Minister of Intelligence (Galactic War)

The individual known by the code name "Keeper" functioned as the supreme intelligence operative within the Sith Empire as the Cold War drew to a close. As the supervisor of the Operations Division within Imperial Intelligence, the Keeper had final say on every intrusion into enemy territory, and every execution of those deemed enemies of the Empire. He bore the weight of responsibility for his agents' actions. Failure in the eyes of the Minister of Intelligence or the Sith members of the Dark Council could have resulted in his swift removal. Having served in his position for nearly a decade, the Keeper was under suspicion of having overseen Projects "Operation Morning Crest" and "Operation Starbender."

The Republic's counterintelligence operatives believed that he had once been stationed within the Imperial Navy, but that he had shed any sense of military idealism.

In the year 3643 BBY, the Keeper deployed a highly skilled agent to Nal Hutta with the objective of infiltrating the organization of Suudaa Nem'ro under the assumed identity of the notorious pirate, the Red Blade, and to persuade the Hutt to pledge allegiance to the Empire. The Keeper suspected that Karrels Javis, Nem'ro's second-in-command, might be sympathetic to their cause. However, he later discovered that Javis' sons had made the mistake of crossing a Sith, resulting in one son's death and the other's crippling. Consequently, he instructed his agent to assassinate Javis and to frame Nem'ro's rival, Voontara Fa'athra, for the deed. Following this, the Keeper also enlisted the services of Kaliyo Djannis, one of Nem'ro's hired hands and a known anarchist.

After successfully securing Nem'ro's allegiance, the Keeper summoned the agent and Kaliyo back to Dromund Kaas to address a growing terrorist threat. However, the Keeper had to contend with Darth Jadus, a member of the Dark Council, who recognized the agent's exceptional abilities. Subsequently, the Keeper transferred his role as the agent's liaison to Watcher Two, as the agent embarked on missions to neutralize the terrorists. Although the agent managed to foil their plot to cause a blackout in Kaas City, the terrorists succeeded in destroying Jadus' flagship, the Dominator. Following this, the Keeper promoted the agent to the rank of Cipher Nine, tasking them with tracking down the remaining terrorist cells.

Following the demise of Darth Jadus, the Keeper received a promotion to the position of Minister of Intelligence, leading to Watcher Two succeeding him as Keeper. His wife commented that the new role was a good fit for him. However, his authority was limited, as he found it difficult to act without interference from a Dark Lord. One of the most challenging aspects of his career was ordering Cipher Nine's brainwashing program to avoid having to execute the agent for opposing Jadus. Cipher later overcame the brainwashing with assistance from Watcher X.

After Cipher Nine successfully infiltrated and eliminated Ardun Kothe's SIS strike team, the Minister convened with Nine on Dromund Kaas. Following his astromech Remote's scan of his former office for surveillance devices, he instructed the droid to generate white noise to ensure a private conversation with his agent. He revealed his awareness of Nine's unauthorized access to Intelligence's archives, their discovery of the brainwashing, and their subsequent breaking free from its control, though he assured them that he had no intention of disclosing this information. He also provided an explanation for the activation of the brainwashing program.

The Minister then shifted the focus of the conversation, noting that the SIS should not have possessed Nine's brainwashing code. He further explained that Kothe's shuttle had been discovered adrift in space, with all information pertaining to the Shadow Arsenal erased. Moreover, there was no record of an SIS agent codenamed Hunter, the sole surviving member of Kothe's team, who had manipulated an Imperial bombing squadron into destroying the Shadow Arsenal. He suspected that Hunter was pursuing his own agenda, utilizing both Republic and Imperial resources. He dispatched Nine to the Republic mining colony of Isen IV, where an individual matching Hunter's description had been sighted, its governor peacefully surrendering to the Empire due to the colony's weak defenses.

Upon the agent's return to Dromund Kaas, the Minister was observing a holo-broadcast from Supreme Chancellor Dorian Janarus, who declared that the Empire had violated the Treaty of Coruscant, thereby officially reigniting the war between the Republic and the Empire. Nine reported that Hunter had employed a device based on an unknown technology, which turned the colony's own technology against its inhabitants, in an attempt to frame the Empire for a massacre, before fleeing. The Minister then disclosed that the Fixers had identified the device as utilizing the same technology employed in Operation Starbender. Keeper was then summoned to explain that she had reviewed other unresolved cases, including Operation Morning Crest, which contained an audio recording of Hunter and his unidentified superior, detailing the ghost agent's infiltration of the SIS. She concluded that this must be an unknown group unaffiliated with either galactic power and had existed since before the Empire had revealed itself to the Republic. The Minister recognized that they couldn't afford to focus on a conspiracy while engaged in war with the Republic, but he had little choice but to assign Nine the task of uncovering the conspiracy, promising to keep the operation a secret for as long as possible.

Nine's investigations eventually identified the mysterious third party as the Star Cabal. In response to their attempts to expose the conspiracy, the Star Cabal initially incapacitated Intelligence's genetically enhanced Watchers and subsequently dissolved the Operations branch, with its agents being drafted into the armies of various Sith Lords. Despite failing to prevent his organization's dissolution, the Minister managed to arrange for Nine to be transferred to Lord Razer's unit on Corellia, where the Star Cabal was orchestrating their grand scheme.

The Minister was placed under house arrest in Kaas City but covertly escaped by enlisting the help of a few Moffs who were indebted to him. In secret, he assembled loyal former Intelligence officers to strike at the Star Cabal. With Keeper's assistance, Nine was able to feed misinformation to the Star Cabal, disrupting their plan and enabling Intelligence to trace their transmissions to a space station in the Null Zone. Nine was then summoned to Intelligence flagship Tenebrous, where the Minister instructed the agent to eliminate any conspirators on the station and to retrieve their secrets so that they could scour the galaxy for any remaining members.

Although Cipher Nine succeeded in eliminating the inner circle of conspirators and acquiring the Black Codex, the Minister stated that Intelligence would not be rebuilt, as the Sith and the military had always coveted their resources, and now that they possessed them, things would change. As for his own fate, if the Dark Council showed leniency, he might have the chance to retire; otherwise, he would be executed. Fortunately, the Sith suspected that he intended to release confidential documents upon his death, so he was granted a stay of execution and forced into retirement.

Later in the war, the Minister secretly emerged from retirement and contacted Cipher Nine on Rishi, requesting a private meeting and piquing the agent's interest by mentioning "the Red Blade", Nine's former cover identity from the Hutta mission. As an added precaution, the Minister activated an Umbaran jamming field. Upon meeting, the Minister asked his former agent for a personal favor, revealing that Shara Jenn, formerly Watcher Two and Keeper, had been captured by the Republic in the aftermath of Darth Malgus's uprising. He had already arranged for Shara to be carbonite-frozen and her prison transport attacked by raiders and brought to Rishi. The Minister planned to meet with the raiders to negotiate her release while Nine sliced their databanks to give him leverage in the negotiations.

However, the Minister had secretly misled Nine and instead of bringing Shara to his safehouse, he had to sent to a private medical facility, claiming he was unsure whether Nine would approve. He made arrangements for medics and doctors to repair the damage done to her brain and undo her loyalty programming. In addition he advised her not to rejoin the Empire and to make a new life for herself away from the conflict. He allowed Nine a moment to say their goodbyes to Shara via holo.

Afterwards, the Minister informed Nine that Intelligence is rumored to be rebuilt and the agent would have a hand in its reformation. To file the new Intelligence's ranks, he gave files on military deserters, terrorist sympathizers and Malgus' alien insurgents, whom he considered "untraditional" recruits though he acknowledged their desire to reform the Empire. He then parted ways with Nine.

The "Keeper" demonstrated effective leadership within Imperial Intelligence. He was known for his ruthlessness in eliminating agents he deemed weak or ineffective. He maintained his position by understanding when to follow orders and when to exercise initiative. Nevertheless, he disliked unnecessary cruelty and showed concern for the well-being of his agents.

The Keeper never had patience for "missions of mercy." He disliked seeing his agents taking "unnecessary risks in order to avoid violence." However, this is mostly due to concern about the psychological well-being of agents and wishing to avoid having them traumatized by their work.

Keeper despised the Star Cabal for their zealotry but admired them for staying invisible, operating independent of galactic powers.

Keeper believed that many of his questionable actions would make the Empire a better place. But when war reignited, he acknowledged that he had failed.

Keeper/Minister of Intelligence is a character in the 2011 Star Wars: The Old Republic video game, voiced by Francis Guinan.

On the Keeper's biography page on the official website, there are several phrases in Aurebesh. When translated, they read "Watcher, Minder, Fixer, Cipher", "SIS note: higher ambitions?", and "strained Sith relations".

The Minister's dialogue at the end of Chapter III of the Imperial Agent's story will differ depending on what the player does with the Black Codex:

• If Cipher Nine gives the Black Codex to the Minister, he offers his agent the chance to erase all record of their identity, a ghost agent who still serves the Empire. The player can choose whether or not accept his offer.
• If Cipher Nine gives the Black Codex to Ardun Kothe , the Minister would condemn the decision, stating that the Empire would perceive Nine as a renegade.
• If Cipher Nine gives the Black Codex to the Dark Council, the Minister condemns the decision, for he is unsure that the Sith would use the information wisely. He also mentions to Nine that there may be a place for them in the new Sith Intelligence.