Special Research Projects and Activities Division

*No retreat, No surrender, No defeat*

- SRPAD Motto

The **Special Research Projects and Activities Division (SRPAD)** was an CORE  military organization that was tasked with studying and finding different conventional means in defeating the Scalers.

## History

SRPAD was created on Harvest 27th, 34 BE by the DRA after the CORE acknowledged the war could not continue The organization was tasked with finding ways to combat the DNA and unknown to the CORE the Scalers, typically by creating new weapons and technology (mostly re-engineered from captured Scaler technology) to directly combating the Scaler threat. SRPAD was also responsible for extracting and recruiting the best into their organization.

In 20 BE, SRPAD funded the creation of Project Silas with the purpose of creating a special operations task force in which sixty CORE soldiers from various Special Forces teams were deployed to fight off an enemy force of five hundred soldiers from overrunning a civilian hospital. Even though they were heavily outnumbered, the CORE soldiers decided to stay and defend the hospital with their lives, aware that the enemy would massacre its occupants.

Over the course of three days, their numbers were reduced to fifteen soldiers. Knowing that they could not last another night of fighting, the hospital was evacuated overnight and the evacuees led to safety by one of their men. The remaining fourteen soldiers hid amongst the bodies of their fallen comrades across the battlefield and waited for the enemy's attack. Blood from the bodies dripped over them and sand adhered to their faces, providing impromptu camouflage. When the enemy soldiers finally advanced, the soldiers rose from the bodies and ambushed them. The battle was long and fierce; the Reds fired their guns until they ran out of bullets, then used their combat knives until the blades were dulled, then at last resorted to fighting with their bare hands.

In the end, the soldiers slew all of the enemies except for one man, who was later found traumatized and wandering in the desert. He reported that his unit was wiped out by "a force so menacing and unbeatable, it can only be described as supernatural," and called them "ghosts". These surviving soldiers would be known as Onyx.

SRPAD also created a specialized network, known as SrpaNet, that was used for storing and relaying important files and documents relating to SRPAD projects. The organization was also responsible for the development of the Dark Matter bomb.

SRPAD was split into two different sectors, The Mechanicus who were responsible for all the developments to come out of SRPAD and the Onyx Commandos who were created in an attempt to combat the Scalers effectively, and descretly.

## Onyx

The Onyx Commandos was an elite unit that had its own air wing, tank battalions and troop regiments that were capable of fighting on the frontlines and behind-enemy-lines. As such, they were not the only special operations unit in the CORE Armed Forces, the other one being the 4th Zerichstaz Infantry

Trained in the Black Desert Academy of Knisley Bay, they were a mysterious and deadly unit, The Onyx Commandos tended to utilize predominantly black armor and equipment to symbolize their name, and during the end war they did carry non-standard issue CORE Armaments, i.e. the Claymore and Gristbite-897 and utilized completely black King-Sabres as transportation. After Emergence Day and several years of waging war against the Scalers, they were thought to have been wiped out alongside many other units.

The Onyx Commandos conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in the Republic of Gasgar, the Democratic Republic of Hephestos, Valgar, and Hoddia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, conducted rescue operations to retrieve prisoners of war throughout Iza Rouge Isles, and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations.

The unit participated in most of the significant campaigns of the End War,

## Mechanicus

The Mechanicus were some of the best minds in CORE history that publicly were dead but in fact had just been taken underground so they may continue their research in absolute secrecy.

## History

During the Destruction of Snakebite Bay six weeks after Emergence Day, the Onyx Commandos, led by Colonel Elias Rorke, played a vital role in the defense of the city alongside regular Reds. During the battle, the Black Desert Military Academy where the Onyx Commandos were trained was taken by the Scalers and all of the cadets were slaughtered. The Onyx Commandos also fell while defending Onyx Point. Onyx Commando Cadet Sofia Hendrik served in Kilo Squad during the battle who encountered Black-Four in the Museum of Military Glory. Black-Four, derisive of the regular Reds and Sofia who they only saw as a cadet instead of a member of the Commandos, ordered the squad to defend the entranceway to the museum and later called them for help. Black-Four was eventually killed by Zamil Skraag and his forces along with all of the other Reds defending the museum.

After Kilo Squad went rogue and used the Lightmass Missile to destroy the Museum of Military Glory in an attempt to kill Zamil Skraag , the Onyx Commandos guarded the courtroom during their court-martial with the Scalersgetting closer and closer as the trial went on. At one point, the Scalers broke into the courtroom and killed several Onyx Commandos before they were repelled. Before Loomis could announce his verdict, the Scalers attacked in force, slaughtering many of the Gears while the rest fled. After the Battle of the Plaza, more Onyx Commandos soldiers joined Loomis when he executed Karn and confronted Kilo Squad.

During the Evacuation of Pholiz in 9 A.E., the Scaler's attacked the city, led by Zamil Skraag to gain a foothold for an attack on St.McCarthy. Upon learning of this, Director Ferguson ordered the Onyx Commandos to deploy into the city to try and kill Skraag. After learning that the Onyx Commandos were coming, Baker-Six noted the strangeness of the Onyx Commandos being sent in to help an evacuation. Members of the Onyx Commandos located Skraag and his bodyguards protecting a Tremor. Dozens of Onyx Commandos dropped in around Skraag from the surrounding buildings and a King Raven, including two in Silverbacks. However, they were all slaughtered by Skraag and his bodyguards, and were unable to prevent another Seeder from being summoned. Other Onyx Commandos engaged the Scalers throughout the city.

## Known SRPAD Battalions

123rd Research Division

935th R&D Group

412th Shock Regiment