[SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE]
[FOUNDING DOCUMENT – PARLIAMENT OF BRETONIA]
[PROVENANCE]
After the reformation of the BIS (an act of the Queen, the reasons of which remains classified), the BAF was authorized by the Parliament of Bretonia to explore the possibility of a smaller intelligence agency which would require less funding so that the government could focus funds towards the military and shoring up stockpiles of strategic resources, now that the route to Liberty had been partially cut through for obtaining resources. The BAF created an agency which borrowed trusted officers from the Armed Forces as well as trusted outsiders who would primarily rely on their own influence and resources as the intelligence-collection equivalent of a “force-multiplier” to compensate for the smaller agency and its lower funding than its predecessor.
Once Parliament received the proposal for the creation of such an agency from the BAF|, it amended that the agency would fall under the purview of the Foreign Office while conveniently leaving out who exactly within the Foreign Office was responsible for the agency’s day to day administration and execution of its long term goals. This allowed the agency to retain almost complete independence while also reserving the resources of the Foreign Office to use for the creation of cover identities and falsified travel and diplomatic documents which would assist independent agent operations in setting up assets in foreign houses or uncontrolled space. Through the Chamber of Commerce of the Foriegn Office, their resources were also used to set up shell corporations inside and outside of Bretonia. The agency had just enough government funding that it would remain dependent (and thus loyal) to the Crown, but also relying on the wealth, influence and resources of its independent agents and shell corporations, it achieved the economic freedom to pursue their own projects without the interference of government red tape bureaucracy. In practice, the agency would report only to the Queen and the Prime Minister. This agency was henceforth known as the Secret Intelligence Service, SIS.
[NOTABLE OPERATIONS & FACTS]
Since the founding of SIS exactly 1 year ago (May, 824/201 A.S.), the SIS has participated in several notable operations including both intelligence victories and failures.
1. Perhaps the most well-known operation. Around August 824, [SIS] made contact with the Tears of Izanagi, later known as the Kijima Clan of the Blood Dragons (BD|). A deal was worked out to begin a shell corporation within Kusari which would funnel funds for the Blood Dragon movement. In the meantime, the Izanagi/Blood Dragons were given 500 million credits worth of equipment to initiate their terror movement. For 1-2 months, virtually all trade and base resupplying operations were stopped as a reign of terror spread throughout Kusari. Since then the Izanagi have evolved into the Kijima Clan which proceeded to tone down their terrorist activities, primarily targeting Samura operations only and letting most civilians go. As Normalcy returned to Kusari, the Blood Dragons regained some public support, however discrete. This operation suggests that SIS continues to view the previous Republic of Kusari and current Reformed Kusari Empire as a Gallic puppet state, regardless of what the reality is. In either case, their continued claims over the Tau territories means Bretonia and Kusari will remain in a state of geopolitical competition, otherwise known as a Cold War. A recent action includes a joint operation with the BAF| Merchant Navy to supply the Blood Dragons with thousands of military vehicles so as to help the Blood Dragons in their fight to capture Planet Tomioka.
2. SIS developed relations with the Order which helped us grab suspicions that Enma Loyola was infected. After the Order published intelligence that Sapphire Raven and Enma Loyola may be infected, she was asked to come to the University of Cambridge for testing but never showed up. This later led to suspicions upon the Core when she was asked to lead the Omicron state, but her departure from Core seems to suggest the possibility that the Core found out and neutralized all infected threats. Nevertheless, this created the background from which the SIS was able to pursue improved relations with the Order in order to utilize their network of allies for intelligence collection, amongst other activities.
3. SIS organized the ceasefire with the Coalition on behalf of Bretonia. Although still in the works, several months of no fire between Bretonia and the Coalition has allowed Bretonia some breathing room to focus on the war in Gallia. This later on developed into a strategy to become allied with the allies of the Coalition so as to put pressure on the Red Hessians to arrange a ceasefire with them as well. This would secure shipping to and from Rheinland and Bretonia from all threats, save the Corsairs. By doing so, Bretonia, which no longer has a stable/safe supply line from Liberty, would not have to worry about the supply lines from Rheinland and thus gain further breathing room for her war against Gallia. Part of the reason why relations with the Order were pursued were to further influence the Red Hessians into a ceasefire.
5. Although relations with foreign intelligence agencies such as the Buro, 404 and the =LSF= were pursued, most of this was met with disinterest and possibly suspicion. In light of this, SIS heavily pursues relations with unlawful organization in foreign houses (as seen with the Blood Dragons and more recently, the Lane Hackers) in order to use their local expertise to gain further intelligence on the other Houses in Kusari. A notable exception is Rheinland, which the Bretonian War Cabinet does not allow the SIS to spy upon. In return, the Buro and the Government of Rheinland has agreed not to send spies to Bretonia under any circumstances either, unless without the permission of the other government. This is primarily because the Bretonian War Cabinet needs to maintain good relations with the Rheinlandic government as it represents Bretonia’s last relatively safe supply line.
References: Just ask anyone in the Bretonian War Cabinet or the Rheinland Government/Buro.
6. During late October 824, the SIS got caught attempting to spy upon the Lane Hackers due to a faulty intelligence asset. As a result, this led to Lane Hacker retaliation inside Bretonia but the general avoidance of interaction with the Lane Hackers have since led to the Lane Hacker refocusing their piracy and terror operations towards Liberty. This thaw over the past 6-7 months has allowed relations to be re-established with the Lane Hackers to some degree.
7. Like the Blood Dragons, SIS had also funded the Apostatas organization which is attempting to turn the Corsair Empire from a pirate-state into a lawful, trade-oriented state run by the concept of the Rule of Law. This funding however has not yielded any results as of yet.
8. Recently, SIS has been able to codify their activities into Bretonian law with the launch of the Official Secrets Act legislation. Before this, SIS did break some Bretonian laws from to time to time in order to further national interests abroad. As a result, while SIS has been able to develop good relations with the BAF|, the SIS always tip-toed around the BPA) as it was feared that if SIS’s operations were revealed to them, members of the organization would be prosecuted. Thanks to the Official Secrets Act, relations with the BPA) have improved significantly and intelligence is being shared.
[FACTION NAME]: Secret Intelligence Service or SIS
[FACTION TAG & NAMING CONVENTION]: [SIS]-Codename/Callsign, or [SIS]-Firstname.Lastname, or [SIS]-Fakename
[ID & IFF]: BIS ID & BIS IFF
[SHIP-LINE & EQUIPMENT]: Any Civilian, Borderworlds, Bretonian and Liberty Lawful ship-line (as per Lend-Lease Agreement) and as per ID restrictions. Ships outside of these ship-lines may be accommodated with permission from the top. Cruisers are not permitted under any circumstances, if we need heavy firepower, we'll ask the BAF| for assistance.
[ZONE OF INFLUENCE & OPERATIONS]: ZOI is Bretonia & neighbouring systems, ZOE is everywhere in Sirius (with few logical exceptions e.g. Alaska, Munster & Tohoku)
[DIRECTORS]:
Harry Weber (Director, 1st in Command), Adrienne Perry (Chief of Staff, 2nd in Command) . They are entrusted with the long term goals of the organization and developing a viable intelligence collection strategy.
[INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS]:*
Generally taken from the BAF, usually Bretonian citizens these high potential individuals are sought out, vigorously trained in espionage, leadership and other relevant skills and qualifications. They are in charge of developing the overall intelligence network of SIS, recruiting intelligence assets/agents in foreign space, working on their own projects and working on projects handed to them from the top. To an extent, they are also expected to analyse the intelligence they collect with the help of Defence Intelligence Staff. Intelligence officers are commonly called 'spooks' by the uniformed branches, usually because they operate without being seen.
[INTELLIGENCE ASSETS/SOURCE AGENTS]:*
Locals or other individuals selected for their potential in espionage, to spy for SIS. They are not official members of SIS, but in general they do work for the SIS officer who recruited and trained them. They have a chance to become officers themselves, with few exceptions (e.g. Outcasts due to their dependence on Cardamine).
*You do not need to become an intelligence asset first in order to become an officer, they are more like different roles. Furthermore, Intelligence Assets are NOT members are [SIS], they are spies who are paid to work for us. Examples include individuals who are our allies. Intelligence assets do not carry the [SIS] tag, the BIS ID nor IFF.
[ROSTER]
· @Victor Steiner - Mr. James Skirka, Lt. Cmdr. (Ret.) Victor Steiner, (1st in Command)
· @Vulkhard Muller - Mr. Zackery Statham (2nd in Command)
· @Hopewell- Mr. Derek Trowne
· @Xenon - Mr David Webb
· @Thunderer - Mrs. Bernadette Llewellyn-Levy
· @Wolverine518 - Mr. Oliver Lewis
· @JamesRobinson - Mr James Robinson
· @JC8 - Mr. Alex Clyde
· @Caliban - Mr Caliban
· [LN], Liberty Navy, 1st Fleet
· 5th|, Liberty Navy, 5th Fleet
· All Liberty Corporations/Lawfuls
· =CR=, Crayter Republic
· Forlorn|-, The Forlorn Hope
· [C], The Council
· BHG|, Bounty Hunters Guild
· BD|, Blood Dragons
· GC|, Golden Chrysanthemums
· Gateway|, Gateway Shipping (Not allied as it is not a crown corporation)
· NO| Natio Octaverium
· Planetform Inc. (Not allied as it is not a crown corporation)
[NEUTRAL]:
· IMG|, Independent Miners Guild
· [RM], Rheinland Military
· NC-, National Council of Malta, Outcasts
· Zoners
· All Rheinland Corporations
· All Kusari Corporations
· Core|, The Core
· SCRA|/SCEC:
Sirius Coalition Forces: The Sirius Coalition: As a ceasefire was arranged between SIS and the Coalition, the Coalition is thus neutral and able to enter Bretonia in order to assist against the MRG. (Check Notable Operations/Facts section for further details & source)
· BDM| Buro der Marinenachrichtendeinst :
Under the orders of the Bretonian War Cabinet, there are no SIS activities inside Rheinland and vice versa. There have been incidents where SIS ships have entered Rheinland with the specific permission of the Buro.
· Everyone else not mentioned
[UNFRIENDLY]:
· 404, Agency 404/=LSF=, Liberty Security Force
· [KNF], Kusari Naval Forces
· KNI|, Kusari Naval Intelligence
- Kempeitai
· [RHA], Red Hessian Army:
It is hoped that by normalizing relations between the Coalition and the Order while emphasizing the common enemy the Hessians and Bretonians share: the Corsairs, a ceasefire will one day hopefully be arranged between the Hessians and SIS/Bretonia. Currently, there has been no recorded hostile actions between Bretonians and Hessians in the Omegas for almost 3-6 months (Check Order Reference # 11 below)
· Order|, The Order:
Although SIS has actively pursued relations with the Order and continues to do so, it remains on the official list of terror groups. Currently, SIS is documenting instances where intelligence and other support provided by the Order helps advance Bretonian national interests in order to bring forward the case to the Bretonian War Cabinet for the removal of the Order from the Official List of Terror Organisations from the government and normalize relations between the Order and Bretonia (Reference: 11)
[HOSTILE]:
· LH-, Lane Hackers:
SIS has decided to work towards building relations with the Lane Hackers in order to establish an intelligence collection presence inside Liberty. However, the relation remains challenged as of 17/05/825.
· [TBH]/C:, The Brotherhood, Custodi, Corsairs
· [M], The Molly Republic
· GG-, Gaian Guard
· Xenos
· All Gallic Corporations
· MRG|, [RN], AG|, All GRN Fleets
· All Nomads
*The 500 Million Credits needed to apply for official faction status can be found on [SIS]-Adrienne.Perry
The ONS advocates this decision and wishes all of its bretonian intelligence neighbors good luck on your way. But we have to agree with @Corile on the Courier as body-font opinion.
One of your members is called Earl Julian Grayson. Is "Earl" a name or a title? Mentioning just in case, because there is no Bretonian earl called Julian nor Grayson. Just a reminder that, in Bretonia, titles are awarded by the War Cabinet or by the Queen, and not things of personal choice.
Going to use this to mention that I really like the SIS. Kaze did a job no worse than expected, and Steiner is very capable. Not going to mention why I like it, because explaining it might give a few ooRP hints to the targeted characters/players
As an pawn in your game, I highly approve this and wish you best of luck and continued cooperation between Bretonia's terrorist cell and Sirius' most advanced warship.
(05-17-2018, 05:38 PM)Office of National Security Wrote:
The ONS advocates this decision and wishes all of its bretonian intelligence neighbors good luck on your way. But we have to agree with @Corile on the Courier as body-font opinion.
Thank you! I picked Courier just because it makes everything look like a computer console which I find visually appealing
(05-17-2018, 06:39 PM)The Blood Dragons Wrote: Good luck guys - We as a faction have nothing but good things to say about you guys! Keep up the good work and I'm sure you'll get through!
Thank you very much Blood Dragons!
(05-17-2018, 06:48 PM)Thunderer Wrote: One of your members is called Earl Julian Grayson. Is "Earl" a name or a title? Mentioning just in case, because there is no Bretonian earl called Julian nor Grayson. Just a reminder that, in Bretonia, titles are awarded by the War Cabinet or by the Queen, and not things of personal choice.
Going to use this to mention that I really like the SIS. Kaze did a job no worse than expected, and Steiner is very capable. Not going to mention why I like it, because explaining it might give a few ooRP hints to the targeted characters/players
We weren't aware of the Bretonian nobility rules and we thought anybody could RP as one. Now we that we know we will remove the title, thanks for the clarification. And thank you for being a fan of SIS!
(05-17-2018, 06:56 PM)Kazinsal Wrote: I've been waiting for this post. Good to see y'all pushing yourselves forward more. Always fun to interact with you.
I am glad we are helping you have fun!
(05-17-2018, 07:00 PM)Sombra Hookier Wrote: As an pawn in your game, I highly approve this and wish you best of luck and continued cooperation between Bretonia's terrorist cell and Sirius' most advanced warship.
Hehe I see what you did there, thank you very much for the kind words!
(05-17-2018, 07:50 PM)Secret Intelligence Service Wrote:
(05-17-2018, 05:38 PM)Office of National Security Wrote:
The ONS advocates this decision and wishes all of its bretonian intelligence neighbors good luck on your way. But we have to agree with @Corile on the Courier as body-font opinion.
Thank you! I picked Courier just because it makes everything look like a computer console which I find visually appealing
Consolas may be a better choice. It might need a slight size bump though.
Courier looks more like a typewriter than a modern system.
On a similar formatting note, the medium-dark grey on dark backgrounds is visually unpleasant.
I've yet to encounter you all in-game, so I can't yet comment on that, but it is good to see some Bretonians returning to the espionage field. We'll have to have a chat sometime in-RP when circumstances line up.
(05-17-2018, 07:50 PM)Secret Intelligence Service Wrote: Thank you! I picked Courier just because it makes everything look like a computer console which I find visually appealing
Monospaced fonts aren't meant to be used for body text of any kind. It's hard to read and looks awful. I understand that you're trying to go for this old British intelligence thing but this simply is not the place for it. We aren't in the 1940s and we don't need to use typewriters. I for one wouldn't even comment on whatever your lore or RP is because I haven't read any of it due to your awful choice of font.
Do keep in mind as well that the text you've written reads entirely differently to someone who hasn't read it previously. Monospaced fonts lower reading speed and comprehension, more so for people who naturally read faster (I read normal text at ~650 wpm, monospaced font probably lowers that by a half or more).
While visual appeal may be important, not wasting other people's time is also quite nice.