Strategic Services Agency


 * "Semper Vigilans. Semper Promptus. Semper Illic."

The Strategic Services Agency (SSA) is the primary Intelligence and Internal Affairs agency in the United Federation of Planets, functioning alongside Starfleet as a military force. Created in 2401 as a supplement to the Department of Starfleet Intelligence, the SSA soon took over the department entirely. The SSA is responsible for the safety of the Federation, protecting it from such threats as espionage, treason, and infiltration, while also providing intelligence support for Starfleet vessels. The Director of the Strategic Services Agency is also the Commander of Task Force Echelon, the SSA's classified fleet. The SSA's mission includes Signals/Communications Intelligence, Computer Intelligence, Sentient Intelligence, and field work, as well as sanctioned elimination of threats. By Federation law, the SSA is officially limited to collecting intelligence on foreign, non-allied governments; however, the SSA often functions in an unofficial manner, maintaining a rather large database that includes "friendly" intelligence as well as non-friendly.

The SSA operates by the motto "Semper Vigilans. Semper Promptus. Semper Illic", Latin for "Always Vigilant. Always Ready. Always There."

Organization
The Strategic Services Agency is diverse, with individual directorates to cover its many functions.

Signals/Communications Intelligence Directorate (SCID)
The Signals/Communications Intelligence Directorate handles signals and communications intelligence inbound from the field. Most of this intelligence is from foreign sources, but friendly transmissions are often picked up and archived. The intelligence gathered by the SCID is primarily used to foresee and prevent potential threats, both foreign and domestic.

Technical Directorate (TD)
The Technical Directorate builds and maintains the SSA-approved computer cores and systems used in Intelligence Operations Command Centers and SSA facilities across the Alpha Quadrant. The primary function of the TD is to make certain that these SSA computer cores and systems remain operational and to repair or replace them when necessary. The TD also provides technical support via subspace comms.

Sentient Intelligence Directorate (SID)
The Sentient Intelligence Directorate collects, analyzes, and reports on intelligence gathered via face to face means. This intelligence may come from simple conversations or interrogations. The SID is one of the larger directorates within the SSA, and also handles sanctioned eliminations and Internal Affairs investigations. It also has the shadiest reputation of the SSA directorates, lending credence to the overall feeling people have toward the agency.

Strategic Services Agency Missions
The Strategic Services Agency lists its missions under four categories: white, gray, black, and invisible.

White Missions
White missions are the least dangerous and often lowest classified missions that SSA operatives carry out. While a white mission may carry a higher clearance, it is almost always straight-forward and simple. In general, these assignments are given to new agents, as a way of breaking them in.

Gray Missions
Gray missions are considered slightly more dangerous than white missions, but are often just as uncomplicated. Veteran and rookie agents alike will be given these assignments, and gray team missions will often pair veterans and rookies together. This gives rookie agents a chance to learn from the veterans before they're given more dangerous or complicated missions.

Black Missions
Black missions, also referred to as black ops, are the most dangerous of the standard official missions performed by the Strategic Services Agency. They often involve direct danger to the operative and complications that require that only veteran agents be allowed to carry them out. Black missions are almost always classified Top Secret, due to the danger involved.

Invisible Missions
Invisible missions are the dark side of the Strategic Services Agency. These missions are highly dangerous and often very complicated. Only specially trained operatives are given invisible missions, as a single mistake can jeopardize not only the mission and the operative, but the agency and the Federation. These missions have no records, other than heavily encrypted orders and reports, in order to prevent the information from being leaked. Missions classified as invisible may be technically illegal, meaning that invisible operatives cannot risk being caught.

Facilities
The SSA maintains facilities across the Alpha Quadrant on various planets.

SSA Headquarters
SSA Headquarters is located within historic Fort Geoge G. Meade in Maryland. Occupying all of the historic National Security Agency complex located inside the base, the area is much larger and a significant improvement over the former headquarters at the Pentagon building.

Protected by a double force field as well as an anti-starship defense grid, SSA Headquarters is a high security facility and heavily guarded.

Task Force Echelon Headquarters (The Citadel)
Task Force Echelon Headquarters are located on an unnamed planet in the Aegis system.

History
Founded in 2401, the SSA was originally as a supplement to the Department of Starfleet Intelligence, intended to be the Marine branch of the department. However, within a matter of months, corruption within Starfleet Intelligence led to a restructuring of the department, and the SSA replaced it entirely. Initially led by Major Suilana Lren'kata, the SSA quickly became the most hated organization in the Federation. After only six months, Major Lren'kata was removed from her position and discharged from service. Only a few hours after Major Lren'kata's removal, Admiral Moran Intaro selected Gabriela Preston to replace her. Under Preston's command, the SSA slowly undid the damage done during Lren'kata's regime.

Despite having begun as a rather small agency, the SSA soon grew large enough to be considered its own branch of service, no longer falling directly under Starfleet jurisdiction. Within a year, the SSA had its own, highly classified, fleet of starships: Task Force Echelon. From there, the agency continued to grow until its headquartrs at Starfleet Command was no longer large enough. New headquarters in the E-Ring of the Pentagon came online at the end of the Federation Civil War in 2403.

After the war, the Commonwealth of Independent Systems continued to attempt engaging Starfleet in war, but Starfleet chose to turn to the SSA and Task Force Echelon to solve the problem. The SSA entered a private war with the Commonwealth Intelligence Directorate, sending waves of ships and undercover operatives into Commonwealth territory in an attempt to undermine the Commonwealth's attempts to sway the Federation's allies. Several operatives were sent to infiltrate key Commonwealth facilities, outposts, starbases, starships, and planets, but many of them failed to return as the Commonwealth Intelligence Directorate began to step up its efforts to exterminate the SSA.

Rising tension between the Klingon Empire and the Federation in 2405 prompted the SSA to begin investigating and infiltrating the Klingon Empire. As these actions were discovered by the Empire, tension only escalated further. The rapidly escalating tension between the two governments only served to fuel the need for the SSA to continue sending its agents into Klingon territory, in hopes of preventing the Klingons from launching a full scale retailation against the Federation.

As the Klingon threat slowly dwindled, another, more dangerous threat was emerging. The SSA entered a cold war with the Cervan Empire, a silent conflict that many feared would escalate into a full scale war.

In late 2410, the Sargosian Empire attacked Earth, destroying the Pentagon building, along with several other targets. Soon after this attack, SSA Headquarters was moved to Fort Meade, Maryland, where a secure facility already existed. Modifications were made to modernize the old NSA buildings, and construction of the Strategic Services Academic Insitute is underway.

Involvement in the Federation Civil War
The Federation Civil War was a shining moment for the newly formed SSA. With the successful launch and completion of Operation Anaconda, the SSA was able to weaken and subdue a number of the seceding systems, which turned the tables in favor of the Federation. Operation Anaconda also marked the first deployment of Task Force Echelon, the SSA's new secret weapon. With Task Force Echelon, the Federation could fight the Commonwealth on multiple fronts, often with ships that escaped detection.

Task Force Echelon
See also: Task Force Echelon

Task Force Echelon is a top secret task force operated and maintained by the Strategic Services Agency. Task Force Echelon employs cutting edge technology that is decades ahead of the rest of the Federation, including advanced starships that defy conventional means of detection. The SSA publicly acknowledges that Task Force Echelon exists; however, they keep no official records of the task force or its ships. Task Force Echelon activity is often denied and credited instead to regular Starfleet ships, even though no orders exist.



Operation Nightwolf
Operation Nightwolf is a classified SSA program that allows the SSA to enlist the assistance of non-Task Force Echelon starships in order to carry out critical missions. The SSA often uses Operation Nightwolf when a mission does not require a high security clearance or when a mission is time sensitive and no Task Force Echelon ships are available. These missions do not appear on starship mission logs. Ships drafted into Operation Nightwolf remain under the command of their commanding officer, but the Chief Intelligence Officer may, at any time they see fit, enact Theta Protocol in order to complete the mission. Once a ship has performed in the capacity, it is added to a list of ships authorized for repeat Operation Nightwolf missions. Only ships with captains that can be implicitly trusted with the information that will be gathered are placed on this list. When a ship undergoes a change of command, the SSA evaluates the new captain and determines whether the ship will continue to be a part of Operation Nightwolf.



Theta Protocol
Theta Protocol allows the Strategic Services Agency to seize control of a starship and place it under the control of the SSA operative on board. This protocol has been in existence since before the Agency's founding, adopted from the Department of Starfleet Intelligence. Under Theta Protocol, the ship's Chief Intelligence Officer will often change the ship's mission to suit what the SSA needs.

This protocol has been used on several occasions by Intelligence officers, but it is more closely associated with the Strategic Services Agency then it was with the Department of Intelligence.

A ship operating under Theta Protocol is often cloaked and running silent, essentially disappearing for a period of time.



Spectre Squad

 * "Spectres. Tell me: Have you ever seen a spectre? No? Because they don't exist."

Spectre Squad is the Strategic Services Agency's elite, top-secret special operations unit. Missions carried out by this unit are generally black or invisible, but its operatives do not vanish like those in Task Force Echelon. Spectre Squad is much like any other special operations unit, with the exception that all missions are classified. Working for Spectre Squad is highly dangerous with little reward. Most Spectre operatives are chosen because they enjoy secretive work and are highly motivated to succeed.

Criticism

 * "We are your only line of defense against threats that you can't even begin to imagine. Who are you to judge us?" -- SSA officer responding to criticism of the agency

The SSA often faces scrutiny due to its secretive nature. Often, this bad publicity is due to an elimination mission being made public, such as the 2401 incident in which an operative was caught and arrested after eliminating a domestic threat.

Staff
Main Article: Director of the Strategic Services Agency

Directors

 * January 2401 - June 2401 Major Suilana Lren'kata
 * June 2401 - present General Gabriela Preston