Team Bastion: The mercenaries who on paper hunt for Australium and other rare metals and resources. Their true mission is to protect Team Ajax. Traveling alongside Ajax, they double as their decoys. RED and BLU always get along due to being fodder. No survivors; the BLU Sniper, Maureen ‘Mo’ Deasil, injured from Virgil, was able to send a message to the other teams, sans Fortress, of Gray Mann’s mercenaries. Camera footage showed Mo afterwards killing herself in front of Virgil to avoid torture.

Team Citadel: The mercenaries who fight on a global level. They travel around to find new recruits for their perspective side, do background checks, and battle for potential recruits. Rivals, they hold a great respect for one another, provided both teams play by the same rules. The RED Soldier Harlan Jones, hid a briefcase of an audio tape of the Administrator talking to Humboldt inside a locker at Grand Central before dying to Virgil. The key Harlan had on him is currently in Dell’s possession, clueless of its purpose.

Team Dandelion: The mercenaries who fight in the USA, and promote RED and BLU products/businesses. Except in New Mexico. Their battles are televised every Thursday. RED and BLU always find a way to be friends; the newest teams became friends after a ceasefire of technical errors. While Team Dandelion got beaten by the Classics, they do have survivors. BLU Survivors: Medic, Spy, Pyro, Soldier, and the Heavy. RED Survivors: Engineer, Soldier, Scout, and Sniper. BLU Soldier, the Heavy, Engineer, and Sniper reluctantly joined Quake in 1978 for reasons unknown.

Why didn’t the remaining Dandelion members join Quake? They were never contacted to join. When they learned their friends were contacted by Quake, they began an investigation to find them, for they also went missing around the same. But nothing came up until December 1979, after Medic and Spy got a threatening letter toward their family meant as blackmail. Instead, they decided to fight back. RED Soldier, Pyro, and Scout, and former Dandelion mercenaries, later get involve.

Regarding their name: Dandelion was originally name Daedalion. Daedalion was a courageous Greek warrior who after losing his daughter, attempted to kill himself. When throwing himself off a mountain, Apollo turned Daedalion into a hawk. Few people could pronounce Daedalion correctly. Not even Blutarch, and he gave them the name. As such, everyone began referring to them as “The D Team” including their employer, be it Blutarch or Redmond. Daedalion collectively gave themselves the name of Dandelion, comparing themselves to the resilience weed. Eventually, the other teams and TF Industries adopted the new name.

[With Ajax being a reference to a Greek myth hero, I thought it would be cool if there was another team with the same theming. Dandelion came to be because I kept on misspelling Daedalion as ‘Dandelion’ and I thought, “Fuck it. I’m giving Team D an alternative name. Dandelion is a good name to make them the odd-ball out.”]

Team Echelon: The mercenaries who also fight in New Mexico to promote RED and BLU products/business. Occasionally, they substitute for Dandelion in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah due to unforeseen circumstances. RED and BLU are true enemies; the current teams’ inability to work together made them easy targets for the Classics. The RED Spy, Claire Tremblay, was the technical survivor on account of faking her death. Unfortunately, she was declared dead minutes after arriving at the hospital due to blood loss turn hypovolemic shock.

Certain Mercenaries Requirements/Rules

Mercenaries [and TF Industries employees] are required to be eighteen or older.

Male mercenaries’ height requirements are 5’5 to 6’5 (165cm to 196cm). Female mercenaries’ height requirements are 5’3 to 6’0 (160cm to 183cm).

Heavy Weapons Mercenaries are always tall. Male Heavies are 5’11 (180cm) to 6’5 (196cm) tall. Female Heavies are 5’7 (170cm) to 6’0 (183cm). It’s ideal for them to have muscles and a stocky build, but not all Heavies are like this.

Scouts are required to play a sport, with proof of involvement. Male Scouts’ sports are track, baseball, American football, and/or soccer. Female Scouts’ sports are softball (baseball), soccer, swimming, and/or gymnastics.

A Scout’s Changing of Class: A Scout is the only mercenary that can change class. If a Scout has a particular fighting style and/or behavior shown in another class, TF Industries makes a note on it for their file. When there’s an opening on any team on their perspective side, TF Industries will offer the opening to the Scout. If accepted, TF Industries search for a new Scout.

For instance, on RED Team Dandelion, there is an opening for the Spy. The RED Fortress Scout, who in battle prefers to sneak out and avoid others before making a hit, has a note in his file that says he has the potential of being a Spy. A TF Industries Administrative representative goes to the RED Fortress Scout if he would like to be promoted to RED Team Dandelion, and well as change class to Spy. The Scout, after long consideration, agrees to it. TF Industries approves the promotion and class change for the RED Fortress Scout to become the RED Dandelion Spy, and search for a new RED Fortress Scout.

[And said new RED Fortress Scout is Jeremy Willis.]

Male Spies can be of any height and age, but Female Spies must be between 5’4 (163cm) to 5’8 (172cm) and be twenty-one or older (with exceptions). That said, Male Spies lean closer to 5’8 (173cm) to 6’1 (185cm) in height, with outliers.

Spies are required to be skill with daggers and folding [pocket] knives, and having prior gun training + gun license. If the Spy recruit has no gun training and/or gun license, TF Industries provides gun training and/or a gun license for a 1200 cash fee.

A Spy must be formerly part of the military or government intelligence agency. If not, the Spy recruit in the TF Trial Run needs to pass three mock missions (also applies to others in the TF Trial Run) to be hire: “Capture the Flag [Intelligence]”, “Payload”, and “King of the Hill”.

A Spy, Trial Run or official, has two rules to follow. Rule One: A Spy must hide a majority of their face, or all of it. Rule Two: A Spy must never show their full face unless in designated safe spots (Dorm, Medic Bay, etc.) or on orders by a superior. Break a rule, and you get a mark.

A Mercenary’s Termination

Most times, a mercenary is able to leave TF Industries when their contract ends (and sign a year NDA), or join TF Industries if they have the right credentials.

But sometimes a mercenary break rules. After three marks of rule breaking, the mercenary is terminated. That means going on a solo mission at night while being hunted by both Team Bastion, Citadel, Dandelion, or Echelon. Ajax and Fortress are not chosen; Ajax because they’re one team, and Fortress because it’s never in New Mexico. Except in 1970 for it was a particular case of chance, and some individuals on both teams did not want to execute the termination.

A mercenary can survive a termination if they get to the Control Point of Execution and make their case to the Intelligence and Administrative representatives of the Administrator. Only two mercenaries survived a termination.

When a Spy get terminated, there’s a bonus of demasking the Spy and dragging them to the Control Point of Execution at sunrise and executing them. Then they burn the body to a crisp.

[Tumblr Exclusive Note: The 'Void Against Class', or VAC List