Valkyrja GMBH
Written by: Ursa-Minor
In recent years, high-threat medical response corporations such as DocWagon or CrashCart have became a common sight in the sixth world, offering their services to anyone able to pay as little as five-thousand NuYen annually, including those on the wrong side of the law. While premium service options exist to cater to the wealthy in such corporations, prospective buyers in Raleigh wanting a service that exclusively caters to the 0.01% can now subscribe to Valkyrja GMBH, an ADL based securicorp that prides itself on the exclusivity of its service, and ensuring that customers get what they pay for in their multi-million NuYen contracts. Valkyrja describes itself as a 'high risk asset management and reclamation' A-class corporation, specialising in providing protection, medical treatment and rescue services to select VIP customers and commodities. While conventional security forces handle day-to-day matters, Valkyrja focusses more on punitive measures of security, deploying as a specialised HTR alternative when an important asset is in danger, with only a smaller portion of their forces participating in escorting such assets when moving through higher-risk areas. So-called Valkyrie-squadrons are trained and optimised to provide not only full armed protection, but also provide basic and intermediate medical attention and vehicular piloting skills as needed in securing endangered assets.I remember getting an unwanted front-row seat to these guys doing resuscitating a client, at the Hellas Tower incident in '75. It was just plain eerie, seeing half a dozen armored 'borgs with weird human facemasks all crouched around a waif of a dwarf while one of them treats her wounds, before skulking off with her on a stretcher. Only peep out of any of them was barking at bystanders to stay back, lest they get double-tapped...It goes without saying that the mere presence of Valkyrja agents is not to be taken as lightly as conventional security forces: They will prioritise the safety of their charges over any concept of collateral damage or public relations, and the use of non-lethal force is a truly exceptional event for them, in lieu of their military grade weapons and vehicles. If you see the placid faces moulded on their visors, I whole-heartedly advice abandoning your objectives and retreating.
Structure
The administrative elements of Valkyrja follow the conventional hierarchies and titleage of corporate businesses, while on-site forces are organised in ad-hoc but hightly regimented and practiced units, tailored for the objective at hand.
Culture
With asset security held as the highest priority, the culture of Valkyrja GMBH is one of pragmatism at its most cold-blooded. Valkyrie squadrons are encouraged to take the most ruthless and efficient measures in protecting or rescuing their charges, treating any unknown metahuman that isn't part of their unit or a protected individual as a resource to be exploited at best, or a potential threat to be eliminated as a precaution at worst. This juxtaposes quite unsettlingly with their treatment of VIPs, whose requests and needs are met without hesitation and with the greatest amount of care until a security situation arises.
Public Agenda
Valkyrja's public agenda is, if nothing else, almost admirable in its blunt honesty. The company makes no obfuscations in statings its goal of protecting only the absolute highest bidders of metahumans and corporations at absolutely no expense spared.
Assets
Valkyrja recruits from a wide pool of former/veteran soldiers, mercenaries, HTR-units and even operators of legally grey enterprises, and equips them with the highest grade of mil-spec arms, armor and vehicles that their budget allows, ranging from ergonomic sidearms and armored luxury-cars to heavy machineguns, delta-grade cyberware and armored attack-aircraft. Aesthetically, Valkyrie units can be distinguished from other HTR units by their 'war faces': Placid recreations of the operator's face, printed from bulletproof ceramics and overlaid on their visors.
History
Valkyrja originated from Saeder-Krupp executive Sandhya Lambert, after the disasterous 2065 Stuttgart hostage-crisis that left multiple executive members of Saeder-Krupp and two of its subsidiaries dead or seriously injured in the wake of the ensuing battle between local corporate security forces and the 'Gotterdammerung 2.22' terrorist group. The failure of the afformented security forces in repelling the terrorist insurgents and lack of aggressive action in the subsequent hostage-rescue situation greatly diminished Lambert's faith in the abilities of the megacorp's current HTR capabilities, and led to her solitary investment into the foundations of Valkyrja.
Originally, Valkyrja was simply the designation Lambert had given to a personal squadron of HTR operatives for her exclusive use, hand-picked from various in-corporation security groups and retainers. The original Valkyrja squadron became Lambert's shadow, following the increasingly paranoid executive wherever business took her, ensuring that should anything happen, they could be on scene within a maximum of three minutes to deal with the situation personally.
This precaution was proven to be well-founded when an another violent incident occured within the Nacktschnecke company headquarters, and Lambert - present for inter-subsidiary negotiations - was wounded in the crossfire between the interlopers and on-site security forces. With conventional HTR forces still seven and a half minutes away, the Valkyrja squadron had entered the building via helicopter and violently repelled the shadowrunning team, killing four of the five operatives while suffering no casualties and succesfully absconding with Lambert to the nearest medical facility.
Any details on this incident?
According to some peers in the ADL, it was a shadowrun. Supposed to be a simple wetwork mission on one of the company suits on the behest of some Vory, but they didn't do their homework and got tripped up on heightened security. No sympathy from me, I'm afraid.A great deal of interest in the Valkyrja was taken by both the public and Saeder-Krupp in the wake of the incident, especially by executives that had a personal interest in the concept of a personal HTR force. Allegedly, Lambert was resistant to the idea of expanding her security force to include other VIPs and assets, but was pressured into acquiescing by the company in exchange for her continued use of their security-forces. Extensive metrics and observations were made of the Valkyrja squadron, which was used as the basis for further units to be developed for use by executive and corporate VIPs as a further precaution above standard security and HTR systems. In 2068, Valkyrja was officially registered as a security subsidiary of Saeder-Krupp. Over the following years, the company expanded its services across the Allied German States for a multitude of Saeder-Krup customers, reaching new customers not through advertising but through word-of-mouth from VIPs satisfied at their services, often in the aftermath of succesful VIP and asset reclamations. In 2076, Valkyrja GMBH opened its first branch outside of the ADL, using Raleigh in part to see if the service would sell well outside of Saeder-Krupp territory and in part to secure the many financial interests of theirs taking hold in Raleigh.
"Safety At All Costs."
Founding Date
2068
Type
Corporation, Security
Ongoing Contracts
Valkyrja have multiple standing contracts with Typhon Munitions to supply them with the corporation's more upscale arms and equipment, in exchange for bulk discounts on VIP services for their executives and key staff.
Neutral
Lone Star and Valkyrja frequently butt heads over jurisdiction in hostage rescue situations, and incidents of violent misidentification have led to the latter being an unknowing thorn in the former's side.
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