Shadow Broker's Private Army
From FABT
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Active: |
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Organization: |
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Affiliation: |
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Type: |
Paramilitary force |
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Role: |
Special operations |
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Size: |
7,800 (regular) |
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Part of: |
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Headquarters: |
The Halcyon, Hagalaz (82 CE - 2186 CE) |
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Nickname(s): |
Shadow Army |
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Motto: |
"We're anywhere and everywhere." |
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Colors: |
Black |
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Engagements: |
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Commanders: |
Commander Wubirn Talban (last) |
- Liara T'Soni: "I didn't recognize those mercs. Their armor had no insignia, and they're incredibly well armed and trained, even for a PMC."
- Feron Huul: "You just met the Broker's private army, Ms. T'Soni. When he needs someone to die, he sends them."
- — Feron Huul and Liara T'Soni regarding the latter's first encounter with the Shadow Broker's soldiers.
The Shadow Broker's Private Army (SBPA), also known as the Shadow Army and the Broker's Forces, was the Shadow Broker's private paramilitary force utilized for operations that required precision force and firepower, as well as for special operations and a range of other clandestine activities. More of a private army than a PMC, as they only serve the Shadow Broker, the Broker's army was a very well equipped and powerful paramilitary force who specialized in wetwork, extraction, intelligence and counter-intelligence, black propaganda, false flag operations, special operations and black operations. Unlike most paramilitary outfits, the Broker's forces deploy with jet black armor with fully enclosed helmets, possessing no marks or insignia to identify them, making it impossible to identify individuals within the army: each agent is also equipped with ocular flashbangs that would detonate to deny capture, but they were rarely used as forces in the Broker's army usually didn't deploy long enough to be caught, and employed as much force as deemed to be necessary to decisively win any combat situation as quickly as possible: while well equipped, their specialty was to avoid combat, engaging only when forced to do so or to achieve a specific aim.
Contrary to what many theories supposed, the Broker's forces were not a standing army, and only the garrison on the Halcyon, the Broker's headquarters, was ever permanently stationed there. The Broker recruited his forces from PMCs, cops, security guards and the military, maintaining discretion with those recruited and ensuring their silence through a high salary and regular updates. These mercenaries were "sleeper agents", effectively available at a moment's notice, and despite some training, these soldiers remained inactive until contacted by the Broker for a mission, where they could be quickly mobilized and assigned a mission. This tactic was later adapted under the 89th Shadow Broker to expand their forces, establishing more active forces across the galaxy to improve response times, but still keeping much of it inactive and ready to mobilize, making it difficult to ascertain the exact size of their full forces. Due to the lack of identifying marks on their armor and no direct correspondence with the Broker, any agents compromised couldn't be traced back to their employer, and only the soldiers on Halcyon knew the location of the base as they lived on it, but these were only comprised of the veterans of the army and the Broker's most elite troops. As the Broker's military arm, the army was usually only used when a high value asset needed to be eliminated or extracted, or when violence or military force was required where discretion and caution had failed to produce results. Being primarily an information broker, the Broker had little need for firepower most of the time, so the army largely represented a "desperate measure" they could use where intelligence wasn't enough. As the Broker only wanted the best for their army, there was no strict species-requirements, and the Broker's army had a very diverse range of members, with humans, krogan, salarians, asari, turians, drell and, at one point, even quarians amongst their ranks: following the Reaper War when the 90th Shadow Broker took over, this further expanded to include geth.
Only occasionally used ever since it was established by the 4th Shadow Broker in 82 CE, the army would find more large-scale use in 2184 CE when the 89th Shadow Broker (although in reality it was their assistant pulling the strings) tried to sell Commander Shepard's body to the Collectors, sparking a shadow war with Cerberus and Liara T'Soni to obtain Shepard's body, and forces from the Broker's army were frequently involved. Although the Broker would lose this war, the army would be dragged into another one a year later when Liara began her move to kill the Broker. The army would be utilized to fight the Normandy Squad on numerous occasions, the most egregious of their attacks being a joint Cerberus-Broker assault on the Migrant Fleet and then a bombing on Illium. These attacks would ultimately only lead to further casualties for the Broker's forces, and culminated in an assault on the Halcyon, where the most elite of the Broker's forces suffered substantial losses, and the Broker's assistant would meet their demise and the 89th Broker themselves would stand down. With Liara becoming the 90th Shadow Broker, the Broker's forces were reorganized and put to use gathering intelligence to help prepare for the Reapers. When the Reapers finally arrived in 2186 CE, the army largely avoided direct confrontations, although it would fight in several battles with both the Reapers and Cerberus alike, and at least 2,000 Broker mercs would provide support for the UGC during the Battle of London. The army would continue to exist, although depleted, after the war and through the Border War and Post-Apocalyptic Wars, where it refused to take part, even when asked to choose sides. The Broker's army finally joined the DDF during the Dominion Civil War, where it would be deployed across a wide array of theaters, and ultimately help bring law and order back to the galaxy after the war alongside peacekeeping forces of the UGR. Deciding to join the Second Andromeda Initiative, Liara revealed herself to be the Shadow Broker, unveiling the identity for the Broker for the first time in history, shortly before signing an agreement with the UGR to formally dissolve the Broker's network and disband her military forces. With the agreement ratified, the Broker's forces were disbanded in 2254 CE.