The Data Angels

"What's more important, the data or the jazz? Sure, sure, 'Information should be free' and all that--but anyone can set information free. The jazz is in how you do it, what you do it to, and in almost getting caught without getting caught. The data is 1's and 0's. Life is the jazz."

- Datatech Sinder Roze

The Data Angels is a Alien Crossfire faction.

Description
As a splinter group of the Morgan faction, the Data Angels live in a shadow world of intrigue, conspiracy, and covert operations, working to undermine the established governments of Planet. Although they can grow into a formidable military power if need be, the Angels prefer the use of their highly skilled probe teams.

The Angels are dedicated to a flow of free information and equal opportunity for all. Their detractors call them “hackers” and thieves—but the Angels are mostly interested in the excitement of covert operations. Their lack of social structure makes police procedures more difficult, but they are highly effective spies—their bases are very difficult to penetrate, and Angel probe actions cost less than those of other factions. In addition, the Angel faction automatically gains any technology known by at least three other infiltrated factions, due to their constant covert activities. They also acquire a free Covert Ops Center in each base, after they discover Pre-Sentient Algorithms.

Detailed background
Shortly after Planetfall, the colonists struggled to build information networks in support of research and base administration. The situation was much like the early days of the Internet, in which networks were designed to be immediately useful rather than rigorously secure. Inevitably, administrators across Planet became aware of hackers in the net. Within a few years, there were widespread rumors about a "network underground," led by a mysterious figure known only by the alias of Sinder Roze.

For a long time, no one took the so-called "Data Angels" seriously. System administrators worked to secure their networks and trap the hackers, but without much success. Finally, in one of Planet's earliest inter-factional crises, the Angels revealed their hand. Dozens of computer experts and hundreds of their friends and supporters vanished from bases around Planet overnight. Among these was the head of Quality Assurance for MorganNet, a woman who turned out to be Sinder Roze herself.

The Angels soon reappeared with their own bases and territory. The established factions (especially the Morganites and University) reacted with outrage, but the Angels had prepared their move well. Logic bombs and trojans, placed within their enemies' networks long before the schism, disrupted attempts at action against them. Whether the other factions liked it or not, the Angels and their anarchistic crusade for information freedom would be a lasting factor in Planet's development.

Beliefs
The Angels aren't interested in idealistic Utopias or cosmic destinies. If they have a coherent ideal at all, it centers on freedom for the individual. They believe that human beings can manage their own destinies just fine if they're left alone. On the other hand, the Angels have a definite (if unsophisticated) moral sense. They despise wealth gained by exploitation, power seized by force, knowledge kept secret, and truth hidden by lies. They feel that the leaders of the other factions are pompous hypocrites who badly need to be taken down a peg or two.

Relations With Other Factions
Sinder Roze and her Data Angels do their best to remain independent of all other factions. This is wise, since few other factions trust the Data Angels. The Angels are most likely to ally with one of the other democratic factions, such as the Gaians, the Peacekeepers, or the Free Drones. Any such alliance will be a careful one on both sides, with the Angels refusing to be exploited and their allies worried about subtle infiltration.

The Angels hold most other factions in disdain. They are somewhat contemptuous of the Morganites and University, feeling that those factions are too arrogant and pretentious for anyone's good. The Angels are openly hostile to the Spartans and Nautilus Pirates, rejecting the "power for power's sake" philosophy held by those factions.

Strengths
The Data Angels are masters of computer technology. They know Planet's networks better than any other faction. Given half a chance, they can seize control of any computer. They always have the best computers and the most densely woven networks of any faction on Planet. They also tend to have "backdoors" and "trojan" applications buried in everyone else's systems.

As a faction, the Angels are tireless spies, adept at keeping track of what every other faction is up to. They love the thrill of ferreting out a wellkept secret or ruining the carefully laid plan of an enemy. In between "burns," they play information broker, exchanging intelligence among the other factions (and exacting a profit from each transaction).

Weaknesses
The Angels' love of freedom extends to their own faction. When the Angels don't face an immediate crisis, their members are stubbornly independent and difficult to manage. They constantly disagree on goals and methods, and must be led through persuasion rather than command. One consequence of this anarchism is that the Angels have difficulty mounting major offensive actions against other factions.

Lifestyle
The Angels enjoy creature comforts and entertainment. This is especially true of faction members who arenot ace hackers. The farmers, engineers, scientists, and laborers who make up the community's support network are particularly fond of luxuries. Even the hacker elite indulges in good food, intoxicants, and elaborate roleplaying games when not pursuing a ragged burn.

The Data Angels are nominally led by a senior executive called the "Datajack." This figure presides over a pure democracy in which all serious issues are decided by a vote of the entire faction membership. Datajack Sinder Roze must manage her fractious followers through persuasion, intimidation, and sheer mastery of their shared technical craft. This last factor is particularly important. The Angels grant a great deal of status to those who can execute difficult burns or "count coup" on powerful faction enemies.

Administration is more informal among the Angels than in any other faction. Any Angel is free to identify a job that needs to be done and try to make a profit while doing it. There is also a strong "gift economy" among the Angels, in which people win social status by contributing to the community's well-being. This arrangement is moderately effective at meeting the faction's needs in areas that the free-enterprise system might miss.

Data Angels tend to wear simple but stylish clothing. They have a definite sense of fashion, but that sense changes from year to year. Of course, functional and unpretentious workclothes are always in style. The Angels tend to accumulate lots of personal toys and gadgets, which they carry along wherever they go. The best of these are not only entertaining, but also useful in a crisis.

Strategies
Most of the Angels' advantages lie in the realm of covert operations. They gain a +2 Probe rating from their experience with Probe Teams, adding +2 morale to each probe team built and making their bases and units much more expensive to subvert. Additionally, these Probe Teams can subvert enemy bases and units at a -25% cost. They also receive a Covert Ops Center in each base after the discovery of Pre-sentient Algorithms. Finally, and perhaps most important, the Angels gain any technology known by three other factions that have been infiltrated by the Angels, either through Probe Teams, election to the Planetary Council, or possession of The Empath Guild. The Angels' chief weakness lies in a -1 Police rating, caused by a general anarchistic hacker tendencies.