Sigma Team

"Berg runs a unit called Sigma Team. Violet da Costa is his tech support. They've been hunting and killing Assassins for a long time."

―Bishop, 2015.

Sigma Team is a paramilitary task force employed by Abstergo Industries and its subsidiaries for the purpose of executing clandestine operations. It was created in the late 20th century to hunt down Assassins during and after the Great Purge.

In 2010, Sigma Team recruited the former Finnish Special Forces member Juhani Otso Berg, who rapidly climbed the ranks and led them on the field by 2012 as a Master Templar. The team has since gone on to function as Abstergo's general kill-squad, operating without Berg in a number of different global theatres.

History

Early operations

The Great Purge

Sigma Team was among the Abstergo task forces deployed during the Great Purge in December 2000, in which they hunted down and executed countless Assassins.

Recruiting Otso Berg

Berg: "What does Abstergo need with someone like me?"

Vidic: "Oh, you won't be working for Abstergo. However, if you perform, Abstergo could work for you."

—Vidic recruiting Berg for the Animi Training Program, 2010.

In 2010, Warren Vidic led Sigma Team to Juhani Otso Berg's home in Helsinki with the intention of recruiting him for Abstergo's Animi Training Program. Berg accepted after Vidic promised to supply him with off-the-market medicine for his infant daughter Elina, but requested that he be allowed to punish one of the team's operatives, Jenkins, who had woken up and upset Elina. Vidic, understanding, ordered Jenkins to give his gun to Berg, who used it to kill the operative.

Hunting the Assassins

"You are clear to proceed. We'll prep a team. Call when you need backup."

―An Abstergo operative to Berg, prior to the attack on the Florentine Assassins, 2012.

Berg being caught in an explosion during the raid on the Florentine Assassins

In November 2012, following his induction into the Templar Order, Berg was given command of Sigma Team and led it during an attack on an Assassin cell in Florence, Italy. While the majority of the team was killed when the cell's leader Adriano Maestranzi detonated an explosive that destroyed the hideout, Berg escaped with only some facial burns.

By the following month, Sigma Team had been reformed and tasked with capturing William Miles, the de facto Mentor of the Assassin Order. Berg managed to capture the Mentor in Cairo, Egypt, while he retrieved one of the Grand Temple's power sources from the city's Egyptian Museum. Although the mission was a success, a Sigma Team member reported Berg's abnormal behavior to Laetitia England and Ctibor Hašek. After conducting a debriefing of the operation, Berg stated that he would discover the insubordinate.

Search for Pieces of Eden

Dispatched to Mumbai

"I am relieved to find that Jot Soora's bloodline was a dead end. The real Koh-i-Noor diamond remains lost to both sides. Jhadsip Dhami escaped, which means we must monitor this new Assassin activity in India closely. I am closing this file and proceeding to my next mission."

―Berg reporting on Sigma Team's mission to Mumbai, 2013.

In November 2013, Berg led Sigma Team to Mumbai, India, to capture Jot Soora, an employee of MysoreTech and a descendant of Raza Soora, seeking to extract his genetic memories related to the Koh-i-Noor. The agents abducted Soora and his fiancée, Monima Das, but the Assassin Jasdip Dhami caused their truck to crash into the river, after which Jasdip rescued Soora.

Sigma Team members in Mumbai

Berg and Sigma Team were later able to find the Assassins' safehouse in Mumbai after Soora foolishly hooked up the Brahman V.R. to the Abstergo cloud server. By the time the Templars arrived, however, Jasdip and Soora had already fled and the Brahman had been destroyed, leading Berg to conclude that the Assassins were nowhere closer to finding the Koh-i-Noor than Abstergo.

Disbandment and reformation

"Giving the Assassins time to regroup is a tactical mistake. We should strike them now, while they are still at their most vulnerable."

―Berg arguing against the disbandment of Sigma Team, 2013.

In late 2013, Laetitia England disbanded Sigma Team and reassigned its members to other Abstergo operations; Berg and his close associate Violet da Costa were tasked with looking into various Pieces of Eden. Violet was also sent to Abstergo Entertainment in Montreal to update the subsidiary's security measures.

In February 2014, Sigma Team was temporarily reformed to pursue Harlan Cunningham and Arend Schut after the two had stolen a Precursor box from Abstergo's facility in Rotterdam. Although the Assassins managed to escape, Sigma Team recovered the box. Nonetheless, the Templars suffered severe losses, as Schut had managed to kill at least half of the team.

Violet and Berg at the Abstergo Entertainment offices in Montreal

In October, Berg met with Laetitia to request that Sigma Team be permanently revived, recounting his and Sorkin's recent failure to eliminate the Assassins who had destroyed an Abstergo laboratory in Paris, France, which Berg attributed to the absence of the rest of the team. Laetitia approved Berg's request but informed him that Violet was still busy with her work at Abstergo Entertainment, leading Berg to join Violet in Montreal in order to hasten her progress and get her to rejoin the team.

Operations in London

Shaun: "The only thing we know is we can't go up against Sigma Team alone."

Bishop: "Leave that to me. In the meantime, keep a low profile."

—Shaun Hastings and Bishop discussing Sigma Team's presence in London, 2015.

In 2015, Violet briefly left Sigma Team on the orders of Isabelle Ardant to assist Álvaro Gramática with his research into a Shroud of Eden. In October, Sigma Team was dispatched to London, England, to track down the Shroud, which the Templars were confident was hidden somewhere in the city. Subsequently, Berg and Violet held the Assassins Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings at gunpoint when they attempted to confront Ardant in her office. Before they could execute the Assassins, however, a set of pre-planted explosives went off, allowing Rebecca and Shaun to escape.

Berg, Violet, and Ardant in the Buckingham Palace vault

Eventually, the Templars managed to locate the vault which held the Shroud, but as Ardant, Berg, and Violet attempted to retrieve the artifact, they were ambushed by Rebecca, Shaun, and Galina Voronina. In the resulting chaos, Violet managed to grab the Shroud and escape to safety, but Ardant was assassinated by Shaun, and Berg was overpowered by Galina. Before the Assassin could finish Berg off, the rest of Sigma Team arrived on the scene, forcing Galina to deal with them before escaping with Rebecca and Shaun.

Pursuing Layla Hassan

"Tell your boss I'm ready. Otso Berg can come get me himself—if he's not a coward."

―Layla to a Sigma Team member in Atlantis, 2018.

In October 2017, Simon Hathaway sent Abstergo employees Deanna Geary and Layla Hassan to Egypt to recover an artifact, instructing them to report back regularly. After the two women failed to report in on their findings in a timely manner, Sigma Team was dispatched to locate and eliminate them. The team stormed the hotel wherein Deanna was staying and executed her on the spot. Several operatives were also sent to the Hotep Cavern, where Layla was located, but she made use of her skills gained through the Bleeding Effect to take them down.

Berg and Layla facing off

In late 2018, Berg and Sigma Team learned that Layla was leading an Assassin cell in the search for the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus. After tracking down the Altaïr II, which had been used by Layla's cell to find and reach Atlantis, several team members boarded the ship and attempted to eliminate its crew. Despite wounding Kiyoshi Takakura, the Japanese Assassin was ultimately able to dispatch them, keeping both Alannah Ryan and Victoria Bibeau safe.

In spite of the Assassins' efforts, Berg later tracked Layla to the Great Seal to Atlantis, and sent several Sigma Team members to eliminate her and Victoria. After the operatives were repelled by Layla, Berg personally traveled to the Great Seal to confront the Assassin in an attempt to obtain the Staff. However, he was defeated and impaled in the spine with the Staff, crippling him and causing him to pass out from blood loss. Berg would subsequently be taken captive by the Assassins, until he was eventually freed and returned to Abstergo, who restored his ability to walk through experimentation with a Staff of Eden.

Operations in Southeast Asia

Dispatched to the Philippines

"Considering the likelihood of yet further trouble in Cebu... I will approve your requests for backup... both from the Abstergo task force and the Sigma Team."

―A Templar higher-up putting Sigma Team at Shimazu Sei's disposal, 2023.

In 2023, Sigma Team was deployed to Cebu in the Philippines to rescue Doctor Shimazu Sei and Animus test subject Noa Kim, who were trapped in a shopping mall after being pursued by Nathan Zhang's criminal organization Doom Eagle. Just as Nathan left with his men, Sigma Team rappelled down onto Noa's location from their helicopter to secure him. They then attempted to follow their orders to transport Noa back to the Exitus research vessel, but Sei insisted that she escort the test subject herself and the operatives were forced to comply.

Sigma Team confronting Sei, Noa, and Yuki

When Noa later went on a rampage aboard the Exitus under the Bleeding Effect's influence, several Sigma Team members were sent to restrain him, only to end up being killed by the test subject using a fire axe. Noa's rampage eventually came to a stop once Sei personally confronted and helped him return to his senses, whereupon Noa was returned to his room.

Following Noa and Yuki's retrieval of a crescent amulet—a Piece of Eden—from the shipwreck of the SS Ourang Medan, Sigma Team confronted them and Sei upon their return to their ship, claiming they had received instructions from Abstergo's executive committee ordering Noa's termination. However, Sei convinced them to keep the test subject alive for the time being by pointing out that, with Noa gone, any hope of researching the amulet was also lost. Sigma Team subsequently went to inform the committee of these new developments while leaving Noa, Sei, and Yuki alone in a room guarded by two operatives.

However, minutes later, the ship came under attack by members of Doom Eagle, who easily overpowered its guards, including most of the Sigma Team operatives. Using this distraction, Noa, Sei, and Yuki escaped with the amulet and met up with Nathan Zhang, who had secretly made a deal with Sei and was there to rescue the trio. While Nathan and Sei argued about Noa's corruption by the amulet, more Sigma Team members arrived, forcing the group to board a speedboat and make their escape. Witnessing this, the operatives realized Sei had gone rogue and informed the executive committee.

Pursuing the Zhawang Corporation

"Alpha Team, capture Sei Shimazu and the test subject! Bravo Team, locate and secure the artifact! Move out!"

―Sigma Team receiving orders during their mission to the Shwedagon Pagoda, 2023.

Sigma Team raiding a safehouse in Singapore

Following Sei's defection, Sigma Team was ordered to capture both her and Noa and recover the crescent amulet. After tracking them to Singapore, several Sigma Team members raided a supposed Zhawang Corporation safehouse in the Chinatown district in search of Sei, Noa, Yuki, and Nathan. However, Nathan had anonymously sent Abstergo a false tip, resulting in Sigma Team unknowingly raiding a different building across the street, where a number of Doom Eagle members waited to ambush them.

While Sei, Noa, Yuki, and Nathan attempted to escape through an alleyway, several Sigma Team members confronted them but were ultimately defeated. The remaining operatives surveyed the district from above with a helicopter, but they were unable to locate their targets and had to call off the pursuit.

Later, Abstergo managed to track the fugitives to Yangon, Myanmar, and Sigma Team was dispatched to the Shwedagon Pagoda to capture their targets, as well as recover another Piece of Eden that was housed within the pagoda. However, they faced resistance from Yuki, Nathan and his men, who inflicted heavy casualties on the team, especially after Nathan threw a grenade at the Abstergo agents, and Yuki had her drone drop additional explosives on them.

Sigma Team breaching the Shwedagon Pagoda

A few operatives were able to breach the Shwedagon Pagoda, which had been damaged during the shootout, and attempted to capture Noa and Sei. However, they arrived too late, as their targets had fled with the Piece of Eden through a secret tunnel. Noa and Sei subsequently regrouped with Yuki and Nathan, and the group escaped Yangon, taking advantage of the chaos and destruction left by Sigma Team in their wake to slip away unnoticed.

Undeterred, the team continued their pursuit of Noa, Sei, Yuki, and Nathan. Taking advantage of Abstergo's secret alliance with the Tatmadaw, the team kept watch on all highways leading out of Myanmar, and also had several operatives stationed at Yangon's harbor, in case their targets attempted to flee the country from there.

Sure enough, when the group infiltrated the harbor in order to steal a seaplane from a nearby hangar, Sigma Team was alerted to their presence after Nathan was caught while trying to free his men held captive aboard their own ship. In the subsequent fight, Noa defeated several operatives to protect Sei and Yuki before the latter decided to stay behind and face Sigma Team alone to buy the others time to escape. She was eventually cut down by the team's Abyss Walkers, though not before detonating a grenade that killed the Abyss Walkers and several other Sigma operatives.

Sigma Team capturing Sei

Despite Yuki's sacrifice, Sigma Team managed to corner Noa, Sei, and Nathan inside the hangar. Out of options, Sei used the crescent amulet's powers to temporarily subdue the operatives, allowing Noa and Nathan to take the seaplane and escape. After recovering from the amulet's effects, Sigma Team promptly took Sei prisoner and delivered both her and the amulet to Abstergo.

Later, after the Templars tracked Noa and Nathan to an uncharted island where they had taken refuge, Sigma Team was dispatched to eliminate the fugitives and retrieve the Piece of Eden in their possession. Two Abyss Walkers attacked the pair's hideout and nearly killed Nathan and his men until Noa awoke from the Animus and shot one of the Abyss Walkers with his Phantom Blade while incapacitating another with his stun bracer.

Despite destroying Noa and Nathan's seaplane, trapping them on the island, Sigma Team was unable to eliminate their targets, who were aided by a group of Assassins sent by Nathan's sister Claire Zhang. The operatives engaged the Assassins but were quickly cut down, whereupon Noa, Nathan, and the Assassins fled the island on the latter's speedboat. Several surviving Sigma Team members witnessed their escape but could do nothing about it, leaving them to report their mission's failure to the Abstergo headquarters.

Search for the artifacts

"We've secured two of the three artifacts. And by retracing Saito Shimazu's steps using the genetic information obtained from Sei Shimazu... we now know the location of the third artifact as well."

―Extract from an audio file recovered from Abstergo's internal network, 2023.

While the bulk of Sigma Team's force continued their hunt for Noa, Nathan, and their allies, several operatives aided Abstergo's efforts to retrieve the three Pieces of Eden in Southeast Asia and find the "Forgotten Temple" where the artifacts' full power could be unlocked.

Following Sei's capture, the doctor was forced to relive her ancestor Shimazu Saito's memories in the Animus, leading Abstergo to discover that one of the artifacts had been buried with Saito. Subsequently, several Sigma Team members traveled to Japan and exhumed Saito's coffin to retrieve the Piece of Eden.

Members

• Juhani Otso Berg – Team leader
• Violet da Costa † – Tactical support (defected)
• Sorkin – Field operative
• Jenkins † – Field operative

Behind the scenes

In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, a set of gear based on Sigma Team's uniform is available to the Eagle Bearer, as well as a prototype bow.

Gallery

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  Concept art from Assassin's Creed: Origins
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  Concept art from Origins
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  Concept art from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
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  Head and torso model
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  Lower legs model
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  Back model
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  Helmet and chest model
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  Upper back model
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  Waist and thighs model
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  Helmet model

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  A Sigma Team member in the Great Seal to Atlantis
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  Sigma Team hunting Assassins during the Great Purge
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  Sigma Team members aboard a plane
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  Sigma Team being deployed to Cebu
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  Sigma Team securing Noa Kim
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  Sigma Team arriving in Yangon
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  Sigma Team fighting Doom Eagle in Yangon
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  Sigma Team guarding a hangar
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  Sigma Team members incapacitated by Noa
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  Sigma Team fighting Yuki
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  Shimazu Sei using the crescent amulet to subdue Sigma Team

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Brahman
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only)
  • The Lost Tales of Greece (mentioned only)
  • The Fate of Atlantis
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple