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Each IST is composed of at least eight supers, though some have up to 20. Teams are multi-national in origin, with a maximum of two natives from the region where the team is stationed. All must speak the language of the host country. Members are selected for skill more than for raw power; each team is assembled so that its members' skills complement each other. Psychological compatibility is also considered, but perfect matches are rare. U.N. psychologists have determined that minor incompatibilities often make for a more effective team!
Some IST members are conscripts from U.N. member nations who draft all metahumans; many others are volunteers. Pay is only $1,000 per month, but team members have all living expenses covered, as well as a generous allowance for uniforms, "public relations" and the like. IST members are also encouraged to continue their educations, either at local universities or by private training, and the U.N. picks up the tab. The U.N. does its best to keep the enthusiastic loyalty of its super-police, and it is for the most part successful.
The IST cooperates fully with those members who wish to keep their identities secret, whether to preserve their own privacy or to protect their families from possible retaliation. Such members are known only by their "hero names," and will be provided with masked costumes or even cosmetic changes. Information about former lives of these supers is available only on a need-to-know basis, and is locked in a single databank at the U.N. headquarters building.
IST members rotate on a three-week-on, one-week-off schedule; each team always has a minimum of six members on duty. IST "embassies" are comfortable, well-equipped and designed to blend in with their surroundings. For example, IST Tokyo is housed in an ordinary-looking downtown office building, while IST London is based in a Georgian manor. Each embassy is equipped with large scale defenses and limited offensive capability, all powered by miniature nuclear reactor. In addition to the resident supers, a small force of highly trained infantry, including a squad with battlesuits, is employed as guards and support crew.
Thus, each embasy is effectively a fortress. All embassy operations are overseen by a high-capacity mainframe computer, EM-shielded and buried in bedrock.
