In the Cold War era, their existence was considered a legend within the intelligence community, who believed that they were a myth to explain disasters that had no explanation. Both Imperial Intelligence and the Republic Strategic Information Service had never found any proof of the Ghost cell's existence. The only basis for the legend was the fact that informants spoke of the organization in a recurrent manner, but none of these individuals ever survived long enough to be debriefed.
During this time, the Eagle's terrorist network was supported by the training provided by the Ghost cell. Furthermore, they gained a resource in Milosh Varta where they offered protection and assassinations for the Exchange in return for their aid. After striking at Darth Jadus, Imperial Intelligence assigned Cipher Nine with dismantling the Eagle's network and saw the Cipher Agent travel to Tatooine, where the Ghost cell had established a base of operations to support the training of its operatives.
The Ghost cell saw an opportunity to lure the Cipher Agent to their camp and replace Nine with a doppelganger to infiltrate Imperial Intelligence. To this end, their leader, only known as "the Old Man," purposely let Mia Hawkins, a recruit who became dissatisfied with the cell's methods of using civilians for target practice, escape them, knowing that she would go to Imperial Intelligence. The Ghost cell performed a dual task, sending assassins after Cipher Nine in Jundland while at the same time studying the agent's operational tactics. But when the agent finally arrived at their base, Nine killed the Old Man, effectively dismantling the Ghost cell.