Antei Contract Bureau

Antei Contract Bureau
General information
Founder(s):	Marick Arconae
Leader(s):	Overseer Marick Arconae Commissioner Celevon Edraven
Headquarters:	Unknown
Historical information
Founding:	34 ABY
Reorganization:	38 ABY
Other information
Notable members:	Arcona Officers Naga Sadow Officers Odan-Urr Officers Plagueis Officers Scholae Palatinae Officers Taldryan Officers Tarentum Officers
Affiliation:	Clan Arcona
Era(s):	Dark Jedi Brotherhood Era
[ Source ]

The Antei Contract Bureau, or ACB for short, is a new and unique service that allows the members of the Brotherhood to help further their goals by participating in mission-based tasks, referred to as "contracts". These can range from assassination and reconnaissance to VIP protection and everything in between. The Bureau is based out of the Sublevels of the Arcona Citadel and is run by the Bureau Commissioner, who reports directly to the Overseer of the Contract Bureau. The current Commissioner is Celevon Edraven.

History

A Brief on the Bureau

The organization that would become the Antei Contract Bureau was founded in 34 ABY by Hapan nobleman Marick Arconae as a sub-branch of the larger Arcona Arena, formed in the image of the now-disbanded Bounty Hunters Guild, of which Marick was a member. By offering members "contracts", which are completely voluntary special assignments, the Bureau assisted members by giving them outlets in which to test their skill and prove their worth to the House, as well as helping the Shadow Clan in a number of ways, many of which would be politically unwise to reveal to the general public.

Bluntly put, the Contract Bureau acted as a clandestine "catch-all" service specializing in dealing with those who bear ill will towards House Arcona, though without the bureaucratic red tape that tie the hands of Arcona's other "non-Sensitive" agencies. This, combined with the lack of a tedious chain of command, allows the Bureau to handle any contract that comes its way with unprecedented efficiency.

Assassination, VIP protection, reconnaissance, retrieval/destruction of secure information, and deep cover contracts were all handled by the Bureau and doled out to interested members.

A New Age

In early 38 ABY, Consul Marick Arconae sought to revitalise and recreate the Arcona Contract Bureau. Gathering a small group of allies - members of Houses Galeres and Qel-Droma - to be his staff, they quickly removed the dust from the old offices and began to toss out contracts to willing members. A new position was created, that of Overseer, held by the Founder of the Contract Bureau.

Celevon Edraven was chosen to be the new Commissioner after reflection by the Overseer. Under his leadership, the number of overall contract types went from five to seven by adding Recruiting and Piloting. Further implemented changes were to the Contract classes and hiring a larger staff to handle the many contracts set out.

By 39 ABY, the Antei Contract Bureau had offices within every Clan dominion, with Officers handing out contracts to their respective Clans with a much wider intelligence network.

Standard Operating Procedure

The contracts handled by the ACB are not always assignments set forth by the Overseer or the DIA, but rather those of outside parties. Indeed, roughly eighty percent of Bureau contracts are originally submitted as tips by non-Force Sensitive allies of the Shadow Clan, whose own agendas and goals would be set back if Arcona lost control of the Dajorra System.

With the Antei Contract Bureau spreading to the dominions of the Seven Clans, the Commissioner’s job was altered to where he or she mostly reviewed contracts and forwarded them to the relevant Clan Officers.

All tips are sent in via a series of drop boxes spread throughout the Galaxy or a heavily encrypted HoloMail account, only accessible by the Commissioner and Overseer. The identities of the senders are kept in the strictest confidence, though many do not even sign their tips or messages in the first place. A look at the Bureau's operating procedure is found below:

• • Step 1 - A tip is submitted to the Bureau by either a drop box of HoloMail account.

• • Step 2 - The Commissioner reviews the tip and validates it by flagging the involved parties for observation.

• • Step 3 - If the tip is valid, then it becomes a contract and the Commissioner begins putting together the necessary materials for the contractor who will fulfill the contract.

• • Step 4 - The contract is then assigned to an interested contractor.

• • Step 5 - The contract is fulfilled and the contractor reports back to the Commissioner. The latter then files a successful mission/after-action report.

About Contracts

When a tip becomes a contract, the Commissioner must first classify the contract in two ways; the type of contract and its class, or difficulty. Currently, there are seven (7) types of contracts, though more may be added in the future, and four (4) classes of difficulty. A list of all available types and classes are listed below.

Solo/Cooperative Contracts

There are times that the Commissioner feels that a contract is just too large for one person to take on alone, or that it is too easy and a little competition between Contractors can make things more interesting. Either way these contracts consist of a team of two or more Contractors working with or against each other to complete the same goal. Co-Op contracts can be a mission in any of the Types.

TYPE

The threats that Clan Arcona often encounters come in a wide variety and as a matter of course, so do the contracts offered by the Bureau. However, all contracts can be filed into one of the following types.

Though you can request a type based upon the chosen style of your Battleteam or personal preference, members are encouraged to expand their horizons by trying others.

• Those who have an idea for a new mission type are more than welcome to share their thoughts by either poking one of us on IRC or by emailing the Staff group (acb-staff@googlegroups.com).

Type 1: SECURITY

Type 1 contracts can range from being added to a VIP's security detail, escorting valuable cargo, guarding important facilities and other various forms of protection.

Type 2: ASSASSINATION

The elimination of a target individual or group ranging from political to personal, in a variety of methods including the normal sniper shot from afar to something completely unorthodox.

Type 3: INFILTRATION

Hacking, stealing, or breaking into secure facilities to accomplish goals that include anything from retrieval of stolen data to the destruction of enemy installations .

Type 4: RECON

These types of contracts often require contractors to rely more on stealth than all-out violence, in order to scout enemy locations and gather information or research.

Type 5: UNDERCOVER

Contracts of this nature require their contractors to go undercover with a hostile group, organization or an unaffiliated company with the mandate to bring it down from within.

Type 6: RECRUITING

This type of contract is one that is rarely requested as it will occasionally require the contractor to manipulate the target by seducing someone towards joining their cause, or even their unit. This type could be seen as the most difficult.

Type 7: PILOTING

Contracts of this nature require the contractor to utilize their skills as a pilot to accomplish the task that has been set out by the Commissioner or Staff member. This is another rare contract type.

CLASS

After a contract is classified into one of the seven types, it is then given a difficulty rating by the Bureau Commissioner, which is known as the contract's class. Under Commissioner Marick Arconae (then Del’Abbot), Brotherhood ranks were assigned to the classes of difficulty as a convenience to those Force-user who would be requesting contracts. This classification has been altered in the newest version of the Contract Bureau under Commissioner Celevon Edraven.

C-CLASS

Beginner/Entry Level missions

This level of contract is at the lowest level of difficulty, usually assigned to Journeymen or first timers to the Contract Bureau as a test to hone their skills. In the terms of a Recon mission, your target has very few patrols and it would be fairly easy to gain intel on the location you are scouting.

B-CLASS

Intermediate Level Missions

This level of contract is of mid-level difficulty and would be assigned to a pair of Journeymen in a Co-op mission as a start. In the terms of a Security mission, you would face some obstacles which is not limited to a rival group attempting to steal the valuables you are transporting. For example, this rival group would be aiming to kill you and the rest of your security team, should you not be alone in this task.

A-CLASS

Advanced Level Missions

As it states above, this level of contract is of a much higher difficulty than a B-Class. In the terms of an Infiltration mission, you would be tasked with retrieving an item from a high-security vault within a bank or well-defended complex. Whether you take the subtle approach and attempt to sneak in or go in guns blazing will be left to the discretion of yourself and possible team.

S-CLASS

High-Risk Level Missions

This is the highest level of contract difficulty offered by the Bureau. Should you be captured, the Antei Contract Bureau and Dajorra Intelligence Agency will deny knowledge of your existence. In the terms of an Assassination mission, you or your team would be tasked with the elimination of a high-value target - a Senator who is advocating a stance against our own aims. Or perhaps the head of a business with a large security detail. Depending upon the details of your mission brief, you could either be tasked with eliminating this target without anyone knowing who carried out the mission or making it a public execution.

Special Notes

B-Class Contracts and above will likely have an objective to not use lightsabers or the more visible Force powers, which could lead back to the Brotherhood. It all depends on the mission brief itself and the target of your mission.

If your Assassination target is a known Force-User, for example, your lightsaber and the use of Force powers would be allowed at any level.

Grading Scale

Keeping with the commonly held stereotype of Force-users in general, nothing is ever as simple as it appears. The same holds true with the Arcona Contract Bureau; while completion of the contract is priority one, each contractor is also graded on his or her handling of the contract, resulting in an overall grade given to them by the Commissioner or a Staff member, often in the post-mission debriefing.

The goal behind grading each contractor is mainly to praise the areas they did well in (for example, the execution of the target) and also offer constructive criticism in the areas deemed lacking, providing ideas and advice on how they could improve. The types of grades are shown below.

Grading Cooperative Contracts

If a Co-op contract is requested, it is graded as though it were two separate contracts combined into one. Upon completion of the mission, each member is graded individually, based upon their own writing. As such, it is possible for one member to score a Superior whilst his or her partner only scores a Satisfactory.

Incomplete (-2)

The contract was failed to be completed on time. No credit is given.

Needs Work (+1)

The writer completed the contract, but shows that work is severely needed. The writer demonstrated a lack of control of the English language, had problems with tense, prose, and overall storytelling.

Satisfactory (+2)

A well written contract. Passable for a mid-level placement in a competition. The writer shows a safe command of the English language, crafted a story that was readable but not overly entertaining. Spelling and grammar errors scattered but easy to see. Basic plot structure is demonstrated.

Excellent (+3)

The writer demonstrates a strong command of the English language. Spelling and grammar issues are minor and far between. The story is enjoyable, there is signs of character development and properly used plot devices.

Superior (+4)

Reserved for writing that deserves to be published. Perfect command of syntax, grammar and spelling, combined with the ability to tell a truly riveting story. Expert command on plot devices, rich character development and interactions, flowing sentences that create an overall beautiful piece of story artwork.

Grade/Difficulty Points

Firstly, the contract/mission is graded on the quality of writing in terms of syntax, story, realism and continuity. The different scores can be located below.

• Incomplete = -2 points
• Needs Work = 1 point
• Satisfactory = 2 points
• Excellent = 3 points
• Superior = 4 points

After the quality score is determined, a point multiplier is added into your score based entirely upon the difficulty of your mission. The points system for the contract difficulty can be found below.

• C-Class = 0.75
• B-Class = 1.00
• A-Class = 1.25
• S-Class = 1.50

As an example of how this scoring system works: If you selected an Assassination, S-Class mission and scored an Excellent upon completion, your score on the Monthly Leaderboard for that contract alone would be a 4.5. Further contracts completed would then add onto that overall score.

Score Board

Within the Sublevels of the Citadel, where the Contract Bureau has its offices, there is a large holographic screen that constantly displays the amount of "reward points" of each Arconan who has taken out a contract from the Bureau. The amount of points awarded depend on the grade that the contractor received. The Bureau Commissioner and Overseer are responsible for keeping the Scoreboard updated and are the only ones with access to it. It should also be noted that the existence of the Scoreboard is merely an effort to boost camaraderie amongst Clan-mates and promote friendly rivalries.

Special Note

For the highest number of scores on the Scoreboard in the monthly checks, the member that scores the highest will receive the title First Blade.

Trivia

• Talos Erinos is the original author of the wiki page.
• The Antei Contract Bureau was founded in the likeness of the Bounty Hunters Guild, or BHG. Many members (including certain members of the current staff) were members of the Guild before coming to the Dark Brotherhood.