State Security Service

The State Security Service <SSS> (国家保安局(こっかほあんきょく), Kokka Hoankyoku^?) 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 Secret Police (秘密警察(ひみつけいさつ), Himitsu Keisatsu^?).

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.^[1]

Officers are typically scouted from other agencies and are expected to keep their membership in the organization a secret, even from their family members.^[2] Within the SSS are currently four known divisions from Divisions 1^[3] to 4^[4].

According to Loid, there are many members in the National Unity Party within the SSS and Ostania's Justice Department.^[5] The SSS also appears to have a working relationship with Garden, Ostania's secret assassin organization. However, knowledge of their existence is limited to certain people, particularly Director Wilker and other higher-ups. The SSS offers jobs to Garden by sending them directly to the Shopkeeper, the organization's leader. These jobs can be requests from themselves or political leaders like the prime minister. Although they work together, Garden seems to hold more power compared to the SSS, as they are interested in serving only Ostania and can freely turn down any requests the agency gives them.^[6]

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.^[7]

A year before the first phase of Operation Strix was put in motion, Director Wilker recruited Yuri Briar, who was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When the other members questioned why Wilker brought such a young man into their ranks, he 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. Later that day, Yor gets a call from Yuri, who tells her that he might receive a job promotion, but he is unsure about accepting it as he worries that Yor will be left alone. 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.^[8]

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. 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 Wilker'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 Forgers' apartment, Yuri gets suspicious of the nature behind Yor's marriage and declares to imprison her husband, Loid, if he harms her.^[9]

During Yuri's visit, Loid (secretly Twilight) discovers Yuri's true occupation as a member of the SSS after Yuri talks about his work trip, in which he perfectly recites a script from the manual that Ostanian Intelligence agents use for learning deception.^[10] 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 Forgers' 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.^[11]

Doggy Crisis Arc[]

Yuri at Minister Brantz's hotel as his escort to the summit

On the day of the East-West ministerial-level summit for peace talks, rumors of a plot to assassinate Westalis's Foreign Minister Brantz spread amongst the intelligence agencies, prompting the SSS to place the conspirators, a group of isolationist students from Berlint University, under their surveillance.^[12] As the SSS agents keep an eye on the group, they catch wind of a bomb in the clock tower in the city and investigate it. Meanwhile, Yuri and other agents are sent to Brantz's hotel as a part of a contingent from the Foreign Ministry to guard him while escorting him to the summit. Unbeknownst to them, Twilight swapped places with Brantz beforehand, leaving the real minister 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.^[13]

Midterm Exams Arc[]

The SSS takes note of Sylvia Sherwood, a secretary at the Westalis Embassy, and has several agents regularly tail her to check for any suspicious activity. However, they gradually become relaxed by her seemingly mundane schedule, allowing the WISE handler to move freely around Berlint without them noticing.^[14]

Campbelldon Tennis Arc[]

The SSS unintentionally retrieve a forgery of the Lady in the Sun — The SSS unintentionally retrieve a forgery of the *Lady in the Sun*

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.^[15]

Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc[]

With the biannual Imperial Scholars mixer in session at Eden Academy, SSS officers go 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.^[16]

Sometime after the mixer, Yuri and the Lieutenant successfully bust an illicit dealing of MNG data and arrest everyone involved after closely surveilling them. Shortly afterward, 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.

Yuri arrests Franklin Perkin outside his apartment

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 the true disgrace to their country is between him and Yuri, to which Yuri answers that he would never do anything to cause his family pain. Yuri is later approached by Wilker, 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.^[17]

Cruise Adventure Arc[]

SSS agents helplessly watch the crew attempt to disarm the bomb

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 panic among the guests 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.^[18]

The agents follow these orders and keep watch for any suspicious activity when Princess Lorelei arrives at the resort island on its third and final day. After the voyage, the SSS keeps the failed bombing incident on the ship hidden from the public. Surmising that the bomber's goal was to instigate more conflict between Ostania and Westalis, they suspect that a third country was involved. Despite the organization's suspicions, Sylvia believes that they will inevitably bury the incident to save face.^[19]

Loid's Past Arc[]

Franky saves Nightfall from an SSS officer

"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" leaves the club, 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 as part of her scheme to get "The Quill" to gain her trust and accept her job request. During the raid, one of the SSS agents shoots at Fiona, but Franky throws himself at Fiona to get her out of the way while she throws a knife at the shooter.^[20]

Bus Hijacking Arc[]

At headquarters, Wilker receives a report from Division 4 that the current leader of the remnants of the Red Circus, Billy Squire, is commanding 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.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.^[23]

The SSS Captain at odds with Berlint City Police's commander

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. An SSS captain and his squad arrive at the crime scene to take over the situation, intending to storm the bus immediately. The police commander is against it 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.

The Captain prepares a guard regiment to storm the bus

While gathering information and scouring the district, Yuri finds Bus B stashed in a warehouse.^[24] After confirming the bus's location, Yuri calls a small 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.^[7]

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, but Blackbell family servant Martha Marriott interrupts them by immobilizing Vadim with a taser, after which she rescues Anya.^[25] 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.^[26] 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 stops the parents from speaking freely.^[27]

Wheeler 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, Wilker holds an emergency summons to order his subordinates to cooperate with Division 4 during this process and to not let WISE interfere.^[28] To avoid causing trouble with Westalis due to the stolen files, the government decides not to 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.^[29] 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 Wilker, who quickly identifies Officer Jeffrey as the mole for WISE. The agents then expose the faux Winston as Twilight, who is also after the real Winston and the files.^[30]

The agents attempt to capture Twilight, but he evades them as he reveals hidden traps around the park. The agents seal off the park's exits but 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. In the sewers, Yuri finds Twilight disguised as him, leading to a fight when he tries to arrest him.^[31] Twilight wins the fight but is injured from a gunshot to his right arm by Yuri. He also leaves Yuri alive due to his connection with Yor.

On the surface, Winston is already at the hotel but is suspicious due to never receiving Gascoigne's signal. He then notices Gascoigne leaving the hotel and realizes that WISE has beaten them there. Wary of Gascoigne's movements, Winston shadows him in 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.^[32]

Winston is eventually cornered by Nightfall and another agent, and they retrieve the files from him. As they prepare to have him taken in as he may have memorized its contents, Winston forces himself free and escapes into the sewers with Nightfall in pursuit. In the sewers, Winston finds 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, the latter returning him to the surface for treatment while the former attempts to go after Twilight.^[33] However, Twilight and the other WISE agents evade their detection and take the captured Winston to WISE.

While the operation to secure Winston failed, both agencies lost a mole, so the SSS decided to consider things a draw with WISE. Upon 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.^[34]

Yuri and Chloe take down the Chicken Circle

While the SSS searches for individuals matching Twilight's injury, Yuri's mood worsens as he laments his losses to Twilight and questions his 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 Yuri 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.^[35]

Term Break Arc[]

During the winter, the SSS begins cracking down on an information network within Berlint. They capture the informant Latchkey Lachy, who gives them a lead on a fellow informant, a racetrack teller. The officers raid the teller's home and manage to round up more informants from the network, detaining them in a truck. While trying to interrogate the teller, Franky Franklin appears to rescue him. Despite the SSS calling in reinforcements, Franky uses his quick wit, gadgets, and knowledge of the city to fight back against and escape the agents while freeing his fellow informants.^[36]

Poacher Hunting Arc[]

The Lieutenant calls Yuri to drink with his fellow officers

As springtime approaches, Yuri, Chloe, and the Lieutenant are busy interrogating a recent wave of prisoners at headquarters, much to the former's exhaustion. After work, Wilker invites the trio to have steak together to celebrate Yuri's fight with Twilight. Yuri declines, saying he has a date tonight, shocking Chloe, though the Lieutenant correctly guesses it will be with Yor. Later that night, the SSS officers go drinking at a bar. After Wilker leaves, the Lieutenant calls Yuri, who just returned home from his hangout with Yor, to invite him out for bar hopping with their fellow officers. He also jokes that Chloe misses him, which she denies in embarrassment. Yuri accepts the offer and prepares to meet with his co-workers at their usual meeting spot.^[37]

The Shopkeeper becomes interested in Wilker's third file

Wilker, accompanied by other officers, drives out to a mansion in the forest to meet with the Shopkeeper. When two officers protest after they are kept from accompanying Wilker to his meeting, he orders them to stand down as the members of Garden could kill them. After attempting to chat with the Shopkeeper, Wilker presents him with a briefcase filled with files for job requests, mostly from Ostania's prime minister. The first two files disinterest the Shopkeeper as they have political agendas. However, he accepts a job to stop poachers from hunting Miteran elk in the southwest forests of Ostania, explaining the historical significance of those lands and how it is a demilitarized zone that could cause friction between East and West. Wilker asks him to consider the other files, but the Shopkeeper rejects him, reminding him that Garden acts in service to the nation, not to a politician. While leaving the mansion with his men, Wilker scoffs at the Shopkeeper, saying that his loyalty is to a dead empire.^[6]

Uniforms[]

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 marks on their shoulders and notch lapels that indicate their rank. Members also appear to be allowed to wear additional accessories, such as sunglasses and earrings. Members of lower ranks wear dark green side caps that also have the SSS symbol as their cap badge.

The Guard Regiment officers that are introduced in the Red Circus Arc appear to wear camouflage uniforms along with a simple ballistic vest and a belt with several utility pouches. They use titanium helmets and possibly wear balaclavas under them. They are mainly armed with rifles but are also seen with axes, sledgehammers, and ladders, presumably for operations that require breaching buildings or vehicles.

Rank Insignia[]

Members	Director	Superior	First Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	Officer	Low-ranking
Insignia

On the lapels of the jackets, there are insignia marks that indicate a member's rank. The marks of higher-ranking officers like Wilker^[9] and the SSS Superior^[17] are yellow with a red stripe in the middle. The marks of lieutenants like Yuri and his captain are red with a yellow stripe in the middle. Some marks have black and white circles that further indicate their rank, with three circles appearing to represent the higher ranks. Lower-ranking members appear to have all-red marks.^[9]

Known Members[]

Name	Rank	Status
Wilker	Director	Active
SSS Superior	Superior	Active
SSS Captain	Captain	Active
Gascoigne	Captain	Active
SSS Lieutenant	First Lieutenant	Active
Yuri Briar	Second Lieutenant	Active
Chloe	Officer	Active
Johnson	Officer	Active
Winston Wheeler	Ostanian Intelligence, Mole	Arrested
Jeffrey	Communications Officer WISE 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.^[38]
The eyeball emblem, which is intended to evoke the sense of being watched, takes some inspiration from the Eye of Horus.^[38] 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 Department of State Security 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 a crossover between East German NVA uniforms and Soviet Spetsnaz or the Yugoslav Milicija Special Forces.
- 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. The Guard Regiments use TIG Bicord PSH-77 visor helmets, based off Altyn helmets, and they also appear to mainly be armed with Kalashnikov-style rifles and wear Strichtarn camouflage uniforms.
- Continuing from the theme of East Germany, the uniforms could also have been inspired by the uniform of Diensteinheit IX (Service Unit 9), a Tier 1 tactical unit of the Deutsche Volkspolizei under the Ministry of the Interior (not the Stasi, which had similar departments). The equipment they used in Diensteinheit IX was a mix of East German, Russian, Swiss, and Western European with some specialized equipment such as belts, hip and drop leg holsters, and various pouches. This included PSH-77, Strichtarn field uniforms, and assorted weaponry.