The Astoria 23rd Agency

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The Astoria 23rd Agency, also known as A23, Salt and Pepper, and the Lighthouse, is an organisation based in Cape Disappointment, Washington, and is the largest Otherside-focused organisation in North America. It is a member of the Indigo Organisations, focusing primarily on field work and direct interaction with Otherside inhabitants and phenomena. Due to its location, it is the Indigo Organisation that the Cafe and Diner most often encounter, and it serves as one of the CaD's biggest threats.

A23 was founded on the 23rd of November, 1963, following the Kennedy Laws. Officially speaking, it serves at the pleasure of the US Government. However, the inverse is more likely true; Astoria has been suggested to be the real power in the United States.

Due to the nature of their work, the CaD has had countless run-ins with the Lighthouse, in every one of its iterations. Even when the Third Cafe went to another cycle entirely, they could not escape the Astorians, due to their connections with both the Dark and their equivalents in Dive Prime, the 55 Society and the Tuskkin Board. It would not be an exaggeration to describe A23 as one of the CaD's best friends.

Divisions

A23 is currently split into 27 divisions, each named after a letter of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. Each division has its own focus and thematic naming, and the structure is broadly such that the sooner the letter appears in the alphabet, the higher up in the Agency it is.

Alfa

Not so much a division as a single person, Alfa - Astrid - is the head of the Agency. As an Indigo Child, she has a vague set of special powers, and is apparently well-connected enough to be part of a group of four - the others being the leaders of the other Indigo Organisations - who run the free world, more or less. Little is known of Astrid, her motives, or her goals - presumably intentionally so.

Bravo

Bravo is the highest of the "head" divisions. It takes point on Cosmic-Level Cases; that is, situations involving cycles other than their own. Presumably, they are also the division that maintains contact with organisations in other cycles, such as the Tuskkin Board. In fact, many of Bravo's agents originate from cycles other than CaD Prime.

Bravo's codenames appear to follow the theme of playwrights. Notable members include Agent Webber, who is also known for his betrayal of the Agency in favour of the Dark, and Agent Sondheim who, according to former Employee No. 116, is - or was - one of the top members of Bravo.

Charlie

Charlie is the next "head" division. Its area is Intracyclical Cases; the past, present and future of CaD Prime. While it is one of the highest Astorian divisions, it hasn't been encountered by the CaD in any of the current archives.

Delta

Delta is another of the "head" divisions, focusing on Region-Level Cases; cases that affect a specific region, such as Asia, North America, etc. Much like Charlie, the CaD is yet to encounter Delta division.

Echo

Echo is the "head" division in charge of overseeing Region-Level Cases, situations that threaten a single town or city. While the CaD has had a few run-ins with Echo, none are particularly noteworthy.

Echo's codenames are all palindromes; Racecar, for example.

Foxtrot

As part of the "head" divisions, Foxtrot's focus is on Individual-Level Cases, revolving around individual cryptids, demons and phenomena. In this way, its role is similar to that of the CaD, though as a "head" division, its agents rarely find itself in the field themselves.

Foxtrot seems to follow a fox theme with its codenames, with its only known Agent being Vulpes.

Golf

The lowest of the "head" divisions, Golf heads up work on Lower-Level Cases, nondescript and miscellaneous strange happenings. The CaD has yet to have any interaction with this division.

Hotel

Hotel is the first of the two field divisions, who work out in the field, dealing directly with Otherside phenomena. It deals with the field work for divisions Bravo through Echo, and is one of the divisions the CaD encounters most frequently.

Hotel's codenames are all hotels, though some are fictional. When he was infiltrating the Lighthouse, former Manager No. 2 was placed in Hotel, and given the codename California, though it was reassigned after he left. By 2017, Agent Marriott appears to be the head of the division.

India

The other field division, India does field work for divisions Foxtrot and Golf. Despite their obvious similarities to the Cafe and Diner's work, the two have yet to interact.

Juliett

Juliett is the first of Astoria's research divisions, and focuses on the broad field of magic. With such a wide range of study, they are one of the more prominent research divisions, though have had few direct interactions with the CaD.

Juliette's naming scheme uses Shakespearean characters. A current member, Agent Mercutio was formerly Employee No. 1223 of the Fourth Cafe, and is currently one of the Folistes. In 2001, the head of Juliett was Macbeth, though it is unknown if this is still the case.

Kilo

As one of the research divisions, Kilo studies demons. Despite their broad purview, they have no recorded encounters with the CaD.

Lima

Lima is the Astorian division concerned with psychics and psychic phenomena. The CaD has had one or two notable interactions with it, but as one of the research divisions, they are less commonly found in the field.

Due to a limited dataset, Lima's codename theme is currently unknown. Its only known member is its head - in 1995, at least - the psychic child, Agent Five. Five displayed strong telekinetic abilities, potentially not uncommon in her division.

Mike

Mike studies matters of a temporal nature. It is possible that they work closely with Bravo, due to the similar nature of their work. However, due to their position as a research division, they are yet to have any meaningful interactions with the CaD.

November

Division November's primary focus is on Elder Research. They currently have had no notable interactions with the CaD, though they did initially assist the Folistes in hunting down the Sebitti.

November's most notable member is a former agent; Ex-Employee 116, who left the Agency sometime before 2017, and is intent on never returning.

Oscar

One of Astoria's research divisions, Oscar's focus is on Metahuman Transcendance, potentially covering the usage of such things as Miss. Augustine to elevate oneself beyond mortality, though this is mere speculation. They were also noted to have quite an interest in Ex-Employee No. 26's unique situation, though they have had no recorded interactions with the CaD.

Papa

Papa is something of the black sheep of the Agency. As it studies Pseudoscientific matters, those too tenuous for even the Agency, they seem to be the butt of quite a few jokes around the Agency. They are noted to have an interest in aliens, which are known not to exist in the larger supernatural community.

Papa's naming scheme follows television - or perhaps specifically sitcom - fathers. Their most notable agents are Agent Carl and Agent Philip, the two agents who investigated the portal in the Long Beach Pyramid in 1996, the latter of whom was sacrificed by the CaD in order to close the portal.

Quebec

One of A23's larger research divisions, Quebec's field of study is cryptids. They are implied to use rather brutal methods in their research. Quebec's most prominent interaction with the CaD is when they pursued Ex-Employee #26 and Mr. Domenech alongside Five of Lima.

Quebec's codenames follow a simple scheme of using locations in the real province of Quebec, in Canada. During the pursuit of Mr. Domenech, Agents Joliette, Rimouski, and Estire accompanied Five of Lima in the search.

Romeo

Another of the research divisions, Romeo is tasked with Otherside Research. Presumably, this entails detailed research into the geography and phenomena of the original seven planes, though as they have no recorded interactions with the CaD, this is unconfirmed.

Sierra

Sierra is the last of A23's research divisions, and it focuses on Othertech, Nanotechnology, and Emergent A.I. Though this division has had no notable interactions with the CaD, they are known to have been looking into the Miss. Xulfa case.

Tango

One of the agency's administrative divisions, Tango's role is to deal with Third-Party Affairs. This can range from negotiating with third party contractors such as The Actuaries and X-Ray, to overseeing the acquisition of division Ampersand.

Tango's codenames appear to simply be different forms of the tango dance, as shown by Ex-Employee 1331, the former Agent Maxixe.