Strategic Intelligence Office
The Strategic Intelligence Office (SIO) is the intelligence and espionage arm of Raven, and is headquartered at Red Mountain in Canberra, Australia. Its primary directive is to covertly obtain intelligence on parties that may constitute a risk towards Raven or reality as a whole; it monitors individuals, corporations, and even entire governments. The SIO is structured in an extremely similar way to most foreign intelligence agencies, and includes field agents, officers, analysts, and an extensive support staff. It is able to commandeer Armed Services assets when necessary, and in certain situations, Calamity Mitigation teams. Besides its headquarters at Red Mountain, the SIO also maintains offices at Black Mountain, and has stations in almost every country and territory, usually at Raven military installations.
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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 18 June 2101 |
| Headquarters | Red Mountain, Canberra, Australia |
| Department executive |
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| Parent Organisation |  Raven |
The SIO is afforded extraordinary independence from the rest of Raven in order to protect its sensitive sources and methods. Its offices are allowed to deny access to Internal Security agents, which is a constant point of friction. The only authority that can overrule this immunity is the High Council. A standard clearance issued by INTSEC also does not suffice for the SIO, which runs its own additional vetting checks and then makes the final decision to grant or not. SIO agents are uniquely privileged in that they are not bound by the movement restrictions placed on employees at Epsilon and above; they may enter and exit facilities as they please.
History
During the establishment of the Dimensional Security Accords, specific countries were identified to provide initial personnel and training to Raven’s new security and intelligence apparatus. Due to geopolitical instability in both the United States and United Kingdom at the time, Australia’s ASIS was elected to build up the SIO and train its personnel, with additional assistance from New Zealand’s NZSIS. Hence, the SIO was initially an Oceania-centric organisation, components of which gradually became more prevalent at Raven’s main European command headquarters over time. Due to their role in the SIO’s formation, both ASIS and NZSIS retain a close working relationship with the SIO to the current day and frequently share intelligence.