The Imperial Interstellar Scout Service (IISS) was a major service within the Third Imperium, equal in stature to the Imperial Army and the Imperial Navy, although assigned a variety of unique and varied missions. Prior to the Rebellion most were of a non-military nature but that soon changed.
The Scout Service has had a long a distinguished history. Prior to the establishment of the Third Imperium, it worked to re-connect the old shattered parts of the previous Rule of Man (Terran Empire). It helped redeveloped and reconstruct what would become the Third Imperium. With the rebirth of the Imperium it adjusted, it soon turned to one of actual discovery and exploration of unknown worlds. With the maturity of the Imperium, that mission lost importance, and newer ones have taken its place.
The offices of the Scout Service were divided into the Bureaucracy (a standard, structured establishment), and the Field (an informally structured group of individuals who accomplished many of the goals of the service). The Bureaucracy was strict and governed by regulations; the Field was unconventional and flexible. Three offices in the Scout Service (the Exploration Office, the Communications Office, and the Survey Office) comprise the Field, and are loosely organized without formal rank or position for their members. Individuals hold temporary positions (such as ship captain, team leader, project head) based on their record and suitability for the job. The remainder of the Scout Service was the more traditionally organized Bureaucracy.
The Express Boat Service was responsible for the operation of the express boats carrying xboat messages over the xboat routes of the Imperium. Service also extended in to neighbouring lmperial client states to which service and routes existed. The lmperial Courier Service was responsible for carrying messages, small packages, and important personnel to worlds off the main express boat routes, as well as operating small courier ships running unscheduled routes as the needs of the Service demanded. Both were ran by the Communications Office of the Scout Service.
The Exploration Office was responsible for exploration of areas previously discovered but not explored, or incompletely charted. It was divided into the Exploration Branch and the Contact & Liaison Branch. The Exploration Branch undertook actual exploration of space and planets, compiling data on local flora and fauna, on planetological features, and on hazards to navigation or dangers to individuals. The Contact & Liaison Branch was originally charged with locating, making first contact (and maintaining friendly relations) with non-human intelligent races. As the lmperium expanded, the C&L Branch was given the additional duty of acquainting the various races of the lmperium with each other's cultures, and with smoothing over the inevitable conflicts that arise between cultures. Another function of the C&L Branch was the controlled dissemination of technological information to backward worlds within the Imperium, with a goal of bringing them up to Imperial standards slowly enough to minimize cultural shock effects.
The Operations Office was responsible for the activities of the Service in the establishment, maintenance, and operation of its bases and fleets. It was divided into Maintenance, Security, Bases, and Scout Fleet branches. The Maintenance Branch was charged with preventive maintenance of the equipment used by the Scout Service. The Security Branch was charged with providing security and law enforcement for the Scout Service. Security Branch Scouts served as police enforcers on Scout property, as commandos or shipboard light troops, for special Scout activities, and as clandestine agents for Intelligence Branch. Agents of the llSS Security Branch had great authority to arrest detain, or question individuals suspected of violations of lmperial law, and could demand cooperation from local authorities as the need arose.
The Base Branch was responsible for the operation of the Scout Service's bases, way stations, and other establishments. The lmperial Grand Survey (Survey Office) was responsible for producing and maintaining maps and charts of the Imperium, and of areas outside the lmperium which are of importance to it. The Internal Mapping Branch was responsible for resurveying and updating the basic navigational charts of the Imperium, and The External Mapping Branch was responsible for mapping areas outside the Imperium.
It was a massive sprawling organisation responsible for a wide range of activities. Then the Rebellion occurred and the whole Imperium was shattered. Luckily the Scout service was perceived as non-military in nature making it less of a prize for the more warlike factions of the Civil War. They were focused on big fleets, marines divisions and large armies. The Old IISS was also broken with parts supporting rival factions but not to the degree of the military. Now in the shattered Imperium the Scouts are useful for collecting information and for keeping the pieces in contact with each other. Many Scouts are self-sufficient individuals used to living independently with little to no support; they fared the best in the period of the collapse but those in the Bureaucracy generally did not .