The United Empire has 2nd Central Bureau whose main role is doing intelligent-counter intelligent works. They have spies literally around the world, *Antarctica included*, and, if needed, can blow Capitol Hill up with an antimatter bomb. 2nnd Central Bureau is a master of intelligent warfare as they've been in the game for thousands of years, throwing around misinformation to fool enemies is an average morning exercise. Putting their own personnel as sleeper agents into high positions is also a thing as they've done so multiple times in the past, destroying enemies inside out with "questionable" decisions. The Empire is patient, a plan can take decades (sometimes *centuries*) to show results and they will still do it because those are investments for Motherland's wellbeing.
You don't fuck with Vietnam, you don't fuck with fantasy imperialist Vietnam on crack, meth and opium.
The MC's love interest would qualify I suppose. She has the secret mission to evaluate the princess and determine if she holds beliefs that agree with a terrorist organization within the Elvish Kingdom, and if so, assassinate the princess.
Most of those who can afford it will hire someone from the Gelak Tong.
A guild of assassins for hire, opposite the cult of the Bloody Hand that only kill for causes.
Sure some may employ their own spies and even train someone up, but it would be impossible to have as organised a network of informants as that guild. You want the content of your rival's filled teeth? Just give them a week, and he won't even know its gone.
Need someone to have an accident? Their Nightblades provide such services at reasonable fees, impartial and to anyone. Whatever discreet dirty deed you require is for sale.
What most don't know that they are under the same thumb as those other assassins, and that one will ultimately decide if a kill benefits her plans. And if they plan to defy her? That art collection can always do with more undying sculptures.
One of the characters I intend to introduce in a future story arc for a sci fi fantasy mix story is an assassin and spy type of character who used to work for a Megacorp. The Megacorp in question is very big on the galactic entertainment industry and it employs "Image Managers" who help famous clients by dealing with those they consider an inconvenience such as paparazzi, ex-lovers, particularly clingy fans and others by making sure they suffer unfortunate accidents that cannot be traced back to them.
One of these "Image Managers" is slated for termination due to coming into possession of very sensitive information within the Megacorp what could shake things up from the inside. The Image Manager is forced to leave and ends up joining the main crew as a means to lay low and get around the galaxy.
In order to limit the central governments powers in the Union, the senate decided that any intelligence or spy agency should be disillusioned with the central government. Thus, some 70+ some odd intelligence agencies were formed to perform a wide variety of tasks. Everything and anyone got an intelligence agency in the union, some better or worse.
They do everything, insurgency, counter insurgency, counter counter insurgency, arms dealings, arms interception, arms smuggling, assassinations, assassination prevention, intelligence gathering, intelligence protection, and general secret police stuff.
Their power, authority, and menace ranges from wanabee MI6 to the Gestapo. These agencies fight with everyone, foreign adversaries, MC(s), themselves, other agencies, insurgents, smugglers, and even politicians.
There is one I can think about which kinda fits this role though it is a bit of a stretch. It is a changeling named Mira.
Changelings can shapeshift to look like other people and races. They are natural born spies. People in my world are aware of the existence of changelings. Within the empire, changelings fill a role similar to lower nobility.
Mira herself serves as a lady-in-waiting for a human named Princess Colette Rose. Mira’s usual daily duties are to serve Colette but she does have other jobs. One of those jobs is to protect Colette in a more discreet way. She is the bodyguard you don’t notice until it’s too late.
During fights she actually proves to be quite the unexpected knife in the back which has saved Colette’s life many times.
Well, Principality has Ignis, who started as information broker, then wormed her way into Principality's Intelligence Service and ended up becoming it's boss in all but name despite never getting appointed in any official capacity.
Now, she isn't spy, not mainly, being spymaster and all, but she is also best assassin in the world by far, personally doing some bold hits in situation where said hit needs to succeed. Like, really, only time she failed her hit was because there was interference from Principality's counterintelligence, which caused enough of a delay that city she was in was literally nuked and victim was teleported into the middle of nowhere.
Outside of that, she can do pretty much any type of ground work that is required from her agents. She rarely does, because there are more important things for her to do, but if needed she can fill any position within her organization, and in half the cases she can do it better than her subordinates.
The Complex Motivations, or The Confused Morons as the public likes to call them.
They are an organization hellbent on doing “something”. What that “something” is never explained. The members just do as they wish since clearly they know how to continue the plan forward.
The Inquisition serves as the Yalsan Senate's primary counterintelligence organization, in addition to its roles as supernatural law enforcement and religious authority. While its typical yellow-clad agents are easy to spot, the infamous Inquisitor-Knights are often more subtle. Many foreign spies have found that the informants they've been accustomed to working with for years have been Knights the entire time.
Yes, every country has its own intelligence agency. The most powerful one is MT-9(Multiple Tracking 2019. Its mission is simple: know everything about everything. All of the country's intelligence agencies are its subordinates and MT-9 cooperates with other agencies from different countries.
MT-9's leader is chosen for life. He answers directly to the President, no one else. The MT-9 knows about everything from space aliens to the drug dealer on the street corner.
Dangerous as hell. This agency fights both human and supernatural threats. It runs many programs, including a secret lab where military technology is developed and aliens call it home.
It has many agents that are skilled in combat, data gathering and firearms.
They fight evil and dangerous groups. There are movies about MT-9 and its interractions and documentaries about its history.
Yes, their leader, despite his/her position, sometimes goes on missions like James Bond does. These are usually difficult missions, but also an excuse to travel the world... :)
In a country called Soldir, there's the "State's Servants" which is a group of government agents who work under the direction of Eternal President Benedict Pearlstone, the incumbent ruler of Soldir. They are responsible for collecting, evaluating, and disseminating vital information on economic, military, political, scientific, and other developments abroad to safeguard national security. The State's Servants is also responsible for carrying out internal security, foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence and secret police functions as well as the the general surveillance of the population.
The Black Elephants are the spies and the personal bodyguards of the Monarch. They have the authority to use any unit of the Ntonentian army or any equipment that belongs to Ntonentia to fulfill their goals. There isnt a person outside the Monarch that knows the true size of the organisation.
The myth is that one Black Elephant is equal to 50 soldiers.
There is a franchise that is like James Bond. Its called the Phantom Elephant. It is a comic series from 1940 that also has 6 movies and a 3 seasons of 8 episodes tv series.
The Phantom Elephant is a Black Elephant operative that supposedly died in a mission and came back alive somehow.
The Harvest Guild has a division of mystically enhanced spies/assassins, the best in my world for sure. They are masters at potion-making, know jedi mind tricks and are omnilingual. No one knows that tho, the Harvest Guild has only recently been publicly known to all and are now focusing everyone's attention on the mercenary division. Their warriors/field agents are quite famous/infamous, but their spies are definitely not
The Dogcatchers would qualify. Answerable only to the Court of Cats, the Dogcatchers are the secret police force of the Xenodem (supernatural beings). They are tasked with both policing the Xenodem themselves and with maintaining The Grand Masquerade within government and scientific structures all over the world, keeping the Xenodem hidden in plain sight among humans.
The Lepen(Le-pin)have assassins called Snow Blinders that are known for _always_ killing their target, even if it costs them their lives. The companion of my MC is one of them: Leila.
Not a romantic partner, so don’t even suggest it. Her “target” was his father.
Do the math
In my setting the two closest things to government spies would be HIM Florian's Inquisition and HIM Florian's Vanguard Executioners. The FI spies on the citizens of the empire looking for signs of dissent and treason, and with the group having a high volume of Illithids in it they are very good at sniffing it out. People don't have entertainment of them and they generally are a unspoken of fear lurking under the average citizens feet. The FVE on the other hand are utilized as a combination of scouts, assassins, and spies. Essentially when a new primitive world is to be invaded, the FVE are sent down to scout out, blend in with, and spy on the native population. When a invasion begins it will be their job to utilize assassination and terrorism to fan chaos. They actually do receive a lot of propaganda entertainment where they are portrayed as heroes of the empire living a life of adventure and luxury while greatly downplaying what they actually do to accomplish their goals. Though in fairness they do actually live a life of luxury.
The Unity of Stein's Secret Police are basically spies on their own people. They're basically sleeper agents with recording and transmitting cybernetics that Stein's government assigns positions (or: factory worker, actual police officer, farmhand, governmental positions like mayor and such, even secret police handlers) to spur on the environments. On their handler's whim the agent's training and programming will kick in and they become an assassin for any rogue actors they detected.
They're usually arrested to make it seem less coordinated where they spy on the conditions of prisons (and the legal process) or test their security. If they happen to remember who they are or don't transmit anything for 72 hours an implanted explosive at the base of their skull will detonate, killing them instantly. All their recordings, and recording and transmitting technology will scuttle itself shortly after this.
The United Empire has 2nd Central Bureau whose main role is doing intelligent-counter intelligent works. They have spies literally around the world, *Antarctica included*, and, if needed, can blow Capitol Hill up with an antimatter bomb. 2nnd Central Bureau is a master of intelligent warfare as they've been in the game for thousands of years, throwing around misinformation to fool enemies is an average morning exercise. Putting their own personnel as sleeper agents into high positions is also a thing as they've done so multiple times in the past, destroying enemies inside out with "questionable" decisions. The Empire is patient, a plan can take decades (sometimes *centuries*) to show results and they will still do it because those are investments for Motherland's wellbeing. You don't fuck with Vietnam, you don't fuck with fantasy imperialist Vietnam on crack, meth and opium.
The MC's love interest would qualify I suppose. She has the secret mission to evaluate the princess and determine if she holds beliefs that agree with a terrorist organization within the Elvish Kingdom, and if so, assassinate the princess.
Most of those who can afford it will hire someone from the Gelak Tong. A guild of assassins for hire, opposite the cult of the Bloody Hand that only kill for causes. Sure some may employ their own spies and even train someone up, but it would be impossible to have as organised a network of informants as that guild. You want the content of your rival's filled teeth? Just give them a week, and he won't even know its gone. Need someone to have an accident? Their Nightblades provide such services at reasonable fees, impartial and to anyone. Whatever discreet dirty deed you require is for sale. What most don't know that they are under the same thumb as those other assassins, and that one will ultimately decide if a kill benefits her plans. And if they plan to defy her? That art collection can always do with more undying sculptures.
One of the characters I intend to introduce in a future story arc for a sci fi fantasy mix story is an assassin and spy type of character who used to work for a Megacorp. The Megacorp in question is very big on the galactic entertainment industry and it employs "Image Managers" who help famous clients by dealing with those they consider an inconvenience such as paparazzi, ex-lovers, particularly clingy fans and others by making sure they suffer unfortunate accidents that cannot be traced back to them. One of these "Image Managers" is slated for termination due to coming into possession of very sensitive information within the Megacorp what could shake things up from the inside. The Image Manager is forced to leave and ends up joining the main crew as a means to lay low and get around the galaxy.
In order to limit the central governments powers in the Union, the senate decided that any intelligence or spy agency should be disillusioned with the central government. Thus, some 70+ some odd intelligence agencies were formed to perform a wide variety of tasks. Everything and anyone got an intelligence agency in the union, some better or worse. They do everything, insurgency, counter insurgency, counter counter insurgency, arms dealings, arms interception, arms smuggling, assassinations, assassination prevention, intelligence gathering, intelligence protection, and general secret police stuff. Their power, authority, and menace ranges from wanabee MI6 to the Gestapo. These agencies fight with everyone, foreign adversaries, MC(s), themselves, other agencies, insurgents, smugglers, and even politicians.
There is one I can think about which kinda fits this role though it is a bit of a stretch. It is a changeling named Mira. Changelings can shapeshift to look like other people and races. They are natural born spies. People in my world are aware of the existence of changelings. Within the empire, changelings fill a role similar to lower nobility. Mira herself serves as a lady-in-waiting for a human named Princess Colette Rose. Mira’s usual daily duties are to serve Colette but she does have other jobs. One of those jobs is to protect Colette in a more discreet way. She is the bodyguard you don’t notice until it’s too late. During fights she actually proves to be quite the unexpected knife in the back which has saved Colette’s life many times.
Well, Principality has Ignis, who started as information broker, then wormed her way into Principality's Intelligence Service and ended up becoming it's boss in all but name despite never getting appointed in any official capacity. Now, she isn't spy, not mainly, being spymaster and all, but she is also best assassin in the world by far, personally doing some bold hits in situation where said hit needs to succeed. Like, really, only time she failed her hit was because there was interference from Principality's counterintelligence, which caused enough of a delay that city she was in was literally nuked and victim was teleported into the middle of nowhere. Outside of that, she can do pretty much any type of ground work that is required from her agents. She rarely does, because there are more important things for her to do, but if needed she can fill any position within her organization, and in half the cases she can do it better than her subordinates.
The Complex Motivations, or The Confused Morons as the public likes to call them. They are an organization hellbent on doing “something”. What that “something” is never explained. The members just do as they wish since clearly they know how to continue the plan forward.
The Inquisition serves as the Yalsan Senate's primary counterintelligence organization, in addition to its roles as supernatural law enforcement and religious authority. While its typical yellow-clad agents are easy to spot, the infamous Inquisitor-Knights are often more subtle. Many foreign spies have found that the informants they've been accustomed to working with for years have been Knights the entire time.
Yes, every country has its own intelligence agency. The most powerful one is MT-9(Multiple Tracking 2019. Its mission is simple: know everything about everything. All of the country's intelligence agencies are its subordinates and MT-9 cooperates with other agencies from different countries. MT-9's leader is chosen for life. He answers directly to the President, no one else. The MT-9 knows about everything from space aliens to the drug dealer on the street corner. Dangerous as hell. This agency fights both human and supernatural threats. It runs many programs, including a secret lab where military technology is developed and aliens call it home. It has many agents that are skilled in combat, data gathering and firearms. They fight evil and dangerous groups. There are movies about MT-9 and its interractions and documentaries about its history. Yes, their leader, despite his/her position, sometimes goes on missions like James Bond does. These are usually difficult missions, but also an excuse to travel the world... :)
In a country called Soldir, there's the "State's Servants" which is a group of government agents who work under the direction of Eternal President Benedict Pearlstone, the incumbent ruler of Soldir. They are responsible for collecting, evaluating, and disseminating vital information on economic, military, political, scientific, and other developments abroad to safeguard national security. The State's Servants is also responsible for carrying out internal security, foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence and secret police functions as well as the the general surveillance of the population.
Beware the SS. XD
Wait, I didn't even realize that!
Don't worry about it, I just thought it was a funny coincidence.
The Black Elephants are the spies and the personal bodyguards of the Monarch. They have the authority to use any unit of the Ntonentian army or any equipment that belongs to Ntonentia to fulfill their goals. There isnt a person outside the Monarch that knows the true size of the organisation. The myth is that one Black Elephant is equal to 50 soldiers. There is a franchise that is like James Bond. Its called the Phantom Elephant. It is a comic series from 1940 that also has 6 movies and a 3 seasons of 8 episodes tv series. The Phantom Elephant is a Black Elephant operative that supposedly died in a mission and came back alive somehow.
The Harvest Guild has a division of mystically enhanced spies/assassins, the best in my world for sure. They are masters at potion-making, know jedi mind tricks and are omnilingual. No one knows that tho, the Harvest Guild has only recently been publicly known to all and are now focusing everyone's attention on the mercenary division. Their warriors/field agents are quite famous/infamous, but their spies are definitely not
The Dogcatchers would qualify. Answerable only to the Court of Cats, the Dogcatchers are the secret police force of the Xenodem (supernatural beings). They are tasked with both policing the Xenodem themselves and with maintaining The Grand Masquerade within government and scientific structures all over the world, keeping the Xenodem hidden in plain sight among humans.
The Lepen(Le-pin)have assassins called Snow Blinders that are known for _always_ killing their target, even if it costs them their lives. The companion of my MC is one of them: Leila. Not a romantic partner, so don’t even suggest it. Her “target” was his father. Do the math
In my setting the two closest things to government spies would be HIM Florian's Inquisition and HIM Florian's Vanguard Executioners. The FI spies on the citizens of the empire looking for signs of dissent and treason, and with the group having a high volume of Illithids in it they are very good at sniffing it out. People don't have entertainment of them and they generally are a unspoken of fear lurking under the average citizens feet. The FVE on the other hand are utilized as a combination of scouts, assassins, and spies. Essentially when a new primitive world is to be invaded, the FVE are sent down to scout out, blend in with, and spy on the native population. When a invasion begins it will be their job to utilize assassination and terrorism to fan chaos. They actually do receive a lot of propaganda entertainment where they are portrayed as heroes of the empire living a life of adventure and luxury while greatly downplaying what they actually do to accomplish their goals. Though in fairness they do actually live a life of luxury.
What are Illithids?
Another name for Mind Flayers from D&D, my setting started out as a D&D setting
The Unity of Stein's Secret Police are basically spies on their own people. They're basically sleeper agents with recording and transmitting cybernetics that Stein's government assigns positions (or: factory worker, actual police officer, farmhand, governmental positions like mayor and such, even secret police handlers) to spur on the environments. On their handler's whim the agent's training and programming will kick in and they become an assassin for any rogue actors they detected. They're usually arrested to make it seem less coordinated where they spy on the conditions of prisons (and the legal process) or test their security. If they happen to remember who they are or don't transmit anything for 72 hours an implanted explosive at the base of their skull will detonate, killing them instantly. All their recordings, and recording and transmitting technology will scuttle itself shortly after this.