Aiken Brudenell
Fortuna Survivor
- Character Biography
- Click Here
Directorate of Military Information
| Type: | Government Agency |
| Affiliation: | Ministry of War |
| Function: | Intelligence Gathering |
| Size: | Unknown |
| Status: | Active (1765) |
History:
Formed in the aftermath of the Verfolger-Misanthropy crisis of 1742, the DMI was a more official attempt at streamlining and regulating the various streams of information that made way into the War Ministry office. With opposition from Misanthropy left severely curtailed by revelation over its scandalous infiltration by the Raulish Verfolger movement, the Ministry of War dipped its paws into intelligence gathering both within and without the Imperium’s borders. The ministry had previously relied upon contracts with SDS Corporation’s Investigations Department, often to evade restrictions placed upon inter-Ministerial spying by the Maquistry Cape Edict. With the last independent ministry outside Minister of War Willard Brudenell’s control more or less subdued, it was no longer considered necessary to maintain this pretense.
Important lessons had been learned from work with SDS Corporation, however. First, that intelligence gathering was a slow and often delicate process – not something the military minds in the Ministry of War building were often respectful of. Second, that it was not enough to merely gather information: there needed to be beasts capable of processing it and delivering the relevant details to decision-makers in a concise and coherent manner. Third, and much unlike Misanthropy’s very own MAUL, that it was better to remain unknown than to be feared. These were the maxims that informed the DMI’s creation, and it has been held true to them ever since, quietely surviving the reforms of the post-Civil War period to become a staple of the Ministry of War’s high level planning.
Description:
A relatively small department of the otherwise massive Ministry of War, DMI beasts are rarely identified as such and the Directorate is not common knowledge within the Imperium. Indeed, it is rare for anyone working outside the offices of the Ministry or a high position within the military to be aware of their existence or scope of function. This isn’t so much for it being especially secret – the existence of the DMI within the Ministry of War is no more a secret than the Quatermaster’s Department is – but rather because it is generally assumed that it does little more than inform the decisions of Ministry higher-ups.
Indeed, to perform this duty the Directorate maintains a small wing of offices within the MinoWar building, along with the other departments of the Ministry, so as to share information more efficiently. Members of the DMI include both Naval, Army, and civilian officers, and the director, whose office is also located in the building, is appointed by and reports directly to the Minister.
Within the Directorate there are then several branches, which operate certain specific functions. Given the small size of the DMI, many of these are temporary, formed on a task basis by the director to study certain things, such as political developments in a certain country or region. Others are permanent, providing a consistent repository of information, typically of a certain nature. Of these, three branches stand out the most.
The Cartography Branch is concerned with creating and collecting maps for military purposes, and is thusly one of the few branches to perform both field and desk work, as DMI cartographers are typically sent in person to best facilitate their work. Other members of the branch work in the office to revisit and retrieve maps for use in various military or ministry activities, with a large collection of such works being kept in the basement of the MinoWar building.
The Technical Branch is dedicated to the understanding and application of both foreign and domestic technological developments. Though the Ministry of Innovation is typically charged with or involved in the developments of various technologies for the Imperium, they are not often bound to share many details in the function and application of their works, and much less those of foreign powers. When they do share, it is usually believed they are not sharing everything they know. For this reason, members of the technical branch are sent details or ideally examples of technologies and tasked with evaluating their use, capabilities, and other such information, to be recorded for reference by Ministry planners.
One of the smaller divisions of the DMI, the Recovery Branch is also one of those shrouded in the most mystery. Typically they will perform functions under the cover of another branch, such as Cartography or other field-work assignments. These functions are however all invariably linked to so-called ‘black operations’ – activities which should not be traced back to the Ministry or, indeed, often the Imperium itself. Agents of the branch are strictly sworn to secrecy, typically discharged from active military service and stricken from military records. These beasts are only the most dedicated, as from this point on the Recovery Branch is their only identity, and they are not permitted to maintain contacts outside the Directorate.
Characters:
| Name: | Positions Held: | Start Date: | End Date: |
