Central Intelligence (Telkevan Union)

Central Intelligence is the special operations branch of the Telkevan Armed Forces. Though it is the smallest of the four branches, it is arguably the most influential, being responsible for sabotaging enemy forces, gathering information, and eliminating potential threats before they become a problem. The branch is also home to various classified research programs. Due to the nature of Central Intelligence's work and its intensely secretive nature, including withholding information from the other high marshals, a number of officers remain wary of the branch and its intentions.

Central Intelligence has played a prominent role throughout Telkevan history. It helped maintain order in the early days of the empire while they were rebuilding and provided the military with crucial information on the Delusar during the Contact War. Later, Central Intelligence uncovered Emperor Hrivalga Nezekar's plot to overthrow the High Chamber, leading to the emperor's death the day of his attempted coup. It then paved the way to victory in the ensuing civil war known as the Bloodletting. In modern times, Central Intelligence has focused its efforts on the Holy Nepharian Empire in the contested zone and the Peacekeeper Alliance.

Central Intelligence is administered by the High Marshal of Central Intelligence, who holds a seat on the High Chamber. The current High Marshal is Veto Korvack.

Founding
Central Intelligence was established in 566BE when the various special operations branches of the Telkevan military were consolidated into one body for improved coordination between the various branches. Initially, Central Intelligence focused almost exclusively on monitoring and sabotaging the Nolsarians, but its role gradually expanded as more corps were created, such as the Recovery Corps. When the Nolsarians mobilized for what would become the Wars of Unification, Central Intelligence pleaded with officials to take aggressive action, but was largely ignored, Telkevan officials not wanting to risk war while they believed it could be avoided. When the war began, Central Intelligence lost almost all of its leadership with the invasion of Kalkria, though the High Marshal narrowly avoided capture.

The High Marshal of Central Intelligence was the first officials to declare her support for Grand Marshal Tagara's coup. When Tagara restructured the military, Central Intelligence went largely unchanged, though its role shifted to maintaining order and monitoring the stars for potential threats. It took on an offensive role beginning with the Delusar Invasion, during which Central Intelligence operatives worked to sabotage the Delusar war effort with great effect.

When Emperor Hrivalga Nezekar came to power in 1611, the reigning High Marshal of Central Intelligence had been one of the dissenting votes, believing that Hrivalga was being disingenuous and had ulterior motives. This led to the High Marshal keeping close tabs on the emperor, going as far as to monitor them without informing the rest of the High Chamber. The Marshal was vindicated when he uncovered Hrivalga's plot to overthrow the government and presented it before the rest of the High Chamber. Central Intelligence then successfully ambushed and killed the emperor and his closest conspirators the day that his coup was to take place. In the ensuing civil war known as the Bloodletting, Central Intelligence played a key role in crippling the rebellion by eliminating key officials and sabotaging their logistics. In the aftermath, Central Intelligence was given greater leeway in its operations and developed a close relationship with the Department of Internal Security.

Telkevan-Nepharian Cold War
In 3464, Veto Korvack was appointed High Marshal of Central Intelligence. Though he puts up a persona as a jovial and fatherly man, Veto is in truth cold and cynical, and will go to great lengths to eliminate anyone the High Chamber deems to be a threat. He trusts few outside of the High Chamber, and has shown a great deal of loyalty towards Grand Marshal Tarsovis Visaria, the only official besides Veto himself who is aware of all of Central Intelligence's many secrets. It is because of this secrecy that other members of the High Chamber, most notably Ilivaris Kindasi and Nuoh Gersalv, view Veto with suspicion, though they have been unable to touch Veto due to no evidence of any wrongdoing.

With the outbreak of the Telkevan-Nepharian Cold War, Veto has deployed a number of task units to the contested zone to hinder Nepharian efforts, spread Telkevan propaganda, and acquire information on Nepharian technology and plans.

Branches
Central Intelligence is divided into four primary branches: Army Intelligence, Naval Intelligence, Marine Intelligence, and Central Intelligence. The first three each encompass agents operating in the respective branch, while Central Intelligence operates independently and possesses overall command.

These branches are then further divided into numerous corps which perform specialized tasks:


 * Infiltration & Espionage Corps: IEC acquires intelligence on enemy forces while also performing counterintelligence operations. Though not expected to fight, they receive the same combat training as all other personnel.


 * Saboteur Corps: Saboteurs undermine the enemy by eliminating key assets such as ammo depots, factories, and communications facilities.


 * Commando Corps: Commandos are elite shock infantry employed when speed is of the essence. Foregoing stealth and subtly, they instead rely on shock & awe to achieve their objectives.


 * Liquidation Corps: Liquidation specializes in capturing or eliminating high-priority targets including military officials, politicians, and scientists.


 * Recovery Corps: The Recovery Corps secures alien artifacts and technology for study.

Doctrine & Equipment
Main pages: Telkevan Battle Doctrine, Arsenal of the Telkevan Union

Each corps of Central Intelligence has its own doctrines tailored to the corp's specific needs; however, these doctrines are not concrete as agents are allowed a great deal of autonomy in how they achieve their goals. Among the leadership of Central Intelligence, success is the only thing that matters, and so long as agents are not identified or captured while completing their objectives, then the operation is a success. As such, Central Intelligence has no qualms with targeting civilians and performing acts of terror in order to achieve its goals.

As part of its free-form doctrine, Central Intelligence has access to the entirety of the AFTU's arsenal, though requests for assets such as siege walkers or capitol ships must first be granted by the High Chamber. In general, the corps of Central Intelligence rely on a light and compact arsenal emphasizing speed and concealment, with the exception of the Commando Corps.