The Anti-Terrorism Unit, which can also be referred to as the Anti-Terrorist Unit, or simply ATU, was a specialized division within the Coruscant Security Force. This police division was created to conduct counter-intelligence operations and to fight against terrorist actions on the planet of Coruscant. While its focus was more on defensive and investigative tasks, rather than planning attacks, the ATU's police officers received excellent training in both counter-intelligence and tactical procedures. In terms of its authority and range of operations, the ATU was among the most powerful units within the CSF. Similarly, the captain who commanded the ATU held a position of great influence among the officers of the CSF.
During the Clone Wars conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the ATU responded to a number of terrorist threats. During this time, Captain Jaller Obrim, who had previously served in the Senate Guard, was in charge of the ATU. Obrim and the ATU collaborated closely with Republic commandos to shut down a terrorist network, and their strong working relationship continued until the Clone Wars concluded. Subsequently, the ATU was incorporated into the Imperial Security Bureau, and its duties were reassigned to other departments.
Later, under the newly established Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, the CSF reestablished the ATU. Leading up to the Second Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Alliance and the Confederation, a series of attacks and riots increased tensions between the Coruscanti and their Corellian counterparts. While the ATU, under the leadership of Captain Lon Shevu, began the process of identifying potential terrorists and suspects, the GA government decided to create a secret police force known as the Galactic Alliance Guard to improve the investigation and internment of Corellians living on Coruscant. Several ATU officers, including Shevu, joined the newly formed GAG. However, as the war progressed and the GAG began to use more brutal and ethically questionable methods, the majority of the ATU officers left.
The ATU, short for Anti-Terrorism Unit, also known as the Anti-Terrorist Unit, was a specialized police counter-intelligence division within the Coruscant Security Force. Its main goal was to work hand-in-hand with the Organized Crime Unit to gather intelligence on criminal and terrorist groups, with the aim of preventing attacks on the planet of Coruscant. The ATU possessed broad authority and expansive legal powers, making it one of the most influential divisions of the CSF. As a result, the captain in command of the ATU was one of the most powerful commanding officers within the CSF. However, leading the ATU came with significant responsibilities. When a major investigation was underway, it was not uncommon for the commanding captain to spend multiple days at the Coruscant Security Force Headquarters.
As the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems intensified, the ATU's authority grew significantly. It became commonplace to conduct wiretaps and surveillance without reasonable cause, even on individuals who posed no threat, and ATU police officers gained the power to seize property without a warrant. While ATU officers were trained and experienced in tactical operations, the ATU was intentionally created as a civilian organization, lacking the structure of a paramilitary force. Although this put the ATU in a more defensive position, it prevented the division from developing a reputation as a brutal, secret police force. When some members of the Galactic Alliance government proposed militarizing the unit and giving it the official responsibilities of a secret police, these suggestions were quickly rejected.
The Anti-Terrorism Unit was established before the start of the Clone Wars. While assassinations and bombings had occurred on Coruscant previously, the Clone Wars brought a new and increased level of danger to the streets of Galactic City. The first and most devastating terrorist attack was an explosion in the Administrative Sector in 22 BBY that killed thousands of citizens. The CSF responded by setting up checkpoints and closing off areas around the explosion to begin their investigation. The scale of the death toll and the complexity of reconstructing the incident overwhelmed the CSF and its anti-terrorism investigators, who struggled to identify and catalog the remains.
Throughout the first year of the war, the Separatists launched a ruthless terrorist campaign on Coruscant, primarily targeting the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). By 21 BBY, the attacks had resulted in the deaths of approximately three thousand and forty individuals. During that year, Captain Jaller Obrim, a veteran of the Senate Guard with twenty-eight year of service, was appointed second-in-command of the CSF and placed in charge of the Anti-Terrorism Unit. A few days before the anniversary of the war's start, a transport speeder explosion killed fifteen clone troopers, and the ATU, along with the CSF Forensics Unit, began investigating the crime scene. To assist them, the ATU requested support from the GAR's Special Operations Brigade, specifically Sergeant Kal Skirata and Advanced Recon Commando Captain Ordo, as well as Jedi Knight Bardan Jusik, who specialized in explosives. Together, they worked with the CSF's Scenes of Crimes Officers to investigate the area.
Following the Depot Bravo Five attack, Director of Special Forces Arligan Zey secretly and unofficially authorized Skirata to carry out an operation to uncover the terrorists. With the help of clone commandos from Omega Squad and Delta Squad, they began tracking the terrorist cells. The CSF's Organized Crime Unit nearly launched an investigation into the commandos after they were caught in the crossfire of underworld thugs. However, Obrim intervened to divert the investigation away from the commandos, allowing them to continue their mission. Eventually, the commandos located the terrorists, and in a joint operation with the CSF's ATU and OCU, they conducted raids that dismantled the terrorist network.
During a mission to the planet Gaftikar, clone commando RC-8015, known as "Fi," suffered a severe brain injury and was taken to Coruscant's Republic Central Medcenter. Kal Skirata asked Republic Treasury Agent Besany Wennen to watch over Fi, and she discovered that the medical droids planned to euthanize Fi because they had declared him brain-dead. Wennen threatened the medical droids with her blaster, forced them out of Fi's hospital room, and locked herself and Fi inside. In the ensuing standoff, Skirata called Obrim for assistance, and Obrim responded by sending several CSF patrol officers and half of the ATU's shift. In a show of force with weapons and armor, Obrim and the CSF entered the medcenter, stormed the hallway, and escorted Wennen and Fi out of the room. When they reached the lobby, a medical droid stopped them, insisting they had no right to remove the unconscious Fi. Obrim threatened to release compromising information about the droid's boss, securing Fi's release. Under heavy CSF guard, they left the medical center with Wennen.
In the final days of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, a Separatist invasion of Coruscant left the Republic in disarray. Obrim spent several days at CSF Headquarters coordinating the response efforts after the battle. When Order 66 was issued by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, declaring all Jedi enemies of the state, the ATU, along with the rest of the CSF, received instructions that their standing order to comply with the Jedi Order had been rescinded. Furthermore, they were instructed to notify the military if they spotted any Jedi, while maintaining a safe distance. However, due to the close relationships that many CSF and ATU officers had with Skirata and the Jedi who worked with him, several CSF officers, including Obrim, helped Jedi escape the subsequent purge. Obrim assured Skirata of the ATU's loyalty when Skirata began assisting clone troopers in deserting the GAR.
Shortly after the establishment of the Galactic Empire, the ATU was absorbed into the new Imperial Security Bureau. Ironically, few members of the CSF, including the former ATU members in the ISB, had much loyalty to the new Empire. Later, Coruscant's law enforcement community underwent a thorough investigation to identify anti-Imperial elements. From his new ISB position in an old CSF building, Obrim continued to support Skirata and the underground, anti-Imperial organization, Whiplash.
Following the end of the galaxy-wide Yuuzhan Vong War in 29 ABY and the formation of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, the CSF reestablished the Anti-Terrorism Unit. In 40 ABY, increasing hostilities between the governments of Corellia and the Galactic Alliance led to a series of terrorist attacks by Corellian sympathizers and retaliatory attacks by Coruscanti, plaguing the Galactic Alliance capital. The ATU, under CSF Captain Lon Shevu, initiated response efforts from the Galactic City Strategic Center. As the riots and attacks intensified, the Galactic Alliance considered interning all Corellians and their sympathizers living on Coruscant. To begin the new security measures, Chief of State Cal Omas offered Jedi Jacen Solo command of the ATU, along with a commission as a colonel. However, Solo believed it would be better to have an agency separate from the CSF conduct the raids and internment. This would allow the CSF to maintain a relatively neutral image and focus on general policing. Agreeing, the Alliance government formed the Galactic Alliance Guard.
CSF officers from the ATU accompanied the 967 Commando unit, which was transferred to the new GAG, on the first internment raid in the Jabi Town section of Coruscant. Solo requested that Captain Shevu be transferred to the GAG, and several ATU members joined as well, all of whom were trusted and vouched for by Shevu. The tensions between the Galactic Alliance and Corellia quickly escalated into open war. The former ATU officers brought their counterintelligence expertise to the GAG, and several terrorist networks on Coruscant were quickly dismantled. As the war continued, Solo became the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Caedus and, along with Supreme Commander Cha Niathal, staged a coup, removing Cal Omas from office. The GAG's methods and tactics became more brutal and less professional. Most of the former ATU officers left the GAG in disgust, and its ranks were filled with thug-like soldiers. To undermine Caedus, Shevu remained with the GAG, though he missed his old job with the CSF and was eventually exposed and killed. By the time the war ended and the GAG was dismantled, it bore little resemblance to the ATU's model of a professional intelligence and police service that the GAG had initially tried to emulate.
Jaller Obrim was a Senate Guard who, during the Clone Wars, was transferred to and placed in command of the CSF's Anti-Terrorism Unit. While leading the ATU, he developed a close relationship with Kal Skirata and several clone commandos. Together, they successfully dismantled a terrorist network on Coruscant and arrested its members. Despite being a dedicated police officer, Obrim was willing to bend or break the rules if he believed it was the right thing to do. His high-ranking position in law enforcement allowed him to make Skirata's black ops mishaps disappear from official records. On one occasion, he used his authority to escort an injured Fi out of a hospital as a favor for Skirata. Obrim was among the few non-clones trusted with Skirata's plans to help clone soldiers desert from the Grand Army of the Republic. Although he avoided hearing specific details for plausible deniability, he helped Skirata and his clan escape when Palpatine issued a warrant for Skirata's arrest. Obrim was also acutely aware of the dangers of being a police officer on Coruscant, and he had a security system installed in his house to protect his family from the numerous enemies he had made throughout his career.
Captain Lon Shevu commanded the Anti-Terrorism Unit before the Second Galactic Civil War and oversaw the emergency response center for Galactic City until his transfer to the GAG. He was a committed police officer known for his willingness to face difficult situations head-on. He held strong beliefs about how to treat suspects and how a police force should operate. Consequently, Shevu disapproved of Jacen Solo's methods, including Solo's treatment of his young, fourteen-year-old Jedi apprentice Ben Skywalker as an adult, and Solo's brutal interrogation techniques. Eventually, this led Shevu to become a double agent, using his high-ranking position in the GAG to spy on Solo for Cha Niathal and the Jedi. He missed his job with the CSF and desired to return to it, but he was accidentally killed by the Sith apprentice Tahiri Veila, who unleashed Force lightning at him in an attempt to force Skywalker to reveal information.
The Anti-Terrorism Unit first appeared in the novel Republic Commando: Triple Zero, written by Karen Traviss and published on February 28, 2006. The ATU continued to appear throughout Traviss's Republic Commando series, including the novels Republic Commando: True Colors, published on October 30, 2007; Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel, published on September 16, 2008; and the series spin-off published on October 27, 2009: Imperial Commando: 501st. In 501st, it was revealed that the ATU had been integrated into the Imperial Security Bureau.
The ATU also played a significant role in Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines, written by Traviss and published on August 29, 2006. The ATU's leadership influenced a crucial decision in the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force series. During a discussion, the characters decided to form the Galactic Alliance Guard to avoid using civilian police as a secret police force. The formation of the Guard set the stage for many of the events that led to Jacen Solo's fall to the dark side and his takeover as the GA Chief of State.