A typical ISB agent.
The Imperial Security Bureau, also called Imperial Security, abbreviated ISB, is the primary intelligence organization of the Galactic Empire.
In the wake of the New Order, several intelligence organizations struggled for supremacy; Imperial Intelligence, the Imperial Security Bureau and COMPNOR each desired the mantle of Imperial secret police and fought viciously for it.
The resulting war of shadows was nothing but a detriment to the Empire, eroding faith in the intelligence services, wasting tremendous resources and crippling operations.
In the New Empire, the Imperial Security Bureau has absorbed all intelligence functions - a small branch dedicated to external operations works closely with the Imperial Navy intercepting foreign intelligence while COMPNOR has been refocused on setting and implementing Imperial policy rather than enforcing it.
The bulk of the ISB is responsible for the pervasive surveillance under which Imperial citizens live Its responsibilities are far-reaching and and its resources enormous.
Player Characters in the Imperial Security Bureau[]
A tyrannical government like the Galactic Empire has great need of an extensive secret police force; scores of intelligence analysts, data-sifters and camera watchers but relatively few field agents.
In order to provide the best environment for roleplay, the individually minor role of civilian surveillance is considered the realm of NPCs. Player characters are those field agents responsible for regulating the military, conducting counter-intelligence and resolving problem situations.
Chain of Command and Protocol[]
The Imperial Security Bureau is not a conventional military branch. Its agents do not hold recognized military ranks or wield personal authority. The ISB prefers its agents to cajole, manipulate and blackmail their way around chains of command rather than rely on broad writs of authority. In the ISB's eyes, they break the rules so that nobody else has an excuse to.
An ISB agent wields absolute authority in tremendously limited circumstances, and it is always transitory. Their role is to return a situation which has deviated too far from Imperial policy to proper order and no more. Any ISB agent could, given adequate provocation and no alternative, summarily execute a grand admiral. But only to facilitate turning over command to the next most senior officer deemed to be trustworthy.
The ISB cares little for elaborate titles and unless it has a reason to remain hidden, is all too pleased to make presence known.
Each ISB agent is addressed simply as 'Agent' regardless of relative seniority and if further clarity is required, their family or code name as appropriate.
All ISB agents are attached to a local bureau upon assignment and report to its' bureau chief who is formally addressed as 'Chief'.The bureau chief in turn answers to a regional director properly addressed as 'Director'.
The lack of formality in spoken communication obfuscates the rigorous nature of ISB record keeping. Every conversation is logged. Every lead is reported. Every hunch is recorded. When one can be called upon to criticise, threaten, blackmail, countermand, arrest or even execute powerful figures, it pays to have done the paperwork.
Recruitment[]
The ISB selects its recruits from a number of walks of life. Analysts and other data-workers are often typical imperial citizens, albeit particularly discreet and trustworthy ones.
Field agents are selected on a number of criteria. Problem solving is among the most important traits, an agile mind capable of quickly grasping varied situations and finding solutions within given parameters is invaluable. The ISB analyses the standardized testing of Imperial children to identify potential 'persons of interest' and future agents are high on that list.
Once a prospect is identified, they are observed. Psychological profiles are created, those with undesirable traits or questionable behaviors are excluded. When a prime candidate is identified, testing begins, usually without their knowledge.
Once an agent has been deemed acceptable, they are contacted by the Imperial Security Bureau. Rigorous conditioning seeks to eliminate troublesome moral compunctions, with guilt typically the first thing to go.
Training is provided in the arts of surveillance, intelligence gathering, interrogation and taught alongside sociology, psychology, Imperial philosophy and law.
Promotions[]
The ISB lacks the multi-layered top-down structure of most Imperial branches; the ISB's solution to the question "Who watches The Watchers?' is "The other Watchers".
Every member is expected to report on their peers. Dependence on a rank structure hinders both the collegiate operating style of the ISB and this self-regulating behavior.
The career path of a field agent is generally reflected by the assignments they receive rather than medals and accolades. An agent who demonstrates particular aptitude will be dispatched to handle more sensitive and critical issues.
Terminology[]
"Audit": To conduct an investigation in which the target and everyone around them knew the investigation was being conducted.
"Finesse": To conduct an investigation by asking the target's help in rooting out other traitors in the hopes they would give away incriminating evidence in their eagerness to point the finger at others.
"Scattering": Grabbing someone against whom you have no evidence of foul play and then observing the behavior of the person's associates to see if any of these react in suspicious ways.
"Crust-busting": Harassing a suspect in the hopes they would do something criminal.
"Cultivation": Allowing a suspect with only minor wrongdoing to proceed unhindered so agents would catch the suspect and any associates in a larger crime
"Irrigation": Covertly staging events so a "cultivated" suspect would have a greater opportunity to commit a larger crime.
"Stitch": Set a suspect up in a no-win situation in which he must commit a crime. The agent can then promise to forgive the crime if the suspect performs a few favors; favors which inevitably cause the suspect to commit other crimes.