#biohazard 1996

[ultimateanna]

Resident Evil 1996 - S.T.A.R.S.

[andyacklesspn]

« RESIDENT EVIL »

[acquired-stardust]

Resident Evil Sega Saturn 1997

[cookie-nigel-dolan]

Left : Resident Evil  (1996/1997, french PC version)

Right : Resident Evil  (2002 Remake, PC version, remastered)

[feardotcom]

jill valentine from the resident evil official walkthrough

[chrisitsraining]

[princepal7]

Welcome to the Mansion (Part 1) | Resident Evil 1 (1996) - Chris Redfiel...

[possible-streetwear]

White Devil - Steal My Crown & These Streets (Live at the Dynamo Open A...

[ultimateanna]

Resident Evil 1996 - Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine

[suprcomputranimalracingsimulatr]

[princess-draws]

This scene still gives me chills

[cookie-nigel-dolan]

Left : Resident Evil  (1996, french PC version)

Right : Resident Evil  (2002 Remake, PC version, remastered)

[virologikal]

Headcanons posted for my works of fiction are merely my interpretation of the respective character(s) and should not be considered as "single point of truth".

⸻ 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐒.𝐓.𝐀.𝐑.𝐒. 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒

S.T.A.R.S. internal Document A special operations unit belonging to the Raccoon City Police aimed at strategy and rescue for peculiar crimes. In 1996, this S.T.A.R.S. was established by the Raccoon Police Department. At first, it was purely experimental for dealing with special crime in order to respond to the diversifying needs of high-grade crime, such as cyber crime, with a vast network of troops, new kinds of narcotics and new methods of terrorist attacks utilizing BC (Bio-Chemical) weapons. However, at the time of this establishment, several local major private companies including the Umbrella Corporation, which had a huge factory group in Raccoon City, contributed to the funding of S.T.A.R.S. as part of the "Bright Raccoon 21" major city project, leading to the establishment of an elite group with elite staff, advanced equipment and an extensive intelligence network. (Inside of BIOHAZARD, BIOHAZARD director's cut)

Against assumptions made by Chris and Jill (among others) in the aftermath of the Mansion Incident, it was never truly Wesker's plan to simply lead the S.T.A.R.S. unit like lambs to the slaughter. He, in fact, had his very own plans Umbrella (knowingly or not) spoiled. To understand the workings of this plan, a closer look to the founding of the unit and their inner workings is needed.

Since the exact way S.T.A.R.S. was established timeline-wise is not detailed anywhere, it is assumed they were initially founded in early 1996 as part of the Bright Raccoon 21 project, and soon after restructured due to Umbrella's massive funding, which included installing Albert Wesker as captain.

Part of his initial tasks was the re-organization of the unit, which included splitting the members into team Alpha and Bravo as per the manual which had been handed to him detailing the 5-man-cell-structure of the teams. He also made Enrico Marini, who was the captain of the existing, entire squad, leader of Team Bravo and himself leader of Team Alpha, with authorized superiority over Marini.

As it is not detailed which members of S.T.A.R.S. Wesker handpicked himself exactly, it is further assumed he chose Chris, Joseph, Jill, Brad and Rebecca, while moving Barry (who recommended Chris, which implies he must have been with S.T.A.R.S. before Wesker built the teams) to Team Alpha. It was crucial for Wesker to built his Alpha team himself - for one, he would need to closely work with them, but he would also be sensible enough to not split up an existing dynamic. Being in a superior position to Marini as a new colleague would already possibly invite unrest. By allowing the pre-existing members to stay together, he effectively smoothed over possible uneasiness and ensured them to feel comfortable with their old captain instead of having to adjust to a new leader. Having Barry in his team contrary to these decisions was a tactical choice from Wesker, considering Barry and Chris knew each other already, and Chris having been accepted due to his recommendation as well as likely easing Chris into the new team and surroundings better with someone around he knew and trusted.

Further, there was a certain amount of psychological evaluation at play to make sure the team members worked exceptionally well with each other, like clockwork, on and off missions - which effectively led to them becoming very tight-knit and, as Rebecca once mentioned, like “family” (which might have been stronger among the respective teams but definitely also spread across Alpha and Bravo).

There certainly was some head-butting with Marini, if not for the restructure of S.T.A.R.S., then at least due to the very differing characters and temperaments of the two team leaders. None of that ever truly got in the way of working together, however, as they were both professional about it. Wesker would show enough lenience with Marini to still make him feel important and appreciated, while maintaining his firm but fair grip on the entire unit.

It is worth mentioning that Chief Irons had no authority over the S.T.A.R.S. unit whatsoever, and was rather forced by the Mayor to house them in his police department to allow for short ways of communication in case of emergencies. As a result, Irons showed great resentment for the entire special unit, and the animosity between him and Wesker was a regular topic among police officers and S.T.A.R.S. alike. It went so far that Irons made it his personal mission to obstruct ways for the unit to get to their equipment or even the shooting range by way of installing riddles and puzzles along with a needlessly complicated set of keys.

Wesker also made a point of doling out special treatment to his unit by way of rewarding them. This included but was not limited to allowing them to personalize their working desks, decorate the office with a darts game and posters, letting them decide on their loadouts and equipment, handing out special, S.T.A.R.S. branded wrist watches, etc. Even among Irons' men he was known as a strict but fair captain, which led to many police officers entering the application process to become part of S.T.A.R.S. annualy.

To Wesker, S.T.A.R.S. was a project quite similar to those he had had under his care during his scientific work. Working with rewards to further the preferred outcome he wanted to see in a test subject was something he had learned to apply early, and it only made sense for him to go about it the same way here, putting in the same attention to detail with his unit as he did with other projects. And similarly, he was fiercely protective of this specific project of his.

Anyone that impressed him or did a good job would notice that Wesker would go less hard on them if they made a mistake in the future. At least for a time. And while he handed out preferential treatment it was never truly unfair because anyone could get there if they played along to his rules and expectations.

In conclusion, Wesker built a unit that was working in almost perfect harmony, in sync, understanding and trusting each other blindly. They excelled in their specialized positions (with Chris and Forest being excellent enough shots they would win competitions and prizes). And he considered them absolutely loyal to him.

It was not part of Wesker's philosophy to discard a perfectly fine weapon before a fight, or be wasteful with resources in general. Still, he was not ready to betray Umbrella before entering the mansion and steal the research he intended to sell - so when Umbrella sent the order to use S.T.A.R.S. as lab rats to use them in an infield test against the B.O.W.s, he had no other choice but to go along with it, framing it as a final test in his mind.

Those who would survive would be perfectly fit to become his private army in the upcoming fight against Umbrella. And his most talented team members, Chris and Jill, would be right beside him. Marini, on the other hand, was more obstacle than anything else, which is why he sacrificed him easily when the time came.