Directive 9
Directive 9 is the intelligence agency of the Veskarium.1
History
Directive 9 originated from a team of spies employed by Eshovok, the founder of the Veskarium, to gather data on rival vesk tribes and subsequently root out caiagara enclaves during his conquest of Vesk Prime. The group settled on the name Directive 9 as part of the Veskarium's goal of interplanetary dominance, including all eight planets in the Ghavaniska system and 'beyond', a nebulous ninth target.1
Goal
Directive 9 is fiercely loyal to the Veskarium, specifically the empire itself instead of any official. It advocated for the genocide of Vesk Prime's other native peoples as the only way to make the vesk species great, but later promotes the integration of other subjugated peoples into the empire, which is seen as more efficient than simple genocide. Knowing that people who like them are more reliable assets, Directive 9 pushes a less violent agenda among the Council of Despots, but is willing to resort to violence for the sake of efficiency. Their involvement in these clandestine incidents is always denied in public.1
Directive 9 agents follow a cycle of identifying tasks, pursuing them vigorously, monitoring the results and adapting new methods. They are motivated not by medals, accolades or wealth; only the Veskarium's material benefit matters. As a result, recruits are chosen for patriotism and commitment more than any skill.1
Structure
In contrast to the rest of the Veskarian military's rigid hierarchy, Directive 9 pursues efficiency through open communication and shared accountability. Every agent, no matter the rank, is valued and can contribute to every topic and receive peer review. Operatives are organised according to their skills as determined by peers, and assigned tasks accordingly. Upward mobility is replaced by results-driven purpose. In a staff meeting, everyone, from generals to recruits, is afforded the same respect. Rank only denotes the scope of one's authority and responsibilities; generals manage the entire web of intelligence, while lowest field agents only know their handler and the information they collected.1
Seeing the value of local connections, Directive 9 actively recruits from all of the Veskarium's subject species, which has drawn sneer from other parts of the military, especially the Division of Disloyal Organizations. Non-citizens are very rarely admitted and must be carefully vetted for their loyalty to the Veskarium. They are given very little information before proving themselves, and rarely rise high in the ranks.2
Sites
Directive 9's headquarters is the Directory (colloquially known as Eshovok's Ear) in Command Prime, where secure servers containing sensitive information are housed. As Directive 9 agents value their low profile, the Directory is rather small and unassuming, without ostentatious decorations and monuments. According to folk wisdom, every major Veskarium base is surrounded by at least two dozen Directive 9 offices and assets, which extend their influence everywhere the Veskarium maintains a military presence.1
Directive 9 builds information networks in urban areas across the Veskarium and by buying apartment complexes, whose tenants can supplement their rent by providing gossip or hearsay to spymaster landlords. Some apartments are configured into safe houses for agents and equipment. In rural and wilderness areas, Directive 9 maintains underground bunkers, which are also used by other branches of the military, though the latter cannot access rooms where Directive 9's most valued resources are hidden, in case these bunkers are attacked.3
Outside of the Veskarium, agents are provided budgets for food and rent and resources to collect and store intelligence, and encouraged to integrate themselves into the community; Directive 9 itself does not invest in facilities.3
Relationships
Directive 9 maintains a cautious working relationship with the Stewards. The former's leadership recognises the value of working with the Pact Worlds' peacekeepers, but views the latter as inconsistent and wasteful. Liaisons to the Stewards shrewdly drive steep bargains for intel while carefully probing for clues with planned questions. Many green agents are sent to low-stakes negotiations with the Stewards, something that some Steward officers view as annoying.2
Since espionage with the Swarm is impossible, Directive 9's involvement with it is limited to observing how Swarm activities might intersect with other intelligence, and gathering information from those who fear the Swarm but also distrust the Veskarium.2
A large amount of Directive 9's resources are directed at the Azlanti Star Empire, gathering information about politics and technology and providing aid to national liberation movements. Its aggressive covert operations have made Directive 9 the premier source of intel concerning the Star Empire. Another preferred foreign playground is the Acalata system, the hotbed of conflict between the Marixah Republic and the Gideron Authority. The Veskarium remains officially neutral and sees its best interests in sustaining the conflict (and the Gideron Authority's demand for arms and consultants) indefinitely, and Directive 9 realises this objective by collaborating with the Gideron Authority while feeding intel to Marixah rebels, rendering both parties dependent on Directive 9's aid and putting the Veskarium in a dominant position.2
Domestically, the main target of Directive 9's anti-terrorist and counterintelligence operations is the Unseen, who are blamed for all kinds of sabotage.2 Communication about suspected internal threats are encouraged; workshops on ousting infiltrators are held in civics classes and town halls. A bit of paranoia keeps people on the government's side, and intel not related to the Unseen can still be useful elsewhere. The culture of open communication also makes it hard for Unseen infiltrators to track down all of an agent's interactions and maintain a consistent front.3
Directive 9's second most important domestic target is the Adamant Scale, a rival spy network that broke away from Directive 9, considering the latter insufficiently ultranationalistic. Directive 9 has kept the Adamant Scale's existence a secret from the Council of Despots, partly out of shame and partly due to conflict on how to handle this problem. Accusations of Adamant Scale involvement are taken seriously and pursued cautiously, since it is often difficult to distinguish between a Veskarium loyalist and an Adamant Scale nationalist.3