State Security Bureau

## The SSB

The State Security Bureau is a boot on the throat of disorder. Somewhere between a secret police force and private military, the SSB is not bound by the law of the land. They are loyal to the Autocrat and ASH exclusively. Whether kicking in doors in the middle of the night or organizing a quarantine of an aberrant event, State Security seeks to preserve stability.

## Organization

Divided into secret police and paramilitary battalions, the State Security Bureau defends the Autocracy against dissidence, rebellion, and inner turmoil. Answering only to the Autocrat himself, the Bureau maintains a vigilant guard, rounding up troublemakers or purging whole areas tainted with treason. No act is outside their remit, they operate above the courts. Networks of spies have infiltrated into every social strata, ferreting out issues before they manifest. When prevention fails, Legionaries may be forced to take brutal action against the populace. Paramilitary battalions will clean up the aftermath, eliminating any remaining dissidents and ensuring civil unrest is squashed. If things get out of hand, State Security has the authority to commandeer Legion troops.

## Attitude

The SSB is viewed most favorably in the Kronlands thanks to their swift responses to uncontrolled Cursed in urban areas. Interestingly, they have a very high casualty rate in the north, getting caught in house disputes with alarming regularity.

State Security is a ruthless organization staffed by individuals chosen for their sense of duty. While cold and ruthless in pursuit of their mandate, the average citizen will likely never be bothered by the SSB. They are a cornerstone of the Autocracy, acting as a hard line between empire and anarchy.

## Departments of the SSB

Several branches of State Security work in tandem, specialized to tackle their chosen subset of threat.

**Department of Anomalous Events:** Comprised of scholars and mentally resilient personnel, Department agents operate in smaller teams to quarantine or destroy anomalous events. They make extensive use of local military and/or law enforcement to maintain exclusion zones while venturing into the events. Experience with anomalous creatures and events means the small teams are able combatants but their low manpower forces them to rely on Vanguards more than other branches of the SSB. The Department and Society of Inquisitive Minds regularly trade information, their extremely low manpower means they are the willing to work with other organizations within the ASH.

**Suppression command:** Interior Legions or militias under the command of SSB personnel who were drawn from the high ranks of the military. Used exclusively to put down civil disobedience. Experience in urban warfare is a requirement for these commanders as well as discretion to prevent them from heavy handed tactics that could exacerbate the problem. The commanders are often used as attaches for various regional governments until their skill set is needed.

**Agency of Cursed Utilization and Control:** Charged with apprehending and disposal of Cursed, the ACUC is considered the most important branch of the SSB. Their task is exceptionally dangerous given that finding Cursed carries a high risk of death or harm. Many members of the ACUC take pride in lingering effects of Cursed powers as a rite of passage. ACUC agents are key of the Autocracy’s industrial might because of their importance in controlling and maintaining the power source of mass production They fall into two broad categories:

**Control** will find and bring in the Cursed for lobotomy. Vicious individuals with a siege mentality find their home in control units. Often distrustful of deputized local units, control ACUC personnel have a similar freedom of action as Contractors but with the benefit of exemption from law. These SSB are regarded with respect and apprehension, their jobs are difficult and dangerous but they are ironically averse to any control due to their distrustful natures. Sharp, resourceful, and used using conversation as a trap (useful to deal with followers of the Cursed) the control agents of the ACUC are extremely capable protectors of the Autocracy.

**Maintenance units** are less trusted. These ACUC agents are responsible for the upkeep of Cursed and form response teams to disasters. Guarding their charges from those who wish to take a lobotomized Cursed (a rare prize on the black market) while feeding and maintaining it is generally uneventful, thus the worst ACUC agents are sent to maintenance. Derided as “nurses” by other SSB agents, maintenance personnel have been the worst affected by spontaneous reversals of Cursed lobotomy.

**Political enforcement:** The largest branch of the SSB, enforcing orthodoxy in the ASH. Essentially a private army with an extensive network of spies and informants with at least one agent embedded in every township. State Security and political enforcement are synonymous in minds of most citizenry. Everything from rooting out secessionists, ensuring taxes are collected from the north, to arresting dissidents falls under the purview of political enforcement.