The USC-D-AV, or “Shadows” as they are more commonly known, are a special forces unit of the USC that, unlike the rest of the military, is organized under the USC-D or Development/Administration wing of the government. In layman's terms this means the unit reports directly to the Immortals instead of the normal military command under USC-L. In many ways they resemble the Rangers of Agathos, though they predate their modern incarnation.
The Shadows are often used for domestic enforcement, and are used as a check against the secret police in USC-L. They get their nickname from their early and complete adoption of active cloak suits led to the phrase, “The room has ears; the shadows have eyes.”