Imperial Security Bureau

The Imperial Security Bureau commonly known as the ISB and also known as the Imperial Secret Service or Imperial Security Office was one of the most powerful and largest branches of the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order. It is considered to be the internal intelligence and domestic counter-intelligence agency for the Galactic Empire. The Imperial Security Bureau is lead overall by the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau.
The Imperial Security Bureau is housed in the Imperial Security Bureau Central Office, the administrative center of the ISB on Coruscant.
==Selection==
Imperial Security Bureau officers undergo a rigorous selection process in order to be placed as an ISB Officer. Candidates are watched from their entrance into the Imperial Academy until a year after graduation, if the candidate is considered to be worthy, they are entered into the Imperial Security Bureau Academy located behind the main ISB campus complex.
ISB officers are trained for an additional 18 months and, if they are not officers, they are commissioned as officers in their respective branches. While the majority of ISB officers are appointed for their loyalty and dedicated to the Emperor and the Empire, it goes without saying that there are political appointments to the ISB.
The Emperor and the Select Committee can issue decrees which forgo the standard process of candidacy and appoint whomever they desire to be to the ISB. ISB officers who are appointed rather than selected are often known as "Zeyd Shirts".
==Organization and structure==
===Overview===
The Director of the Imperial Security Bureau is the appointed head of the Imperial Security Bureau; while technically underneath the branch of COMPNOR, the Emperor directly appoints the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau and closely monitors the ISB. The ISB Director is a feared political and military authority within the Empire, the ISB Director is often a close confidant of the Emperor and has unparalleled power similar to the rest of the Imperial Security Bureau when it comes to protecting the Empire.
The Director of the Imperial Security Bureau leads the Imperial Security Bureau Board, commonly called the ISB Board, which is an intelligence council that is very ad hoc and its leadership simply consists of whomever is necessary, though often it includes the Director, Deputy Directors and notable sector officials.
The Director of the ISB is assisted by four Deputy Directors, the primary Deputy Director of the Imperial Security Bureau, one leading the Commission of Operations which oversees all operations of the ISB and acts as the second-in-command of the ISB, a Deputy Director who holds the title of "Chief of the Imperial Security Bureau" who is the administrative head of the ISB and finally a Deputy Director entitled as the "Central Commander of the Imperial Security Bureau" which handles all military-related operations of the Imperial Security Bureau, including the cooperation with CompForce.
===Leadership structure===
*ISB High Command - Director of the Imperial Security Bureau
**Deputy Director of the Imperial Security Bureau
**Commission of Operations - Commissioner of Operations of the Imperial Security Bureau (Deputy Director)
**Central Office - Chief of the Imperial Security Bureau (Deputy Director)
**Central Command - Central Commander of the Imperial Security Bureau (Deputy Director)
Underneath the Director and the Deputy Directors, each branch (Surveillance, Investigations, Internal Affairs, Interrogation, Re-Education and Enforcement) were lead by either an Associate Deputy Director or an Assistant Director, or in rare cases a Deputy Assistant Director. Each of the branches has their own internal structure that is largely dependent on the leadership at the time.
===Sector structure===
Each Sector of the Empire had an Imperial Security Bureau Sector Office, lead by an appointed ISB Supervisor. ISB Supervisors could cover a number of sectors. Each ISB Sector Office had a parallel structure, this means each ISB Sector Office contained an Investigations branch, Surveillance branch, etc.
====Surveillance====
Surveillance was the largest branch of the ISB, with nearly 35 percent of all personnel in the Bureau. The quality of agents in Surveillance, however, was not always great. A good portion of Surveillance agents were candidates straight from the Sub-Adult Group, but these were poorly trained, albeit eager and promising. The rest were made up of properly trained CompForce Observers, agents from Progress's Sector Monitor, Improvement's Sector Development, and local contacts aiming to subvert other local powers.
Surveillance was tasked with uncovering beings or activities helpful to the Rebel Alliance or that may obstruct the Empire's plans. Many of the Surveillance's targets were later turned over to Investigations for more thorough action. Surveillance was also responsible for instilling fear of the Empire into its citizens so that they would think twice before assisting the Rebellion.
====Investigations====
Investigations were a skillfully superior branch of the Imperial Security Bureau when compared to Surveillance. Many Department of Modification agents and proven agents from Surveillance made up Investigations. Agents of Investigations were always in direct communication with the Imperial military, allowing them to call on a massive amount of firepower and resources should the situation require it, so they could take down Rebel threats with considerably faster response time and effectiveness.
ISB Investigations members were assigned positional titles such as Chief Investigator, Deputy Chief Investigator, Assistant Chief Investigator, Supervising Investigator, Senior Investigator, Investigator. Investigations provided Loyalty Officer's aboard Imperial Navy ships; thus allowing the ISB to continually monitor the Imperial Military.
====Internal Affairs====
The Internal Affairs branch was the group responsible for watching COMPNOR, Imperial Personnel, and the citizens of the Empire, another example of multiple layers of control and authority overlapping one another in the Galactic Empire. Science, Commerce and Justice groups within the Coalition for Progress, and the Enforcements branch of the ISB, were all key targets of Internal Affairs.
It is unknown whether or not the Internal Affairs division had the authority to monitor the Select Committee, though it is known that they did not consider the Select Committee to be above suspicion.
Due to COMPNOR's ambiguity in regards to rules and procedures for policing its own members, Internal Affairs was able to take advantage of the situation to expand their power. Affairs agents were isolated from the rest of COMPNOR and had thus developed their own jargon and their own interpretation of the New Order.
====Interrogation====
If a subject caught by Investigations was suspected of still hiding the information the ISB wanted to know, the subject was shipped off to the Interrogation branch. The information they uncovered was sent to Investigations. The subject, however, disappeared, and no one outside Interrogation was really willing to find out just what happened to them.
The Interrogation branch utilized positional titles such as Chief Interrogator, Deputy Chief Interrogator, Assistant Chief Interrogator, Supervising Interrogator, Senior Interrogator and Interrogator.
====Re-Education====
When a member of COMPNOR was convicted of a crime by Internal Affairs, the subject was transferred to Re-Education. The subject was usually always returned to COMPNOR, although in a position of lower importance. It was reported that these individuals acted strangely when returned, their conversation disjointed, and their emotions out of phase with the situation. They were called "Graduated of Re-Education" or "Re-education" officially, but amongst other members of COMPNOR, it was said they were "Re-brained".
====Enforcement====
The Enforcement branch provided specialized muscle for the ISB. They occasionally operated for Internal Affairs, but most often they were working for Investigations. Enforcement was the only division within all of COMPNOR that hired beings who were not members of COMPNOR, which earned the suspicion of the Internal Affairs division, who were worried the use of unindoctrinated personnel was too risky.
Nevertheless, Enforcement was thus able to increase the amount of available talent, and perform operations the Select Committee would rather not be performed by COMPNOR members. In addition, Enforcement did its best to protect its operatives from unwarranted interferences from the Internal Affairs division, though a permanent tension existed between the two groups that no one could avoid.
*Enforcement Operations Office (ISB personnel)
*Field Operations Office (Non-ISB personnel)
*Special Operations Office (ISB Infiltrators)
*ISB Stormtrooper Detachment
==Rank, position and uniform==
The Imperial Security Bureau is primarily a law enforcement and domestic intelligence agency but with a paramilitary rank structure. Members of the ISB are sometimes called "Agents" or "Officers" and generally use Imperial Army ranks but those who have prior service in the Imperial Navy or Imperial Starfighter Corp can utilize their ranks. Members of the Imperial Security Bureau who join are awarded a commission typically in the Imperial Army unless a request is present for otherwise. They are commissioned at the rank of Second Lieutenant.
===Rank structure===
*Director of the Imperial Security Bureau (sometimes called the "Bureau Chief")
*Deputy Director(s) of the Imperial Security Bureau
**Deputy Director of the Imperial Security Bureau
**Commissioner of Operations of the Imperial Security Bureau (Deputy Director)
**Chief of the Imperial Security Bureau (Deputy Director)
**Central Commander of the Imperial Security Bureau (Deputy Director)
*Associate Deputy Director(s)
*Assistant Director(s)
*Deputy Assistant Director(s)
* Colonel (2) | Captain
* Lieutenant Colonel | Commander
* Major | Lieutenant Commander
* Captain | Senior Lieutenant
* Lieutenant | Junior Lieutenant
* Second Lieutenant | Ensign
===Positions===
ISB Officers assigned to oversee operations within a sector or a number of sectors were entitled as "Supervisor" and were responsible for supervising intelligence operations and assets within their given area of space. They were considered to be the top ISB officer within their assigned area of space. Members of the ISB assigned to the staff of an ISB Supervisor were known as ISB Attendant's.
ISB officers assigned to oversee planetary garrisons, forces, formations, etc. are awarded the title of "Inspector-General" and are considered to be the ranking ISB officer in charge in a specific planet, sector, formation, etc. ISB Officers sometimes use positional titles such as "Interrogator", "Investigator", etc depending on assignment.
In the ISB there is a number of special staff positions notably that of a Chief of Staff to the Director or Deputy Director(s). There is also the position of Special Counsel to the Director or Special Counsel to the Deputy Director(s).
===Uniform===
Members of the ISB assigned to active security service wear rank plaque insignia and code cylinders. Members of the ISB assigned to management at the rank of Deputy Assistant Director and Assistant Director wear the insignia of an ISB Colonel with silver epaulets. Associate Deputy Director wear a rank plaque insignia of 6 blue over 6 blue for a total of 12 with silver epaulets. The Director of the Imperial Security Bureau wears a rank plaque insignia of 6 blue over 6 blue for a total of 12 with gold epaulets. 
Members of the Imperial Security Bureau assigned to active security service or in management wear the bright white double-brested tunic, black trousers, black knee-high boots, a black kepi with Imperial officer disc in addition to other wear as necessary. Members of the Imperial Security Bureau assigned to staff duties or reserve security service wear a light grey double-brested tunic, black trousers, black knee-high boots, a black kepi with Imperial officer disc in addition to other wear as necessary.
Members of the Imperial Security Bureau assigned to the the Enforcement Branch wear similar uniforms to the Imperial Army however they are black in addition, they possess black-colored Imperial battle armor and utilized standard Imperial Army enlisted and non-commissioned officer ranks.
==Headquarters==
Located on Coruscant was a triad of buildings the ISB Headquarters, the ISB Central Office and ISB Central Command all made up a campus-style complex in the Federal District of Coruscant. It is widely considered to be one of the most heavily guarded and protected places on Coruscant save the Imperial Palace and several other locations.
Category:Galactic Empire