ORION Foundation

The ORION Foundation is a fictional covert operations agency that plays the protagonist part in the Top Secret/S.I. role-playing game. The Orion Foundation exists for one purpose—to stop the WEB and its ultimate goal of world subjugation. Orion is made up of agents from all parts of the world.

History
The WEB increased its activities during the depression like never before. With more criminal action it was only natural that more and more people would discover the secret organization. The authorities proved to be not strong enough to overcome the WEB. Those who stumbled upon the WEB and survived the lethal cost of doing so found each other and banded together.

Some of these survivors were wealthy and pooled their resources together into a foundation dedicated to nothing but the opposition of the WEB. The nature of the hunt lead to the naming of the foundation Orion, the hunter.

The foundation is financed through trust funds set up when the organization was created and resources captured from the WEB, along with income from businesses controlled by the foundation or its members.

Bureaus
The Orion Foundation has bureaus all over the world. Organized into 12 sections, each named after a zodiac sign. Once a year the Section Directors (or SD's) meet in a council called the Zodiac. Special meetings may be called to deal with emergencies. Orion Central is where the Foundation's Operations are controlled. The location of Orion Central rotates through the bureaus every five years.
 * Capricorn (North America) — New York City
 * Jurisdiction: Mainland US, Canada south of the 60th parallel
 * Section Director: Dr. Edward Matheson
 * Aquarius (Central America) — Mexico City
 * Jurisdiction: All mainland nations between Mexico and Colombia including Venezuela and the Caribbean islands.
 * Section Director: Manuel Garcia
 * Aries (South America) — Rio de Janeiro
 * Jurisdiction: Countries located in South America
 * Section Director: Maria de Lamonica
 * Gemini (Western Europe) — Paris (possibly Lyon since 1989)
 * Jurisdiction: European nations west of Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia and Greece, and all Mediterranean islands.
 * Section Director: Caroline Desjardins
 * Cancer (Eastern Europe) — Moscow
 * Jurisdiction: All nations that used to be of the Warsaw Pact- south of the 60th parallel and west of the 60th meridian, and Albania.
 * Taurus (Northern Areas) — Stockholm
 * Jurisdiction: All territories north of the 60th parallel, including all of Alaska, Norway, Sweden and the southern end of Kamchatka.
 * Section Director: Dr. Carl Meitzner
 * Virgo (North Africa) — Casablanca
 * Jurisdiction: All African nations of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahel-Sahara region (Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan and South Sudan).
 * Section Director: Alois Hassad al-Khabir
 * Leo (Africa) — Nairobi
 * Jurisdiction: All African nations and local islands not controlled by Virgo bureau.
 * Section Director: Hester Candala
 * Scorpio (Middle East) — Istanbul
 * Jurisdiction: All Islamic nations from the Mediterranean sea to Iran inclusive, except countries controlled by Virgo bureau.
 * Section Director: Nasreddin Hoca
 * Libra (Asia) — Singapore
 * Jurisdiction: All Asian nations and islands from Afghanistan to Indonesia, including countries of Indochina.
 * Section Director: Mariko Tamuri
 * Sagittarius (Far East) — Tokyo
 * Jurisdiction: China, Mongolia, Taiwan, Japan, both Republics of Korea, the Phillipines and former Soviet territories south of the 60th parallel and east of the 60th meridian.
 * Section Director: Kawamota Matsori
 * Pisces (Oceania and Antarctica) — Sydney
 * Jurisdiction: All nations of the Pacific Ocean, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and Antarctica.
 * Section Director: Sir Leslie Pilkington-Smythe

Support
Support units are named after the moons of the Visible Planets (Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn) amongst other things.
 * The Ganymede Bureau — the Orion Foundation's special equipment division. Many scientists are seconded from Mentex and Geotech (see under Businesses, below) in order to enable a steady rotation of personnel, ever seeking new and unique ideas. The Ganymede Bureau is divided into four sections.
 * G1 - Administration and Finance
 * G2 - Basic Research and New Technologies Development
 * G3 - Development and Construction
 * G4 - Distribution and Training
 * The Coriolis Bureau — the Orion Foundation's computer/communications arm. Runs the Orioncomm network.
 *  Titan Team — agents trained in commando and counter-terrorist operations. Based in New York, Berlin and Hong Kong, Titan Teams are available to agents who need powerful backup and support. Around three dozen members staff each station, in addition to individual teams assigned to some bureau headquarters.

Businesses
Several businesses are owned or controlled by the Orion Foundation or its members. Some of the more prominent are as follows:
 * Mentex Technologies, San Francisco — specializes in computer and robotics technologies.
 * Geotech Corporation, New York — develops advanced techniques and equipment for geological research, mining, petroleum drilling, meteorology and oceanography.
 * Centauri Shipping, London and Athens — controls a fleet of transport aircraft and merchant vessels. Some of these are extremely fast and give the Foundation a means of private, rapid transport to any part of the world.
 * Celestial Airlines — small nationwide carrier. The founder of Celestial Airlines was a victim of a Web operation. When Orion came to his assistance, he offered to be an emergency transport service. Agents can use Celestial when they need travel, but have no resources.
 * Excalibur Enterprises, Ltd. London — legitimate investment firm that caters to a private, wealthy clientele whose profits help keep Orion running in the black.

Employees
The Orion Foundation employs all manner of analysts, technicians, scientists, trainers and general support staff, but the heart of the organization lies in its field agents. These talented individuals are well trained and equipped by their bureau to aid them in their mission to uncover the activities and operatives of the WEB, to discredit and/or neutralize them, and to prevent the foe's plans from coming to fruition.

Field agents are often assigned to train and work with a Titan Team. This involves specialized combat and survival training in a variety of settings. The length of an agent's stint with a Titan Team varies from a single operation to a year.

Agents receive a base pay of $30,000p.a. in addition to a bonus of up to 10% of any assets captured from the enemy whilst on a mission. In addition, the foundation provides a full range of equipment free of charge, including weaponry, vehicles, surveillance equipment, the latest model of Orioncomm and, (prior to 2001, at least) an Orion Card Case.

Code of Conduct
All employees of the Orion Foundation are required to follow the Code of Conduct at all times. All proposed operations and actions must be carefully weighed against their expected consequences and against their worst case consequences. The success of the mission must clearly outweigh the expected consequences and must be viewed in proportion to the worst case consequences.
 * 1) Never take a human life, unless doing so is absolutely necessary for the advancement of the mission.
 * 2) Do not contact the Foundation, unless failure to do so will result in the failure of the mission.
 * 3) Obey national and local laws to the extent possible, without compromising the mission. Do not break a law just because it is an inconvenience.

Security Classifications
The Orion Foundation uses the following security classifications:
 * ALPHA: Publicize by any means possible, from discreet security leaks to press conferences.
 * BETA: Restrict to Orion employees and contacts if possible.
 * GAMMA: Released on a need-to-know basis. Unauthorized access requires immediate apprehension.
 * OMEGA: Top Secret. Leaks must be prevented by any means necessary, including lethal force.

Agents

 * Sebastian Cord
 * Herschel Levy
 * Roger Mason
 * Carol McKinney
 * Algernon "Dusty" McLaren
 * Twila Nash
 * Raul Rodrigo
 * Alan Steinfeld

Appearances
The Orion Foundation appeared in all of the Top Secret/S.I. products.

Box sets

 * Top Secret/S.I.. Douglas Niles, Warren Spector (1987). ISBN 0-88038-407-7
 * High Stakes Gamble. Douglas Niles, Bob Kern (1988). ISBN 0-88038-545-6

Accessory books

 * TSAC1 - G4 File: Guns, Gadgets & Getaway Gear. Merle M. Rasmussen (1987). ISBN 0-88038-474-3
 * TSAC2 - Agent 13 Source Book. Mark Acres (1988). ISBN 0-88038-478-6
 * TSAC3 - Covert Operations Sourcebook. John Prados (1988). ISBN 0-88038-479-4
 * TSAC4 - F.R.E.E. Lancers. Jeff Grubb (1988). ISBN 0-88038-565-0
 * TSAC5 - Commando. David Cook (1988). ISBN 0-88038-594-4
 * TSAC6 - Covert Operations Sourcebook Vol. 2. John Prados (1988). ISBN 0-88038-616-9
 * TSAC7 - F.R.E.E. America. Scott Bowles (1989). ISBN 0-88038-725-4

Mission modules

 * TS1 - Operation: Starfire. Tracy Hickman (1987). ISBN 0-88038-476-X
 * TS2 - The Doomsday Drop. Tracy Hickman (1988). ISBN 0-88038-480-8
 * TS3 - Orion Rising. (1988). ISBN 0-88038-575-8
 * TS4 - Commando Brushfire Wars. ISBN 0-88038-708-4
 * TSA1 - The Web. Caroline Spector (1990). ISBN 0-88038-820-X
 * TSA2 - The Final Weapon. Ray Winninger (1990). ISBN 0-88038-855-2
 * TSE1 - Web of Deceit. Bob Kern (1989). ISBN 0-88038-714-9
 * TSE2 - Sting of the Spider. Bob Kern (1989). ISBN 0-88038-732-7
 * TSE3 - Web Wars. Bob Kern (1989). ISBN 0-88038-765-3

Solo Operations Casebooks

 * The Final Bug. Jean Blashfield (1988). ISBN 0-88038-553-7
 * Foul Play at Fool's Summit. Troy Denning (1989). ISBN 0-88038-621-5 (Note: though this module has an ISBN, it was never actually released, as the Catacombs gamebook line was cancelled before its release.)

Novels
Five novels were published by TSR from various campaign settings from Top Secret/S.I. game. The Double Agent series each contained two novellas in each volume.
 * Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger #1: The Invisible Empire by Flint Dille and David Marconi. ISBN 0-88038-281-3
 * Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger #2: The Serpentine Assassin Flint Dille and David Marconi. ISBN 0-88038-282-1
 * Double Agent: Acolytes of Darkness/Web of Danger by Flint Dille and David Marconi/Aaron Allston ISBN 0-88038-550-2
 * Double Agent: Royal Pain/The Hollow Earth Affair by Richard Merwin/Warren Spector ISBN 0-88038-551-0
 * Double Agent: The Hard Sell/Glitch! by Richard Merwin/David Cook ISBN 0-88038-589-8

Comics
Two graphic novels based on the Pulp-era setting were published.


 * Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger by Flint Dille, David Marconi, and Dan Spiegle ISBN 0-88038-581-2
 * Agent 13: Acolytes of Darkness (loosely based on the novel)

TSR published eight issues of 13: Assassin comic that featured stories set in the Agent 13 campaign setting bringing the story to a more modern era (1990's). The first six issues had a back-up story set in the Top Secret/S.I. setting (ORION vs. WEB) which seemed to take place at the end of the agency's covert war. Each issue also contained a miniature game and some issues included character stats for the role-playing game.