ARO Regional Headquarters

There are four operating Abnormality Relief Organization (ARO) Regional Headquarters, one for each territory in which the ARO functions; each base acts as a home base for the ARO in that region. There is one in O.Sec F on Hack-5, one in the Federated Territories of Vash on Livio, one in the Exon Authority, though its location is unknown, and one on the Variance space station.   Each headquarters manages and delegates work to their operatives out in the field, while also dealing with the various, often complicated ramifications of the Abnormality Objects and Events their organization deals with. The facilities operate under a rigid hierarchical structure, overseen by a Chief Operating Agent (COA). The COA is responsible for the deployment of regional agents, the overall management of the headquarters, and the secure containment of all Abnormality Objects retrieved from the field.   Each ARO is a maze of offices, testing and training facilities, and containment zones. The containment zones are purpose-built to mitigate the specific capabilities of each Abnormality Object, with constant surveillance. Access to these highly restricted areas is limited to agents with the highest security clearance, and entry into containment units is always supervised. While the strategic deployment of certain contained objects for the retrieval of other uncontained items is considered, many objects are deemed too potent for release.   Most ARO Agents complete their initial training in one of these facilities; they are typically dispatched to one of them depending on their proximity. Agents that are in between missions are required to return to the nearest headquarters to immediately report the outcome of their mission. ARO Agents are supplied with living quarters within the headquarters, and until they have senior-level clearance, are expected to leave all ARO-owned property at one of these facilities until their next mission. Many agents live in one of these headquarters full-time, though as their seniority grows, they are more likely to find lodgings somewhere close by. Though everyone is expected to check in every day, regardless of whether they live on or off premises.  

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The ARO Regional Headquarters, with its brutalist concrete and few windows, for many, symbolizes a controlled environment in an often chaotic universe. And for most, the ARO, while mysterious and often somewhat disconcerting, is a welcome and comforting presence. As they often are the ones assisting in fraught and often dangerous situations involving Abnormality Objects and Events.   For others, though, the symbolism of these monolithic buildings goes beyond the straightforward.   Others who have studied the ARO more intensely feel like the group, and specifically, their headquarters represent something much deeper than simple order in chaos. They believe that these buildings have taken on a deeper meaning, a sort of representation for humanity’s current feelings and role in the Delta Space. The blocky, dull buildings symbolize humanity’s desperate attempt to impose order on the inexplicable. The sheer scale and brutalistic impenetrability of the building suggests a deep-seated fear of the unknown and a monumental effort to contain and protect oneself from it.   Others philosophize that these buildings represent a new and unsettling form of authority. And that despite the AROs' seemingly good intentions, the organization's secrecy, the erased backgrounds of its agents, the controversial refusal to share its technology with others, the rising questions about accountability and control represent something more sinister and authoritarian.   Finally, there is a belief among some that the building symbolizes a growing suppression of natural forces. Chaotic forces to be sure, but forces that seem to be natural to the Delta Space. The organization’s seeming goal to neutralize or contain the “rogue” elements that are the Abnormality Objects, while innocent seemin,g represents a battle against the inherent wildness and unpredictability of the Delta Space’s entire nature, and rather than acceptance the ARO fights against this stubbornly potentially upsetting the balance of the universe.