Zero Hour

Zero Hour are a Sworn faction who see the Contagion as the vanguard of an invasion.

Overview

The damage caused by the Contagion, its mutability and unpredictability - those aren't accidents. Where the Rosetta Society sees a message, Zero Hour sees a declaration of war. Whoever or whatever is causing the Contagion, it's trying to weaken our world before an invasion, and the Sworn have to be ready to stop it by any means necessary.

Unfortunately, some Zero Hour units have a shoot-first, ask-questions-later approach to anything that seems even remotely Contagion-like. Given the range of things that lurk in the shadows, this inevitably causes more problems than it solves. It's also difficult to maintain order and discipline with the diversity of their membership, especially when they have to choose between protecting mortals and exposing their powers.

Origins

Though martial approaches to the Contagion aren't new, Zero Hour as it exists today dates back to World War I. Between the horrors of the trenches and the first wave of the Spanish flu, it became clear that the real enemy was something else entirely, and if this world didn't band together and fight back, it would be conquered.

Methods

Zero Hour organizes itself as much like a military as it can, and every member receives combat training. However, not every battle takes place with guns and fists, and they employ spies and mystics as well as infantry and artillery. They see themselves as an insurgency, and devote considerable effort to recovering assets from the Contagion - treating the Contagious, purifying equipment and facilities, purging Infrastructure. That doesn't mean they won't destroy what they can't save, however.

Zero Hour recruits as aggressively as the Jeremiad, and they believe that mortals should be made aware of the danger their world is in, which isn't exactly a popular position. Other Sworn count on them for security and defense. Their vector is Intel.

Members

Cahalith general, Union sergeant, Cephalist spy, Saboteur double-agent, Fury recruiters

References

• CofD: The Contagion Chronicle, p. 26-28