SHINE

The Shirerithian Intelligence Network Executive.

History

Shireroth's first intelligence force was commissioned by Kaiseress Aure I and originally led by Jessica Doran; the project never really got off the ground. Shireroth's second intelligence force was commissioned and led by Scott Alexander, then Minister of the Exterior, in order to gather information on foreign nations before dealing with them. Scott's force discovered the existence of Jadie's force, which had until then been secret from the Shirerithian populace, and eventually gained control of it. The new organization went by the name SHINE and answered directly to the Minister of the Exterior and no one else.

SHINE took for its own use the Secret Evil Plans forum, created back in the days of the Seventh Republic but mostly unused for serious business since that time. It immediately began work on Operation Impending Doom III, a long-term project whose purpose has still yet to be explained, as well as several other projects to infiltrate important micronations of the period. One of SHINE's first standardizations of intelligence work, and a mark for which it has become famous, was its insistence on giving all of its operations a code name based on a color and a fish, such as Azure Salmon. When all color-fish combinations were used up, it moved on to metals and other varieties of marine life, such as Iron Lobster. The purpose of this was to avoid the trap of making code names too expressive, a trap ably demonstrated in other micronations having operations like Operation Crush Shireroth.

Effectively moribund since the departure of Scott Alexander.

Organization

SHINE was originally controlled by the Minister of the Exterior, but after Iain de Vembria took control of the Ministry, Scott asked for, and received, full independence from any power except the Kaiser. SHINE frequently refuses to tell even the Kaiser what it is working on, something it has absolutely no legal excuse for but which it has so far managed to justify by using terms like "need to know basis" and "plausible deniability". There is at least one Imperial Decree governing the operation of SHINE, but its contents have so far been kept secret.

It was revealed on the Shireroth website in 2004 that Scott Alexander was director of SHINE at that time, but whether he still holds that post or has relinquished it to someone else is a state secret. It is also uncertain how many people are actually a part of SHINE, although contrary to persistent rumors, there is indeed more than one. It is also uncertain exactly what the "chain of command" is, and whether there are any ranks in between the director and everyone else.

Operations

Major

During Operation Azure Trout, SHINE sent former micronationalist William Jesmer into Karnali for information on an advanced weapons system they were rumoring to be developing in contravention of intermicronational law. Jesmer discovered that the system was an elaborate hoax without the power attributed to it by international sources. The only thing preventing the incident from being deemed a complete success was Jesmer later betraying Shireroth and discussing the whole issue - luckily, SHINE had previously ferretted out a Karnali spy in Shireroth, so the Karnalis did not have the moral high ground they needed to take Shireroth to task for the infiltration.

During Operation Crimson Haddock, SHINE spied on Attera through means that are still classified for several years. It gave important information about the Crimson Order to countries that wanted to know what the mysterious organization was all about, as well as gained a front seat view to Behmanesh Farzan's attempts to spy on Britannia. When Attera tried to send its own spy into Shireroth during its TALASS program, SHINE was able to quickly identify the agent and prevent him from gaining valuable information. This may be the only time that Liam Sinclair was ever foiled in anything. Atteran countermeasures, initiated by Sinclair, were often rendered insufficient by order of the Atteran Emperor, Mik'el Tzion (Diga Makonnen) who was often far more willing than wise in trusting dual citizens, especially those from Shireroth despite repeated reports from Sinclair regarding SHINE's activities in the Atteran Empire.

During Operation Amethyst Grouper, SHINE agents cooperated with Antican Military Intelligence to prevent a plot to force Babkha and Antica into war. While AMI operatives discovered the plot and found the doctored threads Thoenen was planning to give the Babkhan government, SHINE analysts obtained proof of their falsehood and helped Antica convenice the Babkhans that it was a plot. In the same operation, Antica and Shireroth worked together to prevent infiltration attempts by Feianova.

Minor

Operation Golden Flounder

An ongoing effort to track down ex-micronationalists and encourage their return.

Operation Emerald Sturgeon

Advertising Shireroth at Sonoma State University. Winding down due to lack of Shirithians actively studying at said university.

Operation Ruby Trout

Backing up the forum by means of wget, in the times of ezBoard. Superseded by legislated database backups.

Operation Vermillion Bass

CLASSIFIED

Operation Ivory Catfish

A possible cross-country road trip with an evil twist. Most details are classified.

Motto

SHINE's motto is "Proudly ****ing the **** since **** and ****". The starred words are top secret and it is considered treason to release them to the public.