Special Forces (Mortal Kombat)

The Special Forces is a faction within the Mortal Kombat universe.

About the Special Forces
Like the Lin Kuei and the Black Dragon, the Special Forces also exist in reality in one form or another, and fiction is blended with fact. In the Mortal Kombat universe, the main task of the Special Forces unit is tracking down members of the dangerous Black Dragon gang, and bringing these to justice. After the events of Mortal Kombat 3, the Special Forces spawned the Outer World Investigation Agency, a faction devoted to monitoring and dealing with threats from other realms.

Storyline
In an attempt of the U.S. government to eradicate the Black Dragon, a Special Forces unit lead by Lieutenant Sonya Blade and Major Jackson Briggs was formed. Major Briggs, also known as Jax, initially met with tremendous success and had most members of the Black Dragon jailed or killed during the events of Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. Their leader, Kano, however, proved to be extremely elusive and lured Sonya to Shang Tsung's island in the Lost Sea. There, she and her own unit were ambushed, and Sonya was forced to partake in the first Mortal Kombat tournament. Shang Tsung was eventually defeated by the warrior monk Liu Kang. Disgraced, he went back to Outworld, but soon returned in a small attack to take Sonya and Kano as hostages.

In the hoax tournament held by emperor Shao Kahn in Outworld, Jax rescued Sonya and finally arrested Kano. Back on Earthrealm, however, Kano immediately escaped back into Outworld. The Black Dragon's former leader apparently had lost interest in his organization, which had almost completely crumbled by the time Shao Kahn invaded Earth. After this invasion was foiled, Sonya and Jax were given clearance to form the Outer World Investigation Agency, a subsidiary of the Special Forces, devoted especially to the exploration of new realms and containment of possible otherworldly threats.

Sonya's nature as a Special Forces agent resurfaced again, however, when she was chasing its last known member Jarek across the globe. This frantic hunt led her to Edenia during Mortal Kombat 4/Gold, where Jarek and Sonya were briefly compelled to join forces and fight Shinnok, who had invaded Edenia and diposed of Queen Sindel. In a fight between Sonya and Jarek soon thereafter, Jarek fell to his apparent death from a cliff. With his death, Sonya's relentless search for Black Dragon members ended and the OIA could devote itself to its true mission. The apparent extinction of the Black Dragon would set other events in motion that proved to be detrimental for the OIA, however.

The Special Forces return in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and are seen during the game's Konquest mode. A team lead by Sonya attacks and destroys Sektor's Tekunin warship. Sonya herself tracks down a survivor of the ship's destruction, Taven, to Arctika, where she questions and battles him. Although she is defeated, Sonya declares that she will be keeping on eye on the stranger in the future.