The Men from Sheen

With the newly christened F.V.R. finally established, the first order of business became the expansion of overseas intelligence network. Its predecessors had already experienced fairly strong success in Sheen and against Magdalenum and Dunwik, setting up political movements and foiling attempts to undermine the Raikh's interests abroad. Despite these successes, they were unable to properly follow up on them due to limited funding and their having to answer to authorities not invested in the secret war.

Now freed from such constraints and given a mandate to protect the Raikh and hurt its enemies, the F.V.R. set its sights on the Imperium. In order to get there though, they would need to first set-up shop in Acielon, a landlocked country in the heart of Vriþra's rail network. The objectives were simple, enter the country discreetly, set-up safe-houses and key infrastructure throughout, recruit new agents from the local population, keep tabs on industrial activity and the railway, and finally spy on persons of interest and government officials.

Agents who had been instrumental in the Sheenish efforts were chosen to lead up this operation, as they already had the practical and institutional knowledge to succeed. Long since naturalised Sheenishmen, they began by inquiring about property prices, specifically so they could open a bakery, hence forth called Gregg's. After three months of searching and paying visits to establish themselves as prospective bakers seeking to capitalise on an under-developed market for Davidian pasties, they finally bought a location from which to start their operation. Crossing the border with their equipment, packed in with the various things needed by a bakery or otherwise disguised, was as simple as anything. No one bothered to search their things beyong cursory inspections and they were able to get valid papers in order for their immigration.

After they had arrived, they immediately set-about finding people who were disaffected, in need of help, or otherwise seemed likely candidates for recruitment. Through a combination of friendship and the chance to get ahead in life, they started recruiting. Once they were confident in their influence, they made sure to use some of their Sheenish cameras to get blackmail in case they ever needed it. With that out of the way and some basic training given, they began the work of spying.

The industrial espionage went off without a hitch, though some suspicions might have been raised. At least, that is the theory, as the agents who were sent to keep tabs on government officials were all killed. This unfortunate situation naturally led to a re-think of the operation, and it was decided that the best course of action would be long-term infiltration of the government itself. With that decided, the two Sheenishmen began filtering through their agents and found ones who had experience working in offices or were otherwise suitable and gave them more intensive training. Once they were ready, the agents were dispatched and were able to secure entry-level jobs with ease.

The next few weeks and then months would be spent building up capital, helping agents buy homes, and setting up training facilities in-country so they could start working at scale. With luck, the first cell would become a fully blown intelligence apparatus in time.