Federation Intelligence Service

[mactavish]

I am very interested in introducing the Federation Intelligence Service into my upcoming Series.

Despite the excellent information provided in Steve Kenson's Starfleet Security chapters, I'm still fairly lost regarding the nature of the FIS.

Here's my take on the organization. Those "in the know" should feel free to comment and correct as they see fit.

Federation Intelligence Service

Formed shortly after the founding of the United Federation of Planets, this security organization is similar in nature to both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA). The FIS deals with internal threats to the Federation as well as external non-military threats (Starfleet takes care of military threats to the Federation).

FIS agents are required to hold Federation citizenship (unlike Starfleet, which allows non-member races to attend Starfleet Academy on an case-by-case basis) and are required to reside in Federation space. FIS agents are forbidden by UFP law to operate outside of the Federation's borders.

In addition to dealing with terrorists and tracking/pursuing criminals within Federation space, the FIS also investigates crimes that fall outside of local planetary jurisdiction and also cooperate with local law enforcement when their assistance is requested. The FIS also conducts surveillence and counterintelligence operations within Federation space.

In addition to all of these functions, the FIS also operates a Witness Protection Program for those testifying in criminal cases, particularly against large criminal organizations (such as the Orion Syndicate).

Overall, the FIS is far more responsible for the internal workings and safety of the United Federation of Planets than any other organization, including Starfleet.

mactavish out.

[mactavish]

Does anyone have any ideas about Federation Intelligence Service agent Development Point totals?

Are there any suggested FIS Academy and/or Tour of Duty Packages available anywhere? If not, are any of you willing to make some up?

Where is the Federation Intelligence Service Academy located? Is it on Earth? If so, then where specifically?

Post any other information that you can locate (or develop) regarding the Federation Intelligence Service.

mactavish out.

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[Antonsb214]

Find a copy of "The First Line: Starfleet Intelligence Handbook". It mentions FIS and could be used to figure out how to create them for your series.

[qerlin]

There also stuff in 'The Price of Freedom' for FIS agents.

We've used FIS extensively in our camapaign; there's a lot of espionage-oriented stuff going on. (Go figure, I worked intel for almost 5 years...)

I've got a slightly diferent take on the structure of FIS and the cousin intelligence groups. I based my take more closely on CIA and KGB. I would asume their Intelligence School would be on Earth in some relatively close area to the seat of power. I would assume FIS HQ to be just outside of Paris, with their training area in Europe somewhere (I have it in the Massif CEntrale area).

Quick thumbnail: FIS is lead by the DFI (director, federation intelligence); he answers to the Federation Security Advisor in the president's cabinet and a oversight committee in the Federation Council.

Next level are the departments of the FIS: intelligence, operations, archives, personnel (handles hiring, interal investigations and reviews), technical support (communications, equipment, etc...), and services (building manitenance, etc... These guys are not agents, but do require security clearance for the areas they work in.) Each department has a director and deputy director. Ops and Int tend to get under each othre's feet from time to time over who should be in charge of certain operations.

Archives does just that. they also have a staff of historians and other social scientists who put out scholarly works for others in the government. These are not agents, most have no real training...they do require top secret clearances for the material they work with. These guys get to be coll (I work for FIS!) without actually having to put up with the politics and responsibilities of real intelligence work.

Intelligence: they deal with the everyday drugery of going through trafic analysis, field reports, etc. to provide a picture of what is going on in the universe; they provide the daily intel brief for the president and cabin. They are broken down into 'desks', usually based on regions or particular areas of interest. Some important desks (not comprehensive): Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, Dominion, Breen (only recently created as a separate desk), Borg, Rigel, Draconis Outback, Orion Syndicate, Vulcan Isolationist Movement, Enlightened Mind Movement, Gerenal Terrorism, Ferengi. Each desk has a head of station. There are also roving desks, whose job is to augment the other desks or pick up intelligence support for operations ongoing.

Usually, these people work in the various intelligence stations around the Federation and the embasies in other nations. Sometimes they get to go on field missions but this is RARE.

Operations: these are the guys that you see in the vidshows on the Federation Broadcast Service. They are the field operatives, the cut-outs or handlers for foreign assets, the station heads in various embassies or areas of operation.

These are the guys that get the heavy training in how to run an operations and all the particular skills that entails. Unles they are deep cover, they will receive refresher training every years or so, as well as occasional added training for missions that are possible in their AO.

Technical: these are the guys that fix your stuff. They provide support for the computers, equipment, do research & development on new equipment, etc...

Personnel: the only real interesting part of this department for playtime would be the internal security people. They do not answer to the DFI directly, but to the Federation Council Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Services: these are the janitors, etc...

Now at this point, people are asking where the assassins, etc are... There are people with those skills in opreations, but the actual assassins -- the hardened killers of the James Bond stripe -- are in Section 31. Section 31, of course, doesn't exist. It also has only marginal connections to the rest of FIS; they are supposed to answer to the DFI. In actuallity they usually are tasked directly by the Federation Security Advisor.

There would be other organizations that would be involved in intelligence operations that would tend to get into turf battles with FIS; after all their scope of operations and authority...not to mention budget count on being the guys who lok the best.

Federation Communications Service: these are the guys that run and maintain the subspace communications network for Starfleet and the Federation as a whole. The run the Federation Broadcast Service, the Federation News Service, etc..

They also handle operations of the surveillence satellites and stations on the edge of hostile space. this section of the FCS is supposed to answer to the DFI, but their director tends to stovepipe his intel. he doesn't want to make FIS look any better than he has to, but he doesn't answer to the head of the FCS due to security reasons. So if he doesn't pas certain intel off to the FIS, it just sits there. They tend to also horde any communications-based intelligence for themselves. What do they do with it..? Who knows? The only time it comes up is when another intelligence service drops the ball; then these guys show up with their transcripts saying 'we knew what was going on the whole time! Give us more authority and resources...'

Federation Security Agency: these are the FBI of the Federation. Their mandate is solely law enforcement of Federation level crimes, but they inevitably get into inteligence and counterintelligence operations on a regular basis. There's a lot of jurisdictional overlap with FIS, and this cuases nasty turf wars over who has the operation control of certain assets, operations, etc... Generally, these guys are serious assholes. Their director (DFS) answers to the judicial committee in the Council and the Attroney General of the Federation.

Section 31: as stated above, they are only marginally under any contol. There is a special subcommittee to do oversight and tasking of Section 31 (which most will say doesn't exist), and they are technically supposed to answer to the DFI, but actually answer to the Federation Security Advisor and the president. Their budget is buried in 'cost overruns' and 'unauditable funds missing' from various department of the Federation government to avoid the subcommittee actually seeing what they are doing with the money. A lot of stuff is blatantly illegal, but they hide behind the hazy wording of the section in the constitution providing for them, as well as black budgets.

Starfleet Intelligence: these are the main pain in the rumpus for FIS. Starfleet Intel is supposed to handle just military/paramilitary intelligence issues, but they run ops everywhere and for everything they see fit. SI has a lot of support from the intelligence oversight committee because Starfleet's got a lot of political power in the council (many members are former or serving members!)

SI sees FIs as redundant and not as professional. FIS sees SI as meddlers and grandstanders, trying to hog all the credit and resources from the government. They frequently are working similar operations in similar theaters, but rarely liaise and often will try to undercut each other to be the ones that pull of the intelligence coup.

FIS tends to be better insinuated into the Ferengi and Orion cultures; a lot of SI people have real problems thinking 'capitalist'...it's just not what they are used to. SI handles Romulan and Klingon intel operations better, but that doesn't stop FIS from getting in their way from time to time.


[This message has been edited by qerlin (edited 06-04-2001).]

[Robert Lai]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by HisDudeness:
I'm sorry to say this post won't help mactavish much, but could anybody out there fill me in on exactly who/what Section 31 is? I stopped watching ST after TNG if that helps.</font>

According to a sidebar in The First Line - Starfleet Intelligence Handbook ...

Chapter Seven of Part Four (of the Federation Constitution) details Starfleet Intelligence. Section 31 of Chapter Seven states:

Starfleet Intelligence shall, from time to time and as deemed reasonably prudent and necessary to protect the security and safety of the Federation, conduct both domestic and foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities.

The exact nature and structure of Section 31 is left to the narrator in a given campaign to decide.

[Paul]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by HisDudeness:
I'm sorry to say this post won't help mactavish much, but could anybody out there fill me in on exactly who/what Section 31 is? I stopped watching ST after TNG if that helps.</font>

Section 31...not much is known about them (game or canon...).

In short, Section 31 is higly secretive, little-known, and very manipulative...they have no qualms crossing the Line that Starfleet Intelligence stops at. The Federation Charter (as quoted above) allows for counter-terrorist activities - Section 31 takes this almost to a pre-emptive view (ie, get the terrorists before they get you - even if that means getting them before they leave home...)

If in doubt...make it up.

------------------
"...and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophical blockbusters Where God went Wrong, Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes, and Who is this God Person Anyway?"
- The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (dec.)

[HisDudeness]

I'm sorry to say this post won't help mactavish much, but could anybody out there fill me in on exactly who/what Section 31 is? I stopped watching ST after TNG if that helps.

[qerlin]

Thoughts on the other side of the intelligence game; the 'bad guys':

Klingon Intelligence: barely exists and what little ther is is not well organized. Most Great Houses and the KDF have intelligence analysts, but they often don't talk to each other unless there is politic advantage in it. Spying is not an honorable profession...still they do it. Mostly it is through exchange officers to Starfleet, military attaches, and diplomatic attaches. They play a polite game where they 'observe and liaise' with the Federation or other nations -- all the time sending back whatever they are exposed to. They don't get a lot of real secret material, but enough open source or mildly sensitive material for their analysts to get a pretty good picture of what is going on in hte various governments, militaries, etc...

Romulan Intelligence: extremely professional, dedicated, and well-supported. The two main groups: Tal Shiar and Tal Diann.

Tal Shiar is very well organized and there is much less departmental infighting. However, they also have there own institutional goals and political ideology; that means their intelligence sometimes doesn't make it to the government, but only to certain senators allied with the Tal Shiar. They have almost totla control of the Jol Tan coalition in the Senate.

They often work cross purposes with Tal Diann, the military intelligence wing of the Star Navy. The Tal Dian are more concerned with military intelligence on foreign powers and their own internal security. The main goal of Tal Diann is to keep Tal Shiar out of the Star Navy. They spend most of their time investigating their own officers and trying to run interference for them against Tal Shiar inquiries.

Cardassian Intelligence: the Obsidian ORder puts the rest of the intelligence services to shame. They are very much a solid organization with almost totla control over the intelligence coming into the Union. The departments work together...well. They have istinct intelligence goals and plans and act on them...well. Even in the aftermath of the Dominion War, the order is a tight clique that has got a sizeable influence on the rest of Cardassian politics.

Orion Syndicate: it's a crime organization, yes... But they also have very real economical and political goals: the expansion of ree trade, the degridation of socialist structures like the UFP. And PROFIT.

There are many crime families in the Syndicate, many areas of business that conflict with each other but they are united in one thing: hatred of communist systmes like the UFP and totalitarian governments like the Romulans.

The Rigelian Trade Confederation -- the 'quasi-government' of the Rigel colonies and other Orion colonies has no official intelligence network, but the Orion Syndicate feeds them a steady stream of data which the RTC uses to further their economic goals.

Political and militarily, they are lightweights...but they are VERY savvy about advertisement, market creation and manipulation. These guys are a real nd present danger to the UFP due to 'cultural colonization'.