Difference between revisions of "Imperial Intelligence"

Revision as of 11:22, 23 December 2013

Imperial Intelligence
Information
Leadership	Elvira Falston
Motto	Ubique
Formation	Year -2
Headquarters	Coruscant
Locations	[CLASSIFIED]
Status	Active
Battles/Wars
Battles	[CLASSIFIED]
Affiliation
Affiliation	Galactic Empire

Operating in secrecy, Imperial Intelligence is a highly professional civilian branch of the Galactic Empire that is responsible for the identification, analysis and mitigation of threats to the Empire originating from external sources. Imperial Intelligence’s chief duty is to concentrate on analysis of strategic, operational and tactical data streams through a variety of methods and advising the Galactic Empire on perceived and actual threats and opportunities.

Mission

The mission of Imperial Intelligence is to support The Throne, Imperial High Command, and all Imperial officials who make and execute Imperial policy through:

• Providing accurate, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence on all security topics.
• Conducting counter-intelligence, espionage, assassination and other activities designed to maintain galactic security, as directed by The Throne.
• Providing timely and expert advice to all branches of the Galactic Empire on foreign intelligence matters.

To achieve its mission Imperial Intelligence is authorized by The Throne to execute operations of strategic value using espionage, the use of deniable assets, overt and covert actions and the use of methods inappropriate for the military and other civilian agencies to use. Subsequently, Imperial Intelligence engages in research, development, and deployment of high-leverage technology and assets for intelligence purposes.

As an independent branch, Imperial Intelligence serves as a source of analysis on topics of concern, working closely with the other branches and departments of the Galactic Empire to ensure that the intelligence consumer - whether a Sector Moff or battlefield commander - receives the best intelligence possible, as quickly as possible.

Adaptation

The constant political turmoil and open war throughout the galaxy has required constant adaptation and new methods of conducting intelligence work. Imperial Intelligence has met these new challenges through:

• Creating special, multidisciplinary centres to address high-priority issues such as non-proliferation, counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, intergalactic organized crime, narcotics trafficking, environmental and arms control intelligence.
• Forging stronger partnerships between several intelligence collection disciplines, and establishing systems for source analysis.
• Taking an active part in the intelligence community analytical efforts, and producing analysis on the full range of topics that affect galactic security.
• Contributing to the effectiveness of the overall intelligence community by managing services of common concern in imagery analysis and open-source collection and participating in partnerships with other intelligence agencies in the areas of research and development, source validation and technical collection.

By emphasizing adaptability in its approach to intelligence collection, Imperial Intelligence can tailor its support to key intelligence consumers and help them meet their needs as they face the issues of the galaxy.

Organisational Structure

Imperial Intelligence, as a branch of the Galactic Empire is structured in a way as to maintain flexibility to meet the requirements of an evolving galaxy, whilst maintaining compartmentalization to assist in the enforcement of security procedures and discipline to increase the effectiveness of counter-intelligence operations, and reduce the impact and chances of enemy infiltration of Imperial Intelligence.

Imperial Intelligence is composed of two Bureaus which are responsible for all intelligence gathering, analysis and operations undertaken by II personnel and operatives; the Bureau of Analysis and the Bureau of Operations. Overseeing the activities of the two bureaus, determining strategic objectives and directing the efforts of Imperial Intelligence throughout the galaxy are the Ubiqtorate; a cadre of II personnel appointed by the Director of Intelligence and wielding vast authority and power.

For the most part, Imperial Intelligence's organisational structure remains classified, however within the two Bureau's of Imperial Intelligence exist a series of departments concerned with the application of specialist skills and/or target concerns, of which the only publically disclosed departments are the Department of Military Intelligence (DMI), responsible for liaising with operational and tactical field commanders and support staff, Imperial Special Operations Command (ISOC), responsible for the coordination of covert and claret operations undertaken by the military at the direction of Imperial Intelligence, and the Imperial Office of Criminal Investigations (IOCI), responsible for the investigation, tracking and execution of Imperial bounties.

History

II was formed in Year -2 through the centralisation of the Galactic Empire's agencies responsible for disparate intelligence collection and assessment, Naval Intelligence, Army Intelligence and portions of the Ministry of Diplomacy. The need for a centralised intelligence agency arose from the gaps in communication and analysis that the three different departments experienced, and continued conflict over jurisdiction between them. The first Director of Imperial Intelligence was the highly respected and feared Kiie, previously the Chief of Army Intelligence.

With the disbanding of Naval Intelligence, Army Intelligence and a small department of the Ministry of Diplomacy, Imperial Intelligence cemented itself as the sole authority and agency responsible for the gathering of information and production of intelligence for the military and government branches of the Empire. Originally mandated to maintain internal security for the Empire as well, this aspect of Imperial Intelligence's mission was removed with the founding of COMPNOR by Emperor Connel and the creation of the Imperial Security Bureau, which was appointed the responsibility of internal security. The formation of the Imperial Security Bureau somewhat reduced the influence and power of Imperial Intelligence, and it was not long before questions of jurisdiction brought the two security agencies into conflict with each other, souring relations between the two agencies with suspicion and competitiveness that still persist today.

Maintaining a good relationship with the wider Empire under Director Kiie's reign, this stable and productive relationship was continued and strengthened by Director Naal Soven, however inter-branch relations began to take setbacks with the appointment of Director Robert Voor in Year 3. Director Voor, widely known for his arrogance, secrecy and capabilities as an intelligence agent came into sharp conflict with military commanders and quickly erode standing relationships with the view that the Navy and Army commanders were both incompetent. With a deteriorating relationship between Imperial Intelligence and the other branches, it was felt prudent to establish a new department within Imperial Intelligence that could provide an active, trusted and diplomatic link with the military forces throughout the Empire; the result was the formation of the Department of Military Intelligence that would liaise with the military and foster better relationships, rather than the traditional approach of the Director being the sole point of contact. Seele, a recent Imperial Army Special Operations officer was appointed as the Chief of Military Intelligence to repair the broken relationship with the military.

Whilst effective lines of communication were established with field commanders and the Imperial Army, the Imperial Navy under the command of Rear Admiral Overmind became increasingly paranoid of the potential for Director Voor to perform a coup against Emperor Charon, unknown to Overmind that Director Voor had been approached by the Sith to conduct a coup but had refused, staying loyal to the Emperor. With growing tensions between Voor and Overmind, the situation came to a boiling point when the Admiral sent general orders to the Imperial Navy demanding that any part-time Imperial Intelligence Agent report their secret involvement in Imperial Intelligence to Naval High Command, or be executed. Armed with a leaked partial part-time Agent roster from the Bureau Chief of Analysis Varn Atesca who had been convinced by Overmind that Director Voor was a threat, Overmind had the time to order the execution of a sole Imperial Intelligence Trainee Agent before the Emperor stepped in to order Overmind to stand down from his paranoid and illegal witch-hunt. For compromising the security of Imperial Intelligence, Varn Atesca was executed.

With the merger of the Galactic Empire and the Dark Empire in Year 3, Imperial Intelligence was to absorb the Dark Empire's intelligence agencies including Majestic-12 (MJ-12), and appointed head of the Dark Empire's Intelligence, Quaxo, as Deputy Director of Imperial Intelligence in an effort to integrate the agencies smoothly. Refusing to integrate the agencies, Quaxo never reported for duty and was dismissed within a month and no members of the Dark Empire's intelligence agencies submit for reassignment. It did not take long for the Imperial Security Bureau to identify that Majestic 12 was operating as Warlord Bonias's personal intelligence agency, and conflicts quickly arose between the Galactic Empire's security agencies, and Majestic 12. Tensions rose to their highest levels with the attempted plagarism of issued Imperial Intelligence reports under the guise of Majestic 12 reports, the abduction and torture of an ISB-Lieutenant Colonel Banquo Knox, and the discovery of attempted recruitment of Imperial servicemen into Majestic 12 as it posed as a legitimate but secret intelligence organisation of the Empire. With escalating aggression and refusal to cooperate with authorised security agencies of the Empire, Majestic 12 was declared an outlaw organisation and 'kill on sight' orders were issued by Emperor Charon to both the Imperial Security Bureau and Imperial Intelligence, marking the first time Imperial Intelligence had been authorised to conduct internal security operations since the formation of COMPNOR.

In Year 4, Director Voor, acting without authorisation from The Throne began to plot the assassination of the widely perceived incompetent Army Commanding Officer, Major General Kaylene SyberJedi. It is unclear what exactly happened, but it is known that Director Voor intended to undertake the assassination himself with the assistance of a member of the Ubiqtorate Guard, and that after leaving to execute the mission, Voor was never seen or heard from again. Following the mysterious disappearance of Director Voor, Emperor Charon recalled Seele from a mission deep undercover in the Rebel Alliance, and appointed him the new Director of Imperial Intelligence. Director Seele then worked once again on mending the broken ties between Imperial Intelligence and the military by providing a willingness to provide timely and accurate intelligence reports upon request, giving Imperial High Command a greater knowledge of Imperial Intelligence's operational capabilities, and clarifying communication methods to ensure efficient and accurate communication. Despite his efforts and large successes in strengthening the relationship between the Empire and Imperial Intelligence, Military High Command paid little notice to Intelligence Reports and vulnerability identifications provided by Imperial Intelligence which is exemplified with the Alderaan Crisis and Attack on Berchest.

Later in Year 4, with the disappearance of Emperor Charon and the ascension of Emperor Uebles and the Sith to The Throne, the Director of Imperial Intelligence, Seele, signalled the first defection of a member of the Ubiqtorate in the history of the Empire. Joining a full third of the Empire's ranks, many of Imperial Intelligence's staff resigned their appointments within the Empire in protest of the new violent regime, and for fear of Sith retribution which had been in conflict with Imperial Intelligence for some time. Seele's immediate successor, Cyrus Cloudwalker, was involved in the abortive counter-coup organised by Correl Aintab, while the next Director, Zaketh Atesca left after less than two months in office. Wilhelm von Ismay became Director for the remainder of Uebles' reign, but Imperial Intelligence had been reduced to a mere shell and was starved of resources. After Vodo Bonias took the throne Wilhelm von Ismay resigned and Imperial Intelligence was for all intents and purposes dissolved. Martel Byden and Tala Stalak were subsequently appointed Directors for brief periods, but neither served long enough to rebuild the organisation and it remained moribund between and after their tenures, with Stalak even being executed for treason.

During this period the intelligence duties were handed somewhat haphazardly to the Imperial Security Bureau and MJ-12. The lack of a dedicated agency came into sudden focus when Teniel Djo assasinated Moff Victor von Ismay. The Imperial Army Executive Officer, Colonel Owen von Ismay was transferred to Imperial Intelligence as its new Director. Starting essentially from scratch he made some progress reforming Intelligence, but was hampered by a lack of trained personnel and resources. Ismay was in turn replaced by his deputy and protege James Turner after the assasination of Kirov Quel-Droma, but remained influential. Imperial Intelligence's leadership attempted to oust Grand Moff Daelin Zerk as the Emperor's chief advisor, and upon failing to sway Vodo Bonias defected from the Empire.

Despite once again losing most of its agents, Imperial Intelligence was swiftly restored when a group of veteran Charonist officers agreed to return. Amongst them were Kolace Jorgenson and Cyrus Cloudwalker, who served as the next two Directors. Their leadership saw a return to the traditions and practices of the Voor era. Wider political issues again intervened, with Third Imperial Civil War and formation of the Charonist-led New Imperial Order. Imperial Intelligence was once again effectively disbanded until it was put under the auspices of Zee Wolf, who promptly made many organisational structure changes, including the downsizing and reduction from an independent branch to a department of the Ministry of Truth, and renamed it to the Directorate of Imperial Intelligence.

With Zee Wolf's retirement in Year 8, the Directorate of Imperial Intelligence was next led by Alexander Fel who once again enacted widespread changes throughout the agency, but did not manage to achieve any greater efficiency or awareness than previous Directors, with Fel's reign marked by increased conflict with other branches, a penchant for self-agrandising, and for the revitalisation of Majestic 12, albiet under the control of the Directorate of Imperial Intelligence this time. It is Alexander Fel that perpetuated the urban legend of the "Director's Curse" which claimed that no Director of Imperial Intelligence had ever resigned on good terms with The Throne, an incorrect myth as it was not until the fourth Director, Seele, that a Director had ever resigned on bad terms at the beginning of Emperor Uebles' reign, and a common trend throughout both Emperor Uebles' and Vodo's leadership.

In Year 10 the Galactic Empire and the New Imperial Order merged, heralding a change in attitude and operating structure of the Empire where many aspects of the Empire were changed, and the Directorate of Imperial Intelligence was no exception. Reinstated as an independent branch, and the Directorship returned to a High Command position, Vincent Lytear, Director of the New Imperial Order's Imperial Intelligence was appointed as the Director of the restructured branch, with Brigadier General Romolus Lupine, former Director of the Directorate of Imperial Intelligence pre-merger appointed as the Deputy Director. Attempting to reforge a new Imperial Intelligence, Lytear met resistance from Deputy Director Lupine and was forced to dismiss the Deputy Director in order to maintain progress.

Director Lytear retired later in Year 10, to be replaced by Director Inwe Ventidius, a fresh face to Imperial Intelligence and the first Director appointed that did not possess an intelligence or security background. Quickly picking up from where Lytear left off, Director Ventidius continued reforms across the branch that reinforced Imperial Intelligence's re-emergence as a highly capable and valuable branch within the Empire. Under her leadership, Imperial Intelligence became a lot more visible within the Empire thanks to several new full-time agents being recruited. Returning to the Empire after a brief hiatus due to being accuse dof High Treason, former Director Seele briefly served as her Deputy Director, mentoring the inexperienced new Director before being appointed as Military Commanding Officer. To assist her in the expansion of the Empire's spy network, Ventidius appointed Victor Vaklu as her first Chief of Operations, a position that had been left open since the rumoured suicide of Lexington Derrnon. Not long after being appointed to this new position, Vaklu went rogue and attempted to sell a list of undercover agents on the open market. Before any deals could be struck, Ventidius recalled all agents in the field, but Vaklu's betrayal set back the Bureau of Operations several months. To replace him, a former naval officer who had gone undercover was recalled. Kiari Delcroix's tenure as Chief of Operations would not last long either, as she abandoned the Empire and disappeared shortly after. The position remained open a while longer, as these incidents had made Ventidius wary of trusting anyone with the position. Eventually, Agents Cameliar Mordent and Elvira Falston were promoted to the Chiefs of Analysis and Operations respectively. Imperial Intelligence entered a golden age and flourished like never before. Competent officers from other branches were recruited to become full-time agents and every hostile government in the galaxy had been infiltrated by undercover operatives. Ventidius' tenure as Director saw the execution of several prominent New Republicans, including a Flight Marshal, Senator and the Chief of State Cheda Quche himself, as well as several succesful operations including the interception of a Krath fleet sent to take over a Mandalorian planet and the retrieval of stolen Imperial ships from underneath a New Republic shield generator. She served longer than any Director before her and was widely considered one of the best leaders of Imperial Intelligence since its creation. On Year 14 Day 198, Inwe Ventidius became Grand Vizier and chose her Chief of Operations, Elvira Falston, as her successor.

Having been mentored by Ventidius and Seele, Falston brought few fundamental changes to Imperial Intelligence and instead continued on the path chosen by her predecessor.

Recruitment & Selection

Imperial Intelligence maintains a notoriously stringent selection process which the majority of applicants do not pass. Requiring an exemplary record, high levels of activity and committment to the Empire, and the completion of a battery of tests including verbal and non-verbal reasoning, galactic knowledge and personality assessments, few candidates make it to the intensive training programme, making Imperial Intelligence the hardest branch within the Empire to gain entry to.

Directors of Imperial Intelligence

• Kiie (Year -2 to Year 1)
• Naal Soven (Year 1 to Year 2)
• Voor (Year 3 to Year 4)
• Seele (Year 4)
• Cyrus Cloudwalker (Year 4)
• Zaketh Atesca (Year 4)
• Wilhelm von Ismay (Year 4)
• Matrel Byden (Year 5)
• Tala Stalak (Year 5)
• Owen von Ismay (Year 5 to Year 6)
• James Turner (Year 6)
• Kolace Jorgensen (Year 6)
• Cyrus Cloudwalker
• Zee Wolf the Younger
• Alexander Fel (De Facto)
• Machkhit (Year 9)
• Romolus Lupine (Year 9 to Year 10)
• Vincent Lytear (Year 10)
• Inwe Ventidius (Year 11 to Year 14)
• Elvira Falston (Year 14 to present)

Contact

Intel@swc-empire.com