Black Arrow was a private military company (PMC) that was heavily involved in the Third Echelon Conspiracy by working with Third Echelon Director Tom Reed to help a shadowy group called Megiddo gain control of the United States. Formed from the ashes of Displace International, Black Arrow was subsequently purchased by American businessman Lucius Galliard. Prior to the buyout, the company enforced a rule which prevented it from operating inside the U.S., a rule which has since been abandoned as Black Arrow supported foreign ventures as well as conducted domestic operations.
History[]
2007-2010[]
Black Arrow is a Private Military Company (PMC) with global operations and was largely built on the wreckage of the disgraced PMC Displace International. It was later purchased by Golden Locust LLC, an investment firm led by American businessman Lucius Galliard. The firm was initially established in Panama City, Panama, but was incorporated the following year in the Turks and Caicos Islands, primarily for tax reasons. Black Arrow’s first client was the government of the Comoros Islands, which hired the firm to defend against a coup attempt. The firm was also contracted to train and arm the country’s military and constabulary. From there, Black Arrow took on increasingly larger contracts, working mainly in Africa, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and South America.
Stated operational policy prior to the purchase by Golden Locust was that operations inside the United States were off-limits. It is believed this was due to lingering issues from some of the company principals’ history with Displace, though this has not been verified. Instead, the firm focused on security, peacekeeping, and training of local forces. Currently, Black Arrow is on retainer to six countries, including Burkina Faso, Haiti, Myanmar, and Suriname. It has also been identified as supporting armed insurrections with training, weapons supplies, and manpower in at least three locations, including Uganda and East Timor.
Eight months prior to the Conspiracy, Black Arrow began a policy shift adding corporate security and body guarding operations, largely at the instigation of Galliard, to its portfolio. Black Arrow has also begun aggressively courting United States government contracts, both as support for ongoing foreign operations and within the United States itself.
2011: Third Echelon Conspiracy[]
Black Arrow are first encountered after Sam is captured by Splinter Cell agents and sent to Price Airfield, where Black Arrow is revealed to be working with Third Echelon and Tom Reed for unknown purposes. After Anna Grímsdóttir frees Sam from his bindings, Sam escapes the airfield, destroying most of it with C4 and killing a large amount of mercenaries in the process. Black Arrow is next encountered at the Washington Monument fairgrounds, attempting to intercept Fisher as he meets with Victor Coste, Sam's old war buddy. Sam sneaks up on each Black Arrow scout and grabs them, interrogating them for information. He learns that Black Arrow has been contracted to provide security for White Box Laboratories, which is strange considering that Black Arrow never does corporate security. After Fisher's meeting with Coste, a large number of Black Arrow operatives, disguised in hazmat suits, announce that there is a gas leak over the loudspeaker and clear the fairgrounds. This was a cover to try to intercept Fisher again. Sam pushes through the Black Arrow barricades and makes his way towards White Box Laboratories.
At White Box Laboratories, Sam finds that the scientists there were working on ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) devices under Black Arrow supervision. Black Arrow then begins executing the scientists at White Box to cover up any evidence of what they've been doing. Sam learns from a scientist that he saved from Black Arrow thugs that his boss, Lucius Galliard contracted Black Arrow and an officer named Shawn Robertson to oversee White Box projects. Sam decides to relieve Robertson of the data he collected and tells the scientist to leave. After encountering more Black Arrow operatives and witnessing them execute all scientists in the labs, Sam reaches Robertson's computer just as he leaves and hacks it. A large amount of Black Arrow operatives show up and attempt to kill Sam as he downloads the data. He manages to escape White Box, firing up the EMP, killing Robertson in the process and deciding to go after Lucius Galliard.
At the Lincoln Memorial where Galliard is meeting with Third Echelon director Tom Reed, Sam discovers that Galliard and Reed are both working for a mysterious group named Megiddo. Galliard promises to deal with Fisher, but after Reed leaves Sam interrogates Galliard to learn more about Megiddo and what they're planning. Galliard stays tight-lipped until Sam brutally beats him, at which point he begins to reveal where Reed is targeting, but is killed by a Megiddo assassin before he can reveal where.
Black Arrow is next encountered at the Michigan Avenue Reservoir, where Sam finds that Black Arrow operatives and their leader Jeremy Prentiss are guarding a massive EMP that is set to detonate along with 2 others at midnight. Sam manages to push through the Black Arrow defenders and manages to mark the two generators powering the EMP for his buddy Victor Coste to destroy. Just as Sam attempts to mark the second generator, Sam is attacked by Prentiss in an attack helicopter. Despite taking heavy fire from Prentiss, Sam manages to mark the second generator just as Victor Coste arrives. Coste shoots down Prentiss and destroys the two generators, sparing Washington D.C from at least one of the EMP devices.
Victor Coste ferries Sam towards the White House to stop Reed from taking out the President afterwards, but Coste's helicopter is shot down by Black Arrow and crashes in a theater. Sam, his daughter Sarah and Coste all manage to survive the impact, and Sam decides to continue towards the White House while Coste takes Sarah somewhere safe. Black Arrow has barricaded several locations in Washington D.C to try and stop citizens, National Guard soldiers and Fisher from reaching the White House and interfering in Reed's assassination attempt. Despite heavy resistance at Black Arrow barricades, Sam reaches the White House and neutralizes Tom Reed and his Splinter Cells. An injured Tom Reed reveals to Sam that he was the mole within Third Echelon and that he was under orders from a mysterious group called 'Megiddo', although he didn't elaborate anymore. After some contemplating, Sam decided to spare Reed but was then shot and killed by Anna Grímsdóttir.
Some time following the end of the attack on the White House by both Third Echelon and Black Arrow forces, Black Arrow had located and captured Victor Coste and interrogated him at a Black Arrow secure facility at an unknown location. After he retold the whole events of the Third Echelon Conspiracy to the Black Arrow interrogators, he told the interrogators that Sam told him that he loved him like a brother. After pointing out that 'brother' is 'family', the secure facility was breached by Sam and Coste was rescued. Black Arrow was later disbanded and no longer operational.
Equipment[]
black arrow soldier with dark polo shirt and helmet
Black Arrow soldiers are typically dressed in a dark brown, sometimes white polo shirt with a red Black Arrow symbol patch on one of side of the chest and on the sleeves of the shirt. They may sometimes wear an dark olive harness or grey kevlar. Their headgear ranges from simple Black Arrow hats to helmets that protect the wearer from headshots. Their pants vary in appearance as well, ranging from a simple light brown to different types of camouflage variants.
Trivia[]
- Black Arrow shares its name with Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow, another computer game developed and published by Ubisoft.
- It was planned by Reed that Third Echelon would use Black Arrow as a scapegoat if the assassination plan against United States President Patricia Caldwell failed.