Hellhound Chronicle

"Hellhounds" is the codename of a covert operatives team tasked with tracking and eliminating major international illegal and criminal enterprises that have grown out of control or intercepting and shutting down activities of their kind (or before they have a chance to reach such heights.) by use of lethal force and by any means necessary.

There are two distinctly different generations of the group, both of which served while stationed at the Gottfried V. Holtz Research Center.



Generation Alpha
The original Hellhounds were established by the USCCDS on February 22, 1961. The group of 40 were primarily formed from a carefully selected mix of outstanding soldiers in service from around the world and US government officers leftover from the dissolution of the OSS. Each member maintained a unique field profession that was integral to the unit's operation and had been given exclusive access to Red Forge in order to bolster their effectiveness.

The original group was brought together by President John F. Kennedy shortly after his swearing into office. The group worked well together and was captained by Gabriel Locke, who was rumored to have been a blood-related son of Eliot and brother of Robert Ness. ( Al Capone's established criminal underground had a grudge with the Ness family even after his death. Due to this, several syndicates had urgent desires to eliminate all relatives close to Eliot. When word of this got out on the streets, all information linking Gabriel to the Ness family was destroyed to protect his life. ) President Kennedy was allegedly inspired by Eliot Ness's creation of "The Untouchables" created the Hellhounds out of respect for the late agent as an international variation of the original untouchables. It was a coincidence that Gabriel was selected as part of the team and given role as captain, Kennedy was unaware of any family ties to Ness.

The Hellhounds were never publicized and all knowledge of the team was exclusive to the president and few other head officials. The group was well-financed and was given rights to test the newest armed weapons and tactical equipment as technology advanced. Due to the extreme circumstances of their job and sensitivity of their positions, Hellhounds had been subject to a mandate that removed their faction from official documentations such as birth, social and tax records, effectively erasing their identities.

Kennedy was pleased with the Hellhounds' performance, but upon the surfacing of plans set into motion by the previous president (to invade Cuba), Kennedy became hesitant to use the Hellhounds in the plan and declined their involvement. The Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, spoke with Kennedy insisted that the Hellhounds be put into use as a power play, clinching a victory in the Cuban invasion, but Kennedy wasn't willing to sacrifice exposing the Hellhounds so early on and gave no definitive answer. McNamara trusted that Kennedy would change his mind and held out on air support during the invasion, saving the call for whenever Kennedy chose to send them in. A miscommunication emerged from this decision and the invasion was botched. The Hellhounds were never sent in, still kept in the dark in more low-profile operations.

Unexpectedly, President Kennedy was assassinated and the focus of the Hellhounds was left ambiguous. They still received funding and access to weapons R&D and no longer possessed any official onboard directorial command. Their orders came strictly from Kennedy himself, President Lyndon B. Johnson had not been directed to take charge of the services as the process of transference was not yet established at that time. The Hellhounds were still granted the right to act on their own accord as long as the captain reported through McNamara, who guided them in Kennedy's absence.

As the late Kennedy feared, some information of their existence was leaked due to the constant "inappropriate use" of the Hellhounds rather than strictly adhering them to criminal activity prevention. Few of the members disbanded for personal reasons or simply fell ill and could not recover. The remainder of the lot dwindled until only eleven were left, much like the original untouchables, they were the most important members that were also the most reliable.

One of the members of the Hellhounds, "Derrick Stroheim" had established a brotherly bond with Gabriel during these times.

Second Generation
One of the Hellhounds members, Chai Guofeng, assassinated Gabriel and her motivations for doing so were never made clear. Guofeng was captured and arrested before being sentenced and executed. After this event, the bulk of the remaining Hellhounds went separate ways, leaving only three to remain.

Stroheim sought to reform a new group of Hellhounds with the help of Baccus Kincaid and Norman Barnsborough, the last remaining original members. They were given rights to do recruitment the first time they sought to do so, but Stroheim was forbidden to enlist those already serviced to any government. This posed a challenge for him initially, but he had come to realize that the times had changed so drastically that whatever his previous ideal selections may have been at that time were likely unfit for use anyhow. He sought to find newer, younger and more open-minded candidates for the positions that were both more familiar with the present state of the world as well as exposed to a great degree of crime at a young age.

Kincaid instructed Stroheim that the best solution would be to locate candidates In the heart of the worst of the enemy's territory, using the old saying "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." to the most extreme lengths conceivable. With this in mind, they set up to scout potential candidates within the criminal underworld and areas of increased conflict. Over time, they had managed to compile a team worthy of succession.



Story Entries

 * Stray Days
 * Spectrum Excess
 * Spectrum Excess