Alliance Intelligence was a branch of the Alliance to Restore the Republic under the direct control of the Alliance Military responsible for obtaining and analyzing military, diplomatic and economic information and reporting such information to the relevant branches of the Alliance, neutralizing Imperial agents before a planet may be allowed to join the Alliance, and recruiting agents on Imperial planets. Intelligence was particularly potent when coordinating with other branches of the Alliance Military, particularly Special Forces.
Some of the missions performed by Alliance intelligence were similar in nature to those of Alliance Special Operations. SpecOps agents, however, tended to be energetic and not necessarily best suited to operations that required patience and discipline. Indeed SpecOps missions groups were often sent to worlds to draw attention away from existing Intelligence agents who's cover was endangered. Mission Groups were sometimes attached to Alliance Intelligence's Operations department and SpecOps free agents often reported directly to the Chief of Intelligence.
Alliance Intelligence hierarchy.
The head of Alliance Intelligence was the Chief of Intelligence, who was a member of the Supreme Allied Commanders, responsible for coordinating with the other members of the Supreme Allied Commanders and the Civil Government. General Vernan served as the first Chief of Intelligence, and was replaced after his death by General Airen Cracken, who filled the post until the organization evolved into the New Republic Intelligence Service.
The Chief of Intelligence oversaw Intentions, Operations and Counter-Intelligence branches. Intentions analyzed and interpreted data to predict the Empire's actions, and contained offices of Analysis, responsible for sifting through data, Cryptology, which attempted to decipher Imperial communications codes, Interrogation, responsible for questioning captured personnel, and Equipment, responsible for designing and building equipment for undercover operations. Operations was the most dangerous branch, responsible for infiltration, blackmail, subversion, assassination and other missions that brought agents into direct contact with the enemy, and contained offices of Systems Operations, which ran cell networks in systems, Passive Operations, which used firepower, and Coordinate, which handled the Alliance's best trained and equipped operatives for important operations. Counter-Intelligence was concerned with rooting-out and destroying Imperial infiltration of Alliance forces, and contained Security, which recruited and inserted agents into the rest of the Alliance, and Retrieval, which investigated suspected Imperial agents and neutralized those who were guilty. Through the organization's many Field agents, analysts and personnel, information was channeled up to Senior Intelligence Officers, who presented the Chief with daily briefs on the most crucial topics.
Alliance Intelligence's operations in a Sector used a cell network structure, in which cells of no more than three undercover operatives, living as Imperial citizens, knew of each other as members of the network. Cells would use one-way communications to branching lower cells, with lower cells not having any knowledge of their own superiors, so that information leaks could not travel up the network. At the very top was a Sector Commander. Below them, case officers oversaw cell networks, ensuring they did not become infiltrated by the Empire, gathered intelligence and sabotaged the Empire, and reported back to the commander and Operations. Below case officers were network leaders, natives that lived on the planet of a network, responsible for day-to-day operations and making reports to the case officer. Below network leaders were area coordinators, who ran portions of a network, and carried out tactical operations.
- Blind Jump—Establishing an Intelligence network on a new planet.
- Busted Vacc Suit—Blown cover.
- Busy—Stormtrooper.
- Father—Alliance Intelligence.
- High-Altitude—Undercover.
- Inactive—A former agent who is no longer wanted or is considered to be too volatile to be of any further use.
- Jobber—Assassin.
- Lullaby—Suicide pill.
- Mother—Case officer.
- Noxious; Smelly—Imperial security.
- Orphan—The disbandment of an intelligence network leaving an agent orphaned.
- Pacify—To Kill.
- Poison—Imperial Intelligence.
- Toxic—Infiltration by Imperial Intelligence.
- 23er—A very competent agent (derived from the fact that an agent's chance of completing 20 field assignments without being killed or captured is 23%).
- Vaccinate—To remove any known Imperial agent.
- Vacuum—Deep undercover.