Sigma 6

Sigma 6 was one of the branches of the Sigma Program. 
==History==
===Origins===
Sigma 6 was initiated by Preston Swift; a benefactor of the Sigma Program. During its decades of operation, the Sigma Program had recovered an artifact from the Cape Flats in South Africa. Studies revealed that it was not of human origin. Swift created Sigma 6 in order to track down similar artifacts, as given the nature of the artifact, it was clear that the creators of the device had mastered quantum teleportation. If Sigma 6 could mimic this technology, it could give humanity a means to escape the dying Earth. No expense would be spared.Bentele, Jack. "Beyond the Brink" (March 5, 2024). Frost Giant Studios. Beyond the Brink. Sigma 6's stated goal was to find new habitats for humanity, in their case, the development of portal technology.2022-12-23, James Anhalt & Tim Morten Interview: SnowPlay Technology & Stormgate. ScreenRant, accessed on 2022-12-24 Sigma 6 was considered a last ditch option compared to its counterpart branches,2023-05-30, Stormgate Human Units Revealed! | Stormgate Snapshots. YouTube, accessed on 2023-06-08 and was highly classified, even within the Sigma Program itself. The only people that knew Sigma 6 even existed (apart from Sigma 6 staff themselves) were Swift and the top brass at Sigma Central.
===Early Operations===
Over the following year, Sigma 6 excavated two different sites, first in Canada, secondly in Mexico—each the site of ancient human civilizations, and each the site of similar artifacts. While neither of them were as large as the South African relic, both artifacts were confirmed to not be of Earth. Carbon dating indicated that seven thousand years ago, an alien civilization had come to Earth and a great conflict had ensued. Later in the year, Sigma 6 was able to gain access to the Amazon—unseasonal flooding washed away an entire cliff face, revealing a temple. Swift was able to convince the Allied States of the Southern Hemisphere to give Sigma 6 access to the site.
Inside the temple, Cullin found a glyph that matched the artifact he'd seen at Swift's office. Funds were mobilized, a larger team permitted, and the Amazon dig kicked into motion. Whatever this temple was, whatever it held, Cullin was tasked with uncovering it. Cullin requested that Sigma 6 be given its own security force (which was obliged), said force led by Major Carl Barclay, as Cullin didn't trust the Allied States. Seven months into the Amazon dig, they finally found something more significant than a fragment. Beneath two collapsed walls of what was once a ceremonial chamber, the team–cautious but excited–dug out a space around this new artifact. They slowly revealed the edges of what appeared to be an imposing metallic object. Cullin delivered a speech to the staff, buoying their spirits, but by this point, he was enthralled by the Infernal Host. He later discovered that the object was unlike the previous ones, but belonged to another species entirely.
Even the biggest doubters amongst Sigma 6 could no longer deny it—they now possessed the biggest secret in human history. However, as with Sigma 6 as a whole, their discoveries were kept under wraps, reported only to Swift and the top brass at Sigma Central. Over the past seven months in the Amazon, Sigma 6 had become a makeshift family. However, the Amazon dig was shut down due to a breakdown in negotiations between Sigma and the Allied States. The remnants of the temple were packed away and shipped to Swift. Cullin, Edgar Fletcher, and Lilla Nassar were able to detect a network of artifacts spread across the globe, all of them in quantum flux.
===Sigma Polar===
Cullin led Sigma 6 to the Arctic Circle, closing in on a large field of infrasound. An entire year was spent preparing for the dig. Sigma 4 drills were shipped north at great expense, to the point that Central threatened to shut down Cullin’s wild goose chase. Cullin worked out a backdoor deal in order to allow Sigma 6 to continue to operate. While some Sigma 6 members were sent around the world to recover other artifacts, the bulk of Sigma 6 remained in the Arctic. Finally, through their drilling, the team struck gold, or rather, they discovered the largest artifact recovered so far—an octahedron, twelve feet tall and six wide, shaped with shifting plates that constantly moved and morphed into different geometric patterns. Within this protective barrier, a core of energy shone out. The heat generated by that energy melted the ice directly around the object so that it hung suspended in the air, cradled within this small pocket of space for centuries. Unlike the other resonating artifacts, this one was not in quantum flux. It was fully present and activated.
Thus, at the dawn of Sigma 6's second year in the Arctic, a facility named Sigma Polar was built around the artifact's pit. The artifact was deemed "the Key," and as far as anyone in Sigma 6 knew, its activation would allow them to open a portal to another dimension; to give humanity a means of escaping Earth if it came to it. Cullin's real goal however, was to destroy the artifact, which when destroyed, would give the Infernals access to Earth. 
Thus, the game was played—Sigma 6 strove to activate the device, while in truth, they would be destroying it. First, they went nuclear. With the reactor directly beneath the base's artifact chamber, Cullin built an emitter to channel concentrated energy into the Suppressor. They ran it until the heat levels rose dangerously high and the ice walls of the pit began to melt. For the next test, an insulated box of amplifiers was built around the Suppressor. With the flick of a switch, Cullin blasted it with sonic waves at the highest pressure possible. Again, failure. They moved onto kinetic energy, pummeling the Suppressor with a chimera built from spare parts of a few Sigma drills and jet engines. Nothing. Cullin ordered a thermal test be conducted, and under Swift's patronage, Sigma 6 received millions more in funding. However, it was clear that the top brass wouldn't tolerate the string of failures for much longer. 
Through their actions, Sigma 6 opened a portal to the Infernal homeworld.2022-10-15, Stormgate Developer Interviews with Frost Giant Studios. YouTube, accessed on 2022-10-19
==Known Personnel==
===Security===
*Major Carl Barclay
*Julian Nassar
===Scientific===
*Dr. Clive Cullin
*Dr. Edgar Fletcher
*Dr. Lilla Nassar
==References==
Category: Sigma Program branches