Ursa Major

From the Ursa Major listing in The Strategy Report magazine, February 1990:

When you work with Ursa Major, you work with a team of highly experienced and innovative individuals eager to deliver a bespoke solution to your problems. With clients around the globe in sectors including manufacturing, construction, mining and defence, we're proud to redefine industries with our constantly evolving set of resources and skills. No matter how complex or unique your needs, know that you can trust Ursa Major to propel your business into the future.
Ursa Major: Make the unimaginable a reality.

Where the Cross Foundation aims to document and contain Anomalies for the safety of the general public, Ursa Major pursues a more self-serving goal: to acquire, use and sell Anomalies for profit.

Attempts to reason with agents of Ursa Major have so far failed and the company has on numerous occasions initiated hostile action against employees of the Cross Foundation by way of sabotage, infiltration and armed conflict. All agents of Ursa Major should therefore be considered threats to the Cross Foundation and its objectives.

Employees of the Cross Foundation should use all resources at their disposal to prevent Anomalies from being acquired by Ursa Major. Knowledge of any XX-class Anomaly reaching Ursa Major is considered to be an apocalyptic-level threat to global safety.

Ursa Major was founded as a joint initiative by siblings Leslie and Robin King. Leslie King (b. 1941) joined consulting firm Glenwood & Co. as an actuary after graduating with a degree in Economics from the University of Sheffield. Archival records indicate that Robin King (b. 1947) began a degree in Physics at the University of Hull but did not graduate. From an interview with a 1968 graduate who asked to remain anonymous:

“Robin was troubled, definitely. A couple of run-ins with the law – trespassing, burglary, that sort of thing. I remember looking out of my window one morning and seeing him getting nicked right there on the lawn.”

Researchers have found no record of this arrest or any other history of criminal activity by Robin King.

Leslie King returned to the Kings' childhood home after leaving Glenwood & Co. in either 1976 or 1978 (date unclear due to coffee stain on resignation letter retrieved from Glenwood & Co. head offices). Telephone records suggest that Leslie King maintained regular contact with former colleague and compliance manager Nigel Harris (b. Unknown) for several years after departing from Glenwood & Co. Robin King's whereabouts at this time are unknown.

It is unknown when exactly the company was founded, but the earliest known advertisement for Ursa Major appeared in Sentinel catalogue, Spring 1984:

URSA MAJOR: For security and defence sector, a family-owned consultancy delivering solutions to your problems. No challenge too great.

Ursa Major first came to the attention of the Cross Foundation during the field response to Incident “Phantom Field” in Marlborough, March 1987. As explained by a debrief statement written by Cross Foundation employee Patricia Renfield:

“After securing the Anomaly, we lost sight of the capstone and were trying to navigate back to base camp. Then we saw lights on the horizon. A dozen or so people wearing dark jackets and head torches marched across the field towards us. Some of them had guns - assault rifles, I think, but it was hard to see. We thought they were hunters at first. One of them fired a warning shot so we stopped where we were and raised our hands. Once they were close enough for us to hear them over the wind, they asked us to hand over the Anomaly, which they called the 'Siphon'. We refused, and they shot [EMPLOYEE NAME REDACTED, FAMILY INFORMED] in the forehead. Then they asked again.”

Eight months later, the Cross Foundation response to Incident “Fluid Gravity” returned an Anomaly that was categorised as Y-802 - "Water Siphon". A statement from Renfield following close observation of Y-802 indicated that it was the same Anomaly responsible for Incident “Phantom Field”. Notably, Incident “Fluid Gravity” took place at a dam in the Valais region of Switzerland, over 500 miles from its previous location in England.

Ursa Major maintains high security around its headquarters and so a complete list of employees and clients has yet to be compiled. However, a list of frequent associates and assumed clients of Ursa Major has been drafted. Any additional information on this subject would be appreciated.

Ursa Major employees and management:

• Leslie King, director
• Robin King, director
• Nigel Harris, former colleague of Leslie King and assumed business partner or stakeholder

Ursa Major clients:

• EPLN (Énergie pour la Nation), Swiss power company assumed to have purchased Y-802 in 1987