Director Barrett sat down at his desk, again. His gaze slid towards the large windows overlooking the water. "Focus, focus now," he implored himself. This was his third attempt to finalize the updates to Site-184's dossier entry. He knew it wouldn't take long, but that hadn't stopped him from deferring to the other tasks he could tell himself were far more important.
"Okay, first's first," he told himself as he started typing…
SCP Foundation Secure Facility Dossier:
Site-184 — CANSHM
So far so good. The site logo looked prim and proper. He had considered including a more specific location, but that would come later. Barrett was pretty sure the Site Identification Code was meant to be included, at least he suspected no one would mind if it were. He ran through it again in his head: CAnada, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality.
Did he need that horizontal line though?
General Information:
Foundation naval vessel in drydock, Site-184.
Site Function: Site-184 serves two simultaneous purposes. As the primary Research & Containment site on the East Coast of Canada, it hosts cutting-edge installations such as the Applied Metaphysics Laboratories, the innovatively designed Aquatic Anomalies facilities, and the Anomalous Art & Artefacts wing. Additionally, the Site functions as a command center and shipyard for the SCP Foundation Naval Command: the Foundation’s naval presence in the North Atlantic. This body is responsible for overseeing ocean-based Search & Rescue, Salvage, Anomaly Containment, Force Projection, and Research operations.
Founded: 7 September 1908
Founding Director: Johnson C. Maud
Current Director: Roger D. Barrett
Location: Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Cover Story: Site-184 operates under the facade of a marine and naval shipbuilding organization: Ship Captain's Productions. To maintain the feasibility of this pretext, Site-184's Shipbuilding Division will occasionally undertake commissions from the Royal Canadian Navy and independent contractors in an adjacent complex. Relevant personnel are given Level-0 Clearance: only allowing access to the shipbuilding facilities, and are unaware of the SCP Foundation or Site-184's additional purposes, but may work on construction and repair projects for Foundation vessels.
Should he include a floor plan? Barrett knew the layout of the site like the back of his hand, obviously. His office sat atop the Main-Camp: the central administrative building for the site and the home of the Naval Offices; far below him the GOTTFRIED Applied Metaphysics Labs were carved into the bedrock. Adjacent to the Main-Camp was the Lewis Building, hosting Art & Artefact's climate-controlled collections facilities. Across the way was the new wing for Aquatic Anomalies: a collection of holding tanks and research facilities.
The waterfront was dominated by the dry-docks, shipbuilding facilities, and barracks. Barrett could see the naval and research vessels moored at the docks beyond, flags snapping in the wind. He would have loved to be out on his afternoon walk. Shortly, he promised himself, as he placed a request for the floor-plans to someone in Admin. Wondering how close his recreation of those plans would be, Barrett pulled over a notebook and quickly sketched an outline of the site's main buildings:
God that was atrocious, he admitted. Somewhat ashamed, Barrett flipped the page over and turned his focus towards the departments of Site-184 themselves:
Site Departments & Sections:
| SCP FOUNDATION NAVAL COMMAND: |
|---|
|
Sub-Departments:
Facilities:
Responsibilities: The Naval Command stationed at Site-184 is responsible for all marine operations across the North-West Atlantic, and will undertake excursionary missions to other oceanic regions as necessary. Such missions are varied in nature, and range from simple reconnaissance and containment initiatives to military intervention, search and rescue, salvage, and field research. Site-184 is additionally a frequent port of call for Foundation vessels across all operating theatres, and boasts extensive facilities for repairing, retrofitting, and rearming ships of varying size. To complement these undertakings, Site-184 serves as a testing ground for the research, development, and application of various naval technologies, including but not limited to: advanced stealth systems, thaumaturgic applications, clean-energy propulsion, paraweaponry, and navigational equipment. Associated Anomalies: Operation Reports:
|
 Foundation vessel undergoing repairs, Site-184. |
| DEPARTMENT OF ANOMALOUS ART & ARTEFACTS |
|---|
|
Facilities:
Responsibilities: In addition to securely storing and containing an assortment of anomalous artworks and artefacts — hereby referring to both items possessing anomalous attributes, and those that depict, reference, or related to anomalous persons, events, places, items, or cultures — The Department of Anomalous Art & Artefacts also undertakes conservation work to ensure the items remain protected from adverse environmental effects or other sources of deterioration. The department is also responsible for the cataloguing of works within their collection that are made readily available to other sites in support of research and investigation. Site-184's collection boasts a large number of records and documents related to the Commission on Unusual Cargo, which it holds in trust on behalf of M. Hubbard. Associated Anomalies: |
| AQUATIC ANOMALIES |
|---|
|
Facilities:
Responsibilities: Aquatic Anomalies undertakes the containment and research of various biological, marine entities. In addition, they are responsible for investigating how such entities influence the marine biosphere and human interactions with such spaces. Due to the nature of these anomalies, physical containment within a Foundation facility is occasionally infeasible as a long-term solution. In such an event, the department is responsible for tracking the anomaly within its environment and mitigating its interaction with general human populations. Department personnel have also received permission to utilize the facilities for the rehabilitation of non-anomalous marine life, provided this does not interfere with their primary responsibilities. Associated Anomalies: |
| DEPARTMENT OF CETACEAN STUDIES |
|
Responsibilities: The Department of Cetacean Studies, a subdivision of Aquatic Anomalies, is responsible for the study and containment of SCP-7900 and related phenomena. In addition to its headquarters at Site-184, Cetacean Studies operates across the North Atlantic, manning and maintaining numerous surveillance stations along the coasts of North America and Europe in search of deviant wildlife. Cetacean Studies also heads routine psychological evaluations of staff at Site-184 to screen for the development of obsessive personality traits regarding certain aquatic anomalies. Cetacean Studies is currently investigating possible connections between SCP-7900 and other emergent phenomena. Please consult Field Reports for further information. Associated Anomalies: Field Reports: |
| APPLIED METAPHYSICS DEPARTMENT |
|---|
|
The following information is classified: ! LEVEL 5: TOP SECRET !Unapproved access to or dissemination of the associated files is punishable by forced amnesticization and dismissal from the SCP Foundation. |
|
Facilities: GOTTFRIED applied metaphysics laboratories, Mobile Site-184/A. Responsibilities: The Applied Metaphysics department is responsible for researching the potential applications of metaphysical domains, such as the noosphere, in support of the Foundation's principles of anomaly containment and maintaining the Veil's integrity. Research initiatives undertaken by the Applied Metaphysics Department are under the direct purview of the Foundation's OVERSEER COUNCIL. Associated Anomalies: |
| DEPT. OF PRESUMPTIVE DIVINATION |
|---|
|
EYES OPEN ☄|🜝 HANDS READY |
|
Facilities:
Responsibilities: The Dept. of Presumptive Divination specializes in the practical employment of ritualistic divination for threat identification, containment integrity, and mitigation of ideal-probability-variance. Its personnel work to recognize and interpret omens and portents, that signify non-unidirectional, causal relations between the past, present, and future. To this end, Foundation-approved specialists utilize varying methods of historic and contemporary thaumaturgical divination, under the oversight of Madame Laurier, the Dept.'s director. Departmental Orientation: Associated Anomalies: |
One step closer, Barrett reflected. A piece of paper on the desk caught his eye. Taking a moment's break from the screen he looked it over: a flyer that Greg Albsernester had been putting up around the site advertising for his fishing club…
Join The Fishing Council!
Art by Emma Matchinson.
Bogged down by the repetition of day-to-day work? Want to get away from it all? Need a break, some salt air, and good company?
If so, come join The Fishing Council on our bi-weekly expeditions! Whether you're a seasoned angler or it's your first time handling a rod, all are welcome. Our trips are typically catch-and-release, but the Holy Mackerel is a registered vessel and approved by the provincial government for chartered fishing tours! We also offer birthday trips, bachelor/ette parties, and romantic sunset cruises!
If you want to learn more, I've been keeping a blog detailing our recent outings, which you can read here:
The Great Fishing Saga:
If you're interested in coming aboard or have any questions, you can reach me at:
ui.481pcs|retsenresbla.gerg#ui.481pcs|retsenresbla.gerg
Greg Albsernester, Naval Architect, Shipbuilding, Site-184.
Trust me, we'd all rather be fishing!
In all honesty, Barrett found the offer of a weekend off to enjoy some fishing more enticing than he would have preferred. Recent events had put a strain on the already at-times fraught relationship between the Navy and on-site Research groups; the former, as usual, wanted more autonomy in their operations and the latter more funding for the work they've been doing. Keeping the admiralty and department heads happy, while still ensuring the site stayed afloat, had become more and more taxing as the years stacked on.
At least Applied Metaphysics didn't kick up much of a fuss, although — Barrett acknowledged — that was likely in no small part because of the O5s' perpetual stamp of approval on whatever they needed.
On the note of years past, this seemed an appropriate time to draw attention to the site's history — or at least as much of it he felt like including at the moment:
Site History:
Following the dissolution of the Commission on Unusual Cargo, who had maintained a presence in Nova Scotia for much of the organization's history, the port city of Halifax quickly became a major smuggling route for anomalous items and persons. While the city itself was merely a transitionary port, the porous land border between Canada and the United States provided the opportunity for illicit, anomalous goods to be both extracted from and imported to North America.
The Foundation, under pressure to stem the tide of this exchange — which was frequently exploited by anomalous crime syndicates such as the Chicago Spirit — assigned Johnson C. Maud as head of an anti-smuggling task force stationed out of the Halifax peninsula. Maud's forceful and at-times violent interventions led to the successful interruption of smuggling operations, which gradually reduced the activities of international anomalous criminal organizations within the province's borders.
Anomalous goods seized by Maud's task force, 3 September 1904.
During the raids conducted by Maud, a large number of anomalous items, artworks, and biological specimens were acquired by the Foundation. While associated criminals and humanoids were transferred to, and detained in, purpose-built containment facilities in Western-Central Canada, the aforementioned items were retained within the city of Halifax itself, in a collection of storehouses operated by the Foundation.
'Halifax Explosion' blast cloud, 6 December 1917.
On December 6th, 1917, two vessels collided in the Halifax harbour, igniting the explosive material on-board and resulting in a destructive blast that crippled most of Halifax and the surrounding communities..Referred to as the 'Halifax Explosion,' this blast was the largest, publically-known, non-anomalous, human-caused explosion at the time. The aforementioned storehouses used by the Foundation were badly damaged, and Maud — after employing Foundation assets for the reconstruction of the city — established Site-184 along the rural Nova Scotian coastline, moving the previously acquired anomalous items into the new location.
After Maud's retirement during the Second World War, the subsequent site Director: Carl Lennes — a veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy prior to his service for the Foundation — advocated for the establishment of a Foundation naval presence at Site-184. Lennes was instrumental in constructing Site-184's cover story of being a naval shipyard and ensured the site grew from a costal-adjacent containment facility to a major naval port for the Foundation. Criticisms levied at Lennes suggest he ignored the initial purpose of the site: reducing funding and support for research initiatives and frequently transferring anomalous items to other Foundation facilities. Yet the usefulness of Site-184 as a base for Foundation naval operations has been proven several times over — both during Lennes' time and beyond.
In recent years, Site-184 has focussed on balancing these two sets of responsibilities. The establishment of new facilities for the Department of Anomalous Art & Artefacts and Aquatic Anomalies has solidified the importance of research alongside containment in the Foundation's day-to-day affairs. Simultaneously, leaps and bounds have been achieved through the experimentation of paratechnolgies in attempts to amplify the Foundation's Naval forces.
Whatever the future holds, whatever challenge lies beyond the horizon, the personnel stationed at Site-184 stand ready: prepared to Secure tomorrow for the Foundation, Contain and research biological and historical anomalies, and Protect the human populace, both locally and globally.
That last bit, Barrett admitted, was a little too dramatic. He highlighted the text, preparing to delete it, when he paused. So what if it was a little too personal or optimistic — Barrett was proud of the site: he was proud of the people who worked here and all that they'd done. He had seen brilliant minds dedicated to protecting humanity against any foes, witnessed breakthroughs that changed his vision of the future, and research that unearthed forgotten secrets of the past.
This was his home, and the people here were like family — they may not be perfect, no family was — but they had been good to him over the long years. And he owed it to those both here and gone to stand by them.
As he hit 'save' and grabbed his coat, Barrett took another look out the expansive windows. It might not be smooth sailing ahead, but he was determined to stand by the helm no matter what. And, he admitted, no matter what happened, there was nowhere he'd rather make his stand than here, where the sea meets the shore, at Site-184.
To: ui.481pcs|tterrab.rid#ui.481pcs|tterrab.rid
From: ui.481pcs|htims.adnama#ui.481pcs|htims.adnama
Subject: RE: Site-184 Floorplan.
Hello Director Barrett,
I've attached the Site-184 floorplan, as per your request.
I'm glad to have received your email. I had been going to remind you that site layouts are a required component for finalized Site Dossiers.
Feel free to let me know if there's anything else you need!
Best,
Amanda
_in_dry_dock_in_Newport_News.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
