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By Root 1048 0

headquarters buildings on major streets and for scaring their own citizens with tall tales of their omnipotence and omnipresence), DSD had arisen more like a security service of a major trading corporation, and is above all concerned with always staying in the shadows. The Department's organizational structure follows that of the zamorro (the Umbarian crime syndicates): a system of isolated cells connected only through their leaders, who in turn form the second- and third-level cells. The Office's employees live under specially developed false identities both at home and abroad; they never carry weapons (unless required by their assumed identity) and never reveal their employment under any circumstances. The oath of silence and umberto (Grager had once described this principle to Tangorn as "one dungan to enter, a hundred to leave") bond its members in a kind of a knightly order. Hard as it may be to believe, knowing Umbarian mores, during its three hundred years of existence there have been only a handful of betrayals in the Department (which changes its official name with the regularity of a snake shedding its skin).

The Department's mandate is 'to provide the top officials of the Republic with precise, timely, and objective information about the situation in the country and beyond.' Obviously only an independent and uninterested source can be objective, and therefore by law the DSD only collects information but does not participate in related political or military decisionmaking and bears no responsibility for the results of those decisions; it is nothing but a measuring device that is categorically barred from interfering with the reality it measures. This separation of duties is truly wise. Otherwise, intelligence services either placate the powerful by telling them what they want to hear or get out of control, which leads to such niceties as gathering compromising information on its own citizens, provocations, or irresponsible sabotage abroad; all of the above is justified by carefully selected information).

Therefore, from a legal standpoint, everything that went on that summer evening in a certain undistinguished mansion where the meeting between DSD Director Almandin, his ViceDirector in charge of domestic operations and agent networks Jacuzzi, and Admiral Carnero's chief of staff Flag Captain Makarioni took place (which required all parties to overcome the eternal mutual dislike between the 'spooks' and the 'grunts' common to all worlds), had a very definite name: traitorous conspiracy. Not that any of them lusted for power, not at all – it was just that the spies clearly foresaw the consequences of their small prosperous country's absorption by greedy despotic Gondor, and could not follow their cowardly 'top officials.'

"How's your chief's health, Flag Captain?"

"Quite satisfactory. The stiletto only bruised the lung, and as for the rumors that the Admiral is at death's door, that's our work. His Excellency has no doubts that in two weeks he'll be on his feet and nothing will keep him from personally leading Operation Sirocco."

"As for us, we have bad news, Flag Captain. Our people report from Pelargir that Aragorn had radically speeded up the preparations of the invasion fleet. They estimate that it will be fully ready in about five weeks…"

"Thunder and devils! That's the same time as ours!"

"Precisely. I don't have to tell you that during the last few days before deployment an army or a fleet is totally helpless, like a shedding lobster. They're getting ready in Pelargir, we – in Barangar, practically head-to-head; the advantage will be a day or two, and the one who gains those few days will be the one to catch the other unprepared in his home port. The difference is that they're preparing for war openly, whereas we're hiding our work from our own government and have to waste two-thirds of our resources on secrecy and disinformation... Flag Captain, can you speed up the preparations in Barangar in any way?"

"Only at the cost of some secrecy… but we'll have to risk it now, there's no other