The Office of Naval Intelligence or Nàvtika Irafèi Orafòn (NIO) was formed once a number of influential Naval officers on Sèlene, observing the rise and spread of The Union, realised that outright war was going to be impossible or, at least, very costly. They decided that a force was needed to counter the relentless propaganda and manipulations of  The Church and, in order to achieve that, operatives would be needed to do things a normal soldier might feel uncomfortable doing. 

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"In order to defeat one's enemy, one must not only think like him, one must anticipate what he is going to do and either do it first or counter his moves before he has even made them." - Navarch Iacob Banna, co-founder of the NIO