Metahuman Threat and Response Team

The Dream Haven MRT is a single company consisting of five squads and attendant support staff. Squad One is a roaming squad that maintains strategic and tactical command over the other MRT squads in the city. Squad Two is primarily responsible for the northeastern quadrant of Dream Haven including the West End. Squad Three has jurisdiction over the northwestern parishes, Squad Four handles the southwestern areas, and Squad Five deals with the southeast and City Center. None of the squads are locked into any particular region of the city, though, and may respond to crises in any section as dictated by the needs of the day.

In addition to their regional responsibilities, each squad has certain functional specialties. Squad One, for example, is trained in long-range reconnaissance and has the Team’s best sniper as well as a secondary master sniper. They also have two spotters, three close-combat specialists, an EOD specialist, a medic, and a media relations specialist. Beyond the field units, the squad also relies heavily on other units and their support staff to provide intelligence and analysis. Other squads are similarly arranged, with a number of general field operatives and several highly trained specialists.

Each squad can be further divided into four-officer fire teams with a two-man field command and support team and each fire team can be split into partner groups. Zed has organized the MRT such that each squad member takes care of his or her own administrative work and gear maintenance. As a result, each squad has only two supporting officers and a communications specialist who remains at the precinct while the teams are in the field. All support and communications officers are fully trained MRT specialists and can function as reservists or replacement officers when a team member is out of commission.

Within the squads, ranks tend to be largely a formality and officers are expected to take charge and be given effective command in any situation where their expertise warrants it. The exception is the squad leader, who is typically ranked lieutenant, and his second, a sergeant. The squad leader is expected to maintain communications with headquarters and retain strategic command of his squad. The sergeant, generally chosen for his or her ability to think quickly and clearly in a crisis, is generally expected to maintain tactical command. Because of the relative youth of the program, sergeants rarely have significantly more experience than the senior officer corps or, for that matter, than the individual officers serving under them. In addition to the senior officers, each squad also maintains at least two detectives, an intelligence officer, a counterintelligence specialist, and a medic. Other positions tend to be filled based on the preferences and desires of the senior officer.

The MRT falls outside of the traditional chain of command for police operations, and each officer is directly responsible only to his or her immediate superiors and to Zed, himself. Zed is directly answerable only to Captain Jefferson and Chief Talako. Because of this unusual arrangement, the MRT is viewed with a certain degree of envy, suspicion, and even hostility by many regular police officers, especially those who are native to Dream Haven. The officers who originally hail from the West End tend to be a bit more understanding of the leniency granted the MRT, but a certain degree of friction exists even there.

Who's Who:

Zebediah "Zed" Slade: The MRT Commander in Chief, Zed answers only to Captain Jefferson and Chief Talako. Messing with his teams is a good way to get a nosebleed and some very stern words from the top cops in the city. Zed has a fairly long history in Dream Haven, all of which can be found in various places on my whisakedjak deviantart account.

Oscar "Spider" de la Roche: Zed's second. He was Zed's spotter before the MRT and followed him into policework when they both retired from government service. He's sociable and easy to talk to, a good man to have around to talk down the three-ton metahuman brick before said monster makes squishy play-toys out of civilians.

Candi "Donnybrook" MacHugh: Frequently cited as the woman whose mouth starts more armed conflicts than, well, just about anything else. Or everything else. Together. Donny's remarkable grasp of invective is matched only by her near inability to stop herself from using it, although, due to her recent placement as the chief officer in charge of all the metahuman activity in Eastlake High School and its environs, she has, at least, made an effort to substitute more fitting insults for her usual vulgarity. Her aplomb and sweet nature have earned her the moniker of "Madame Abrasive" to the students she watches over.

Minchiko "Money" Keimori: An officer in Marie Francis's doomed fourth squad, Kei was forcibly disengaged from her fiancee when her betrothed, another officer, was disemboweled by a violent alien predator. I haven't explored much about Kei, yet; as a member of 4th squad, she has EOD experience and isn't afraid of much. She's also quick and cagey, as evidenced by the fact that she survived being jumped by a Muerte in the infamous shopping mall disaster.

Marie "Sparrow" Francis: Lieutenant Francis is perhaps better known as Bloody Marie, a title she got after nearly half her squad was killed in the shopping mall disaster. Marie is something of an EOD genius and keeps a collection of disarmed ordinance that she's encountered that would be downright terrifying if she'd kept any of the explosive components. Despite Marie's competence and cool head under fire, she has, more than any other squad leader, been a victim of inadequate intel, and it's seen by many as a bad sign to be assigned to her team.

Robert "Papa" Papaskogin: Marie Francis's second in command as well as her mentor, Papa is the tough noncom straight through to the bone. He got his start in the navy, retired a decorated sergeant from the SEALS, where he specialized in underwater demolitions, and went back to work for Zed to wet-nurse Francis, who Zed thought needed some seasoning. He's grown to respect the hard working lieutenant and does his level best to keep her team operating smoothly.