Space Force Marines Intelligence Directorate

The Space Force Marines Intelligence Directorate (originally "Division", but this changes ca. 2121), AKA "SFMID", is something like the British MI6, but on steroids and adding "space" to the usual land, sea, and air portfolio.

It is divided into three sections: Data Acquisition and Analysis, Special Operative Forces, and Special Operatives.

It operates against both civilian and (colonial) military targets. In effect, it is like the U.S. Marshals in space, with a nearly impossible job due to the sheer scope of its AO and brief.

It is authorized to work on Earth, but requires a presidential posse comitatus waiver or invocation of the Insurrection Act to operate in CONUS.

The SFMID CO from some time in the mid-21st Century until at least 2249 is Lieutenant General John C. Wolff.

The Directorate's official motto is "Great is Truth, and mighty above all things." (I Esdras 4:41)

But its unofficial motto is "We do what we have to do."

Data Acquisition and Analysis Section

The DA&A section is devoted primarily to what might be considered clerical staff. All operations in this section are performed in secure facilities, and analysts never go into the field. You will never find a Jack Ryan in the DA&A section, though in truth, many if not most of the DA&A analysts have transferred into their roles from combat units, including the SFMID's own SOF and SOs.

Special Operative Forces Section

The SOF is also known as the FTSA (Fire Team (Special Assignments)) group. It is formed in 2100 from an expanded Marine Fire Team, consisting only of senior sergeants, which had been used for some years for special purposes by the SFMID CO. In 2101,the SOF/FTSA is formalized under the command of Major Delaney Wolff Fox and her adjutant, Captain Norman Harbinger (who is also the acting OIC of FTSA One). SOF consists of three FTSA expanded fire teams (an expanded platoon); the other two FTSA fire teams are commanded by lieutenants who report to Harbinger in his dual role as OIC, FTSA. Fox, meanwhile, operates at an executive level to keep the three teams supplied and busy, not that she has to work very hard at the latter.

Mission

The mission of the SOF was varied in its early years. However, with the expansion of the human sphere in space, along with its alliance with the Confederation of the Xzl5!vt and its expansive sphere, piracy has become the main suppressive mission of the SOF by 2249. Because this mission is growing quickly, by 2249 there are plans being developed to create a full SOF company around the existing platoon, and to provide it with its own ships under Space Force commanders who have moved into SFMID. (At least until 2249, SOF hitch rides on Space Force vessels or, in some deep undercover cases, may purchase regular tickets on interstellar liners.)

A secondary mission (originally the primary mission) is to suppress and destroy interstellar drug and slave trades, as well as to investigate cases of counterfeiting. This mission is secondary only because it is often combined with the primary mission. Piracy covers a multitude of evils.

Special Operatives Section

SOs are individual, solo operatives, who work deep undercover to develop information typically analyzed by DA&A, but may also be sent into the field to operate as glorified police. When the latter happens, the SO's orders often include authority to terminate with prejudice. (The word "exterminate" is sometimes written into such orders, depending on the gravity and number of the offenses involved.) Termination authority, when granted, extends both to the target(s) of the mission, and to any person or persons who may interfere with the completion of the mission. (For instance, Delaney Wolff Fox, who was an SO before she was placed in command of the team that would become FTSA1, personally terminates 17 individuals on one such mission, and tells readers she has killed as many as six on a mission in the past.)