> You should fight fire with fire, and ask an intelligence service to brief on another intelligence service. It seems one won a big prize against the Seraphim and uncovered quite a few of their professional secrets. By luck, the author seems to seek advancement and did not bother to specify when the information weren't coming from him. It makes the document a bit less dry to read than a lot of intelligence reports we had in hand. Seemingly, the subtitles weren't in the original report, somebody formatted them from tags highlighting the most interesting part for each regional direction. Somehow, Link acquired the file and offered to sold it. And an unidentified benefactor paid the right, astronomical, price and asked Link to drop the things openly here on Shadowland. Call that a good day on Shadowland.
> Captain Chaos
Transmitted: 01/14/2064 at 00:57:50 (PST)
This report follows the interrogation of an agent of a not inconsiderable rank from the Cross Applied Technologies company (CATCo) intelligence service, known as "the Seraphim." We identified him as Gregory Paul, also using the identities Douglas McCole and Michel Bertin. We got the opportunity to abduct him in Stockholm in late May. As expected, he has been particularly resilient to magical interrogation techniques. We obtained most results thanks to a continuous psychological pressure over five weeks. This brought particularly noteworthy information about the Seraphim organizations and operations.
The interviewers debriefing and Psychological Department comments give those data a reliability rating E-4.
It has been confirmed the Seraphim are after Ake Soderstrand. This individual is hiding since his publisher announced the release of his book on the 2033 Nanosecond Buyout, but seemingly remains in Sweden.
According to this source, Lucien Cross, now CEO of CATCo, was indeed involved in Damien Knight's operation. The buyout wasn't endorsed by Acquisition Technologies, at the time Cross' employer. In addition to actively trying to prevent the publishing of Soderstrand's book, the Seraphim also try to locate possible remaining parts of the equipment they used. Soderstrand's role was to acquire and help Knight to install a computer bank and cyberterminal components. Cross played an active role in the acquisition of some components originating from Keruba group laboratories through French intermediaries. But he also provided more specific piece of software and hardware developed by his employer Acquisition Technologies (AT) in Delaware.
> For those who missed "Secret History 101" Acquisition Technologies also used to employ one David Gavilan, between his tour of duty in the Air Force and his participation to Echo Mirage. Probably rather heard of him as Damien Knight.
> Squire
Factually, Lucien Cross was in 2033 working for AT Investigative Research Division in charge of corporate espionage. In September 2032, the Swedish air force invited an engineering team from AT to test an eventual use of AT high-speed processor technology, originally developed for aircraft targeting system, in their "Beholder" radar system. AT included Cross in the team to collect intelligence on the Swedish radar. The team went to Sweden with six processors of the TTA-616 series. After successful tests in Uppsala laboratories, in late January 2033 the six processors were scheduled for a life-size installatiin the Swedish main radar stations.
Our source claims the Nanosecond Buyout used one of this processor. Cross stole it and moved it to Stockholm where Knight and Soderstrand were waiting. The operation couldn't have been performed without that processor to run the Investigative Research Division in-house software. This leave little room for a coincidence of date and place that the radar station of Angelholm-Barbakra detected stealth bombers identified as BAE FA-38 Nightwraith about 16 hours before the Nanosecond Buyout was launched. Our source displayed knowledge of if the processor and software code were part of the equipment the Seraphim are trying to locate.
> So Knight and Cross were involved in the Nightwraith's Night as well... And they took advantage of it to make their own operation. Good plan.
> Bishop
> They were involved but maybe not the way you could imagine. If I understood correctly, Angelholm was the only radar base who didn't have the TTA chip for testing, precisely because of Cross intervention. From what is known, other stations of the Beholder network, Satenas or Ronneby-Kallinge especially, saw nothing. I guess is Angelholm had received its chip, we wouldn't have known just where to start searching for what happened that night.
> Rubik
> Wanna know what the very first of Cross' Seraphim owe their name to ? Open any good encyclopedia. The Order of the Seraphim is simply the highest Swedish decoration.
> Google
> Felling the tide coming, I open a gateway to an appropriate SIG.
> Captain Chaos
"Faithfully Opening Appropriate SIG Since 2051"
Our source's knowledge of Seraphim organization and ongoing operations suggest he could be an agent of a not inconsiderable rank. He says he have been first recruited in 2043 in Montreal by Julien Varin, which we suspect to be one of the founders of the Seraphim. His original codename, Tatnai, reference to the Old Testament, Book of Ezra 5, appears to have been chosen randomly and stayed into use since, along with temporary codenames.
> Picking codenames within the Bible is an old trick. It's one of the easiest book to get wherever you are (still easier and less dangerous to get a Quran in the Middle East though), even if you don't have a Matrix access.
> Spook
Varin have been working between 2016 and 2031 for the French intelligence. During the main part of his career, he maintained espionage activities in Quebec and Canada. In 2031 the military general staff controlling the country sacked Varin as he disapproved the coup d'état. He may also have knew several of the intermediaries from which Lucien Cross bought computer components in 2032.
> Most of the figures who reputedly founded the Seraphim have a similar profile. At that time, they were plenty of people from the French Ministry of Defense sacked like Varin, but also people from the CIA and other American services who dropped all patriotism aside somewhere in the middle of the splits between UCAS, CAS and California.
> Prof
The Seraphim possess a very flexible organization. They form cells to handle specific short or long-term missions. These procedures prevail even in Québec where the Seraphim concentrate. However, the Seraphim are also organized in ten branches. The numbers associated to each is actually defining the emergency hierarchy in use when an operation is threatened.
The H1 level is the largest part of the Seraphim network and it's largest interface with the situation. They're the informants and fixers treated by a Seraphim agent but independent from the CATCo. They aren't aware of their affiliation and of the ongoing missions final objectives. Our source didn't precisely confirm our evaluation of H1 level size at as much as 20,000 people worldwide, at least five times more than the rest of the Seraphim.
> The Seraphim mimicked the Mossad's network of Sayanim. The guy who recruited Varin and the other and set up the Seraphim for Cross was a former Israeli agent born in France, David Bronfman. He had quite a reputation within the Mossad for his hot temper. His colleagues nicknamed him "the fiery one" for a reason... the Saraph in Hebrew.
> Cible
> Ties with the Mossad ? Interesting, in 2032 the Israeli were trying to secure assistance from London as the situation heat up in the Middle East, the coming Jihad. If cease-fire and truce haven't been signed with the Russians after the Nightwraith strike, it would have been a lot more difficult for the Europeans to counter the Arab troops.
> Prof
The H2 level maintains the administrative duties. An organization like the Seraphim doesn't escape the need of a considerable number of administrative assistants, secretary and accountants to manage its operations. Only a limited part of Seraphim facilities are directly maintained by the CATCo services or subsidiaries. A more important numbers are companies or associations owned by Seraphim contacts or agents posing as independent entrepreneurs. The H3 level also has a support role, closer to the field. It includes various technicians and support mages.
The H4 level is in charge of the CATCo security. They protect the corporation most important executives and assets, including Lucien Cross himself.
The H5 level is the second most important branch of the Seraphim after the H1, the two being closely and sometimes unclearly intertwined. These agents collect intelligence in the field under cover or sometimes infiltrated inside adverse organizations. The recruitment of H1 contacts sometimes prepares a future recruitment as an H5 infiltrators, like our source have been. They're are effectively trained in facilities maintained by the Seraphim. Our source could describe three of those training centers located in Montreal area. Those on Avenue Papineau and St Jean sur Richelieu appears to be nowadays inactive. The warehouse between Longueil and Parc Champvert still displays a suspicious activity at this moment.
> Not for long...
> Blade
> You beat me to it.
> Mac
The H6 level regroups under the control of the Seraphim all of the CATCo units suited for military operations. Cross military capacity is battalion-sized, with two combat and one support companies openly stationed in a compound in St-Hyacinthe, east of Montreal. The Seraphim pre-positioned covertly the rest of CATCo forces as fast reaction teams throughout the world.
> St-Hyacinthe is also the base of the 6e Bataillon, 22e Régiment d'Infanterie of the Quebec Army. This is a reserve unit with a suspicious number of CATCo employees serving, especially corporate security guards. At the end of their tour of duty, those can expect a promotion to CATCo's military forces. The Republic of Quebec nicely train Cross' troops and pay them for that.
> Chauffard
The H7 level is in charge of analysis and strategies. Little information existed from this point prior to our recent acquisition. Until 2044 it has an official facade as Cross Matrix Technologies' Service de Recherche des Activités Financières - 1 (Research Service for Financial Activities - 1). After this date SRAF-1 executives and their successors held at best position as special counselors or consultants for CATCo management.
> Don't ask. Lots of people tried to find SRAF-2 and above. I guess they just wanted to fool people.
> Rubik
> They're those who first got nicknamed the Seraphim. The acronym read in French simply sounds like "Séraphin" which is Québecois slang for miserly.
> Mac
The H8 level recruits veteran agents from other branches. Those take charge of Seraphim own internal security and training. The direction also regularly assign some of them to handle high priority mission when the situation require their experience. We do think it could be such situation that led our source to be assigned to Söderstrand research. It is also possible he is even a H9 agent newly assigned to Northern Europe.
The H9 level is the regional director in each area of action. The H10 level is the Seraphim top direction. In spite of his rank and role, our source displayed no precise knowledge of the identity of the Seraphim head. Besides, H10 only interacts with H9 agents or a small number of H8 agents.
> I'd like to pinpoint something overlooked so far: "Seraphim" is a plural, the singular never shows up. There are "Seraphim agent" or "Seraphim operative." They're their agents, their operatives, The Seraphim themselves are only the small club at the top, people like Varin and Bronfman, and possibly Lucien Cross.
> Webster
Our source gave us a set of very interesting information concerning Seraphim operations in Toronto in which in took part. It appears nearly as much active than Montreal. We did know Ares Special Office service is sponsoring activists and terrorists based in Ontario, using them against Cross. It led to an escalation of covert actions between the two in the recent years.
Considering the security issue, it's unlikely the Seraphim still use Toronto to introduce agents and gear in the UCAS. On the other hand, their massive financial operations need Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as a gateway. The Seraphim have in here contacts or agents inside most major banks and trading houses as well as inside the TSX regulation bodies. In addition to market intelligence and stock manipulations, the Seraphim do get from here funding for a sizeable part of their operations worldwide. The CATCo effectively possesses here a division of financial operations made of small subsidiaries and partners that the Seraphim control.
> The last coup of the Seraphim caused the bankruptcy of the Valley-Dillman Group, Cross snatching two priced subsidiaries in the move. However on that one the UCAS Justice Department opened an investigation the minute after the Attorney General received a direct call from the VP.
> Prof
The Seraphim also keep a dense network of shells within Toronto financial and computer hardware and software industry. The CATCo controls only a few of them, making very difficult to track down their other covers. In particular, the "virtual companies" using telecommuting seems to make suitable and discreet communication centers.
Detroit is an area of major interest for the Seraphim. Since 2057, Ares Macrotechnology Inc. has supported important operations against the CATCo. As already known, battles for influence in Atlantic Northeast is a minor motivation for this, it stays primarily a personal feud between Ares President/CEO Damien Knight and Lucien Cross. Initial actions were the feat of Ares Special Office, who answer directly to Ares board members. With the conflict intensification and Seraphim reaction, the situation involved all of Ares security, intelligence and action services during the 2057-2060 corporate wars period. Currently, the Seraphim keep paying attention to a more limited number of Ares services. It namely concerns the Special Office and Ares Intelligence Headquarters. The Seraphim do observe like us a growing attention of Knight Errant Intelligence Center toward California. Our source hadn't been granted access to information about the probable infiltration attempts of Ares by the Seraphim.
> It was quite surprising from good boy Roger Soaring-Owl to put Knight Errant resources away from Knight's pet operations. But since troops stations in California, KE officers insisted on getting current intel about the situation.
> Stretch
> Ares has a bit dysfunctional intelligence apparatus, much like the UCAS actually. In a very theoretical top position, the intelligence department of Ares Headquarters manages all the other. Ares Arms uses the Surveillance department of an anonymous subsidiary somewhere. Knight Errant maintains an Intelligence Center and several specialized battalions. AresSpace has its part with the UCAS spy satellites network. And as you read, there's the Special Office aside, mainly set to serve Ares shareholders wishes, like bug hunt and Seraphim plucking.
> Squire
In 2059, Ares second shareholder by importance Leonard Aurelius became Lucien Cross associate and the head of CATCo new division Cross Global Development, headquartered in Detroit. The newly created division amalgamated freshly acquired companies, and did not integrate Seraphim activities. Moreover, Leonard Aurelius recruited a number of experts coming from Ares group, especially subsidiaries Hard Corps and Knight Errant to conduct his operations. Cross Global Development services are very active against Ares, but cooperation with the Seraphim remains completely non-existent. It is even doubtful the most critical situation could force one. The Seraphim actually keep the whole division and more especially its covert operations under a close surveillance.
> Unlike the Seraphim, the people Aurelius recruited come from the classical school and heavily use runners.
> Prime Runner
The Seraphim are also active in Seattle, which as you know concentrates a large part of the operations exchanged between North American and Asian groups. In 2056 the Seraphim engaged a series of action against Mitsuhama to support local division Cross Advanced Electronics (CAE). It matched the arrival in Seattle of Jezebel Surrateau, a minor shareholder of CATCo and close enough to Lucien Cross to support the rumor or her having been his mistress prior to her legs disability in 2053.
> Surrateau is better known as "Gabriel," she's the head of the Seraphim. There are nobody on CATCo board out of her and Cross with the background to manage their operations.
> Trouble
> I think Lucien is professional enough not to give the reins to someone just because she took a bullet for him and slept with him... I'd add, especially not to someone he slept with. In late 2053, after the little incident that put her in a wheelchair, Lucien opened for her several bank accounts, including the stock portfolio, as a payback. The Seraphim real boss stay in the background. Surrateau is still the "H9" for Seattle though, that's not inconsiderable.
> Spook
Since 2061, the head of CAE is Nicholas Aurelius, son of Leonard. He appears to work a lot more closely with the Seraphim than his father. In March 2063 his cooperation allowed the Seraphim to capture several of Ares agents that where themselves trying to abduct Nicholas during a visit to his sister Sharon, who still works at Ares Matrix Services.
> The "agents" were for the most part shadowrunners, but the Seraphim managed to caught their Johnson by faking the mission's success. Seems the Johnson was the one who gave the orders to assassinate previous CAE director Raymond Briggs. That was a sort of gift to his father.
> Fallen Angel
A lot of the Seraphim resources in Seattle focus on a source codenamed Jareb. We now know Jareb have been in fact killed in late 2058. We relates his death to the death at that time in Atlanta of a runner from Boston area known by our services as Hawke. Before his death, he seemingly had the time to transmit to Surrateau information still in use now. Last reports concerning Hawke in summer 2057 involved his possession of data concerning an operational network set up by late Great Dragon Dunkelzahn. We do think he dealt with Jezebel Surrateau, granting her access to resources of this network at least in Seattle area. Most other parts of the network seems to have stayed under the control of the Draco Foundation. But it was perfectly feasible for the Seraphim to reactivate contacts and operatives if they didn't know who they were previously working for, as it seems the standard operating procedures was within this network.
> For those who did not know the story, they're talking about some of us runners who get regular, nicely, paid jobs from friendly fixers. Heads, you're working for the Draco and Ares. Tails, you're working for the Seraphim and Cross. It's all up to what Hawke handed.
> Prime Runner
> I remember that story. Hawke got his data from his fixer Xander Brand, a member of the network, right after that one was iced by a professional hitman. I guess it answers the question who hired the hitman.
> Deacon
From a strategic point of view, the Draco Foundation could find an interest in striking the Seraphim, considering the situation as opposing Ares and UCAS to Cross and Québec. Most intelligence services are eyeing toward the next meeting between Lucien Cross and Nadja Daviar, as she pursues to an extent the personal relationship that existed between Cross and Dunkelzahn. We shouldn't however underestimate existing tensions in addition to the aforementioned issue in Seattle. One of Daviar operational lieutenant is Toshi Akimura, a former Seraphim who we suppose was Surrateau predecessor in Seattle (he left Seattle precisely in 2053) and according to rumors holds a personal grudge against Lucien Cross.
> If the Seraphim stroke first with their attempt of buying out Brand, I doubt the Draco will ever trust the Seraphim enough.
> Sten
> Nobody with a bit of sense would ever trust the Seraphim. But trust is not a strategic consideration.
> Silk
Geneva is the Seraphim most important base outside of Québec. Their main operations in the area concerns the surveillance of diplomatic affairs and the establishment of financial shells for all purposes. They are spread to Stuttgart in Germany and Paris in France. However, despite the opening of an European division in Paris, the CATCo does not provide a facade for the Seraphim activities in Europe. Like in Toronto, we can consider the Seraphim have actually controlled a large web of small to medium financial companies for several decades. The main and most persistent ones appear to be the Groupe ALB, the Compagnie Financière Atlantique (Cofinat) and Troy-Simon International. A certain number of Seraphim shells in Switzerland, including ALB, focus on investment in small biotechnology research laboratories all over Europe to generate some benefices.
> It seems they bet on the wrong horse last year. When Proteus was deep knee into trouble, they suddenly halted all the research funding. It seemed implausible, but I followed them and anticipated on some crash of the biotechnology market. Nothing came and I lost big.
> I.deal
They're also supported on several levels by Esprit International, the corporate services subsidiary of Esprit Industries, headquartered in Geneva. The Seraphim have a permanent liaison with the Documentation Service of Esprit International (SDEI) which serves as the intelligence service for all of Esprit Industries. The SDEI amassed an important amount of information about Ares Macrotechnology operations in the last thirty years upon disputed military contracts between the two megacorporations. The Seraphim also got in contact with smuggling rings tied to the SDEI outside of Europe. We thus now expect Seraphim cells to be deeply implanted in Beirut, Kinshasa-Brazzaville, Karachi and Bangkok's underworld.
> The SDEI is a quite different bunch. They might not be as elite as the Seraphim, they know how to play it dirty. They're in touch with mercenaries, gangs, terrorists... Ever wondered why the most common weapon in third world guerilla and urban violence, the uzi-3, was a model officially manufactured for the French government ? Give credits to French and Esprit services.
> Cible
> The SDEI is also the arm of Saeder-Krupp Prime whenever they can achieve it on the basis of S-K – Esprit business relationships.
> Felix
Paris acts as a platform for a lot of the Seraphim operations in Europe, Africa and Middle East. They can easily blend in the underworld of a much larger city than Montreal or Geneva. The CATCo also recruits heavily young French graduates tempted to work in Québec, and the Seraphim does for a part the same.
Lucien Cross also have an extensive network of relations in France. From 2019 to 2026, he held a position at Mach Technologies Ventures investment fund. Though not a public figure, he was considered as a young and brilliant manager and sought after as a guest on the Grand Tour. He returned with a renewed level of influence when his corporation obtained a seat on the Corporate Court.
> In particular, the Franco-Québecoise Business Association's receptions at the Québec embassy in Paris took an interesting turn to become noteworthy among the minor events of the Winter Grand Tour stop in Paris.
> Gossip
> Well, more than half the folk present in the room then are tied to either Cross or Esprit. Basically, Québec officials are there to buy Esprit armaments between two petits fours, and African heads of state for some cybernetic and Matrix supplies from Cross. But Saeder-Krupp has also more than a token presence.
> Fleur-de-Lys
In 2060, the CATCo opened a central branch for its European operations in Paris, Cross European Development, wholly-owned by Cross Global Development. Two persons played the leading roles of its creation: William Briggs and Katrina Showski. As previous Executive Vice-President of Ares Global Entertainment, Briggs provided Cross with information concerning acquisitions planned by Ares media division and secret financial arrangements he managed throughout Europe. Showski conduced the practical part of the operation to buy those assets. Although publicly an independent financial expert, Showski is with a near-certainty a Seraphim contact or agent. She possess a great number of contacts within the business and diplomatic circles. There are currently no information to allow us to contradict the idea that we might have rightly identified her as being the elusive "Judith" who operated for the Seraphim in Paris for the last fifteen years. Outside of her position as the head of Cross European Development business, there are however no clear indication that Showski is the H9 agent for France.
> You know the kind, Judith is a myth, Judith is a man, Judith hired me the other day, unless Judith is simply the codename of the whole Parisian cell of the Seraphim. I really hate the last one because the guy who told it to me could be right.
> Cible
> Paris also hosts a major station of Ares Intelligence. Various media owned by Ares Global Entertainment provides reporters covers to Ares agents. The Chief of Station Jean-Pierre Dupré spent his whole career faking exclusive leaks and other manipulations in Le Globe and the International Post newspapers.
> Ersatz
Our source also recognized being aware as he was in duty in Paris of the existence and activities of an independent cell of Seraphim operatives whose presence was already detected in Italy and France. Those elite agents have in several occasions defeated surveillance and assassinated one of our agent in Paris. We previously thought we had identified the person heading this unit as Mathias Celan, but our source contradicted this opinion as Celan is to his knowledge a H3 specialist of cryptography with no operational role. Our source had no information concerning the membership of this unit, but was involved in their activities in one occasion. The Seraphim organized a discreet meeting with French Minister of Culture François de Cossé-Brissac and visited the small town of Amboise in western France. As the manor of Clos-Lucé at Amboise have been the last residence of Leonardo da Vinci, we have envisaged a link to either the personal interest of Lucien Cross in the painting he inherited from Dunkelzahn, or to operations conducted by Renraku, Aztechnology and Mitsuhama agents in mid 2057. In any case, they are unlikely to represent an immediate threat for our operations.
> As his ministry includes privileged cultural relations with other French-speaking countries, Cossé-Brissac is very close to most Québec top officials, and thus to Cross. The two-times minister of Culture is popular, and can claim enough governmental experience to get Education as well as Foreign Affairs in future governments, and then Prime Minister. He might be a bit short for 2067 but he'll be a credible candidate for the 2072 presidential election, and one that could count on Cross support.
> Fleur-de-Lys
> Cossé-Brissac already owes Cross a favor after the media coup he get when that Seraphim painting Lucien Cross inherited from Dunkelzahn was made the object of its first public exhibition in the Louvres.
> Echec
> An interesting piece of art it is by the way. When I saw it, I almost exploded in laugh. The topic is supposed to be "the Seraphim protecting faith and the faithful against persecutions by the Romans." However the Romans soldiers are pictured with Greek-style armors, and helmets really reminiscent of Ares logo. As for the Seraphim, as in the Bible, their six wings cover them, making them look like cloaked in gray. No wonder Lucien Cross chose to name his covert ops unit the Seraphim. He probably saw the painting in Dunkelzahn collection.
> I.doll
> And have you noticed like me the Roman soldiers who put down their helmets and join the Christians ?
> I.mage
> Errr... are you suggesting... Naaaah...
> I.doll
> Hey, that's enough to makes you wonder, no ? It suddenly make that notebook of da Vinci Dunkelzahn owned a lot more interesting, if it contains anything related to the realization of that painting. The Big D promised it to the first person who would create non-magical perpetual motion. Good luck.
> Echec