Tom Clancy's The Division: Recruited is a novel written by Thomas Parrott and published by Aconyte Books. It is the first entry in the Operation: Crossroads series, and takes place after the events of Tom Clancy's The Division 2: Warlords of New York. It was first published on February 1, 2022. A sequel, Tom Clancy's The Division: Compromised, was released on December 6, 2022.
The novel follows Maira Kanhai, a former U.S. Navy cybersecurity officer whose settlement is saved by a cell of Strategic Homeland Division agents. After deciding to join them, she must earn her place in The Division as they fight against the Outcasts and their leader, Rowan O'Shea--a rogue agent whose plans threaten to bring down their entire organization.
Plot[]
Notice: The following synopsis contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.
Maira Kanhai acts as head of security for Athena, a small civilian settlement on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.. She struggles to scavenge enough food for its people without entering the city proper, stemming from guilt over a previous expedition to the D.C. Armory that resulted in the deaths of many residents, including her younger brother Kazi.
One night, Athena is attacked by a company of Outcasts. Despite slowing their advance using IEDs, the defenders are nearly overwhelmed until they are saved by the arrival of three Division agents–Brenda Wells, Leo Fourte, and Eric, who dies saving the rest from an Outcast suicide bomber. Afterwards, Wells arranges Joint Task Force support for Athena and explains their mission: to assess the status of supply lines in the midwestern United States and arrange food shipments to the east coast. Maira offers to join them, and Brenda accepts over Leo’s objections.
On the way to a Division supply depot, the group is bombarded by mortars filled with chlorine gas, where Maira nearly dies without a mask; Brenda and Leo speculate about the identity of their attackers and debate sending Maira back to Athena. They find the depot nearly emptied, and the username on the terminal--”ROSHEA”--unsettles Brenda.
A group of National Guardsmen direct them towards the Cumberland Gap, an operational supply route controlled by the Roamers, a fleet of extortionist truckers and smugglers. However, in West Virginia, Leo falls ill and is unable to continue. Maira gets lost while searching for help and is rescued by Johnny, a survivalist living in the mountains. He and his wife Andrea shelter the agents and nurse Leo back to health. However, Brenda spots a convoy of Outcasts following them; the agents make a stand at the cabin and repel them, but Johnny and Andrea are killed in the process, which leaves Maira guilt-ridden.
At the Cumberland Gap, they witness a vehicular battle between the Roamers and the Freighties, another faction of truckers. As the Freighties retreat, the agents rescue one of their drivers, Dixie Dog, who secures them a ride to the their base. After a heated exchange with their leader, Miguel, Brenda brokers an alliance between her cell and the Freighties in exchange for food shipments northeast.
Three days later, the Freighties mount another assault against the Roamers holding the Cumberland Gap. The agents help them defeat the Roamers using Sticky Bombs and Turrets from ambush, but are forced to destroy their own SHD Tech after the Turrets are remotely hacked. They are attacked by a Drone, which broadcasts a video call from Rowan O’Shea--a former member of Brenda’s cell, now a rogue agent allied with both the Outcasts and the Roamers.
Brenda reveals that Rowan went rogue after her family was accidentally killed by Division agents on Roosevelt Island; Brenda lied to her, blaming the True Sons for their deaths. Rowan exacted revenge by infecting the True Sons with Green Poison, causing massive civilian casualties and drawing the attention of both the Outcasts and Aaron Keener’s rogues. The agents deduce that Rowan plans to cause a regional blackout by targeting a Division Core--specifically, the Kansas Core.
Although Miguel is unable to spare any transportation, Dixie volunteers to drive them to Kansas through hostile territory, using a captured Roamer truck as a disguise. While driving through St. Louis, Dixie’s truck comes under fire and is struck by a dirty bomb, blanketing the area in radioactive dust. Shaken but unharmed, the group escapes and uses their disguises to procure more fuel at a Roamer depot.
The agents arrive at the Kansas Core to find it overrun by Outcasts and Roamers, its automated defenses disabled by Rowan. After a fierce battle, Maira hacks the door's security and proceeds inside with Brenda, while an injured Leo stays behind. At the heart of the facility, Rowan cripples Brenda with a shotgun and holds her at gunpoint, forcing Maira to disable the Core’s EMP safeguards. Maira complies, then shoots Rowan dead in her moment of victory.
Brenda then takes Rowan’s watch and resets it to recognize a new owner--Maira Kanhai--and welcomes her to The Division.
Publication[]
| Title | Material collected | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Clancy's The Division: Recruited | February 1, 2022 | 1839081163 |
Trivia[]
- The dirty bombs attack on Saint Louis orchestrated by Rogue Agent Rowan O'Shea and the Outcasts, which is depicted in this novel, was mentioned extensively in the comms for Season 11: Reign of Fire
- The attack on the Athena community settlement by the Outcasts, their rescue by Division agents, and Maira Kanhai's recruitment, was also mentioned by one of Eva Garcia's comms in Y5S1: Broken Wings.