In a world where superhumans and supertech exist, many people try to use them (or exploit them) to create businesses and make money. Nowhere is this more apparent than with Securitech, a company whose motto “Protection Beyond the Merely Human” unhesitatingly advertises the fact that its guards are superhumanly strong, fast, and tough. But despite presenting itself as nothing more than a security firm in the United States, Securitech’s
other main offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Tashkent, Uzbekistan make it clear what the company really is: a modern-day band of mercenaries, available for hire to anyone who can pay its fees.

Securitech was founded in 1995 by Jefferson Roell, a mutant with powers who briefly fought crime in the New York City area in the early Nineties. A veteran of the US Marines, Roell became a superhero mainly because people who knew he
had superpowers persuaded him to. In 1995, Roell finally hit on the idea that would make his name: running a security service. Who better to protect someone’s valuables or place of business than a genuine superhero? Scraping
together what money he had, he founded Securitech. Its first few years were lean. Roell worked long hours trying to build up the business, and while it experienced no significant failures it never had any major successes or got any major contracts, either. Until he started hiring other metahumans. The idea of being protected by guards augmented to superhuman power — even low superhuman power — was extremely appealing to many prospective employers. Besides the fact that the guards were obviously well-trained, advertising that this facility has superhuman protection is enough to scare off most would-be robbers. The year 2003 saw it go international, with London, Paris, and Nairobi
offices, and in 2005 it opened its most recent office, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Despite its unquestionable success, in the past several years Securitech has come under increasing scrutiny from watchdog groups and even Interpol. Ever since it introduced metahuman guards, unsubstantiated rumours have floated around the underworld, and at times leaked into the press, that Securitech recruits its guards with shady
promises to make them superhuman without revealing the risks of pain and death that its augmentation process entails. Securitech uncategorically denies these claims, but it has kept the specifics of its augmentation process totally secret, and so far its lawyers have fought off all attempts to make it reveal that information. Of greater concern for some authorities are claims that Securitech “guards” abroad, particularly in the Nairobi and Tashkent
offices, are not actually guards per se but highlypaid mercenaries who fight in brush wars, serve overlords, and even work for supervillains. While Securitech flatly denies any accusations that it’s been involved in assassinations or similar activities, it does admit that some of its international employers seek services beyond basic security. It’s supposedly an open secret in some circles that Securitech is a mercenary firm.

Securitech is organized along quasi-military lines — a not-surprising method for a company founded by a military veteran that recruits many military veterans as employees and offers paramilitary services to its clientele. Jefferson Roell is the “commander in chief,” the man who has the final say in all important matters. He rarely leads his
men in the field; these days he’s almost entirely an office-bound administrator. Roell’s “second-in-command” is Leane Velasquez, a tough-as-nails veteran of the Gulf War (and many smaller conflicts during a brief career as a field mercenary). Velasquez travels to Securitech’s various offices frequently, bearing word from Roell. Each of Securitech’s offices is headed by an employee who holds the rank of Commander. Although bound to obey orders from the home office (or Roell or Rodriguez individually), each of them has total authority over his men otherwise. All that Roell asks is that they make a profit and draw as little unwanted attention as possible. The latter responsibility is particularly important; Roell is well aware that Securitech’s success will quickly reverse itself if the authorities begin to scrutinize the company’s activities too closely.

Securitech’s guards — “field agents,” as the company sometimes calls them — use a quasi-military ranking system. From highest to lowest, the ranks are: Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Corporal, Guard. Typically a new field
agent starts with the rank of Guard and works his way up the ladder based on merit and experience. All promotions above the rank of Lieutenant require the approval of Roell himself — captains and majors usually command large groups of guards in the field and are in charge of operations for significant clients, so Roell wants to be as sure as he can of their loyalty and competence. Commanders, and of course Rodriguez and ultimately Roell himself, outrank majors.

Securitech’s main offices are in New York City: a corporate/administrative office in Manhattan where Roell works and meets with clients; a medical clinic, also in Manhattan, where Dr. Anderson performs his medical examinations
and superhuman augmentation procedures; and a warehouse in Brooklyn where much of the company’s equipment is stored when not needed. Security on all three facilities, especially the clinic and warehouse, is very tight; the latter two in particular have the latest in supertech security systems and a round-the-clock rotation of a dozen meta guards.
A couple hours outside the city, in a very secluded and well-protected area, Securitech Security has its primary training camp, known as Beta Point. This is where it teaches its Basic and Advanced Security Training courses. It has lesser training camps out west, and also near its Nairobi and Tashkent offices. The other domestic offices tend to be organized a little differently. They all occupy a single facility that serves as office space, medical rooms (if needed) and storage. Thus they tend to be located outside the city centre proper in industrial parks and the like.

Compared to the American facilities, the offices in London and Paris are simple affairs — basically just large, easily accessible offices in those cities where company officials can meet with clients and recruiters can speak to prospective new field agents. On the other hand, the Nairobi and Tashkent “offices” are both large compounds with multiple simple but sturdy buildings. Nearly everyone, including clerical employees, has had at least Basic Security Training, and most carry sidearms (or have them within easy reach). Guards patrol the compounds at all hours of the day to keep them secure.

Unsurprisingly, Securitech has a very “macho” corporate culture. Strength, power, skill, toughness, victory at all costs, and other “male” values are paramount, and competitiveness reigns. The officers and employees are quick to pull together against any outside threat — they have high morale and excellent camaraderie — but among themselves they compete in dozens of ways every day. On the job they struggle to see who can do the best work, work the longest hours, or complete the toughest chores, all the while trash-talking one another. They also get into long, loud debates about nearly everything under the sun. Some of these “discussions” are about work-related topics (such as which firearms are better for a given task), but many of them are just another way to have fun and establish who’s top dog. Sometimes the discussions morph into “quizzes” where a superior officer simultaneously challenges and teaches his men. The oneupsmanship continues into the guards’ leisure hours. When they’re off-duty they love to compete in sports and games, ranging from darts at the local bar to full-contact football on the rec fields at Beta Point. The company’s annual boxing tournament draws employees from all over the world and comes with large cash prizes as well as bragging rights for the winners.

Securitech provides two basic types of services to its clients: straightforward security (guarding things, training guards, installing and monitoring security devices); and mercenary services in foreign venues. The latter services (often euphemistically described as “security problem consultation and direct action solutions”) are not openly advertised in the United States or Europe; word about them circulates through the Military/Mercenary/Terrorist
World and in the pages of certain obscure trade journals. Securitech’s security services cover the gamut from guards, to alarms, to security training. Securitech broke into the security field as a provider of guards to businesses and transportation services, and this service remains the backbone of the company today. Whether a client is a major celebrity who needs two or three guards to accompany him to a club opening, a bank that wants to protect its shipments of cash and other valuables, or a company that wants an entire facility guarded 24 hours a day, Securitech can meet its needs. The cost of hiring Securitech guards depends partly on their level of training but mostly on their
level of superhuman ability. Non meta guards are the most affordable — a perfect choice for a client with some minor security concerns but no major worries. Although it’s not the company’s area of greatest expertise, Securitech does have teams of technicians who install, maintain, and monitor electronic security systems for clients.

In the past few years, Securitech has earned a solid reputation as a trainer of other companies’ security personnel. It has transformed parts of the Beta Point facility in New York state to accommodate classes of up to 100 people who study security skills, some of Securitech’s special security procedures, and similar subjects. Securitech’s training is divided into two courses: Basic and Advanced. The Advanced course is open only to personnel who have completed
the Basic course. Securitech Basic training is an intensive one month course that covers general security procedures, bodyguarding, weapons use, parachuting, small boats, hand-to-hand combat, and general fitness. Students live in dormitories at Beta Point and eat at dining facilities there; basically they live and breathe security for four solid weeks. The Advanced security course requires another two months. Its curriculum includes crisis driving, advanced hand-to-hand combat, more parachuting, some military-grade personal weapons use, basic SCUBA training, a thorough
introduction to security systems and alarms, shadowing, and general combat training. Additionally, each student chooses one or more areas of “Security Specialization” for which he receives extensive training from an expert instructor in small classes so there’s a lot of student-teacher interaction. Advanced Security Training is a tough, exhausting course, but those who make it through come out of it as highly-skilled, highly employable security professionals. All Securitech field agents have had at least Basic training; most have Advanced as well.

Securitech tries to paper over the fact with euphemisms and attempts to maintain a low profile, but the truth is that the company does outright mercenary work. Securitech field agents have fought alongside regular troops in various
minor conflicts in Africa and Central Asia. In the right circumstances it would expand to other markets, such as Central/South America. Despite some accusations in the press, Securitech has some restrictions on the sort of mercenary work it does. It won’t engage in assassination work, spearhead assaults on targets, or the like. As a mercenary force it functions as a support organization, helping established militaries or revolutionary groups achieve their objectives. It doesn’t do the work for them, it helps them do it themselves. Besides its highly-trained superhuman personnel, Securitech’s main resource is its equipment. Over the years the company has acquired a large arsenal of gear, ranging from the equipment carried by field agents (see below) to a few old surplus Soviet tanks (for which is has no ammunition). It has a large fleet of vehicles, including used Humvees for transporting field agents in dangerous zones to about a dozen helicopters. For mercenary work it usually includes provisions in its contract that the employer must either provide vehicles and other necessary gear, or pay to replace/repair Securitech equipment the company uses.

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