State Security (Honorverse)

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The Office of State Security, often referred to as StateSec or simply SS, is a fictional secret police agency in David Weber's Honor Harrington series of military science fiction novels.

1 Overview
2 History
3 Organization
4 Notable members

[edit] Overview

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

State Security is the main security force for the People's Republic of Haven. It's jobs include keeping an eye on the military, maintaining order, running prisons, and espionage. It uses military ranks, but with "citizen" attached to the front (e.g. Citizen Captain Cachet). Citizen Commissioners are not referred to by their rank.

For keeping an eye on the military, especially the Navy, StateSec employs commissioners and operates a fleet of warships. The crews of these ships are picked and traind for political reliability, as opposed to combat ability and they are not intended to enter combat. Every naval ship or force has a commissioner to watch over the commander and report any possibly treasonous activity.

For security and maintaining order, StateSec has "Intervension troops," or heavy infantry with powered armor and heavy weapons, and light security forces armed with pulsers. These ground troops are also trained more for reliability than combat ability. Haven's field agents are also part of StateSec. Havenite external espionage and counter-espionage is very good. It has to be, because the same is true for Manticore's ONI. After Thomas Theisman's coup, State Security was dissolved. Some StateSec ship captains rebelled against the new order.

[edit] History

State Security was the all-encompassing security and intelligence agency of the People's Republic of Haven. As such, its jobs include keeping an eye on the military, maintaining order, running prisons, suppressing uprisings, and conducting espionage activities. StateSec's first (and only) commander was Oscar Saint-Just, who had been the second-in-command of the old regime's (the Legislaturalists) police force, known as Internal Security.

Created after the coup which placed Robert S. Pierre in power as Chairman of the Committee of Public Safety, StateSec was formed by the merger of all the existing Havenite police, security and intelligence agencies. These agencies included:

The Office of Internal Security (InSec), which was the Legislaturalist's secret police force. InSec also operated abroad in covert missions, as demonstrated by their involvement in the murder of Roger III, the previous King of Manticore and father of Queen Elizabeth III.
The Mental Hygiene Police (MHP), an agency which operated under the Office of Public Information (PubIn)
Naval Intelligence (NavInt), the People's Navy military intelligence branch
Naval Security (NavSec), a special intervention force controlled by the Department of War.

For the entire period of the Committee of Public Safety, StateSec was the new regime's strongest supporter and the source of its power over the People's Republic. Exerting what was for all intents and purposes a terror regime, StateSec was present in every facet of life under the Committee's rule, from domestic policing to control over the military.

As the war against Manticore and internal unrest intensified, StateSec was authorized to arm a fleet of warships of its own, which combined with its own ground forces, the Intervention Battalions, would give StateSec a force to be reckoned with. The mission of StateSec's military forces was not to defend the Republic from foreign enemies, but to defend the Committee's rule from internal enemies, both in the form of disaffected military forces and civilian uprisings. The People's Navy viewed StateSec's military as a waste of much-needed modern warships in the hands of political thugs which would use them to terrorize the Navy instead of fighting the Manticorans.

After taking over as Chairman in the aftermath of Admiral Esther McQueen's attempted coup, Oscar Saint-Just began preparations for a new round of purges in the military and a complete reorganization of Haven's security and armed services, creating a single unified force which would encompass both StateSec and the Navy and Marines.

Fortunately for Haven and the Navy, Admiral Thomas Theisman's coup ended both Saint-Just's dictatorship and the rule of StateSec. The new government headed by former commissioner Eloise Pritchart dissolved the Office of State Security and its private military. Several senior StateSec officers resisted the new government and turned to warlordism and continued to fight, in the hopes of restoring the old People's Republic. Also, several StateSec warship captains abandoned the Republic and effectively became pirates.

With the experience of a single all-powerful security force fresh in every Havenite's mind, the Pritchart administration replaced StateSec with two new agencies with very specific areas of responsibility:

the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS), specifically organized as a civilian, non-politicized intelligence gathering and analysis organization.
the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA), responsible for internal crime fighting at the federal level and counter-intelligence operations.

NavInt was also resurrected and returned to the Republican Navy as its intelligence branch.

[edit] Organization

Personally commanded by Oscar Saint-Just, the Office of State Security was organized in a number of mutually-supporting branches aimed at enforcing the Committee's will throughout every aspect of Havenite society and institutions. These branches included:

The People's Commissioners were senior StateSec officers posted to every ship, squadron and fleet command in the People's Navy (and possibly the Marines). They served as political commissars, watching over the unit commander, countermanding his or her orders if necessary, and reporting any possibly treasonous activity by any member of the crew. Despite the degree of tension between commissioners and career naval personnel, many commissioners actually became close to the people they should have been reporting about, such as commissioners Eloise Pritchart (with Admiral Javier Giscard), Dennis LePic (with Admiral Thomas Theisman) and Everard Honeker (with Admiral Lester Tourville).
The State Security Naval Forces, the formal name of StateSec's private navy. This force operated warships which were originally for the regular Navy, and in the late stages of the war StateSec also operated superdreadnoughts (the largest military ships in the Honorverse). The crews of these ships are picked and trained for political reliability, as opposed to combat ability and they are not intended to fight against enemy forces. As such, military abilities were scarce and discipline was woefully inadequate.
The Intervention Battalions are heavy infantry troops with powered armor and heavy weapons, and light security forces armed with pulsers, used to restore order in the event of an uprising. These ground troops are also trained more for reliability than combat ability.
The prison services, responsible of operating the People's Republic's extensive prison system. The most notorious of these prisons is the planet Hades, also known as "Hell".
The foreign intelligence branch, responsible for field operations in foreign space and worlds.
The military intelligence branch, which was still known as "NavInt" by the Navy's personnel.

It is not known whether the Public Order Police (the People's Republic's everyday police force) was also a branch of StateSec or an independent service of its own.

StateSec used military ranks, but with "citizen" attached to the front (e.g. "Citizen Captain Cachat"). Most of the branches used army ranks, except StateSec's naval forces, which used naval ranks. Citizen Commissioners, while also holding ranks in StateSec, are not referred to by their rank and carry no rank insignia whatsoever.

StateSec's uniform consisted of a red tunic and black trousers, which earned them the nickname of "Black Legs" among the prisoners of Hades.