugee Crisis, the narrowly missed destruction of the realm by Quan Chi and Shinnok only helped prove how necessary this agency was and saw a new wealthy of funding diverted to their missions. Now they maintain several high security facilities with the most notable being as follows;
The Pod, ORCA's headquarters and dedicated research facility located in an isolated section of North Dakota at a decommissioned missile base.
Fort Charles, located in Colorado, it already housed a supermax facility for ESF. Now ORCA manages the it. Using it to contain low level threats and to funnel higher level threats to more secretive locations. Locations such as...
Brook's Range. Located in Alaska and sharing a name with the mountain range that contains it. Dug into a mountain side and with surrounding inhospitable icy conditions, this facility keeps mid tier threats well contained.
Blackrock. Disguised as a disease research facility off the coast of New England, deep underneath is one of their most secure facilities reserved for the highest level threats.
The system that ORCA uses to categorize what threat level an Otherworld Persons or Meta Human may be is called the Threat Evaluation Conditions (TECONS). Based on the Alert Condition systems such as DEFCON. While the system focuses on powers as a led determination in threat, a persons connections or willingness to cause damage, as well as difficulty to contain can also play a part in their determination. This system is not limited to enemies and is also used to classify allies.
Tier 1 - Otherworld persons without powers or low level meta humans who's powers could cause minor damage and casualties. Could be easily subdued or contained by a skilled agent.
Examples: Johnny Cage, Kabal, Erron Black, Mavado, and the civil war refugees.
Tier 2 - Persons that could cause grave damage and casualties. May require a team in order to subdue or contain.
Examples: Sheeva, Baraka, Kenshi, Kano
Tier 3 - Persons that could cause exceptionally grave damage and destruction. Containment may be exceedingly difficult.
Examples; Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Skarlet, Kotal, D'Vorah
Tier 4 - Persons that could cause damage on par with natural disasters.
Examples: Tremor, Sindel, Fujin
Tier 5 - World Enders
Examples: Shinnok, Shao Kahn.
A very special thank you to @bdfightclub/ @mkdecimation for their help in developing this idea and for the use of their Blackrock location as one of ORCA's locations in the Nightrider universe.
If you like the idea of ORCA and would like to incorporate it into your Mortal Kombat AU, please do! Just remember the golden rule of credit where it is due. Mostly because I would love to see how other people utilize this agency.
