Office of Federation Security

The Office of Federation Security (aka OFS, or under the codename Custodes) is a clandestine organisation serving to protect the UESF by any means necessary, its existence is only known to a handful of individuals outside of the OFS.

Overview
As the group's name suggest, the OFS is dedicated to preserving the safety and integrity of the UESF, but is effectively unrestricted in how they choose to carry it out. Unlike Federation Office Division 7, the OFS operates with only a handful of individuals outside of it aware of the organisation's existence and goals, allowing it to operate with minimal restrictions. Much of the OFS' structure is kept classified even to its own members, primarily for their own protection, but it is generally believed to operate in various cells, each tasked with their own specific functions. This covert and compartmentalised approach is necessary for the OFS to perform more extreme actions in the name of Federation safety and security without interference from outside forces, as a result they are capable of performing various interventions that are later believed to be coincidental or accidental instead.

Most of the time the OFS is monitoring for any large-scale situations that could severely disrupt Federation integrity, either choosing to intervene before the matter can become serious enough to present a threat, or systematically neutralise the situation by any means possible. This is often achieved through precision attacks involving information manipulation, sabotage, assassination and various other illegal tactics. It is entirely possible for such operations to result in severe collateral damage, however, OFS will often consider this an acceptable cost for the sake of the Federation.

Functions
The OFS' primary directive leaves it free to effectively operate how it sees fit, most of the time the group remains in a purely observational state to gather intelligence on potential threats. However, if a credible threat gains sufficient momentum to be considered serious, OFS will begin covert operations to neutralise it. Generally the OFS operates with a more pragmatic attitude than Joint Military Intelligence, and will often be more willing to act on a potential threat than D7.

As they do not exist to most of the outside world, the OFS is extremely proficient at manufacturing cover identities for its agents, along with the required digital footprint to help increase its apparent authenticity. They also have contacts to key personnel through the Federation government and armed forces who are not direct operatives, but are sympathetic to the OFS' operational goals. However, the existence of the OFS is kept secret from the UESF Prime Minister and their staff for their own protection, ensuring the organisation can continue to function without outside political pressure and minimising the risk of exposure.

History
Due to its clandestine nature, the OFS' records are kept off any systems accessible by any other organisations, making it very difficult to accurately deduce the full extent of their work wtihout them. However, it is speculated that the OFS was either formed as part of the Federation Government, or evolved from a government think tank that focused on anticipating anti-Federation threats.

It is not entirely understood why the OFS did not suppress the Herschel Insurrection before it started, however, one theory states that the OFS stepped in to reduce the Insurrection's maximum potential damage to the Federation, but left it sufficiently intact to challenge the UESF. The resulting conflict would eventually be won by the Federation, but in the process forcing it to adopt a more militaristic attitude while enforcing stricter surveillance measures in the name of safety.