Assassination has long been a tool of intelligence agencies, especially those from repressive governments. The agents of the Assassination Branch (the "wet branch" or "red branch") see themselves as big game hunters, even though they are trained to take advantage of every possible advantage. The individual operatives are highly trained, which is considered by amny observers to be the reason for thier high success ratio.
The members of this branch are often selected from the Army or from IntSec, while a very small number are drawn from outside the military. They are initially trained in a wide number of skills, ranging from unarmed combat to marksmanship to demolition. It is during this period that a prospective agent's particular talents are found to lie in a certain line, and they receive the appropriate training. To evaluate thier abilities in the field, those missions requiring a team of more than three agents are handled by a group of "probies" under the guidance of a full agent. Also, any agent who fails to meet the mark, for whatever reason, is dismissed, and never heard from again.
Full Agents are those who have completed thier training course, and have lived to talk about it. They are a steel nerved brotherhood of hunters. They actually do have lives outside the Branch, but they never reveal it. From the outside, they are quite, private individuals. From the point of view of the Branch, this just means that they can keep thier covers better than most.
They initially serve under the tutilage of another Full Agent, until it is decided that they are qualified to be alone. Thier final test is to act as the CO for a team of probies, with thier Mentor giving them advice, and ready to take over if the situation advances beyond the control of the Apprentice Agent. The skill levels between the Apprentice and the Mentor are rarely great, with the difference being more in the way of mental preparation and command expertise. Only after completing twelve individual missions and leading three missions of probationary troops is an Agent eligible to Mentor.
Second only to the men and women of Adjustment, these lethal weapons are the most dangerous operatives in Imperial Intelligence, and among the most dangerous in the Empire. Operating singly or in pairs, they are used only where secrecy is paramount.