Geoducks

Founded by the humans of the Concord, the Geoducks serve as the secret service of the Concord of Mutual Disdain. Whilst the Queltl and Tar'et have little experience with the rest of the sector outside of a select few diplomats and criminals, the humans of the Concord arrived on Kardakouk from space. As such they are well aware of potential outside dangers and the necessity to keep an open eye above the water as well as below it.

History

The Geoducks were initially set up in secret without the knowledge of the Lacuvia and Mobu'nacar. The Council felt that in spite of the isolationist policies of the regime, observation of the outside sector was necessary to help prevent threats before they arose. As such the first agents of the Geoducks were surreptitiously stationed at the Eight Spears of Kardakouk to keep an eye on the approaching and passing ship traffic of the sector.

The organization is currently led by Damneet Khatri, formerly a member of the Council who served as Minister of Disdain for 20 years. Upon his retirement from the position, Damneet abruptly withdrew from public life. Having reached his early 70’s many assumed he had chosen to become reclusive in his retirement. In reality taking over as the secretive Anableps of the Geoducks was simply the next logical move in his decades long career of defending the Concord. While Damneet is not as spry as he once was, time and his extensive service in the Bunker Busters as a young man taking their toll, his mind is sharper than ever.

When the Royals announced that the Concord would be ending its isolationist policies Damneet believed the time was right to make them aware of the organization and to place it at their service. Whilst the Geoducks had already spent decades protecting the Royals in secret this was the first time that the Royals became aware of the organization’s existence. In the past year Damneet has pushed relentlessly for the organization's expansion. Seeking to broaden the agency's scope and enhance the amount of information coming in from the Zoanthi Chain and the rest of the Sector.

Operatives

Tar’et and Queltl do serve in the organization, however, the majority of its agents are humans. The other species are very distinctive and as such are unable to blend in with the wider sector in the way that the ever present humans can. Nevertheless the Queltl and Tar’et operatives have proven useful in operations within Concord territory. Their service has been critical in the Spear Listening Posts and the infiltration on monitoring of the Cult of Bernard. Ensuring that the religious group's philosophy remains in a state of naivety rather than being turned to malice by outside actors.

Organization structure

The head of the organization holds the title of Anableps and is often simply referred to as the director. Traditionally picked by the previous Anableps the protocols for this process have changed with the agency’s reveal, as the Royals have taken over the appointment of new leadership. To prevent arbitrary Royal selection affecting the organization’s secrecy, the new chosen candidate must be selected from those already working in the agency.

Below the Anableps are the Mother of Pearls. Not an individual but a group, they are responsible for the correlation and categorization of the ‘pearls of wisdom’ that the organization uncovered. It is here that it is decided which targets should be pursued, dangers mitigated and threats investigated. The results of ‘filter feeding,’ the gathering of information by field agents, are corroborated and filed away for later usage here. There are five main classifications of agents that the Mother of Pearls organizes.

Highest up are the Cherrystones, the elite and experienced agents of the Geoducks who are given the most difficult missions the organization has to offer. Below them are the Littlenecks, the lower down agents, sometimes still in training, who are still learning the ropes in the art of subterfuge. Then there are the Steamers, contacts or flipped assets from outside the faction that have been convinced or coerced to work for the Geoducks. Finally are the two specialized units, the Quahog and Barnacles. The Quahog specialize in financial crimes. The Szalamandra Corporation is very powerful on Kardakouk and to ensure they are paying their fair share the Geoducks created a specific division to safeguard the financial security of the Concord’s economy, making sure it remains robust and effective. Barnacles on the other hand are the oldest division in the agency and are highly skilled deep undercover agents that infiltrate organizations as spies. The first agents in the Spears were Barnacles.

A Kardakian Clams Up

After the discovery of the Jailor Black Site on Myrjek, the Geoducks have redoubled their efforts to protect the Concord. In their ongoing work to sure up the Concord’s information security, the Geoducks are exploring new ways to keep secrets from reaching the Jailor’s ears. Their latest project is a propaganda campaign on Kardakouk under the name of “A Kardakian Clams Up”. Normally the Geoducks’ work goes unnoticed by citizens of the Concord, but the launch of the campaign came with an official statement from the Anableps:

“There is growing unrest in Beacon Space, and with the recent Jailor revelations, it is more important than ever to protect the Concord that unites us. Even the strongest shell can be shattered if its weak point is discovered. Thus, we implore all Kardakians to mind what they say and to whom in these troubling times. The Jailors have ears everywhere, and they are eager to learn anything that could give them an edge: the next destination of our strike fleets, the schedules of critical cargo ships, even the names and habits of our brave bunker busters. Careless blabber puts lives at risk. Remember this, when someone asks too many questions: A Kardakian clams up.”

This propaganda campaign was, as many Kardakian things are, blunt and direct. For a long time, the Concord’s infosec was as watertight as a sieve. Far too many Concord secrets had been leaked by inebriated council members on lavish trips to Telas. And for an embarrassing number of times, neighboring factions learned about Concord strike fleet movements before news had made it through their own chain of command. With this new mindset, and with the threat of the Jailors being more real than ever, the Geoducks hope to plug these holes and put the clam back in clamdestine.