The Advanced Science Division was part of the Imperial Science Bureau under the scientific minister of the Galactic Empire. The division was led by a Chief Scientist and maintained top secret research facilities in various planets. Projects and operations within the Advanced Science Division were overseen by other chief scientists and a Head Medical Officer. Clone Commander Scorch, a commando, oversaw the division's military forces.
Project Necromancer was the most critical area of the Division's research
Central to the Advanced Science Division's efforts was the conduction of advanced biological research. This included the production of exotic substances to be used as new fuel sources for Imperial machines, the creation of bioweapons, and the introduction of Force-inhibiting factors such as the rare spice karrak.
Another area of major research which was kept secret even among Science Corps staff was the development of the Imperial cloning program under the command of Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine himself. This included the creation of Zillo Beast clones that were grown from larvae to full-size adults in a matter of days using proprietary Kaminoan technology as well as Nala Se's personal research and Hutt clone troopers used as guards for Tarkin Initiative facilities. The program's ultimate goal was to produce a Force-sensitive clone of Palpatine as a successor and fail-safe in case he was killed, and was developed under Project Necromancer in the Tantiss vault.
A brainwashed clone assassin of Hemlock's deep cover program
The Advanced Science Division experimented on a number of clone troopers decommissioned from the Grand Army of the Republic and imprisoned in its facilities after the end of the Clone Wars. Some of these clones were clone commandos within the Imperial royal guard that were tasked with protecting key personnel and areas of the division such as the Tantiss Vault, while clone commandos were also attached to the division.
A few clones were trained and brainwashed under a deep undercover program, which turned them into a unit of Clone X troopers, who performed assassinations and other covert operations. Security for Tantiss Base was provided by two army divisions.
The Advanced Science Division was formed shortly after the formation of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. During this time, the position of Chief Scientist was held by Royce Hemlock, and the Division was headquartered in an Imperial medical laboratory on Setron. There, Hemlock began experimenting on clone troopers assigned to the facility, including clone cadets, by collecting blood samples for them in search of an individual with a sufficiently high midi-chlorian count to be used as a test subject. In addition to Hemlock's research scientists of the facility also created slither vines, an experimental bioweapon which broke its containment and overran the facility, forcing the staff to evacuate and perform a Base Delta Zero orbital bombardment to destroy it.
Nala Se performed experiments on the clones of Tantiss Base
Soon after the disaster on Setron, the Division moved its headquarters to Tantiss Base on the planet Wayland. Following the Empire's attack on Kamino which destroyed the Kaminoan facilities, essential personnel including Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se were moved to Tantiss by Imperial royal guards and forced to work on developing the cloning program under Hemlock. Nala Se's personal advancements were essential in the development of the Zillo Beast clones, and by 18 BBY she was further tasked with performing blood tests on clones held in the base to continue the Empire's search for midi-chlorian-rich blood donors.
While Nala Se and fellow scientist Emerie Karr searched for an m-count among the clones, Hemlock assigned select bounty hunters with capturing Force-sensitive subjects from around the galaxy. These were delivered to Tantiss base and kept in stasis inside the Vault to be preserved for Hemlock's experiments. Other research performed by the Division at this time included the development of exotic fuels and brainwashing clones for the clone assassin program.
Imperial royal guards trapping Clone Force 99 after Ciddarin's tip
Despite receiving both encouragement and threats from Hemlock, Nala Se had many misgivings for her work under the Division and frequently refused to cooperate, stalling the projects' progress. Hemlock consulted the Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su for a way to force her to work, learning about the scientist's close connection with a genetically defective clone named Omega, who used to be Se's research assistant in Kamino. Omega was freed by the Clone Force 99 soon after the Proclamation of the New Order when they went rogue, and their whereabouts were unknown. Hemlock tasked ex Force 99 sniper Crosshair with tracking the group down, but when he eventually located them on Kamino he allowed them to walk away. Hemlock placed Crosshair back to the clone test subject pool and began looking for possible witnesses around the galaxy, eventually coming in contact with information broker Ciddarin Scaleback who was hosting the Force in her parlor on Ord Mantell City. Clone Commander Scorch traveled to Ord Mantell with a clone commando detachment and captured Omega alive, bringing her to Tantiss and successfully using her as leverage to force Se to continue her experiments.
In 18 BBY, when Emperor Palpatine visited Tantiss to tour the facility and monitor the Division's progress, Emerie Karr accidentally discovered that despite seemingly cooperating, Nala Se had been disposing of Omega's blood samples instead of testing them. Karr's test yielded a positive result for a high midi-chlorian count, but when attempting to locate the clone Hemlock realized that she was in the process of escaping alongside Crosshair. Hemlock ordered the V-wings pursuing them to stand down, as Omega had become too valuable to kill, and notified Imperial forces around the galaxy to hunt her down. Hemlock and Scorch personally oversaw the attempts to locate her, including on the planets Lau and Teth, but were repeatedly unsuccessful.