Mɛnʌlɔkʌtɛ
Menúlokúte (mɛnʌˈlɔkʌtɛ) is a secret Leader Caste organisation that is responsible for the Federation of Xah's intelligence gathering, covert operations and counter-intelligence tasks. Whilst the existence of Menúlokúte is well known, both domestically and foreign, its members, headquarters, and size are not, lending the organisation an ominous mystery that the Federation of Xah cultivates for both propaganda and intimidation purposes. Within the Xahian part of the Federation, Menúlokúte is seen as a heroic spy agency, rooting out dissent and enemy spies. Within the non-Xahian population it is a secret police who could be anywhere, listening to anything, and making dissenters disappear. Outside of the Federation, Menúlokúte is an infamous organisation that could have infiltrated the highest levels of government, and blamed for everything from politicians dying in vehicle crashes, to industrial accidents, to failures in military operations.
In reality, Menúlokúte is a relatively large, bureaucratic organisation, with most of its operations concentrated on domestic suppression of dissent, observation of suspect individuals, and management of non-Xahian human intelligence contractors. Field work by Menúlokúte operatives is rare, and almost always conducted in the most blackest of ways. Assassinations, abductions and theft are the usual tactics employed.
The organisation reports directly to the top ranks of the Leader Caste, with some nominal oversight by the Caste Council, but the Leader caste reserves the right to keep its exact numbers and operations secret, even from the Council.
Structure
Menúlokúte operates in semi-independent cells based in a specific location, with authority only existing at the highest levels. The location is typically a single star system, or in the case of the more populated system, a planet or habitat, and individual cells officially have no contact with each other, and no knowledge of another cell's operations. In reality, neighbouring cells are, at the very least, aware of the scope of operations going on nearby, as to not inadvertently disrupt on-going missions, and cross-border cooperation is not uncommon.
The number of operatives in a cell can vary substantially; in remote systems and sparsely inhabited locations, there will be only be a few hundred in the local cell, and most of them will be data handlers and overseers, tasked with monitoring the flow of intelligence. In the major systems, where the population is typically in the billions, Menúlokúte cells are massive, and have millions of operatives, administrators and agents. The true extent of the largest cells is unknown, as within such cells, autonomy of local field offices is encouraged.
Public Agenda
Publically, the Federation of Xah does not comment on the operations of its intelligence agencies, and although it has not denied the existence of Menúlokúte, no official stance has ever been published and its operatives and infrastructure is never openly given association with the larger Federation structure. Cells that fail, are exposed in foreign locations, or have operations of questionable intent made public, are disavowed as 'extremists' with no formal links to the Federation's command structure.
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