Valorian Intelligence Service

The **Valorian Intelligence Service** (French: *service d'intelligence valorienne*), commonly abbreviated to **VIS**, is Valoria's major secret intelligence agency. It is part of the Department of National Security, which ultimately reports to the president.

The VIS is responsible for both domestic and foreign intelligence collection, counter-terrorism, and matters of national security. It is often compared to its rival American agencies, the FBI and CIA.

A highly-secretive government agency, the VIS has been the subject of numerous conspiracies and controversies. Many of these center around the VIS' widespread scope and authority. A range of depictions of the VIS exist in popular culture, with numerous books, movies, and TV shows based around the VIS or its agents.

Since 2020, the VIS has been run by <>.

## Structure & Leadership

Intelligence Collection Wing

Operations Wing

Technological Development Wing

## Conspiracies and Controversy

### Scope and Authority

Often described as "a merger of the American FBI, CIA, and Secret Service with far more law enforcement authority than the FBI, far more resources and outreach than the CIA, and far more devotion than the Secret Service." The VIS has been decried since its founding as having too sweeping authority and power. This point has been made as both an ethical concern, arguing that no single agency should have such extensive power, and a domestic security concern, as it has been theorized a weaponized VIS in malevolent hands would be more than capable of serving a similar function to that of the SS in Nazi Germany.

### Leadership

Since the formation of the Second Republic in 2014, the VIS has been under the direct purview of the president. Ever since this decision was made, there has been a political movement against the VIS reporting to the president, instead seeking to place the agency under the authority of the prime minister. The most commonly cited concern for this proposed replacement is the great concentration of weaponized force in the hands of the president, who is also Commander of the Armed Forces. This movement, however, has failed to gain widespread traction, with opponents saying a VIS under the authority of the prime minister (an office supposedly focused on domestic affairs) would encourage the agency to be used for more nefarious purposes, such as internal surveillance and secret law enforcement operations.

### Secret Branches

A number of hidden branches of the VIS have been suggested. These include:

* **The Minute Men:** A theorized independently-operating covert branch of the VIS with sworn allegiance to the office of the prime minister (commonly nicknamed "the Timekeeper" in Valoria, hence the name), and directly commanded by the sitting officeholder. They are theorized to have been created as a security measure against the president, whom the VIS reports to, should the president ever overstep their authority or consolidate too much power.
* **President's Fourth Hand:** Proposed as the counterbalance to the Minute Men, with sworn allegiance and directly commanded by the president. This group have the same proposed function as the Minute Men, but in service to the president and acting against the prime minister.