State Security Service

The is a counterintelligence agency in Ostania established to maintain domestic order and which Yor's brother Yuri Briar is a member of.
Their primary objective includes hunting down spies and surveilling the public. Some tactics they use include violence, wiretapping, intimidation, and torture. Due to their reputation, they are widely feared by the public and called the .
== Overview ==
The organization works as Secret Police, much like agencies in totalitarian regimes. They view the Westalian Intelligence, journalists, and spies like "Twilight" as their greatest enemies. They are effective at surveilling and capturing enemies, as seen with Franklin Perkin being captured in a matter of days after becoming one of their targets. With the rise of spies in Ostania, citizens can have people they deem suspicious arrested by reporting them to the Secret Police.
Upon being arrested by the Secret Police, suspects will be subjected to torturous methods in order to reveal any information they might have. Afterward, some suspects are released but kept under close surveillance, blackmailed into becoming their informants, or, if unfortunate enough, will never be seen again.
Officers are typically scouted from other agencies and are expected to keep their membership in the organization a secret, even from their family members. Within the SSS are four known divisions from Divisions 1 to 4.
== History ==
The SSS are feared by the public for their work to maintain order within Ostania. When Biddy Squire was killed during a Red Circus protest that went violent, her father, Billy Squire, became marked by the SSS due to his relation to her and fled the country with the help of the Red Circus to escape them.
A year before the first phase of Operation Strix was put in motion, the Boss recruited Yuri Briar, who was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When the other members questioned why the Boss recruited such a young man into their ranks, the Boss simply stated that he found Yuri "adorable" and "like a cute little puppy."
=== Introduction Arc ===
During a gossip session between the Berlint City Hall clerks, Camilla tells Yor Briar of an event in which a 30-year-old bachelorette was turned in by her neighbors for being "suspicious" when Yor's age and single status are brought up. This spurs Yor to find a partner to avoid these suspicions, ease Yuri's mind so he can accept his work promotion, and continue her contract-killing work for Garden.
=== Secret Police Arc ===
The Secret Police get word of city hall employee Jim Hayward stealing files from the office and selling them. The Lieutenant and two fellow members arrest him at city hall under suspicion of espionage, and when Jim tries to resist, they knock him unconscious and drag him to their headquarters for questioning. Despite beating and torturing Jim to get his confession, the man refuses to budge. At the Boss's request, Second Lieutenant Yuri Briar takes over the interrogation.
Yuri immediately reveals photos of Jim selling the documents (which he forgot to submit), which gets him to talk. Jim reveals that he knows nothing about his dealer, aside from that he was from the West, prompting Yuri to ask if Jim knows anything about the Westalian spy Twilight. The interrogation goes south when Jim triggers Yuri about being disloyal to his family, causing Yuri to beat the man and be late for his visit to the Forgers. On his way to the Forger's apartment, Yuri gets suspicious of the nature behind Yor's marriage and declares to imprison her husband Loid if he harms her.
During Yuri's visit, Loid (who is secretly Twilight) discovers his true occupation as a member of the SSS through their conversation about Yuri's work trip, realizing he is reciting from the manual that Ostanian Intelligence agents use for learning deception. Meanwhile, Yuri remains suspicious of Loid and almost threatens to have him executed before leaving. The next morning, Yuri arrives at headquarters and laments not placing bugs in the Forger's apartment, but quickly retracts the thought after his thoughts run wild. The Lieutenant urges Yuri to get over his sister complex for Yor and focus on their job.
=== Doggy Crisis Arc ===
When rumors of a plot to assassinate Foreign Minister Brantz spread amongst the intelligence agencies, the SSS placed the conspirators, a group of isolationist students from Berlint University, under their surveillance. As they keep an eye on the group, they catch wind of one of the buildings where the group placed bombs and investigate it. Meanwhile, to protect the minister, Yuri is sent to Brantz's hotel as a part of a contingent from the Foreign Ministry to escort him to the summit for his peace talks. Unbeknownst to the agents, Twilight swapped places with Brantz, who is still at the hotel. By the time the SSS realizes Twilight's deceit, they are left to deal with the aftermath of the assassination plot being foiled and the terrorist leader's arrest.
=== Midterm Exams Arc ===
The SSS take note of Sylvia Sherwood, a secretary at the Westalis Embassy. They have several agents regularly tail her to check for any suspicious activity, but they gradually become relaxed by her schedule, allowing the WISE handler to move freely around Berlint.
=== Campbelldon Tennis Arc ===
The late Ostanian Colonel Erik Zacharis is said to possess the "Zacharis Dossier," a collection of intelligence rumored to "reignite the flames of war" with supposed contents being records of human experimentation performed by Ostania and evidence of P.O.W. massacres by Westalis. The SSS get their hands on intel that the key to finding the dossier is within the Lady in the Sun painting previously owned by Zacharis, as it is rumored to have a secret code. Seeking to obtain the painting and the dossier, the SSS contacts its current owner, Cavi Campbell, who happily relinquishes it to them. However, the actual painting was taken by WISE agents Twilight and Nightfall, who infiltrated Cavi's estate and swapped the original with a forgery that has no secret code shortly before the SSS agents arrived to collect it.
=== Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc ===
With the biannual Imperial Scholars mixer in session at Eden Academy, the SSS goes to the school as security for the event. In addition to the state-of-the-art detection devices and the nature of the venue, the mixer is impossible to be infiltrated by spies.
After surveilling suspicious individuals, Yuri and the Lieutenant successfully bust an illicit dealing of MNG data and arrest everyone there. Shortly after this, Yuri is assigned by his superior to investigate Franklin Perkin, who has been writing books and articles being released in Westalis that mock and slander Ostania. Yuri is instructed to secure evidence of Franklin's crime and the identity of his publisher. After a week of surveilling Franklin, Yuri thoroughly completes his assignment and has him and his publisher arrested after catching Franklin sending his manuscript through his workplace at the post office.
However, during his investigation, Yuri ends up sympathizing with Franklin's desire to support his family through his work and decides to have Franklin arrested away from the eyes of his father, whom Yuri arranges to receive financial assistance. As he gets taken away, Franklin poses the question of who is the true disgrace to their country between him and Yuri, to which Yuri answers that he would never do anything to cause his family pain. Yuri is later approached by the Boss, who asks if the workload is stressing him, but Yuri assures him that this is the perfect job for him. Yuri visits the Forgers that night and is reassured by Yor's smile that he dutifully works to protect.
=== Cruise Adventure Arc ===
When the cruise ship Princess Lorelei takes off for a three-day, two-night trip, several SSS agents board the ship to monitor the many celebrities and political elites there. On the second night of the trip, the agents are informed by the crew that a bomb has been found in the ship's bilge. While some agents discuss evacuating the ship, others are at the bilge, pleading with the crew to disarm the bomb. A crew member reveals himself to be a former marine and bomb disposal technician (who is actually a disguised Twilight) and offers his help. Despite successfully disarming the bomb, Twilight surmises that there may be more bombs to sink the ship and suggests evacuating the passengers as a precaution. The lead agent rejects this, not wanting to cause a panic and to save face within the organization. He then orders every free agent and the crew to scour the ship for more bombs, starting a covert mission to disarm all the bombs within the ship. After completing their task, Twilight requests that the agents stay on high alert for the remainder of the voyage, which they follow through on.
=== WISE Arc ===
"The Quill" is a skilled counterfeiter in Berlint. However, his identity was exposed by the SSS in the past, forcing him to stay at home to avoid getting caught by them. One night, the SSS receives a tip that the counterfeiter left his home to visit a club and begin tailing him. When "The Quill" heads back home, he is made aware of their presence and begins fleeing. The SSS agents attempt to capture him, but they are all defeated by Nightfall, who tipped the SSS about her scheme to get "The Quill" to gain her trust and accept her job request.
=== Red Circus Arc ===
At headquarters, the Boss receives a report from Division 4 that the current leader of the remnants of the Red Circus, Billy Squire, commands a faction in Berlint. Shortly after, the Red Circus makes their move as they kidnap two school buses full of Eden Academy first-graders as hostages. One of the students, Becky Blackbell, has an S.O.S. note thrown out of her bus, which is discovered by passersby and reported to her family at the Blackbell Company. The Blackbells share the details of Becky's note with the SSS, who determine that the Red Circus is behind the kidnappings. The Lieutenant's superior officer orders that the suspects be oppressed and to cover up any information about the incident from the public.
The main bus hijacked by Billy Squire is stopped by the Berlint City Police, who attempt to negotiate with the Red Circus for the hostages' safety. A captain from the SSS and his squad arrive at the crime scene to take over the situation, intending to storm the bus immediately. The police commander refuses and states that they are under orders from the ministry to wait, much to the Captain's irritation. Yuri, whose niece Anya Forger is among the hostages, is forbidden from going by the Lieutenant to prevent being recognized. Yuri insists on going anyway, which leads to him getting tied to a pillar at headquarters. As the SSS tries to locate the second bus, they receive an anonymous tip that a bus possibly containing the other students was seen in the Demforest district. Yuri overhears this and convinces his fellow officers to let him investigate the lead since he has good informants in that area. With this lead, headquarters orders the Captain and his men to be on standby until "Bus B" is found. While they wait, snipers carefully watch the bus and also await orders.
While gathering information and scouring the district, Yuri finds Bus B stashed in a warehouse. After confirming the bus's location, Yuri calls a team of SSS agents to raid the warehouse. The agents swiftly execute all of the Red Circus members inside and secure the hostages while unscathed, except Yuri, who is shot in the shoulder. With Bus B secured, the Captain is given command of the situation. The Captain proceeds to inform Billy's bus that their comrades are dead and gives them until dawn to surrender. After making his announcement, the Captain prepares a guard regiment to storm the bus at night, tired of playing games with the group.
To the surprise of everyone, Billy Squire steps out of the bus and surrenders. Billy's comrade Vadim makes a desperate attempt to flee with the bus but is stopped by the police's armored vehicles. When he exits the bus with Anya as his hostage, the Captain orders his men to shoot to kill. Before they can fire, the Blackbell family servant Martha Marriott immobilizes Vadim with a taser and rescues Anya. After the Red Circus members are arrested and the safety of all the hostages is confirmed, the Captain orders the information blackout to be lifted. Days after the hijacking, Eden Academy holds a parents' briefing, which does not go well as the SSS is also in attendance, and their presence stopping parents from speaking freely.
=== Mole Hunt Arc ===
Winston Wheeler, an Ostanian Intelligence operative embedded in WISE HQ in Westalis as a mole, steals numerous top secret documents from their files before fleeing the agency. To ensure Winston is secured when he returns to Ostania, the Boss holds an emergency summons to order his subordinates to cooperate with Division 4 during this process and to not let WISE interfere. To avoid causing trouble with Westalis due to the stolen files, the government decides to not approve of the operation, forcing the agents to go undercover in Shellbury, where they are to meet with Winston at the local hotel.
The SSS informs Winston and the agents that their signal is a "green tie with a gemstone tiepin." To single out any moles in their ranks, they tell certain branches of their communications division a color for the tiepin but tell each agent a different color. While surveilling the streets, Yuri encounters what he believes to be Winston, who requests to change the meeting location to a park. At the park, "Winston" meets with Captain Gascoigne and his squad, and states that their signal was a "green tie with a yellow gemstone tiepin" to confirm his identity. Gascoigne reports the color to the Boss, who quickly identifies Officer Jeffrey as the mole for WISE. The agents then expose the faux Winston as Twilight, who is also after Winston and the files.
The agents surround Twilight, who reveals that he rigged the park full of traps as he escapes. As they seal off the exits in the park, the agents are once again duped by Twilight, who diverts them to the east gate while disguised as Yuri. Meanwhile, the real Yuri is with the Lieutenant and sees his footprint in an area that he has never stepped on. Seeing a sewer just ahead of the footprint, Yuri reports that Twilight may have gone to the sewers. Yuri insists on catching Twilight and descends to the sewers to chase after him while the Lieutenant sends backup to guard the sewer exits. Yuri finds Twilight disguised as him and the two get into a brawl. Twilight wins the fight but is injured from a gunshot to his right arm. He also leaves Yuri alive due to his connection with Yor.
On the surface, Winston grows suspicious after arriving at the hotel but never getting Gascoigne's signal. He notices Gascoigne leaving the hotel and realizes that WISE has beat them there. Wary of Gascoigne's movements, Winston shadows him in a new disguise. Unbeknownst to Winston, the Gascoigne he sees is actually a WISE Agent who seeks to lure him out and capture him. The WISE Agent calls his allies to stage a car accident to identify bystanders in the area who are agents. Winston notices the crash but keeps his eyes on "Gascoigne" by moving his eyes to the building across the street to watch him through the reflection of the windows. Nightfall notices this movement and immediately singles out Winston, who begins running upon realizing he has been caught.
Winston is eventually cornered by Nightfall and another agent. They retrieve the files from him and prepare to have him taken in as he may have memorized its contents, but before they can do anything further, Winston forces himself free and escapes into the sewers with Nightfall in pursuit. In the sewers, Winston finds the injured and disguised Twilight and sees through his attempt to trick him. Determined to unmask Twilight, Winston defeats him in combat but is stopped by Nightfall, who overpowers and defeats him. On the other hand, Yuri is found by the Lieutenant and fellow agent Chloe, who returns him to the surface for treatment while the Lieutenant attempts to go after Twilight. However, Twilight and the other WISE agents evade their detection and take the captured Winston to WISE.
While the operation to secure Winston was a failure, both agencies lost a mole, so the SSS decides to consider things a draw with WISE. Returning to Berlint, Yuri visits Yor at the Forger home. There, he sees that Loid has also been injured and shares a similar wound with Twilight after observing a slight twitch in his arm. Suspecting that Twilight could be someone close to him, Yuri confronts Loid and checks his arm, only to find nothing.
While the SSS searches for individuals matching Twilight's injury, Yuri's mood worsens as he laments his losses to Twilight and ability to protect his sister. Yuri takes out his frustrations on suspect Bobby Bockle during an interrogation, which worries Chloe. Yuri and Chloe investigate the hideout of Bobby's anti-government group, the Chicken Circle, where Yuri takes down most of the members on his own. Chloe saves him from the final member and literally slaps sense into him to make him realize that he should prove to Yor that he can protect himself. Yuri misunderstands that he must work on his defensive skills and begins to train, much to Chloe's confusion.
== Uniforms ==
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Officer Uniform=
Yuri Briar Anime 2.png|Anime
Yuri Briar Manga Full Body SSS Uniform.png|Manga
Yuri Briar Colored Full Body.png|Manga (Colored)
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Caps=
SSS Member with Cap Anime.png|Anime
SSS Member with Cap Manga.png|Manga
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Guard Regiment=
SSS Guard Regiment.png|Manga
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The standard uniform of the SSS consists of a dark green peaked visor cap with a glossed black visor, a collared white shirt with a black tie under a dark green jacket which is fastened with a black belt, dark green pants, and black gloves and boots. The symbol of the SSS is seen as a badge on the cap, while the jackets have collar tabs that appear to indicate their rank. Members seem to be allowed to wear additional accessories, such as sunglasses and earrings.
There also appear to be members of lower ranks who wear dark green side caps instead of the visors that also have the SSS symbol as its cap badge.
As for the Guard Regiments seen in Chapter 73, they appear to wear a sort of camouflage uniform with ballistic armor and a steel helmet with a metal face visor, and they are also armed with Kalashnikov-style rifles.
== Known Members ==
Image	Name 	Rank 	Status
 	SSS Boss 	Director 	Active
 	SSS Leader 	Leader 	Active
 	SSS Captain 	Captain 	Active
 	Gascoigne 	Captain 	Active
 	SSS Lieutenant 	First Lieutenant 	Active
 	Yuri Briar 	Second Lieutenant 	Active
 	Chloe 	Officer 	Active
 	Winston Wheeler	Ostanian Intelligence, Mole 	Arrested
 	Jeffrey 	Communications OfficerWISE Mole	Incapacitated
== Trivia ==
* When its name is translated to German (Staatssicherheitsdienst), it corresponds with one of the names the Stasi, its real-life East Germany's equivalent, was known for.
* The SSS Building was modeled after the headquarters of East Germany's secret police.
* The eyeball emblem, which is intended to evoke the sense of being watched, takes some inspiration from the Eye of Horus. Also, the emblem of the SSS takes elements from both the Nazi Eagle, with the bird, and the "Shield and Sword of the Party" Stasi insignia, with the guns and shield.
** There may be some inspiration from the emblem of the Romanian Securitate as crossed AKs inside a shield was the emblem of the Securitate and members would have shoulder pins depicting the crossed AKs in a shield to distinguish them from average soldiers in the Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania.
* The badge symbol of SSS bears more resemblance to the Nazi Eagle than the "Shield and Sword of the Party" insignia of the Stasi.
* In the anime, the State Security Service's emblem no longer shows the organization's name or its initials, and graphical depictions of its initials are removed.
* The uniforms of the Guard Regiments appear to be rather inspired by the Soviet Spetsnaz or the Yugoslav Milicija riot units.
** It is more likely to have been inspired by the Milicija due to the Guard Regiment helmets resembling helmets used by riot units in old training footage, with the helmet's visors having the bottom left and right corners gone, showing it was not a Spetsnaz helmet.
== Gallery ==
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== References ==
== Navigation ==
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