Fri 05 Nov 2021, 20:48
Knowing a bit about the Intelligence Community, I thought I would chime in. There would CERTAINLY be a version of the CIA, as well as most likely the NSA, DIA, FBI-Counter Intelligence Division. While the UA military would almost certainly have it's own Military Intelligence Branch as well as the DIA, both are kinda outside the scope as they are very militarily focused and operate differently.
While Colonial Marines & Marshals would have their place, as your "general spy" they tend to not do terribly well. Cops and soldiers have a particular way of carrying themselves that stands out and is hard to untrain. They certainly do however have a place in Counter Intelligence and Special Activities Divisions (SAD is the small combat arms that the CIA uses, but more often they will prefer to use mercs). Your best undercover spy is smart and good with people. You will have Official Cover spies and your Non-Official Cover spies. The Official ones are usually diplomats and other "protected" type individuals. They are usually suspected and watched, but if they get caught, the worst that happens is they get tossed out of country, disgraced, and given cushy civilian jobs working for the government.
Your NOCs are where the fun begins. These are the people that CAN'T get caught. They are the ones that aren't even recognized by their country if caught. They survive by wits and making friends, if things go south all they can do is run or hide. Depending on whether the NOC has Intelligence on them, how good they are, and how much they know; a mission might be sent to retrieve by mercs or SAD.
Freighter crew personnel would make good Handlers. Dropping by ports they could have a couple people at each colony that get paid a bit extra to keep their ears to the ground. Once something comes up that deserves "extra" attention, you would try to get someone in the area to start making friends, nothing more. Once you find that "special friend" you figure out how to turn them. Once turned, you have your informant (and often not enthused about the idea).
"Load up, strap in, lock and load, and save the last bullet for yourself."