Intelligence Report: Operation Shadow Box

=== Project Shadow Box

Project Inception

This project was originally conceived by a small group of Republic military officials that comprised a think tank intent on revising Republic military readiness protocols shortly after the Sacking of Coruscant. Intent on preventing such an overwhelming Imperial victory from occurring again, Republic military intelligence collected countless reports of Coruscanti citizens acting strangely in the days leading up to the attack. With most of these citizens dying in the fighting, the assumption was made that many of these citizens were Imperial spies or sleeper agents. Terrified at the prospect of anyone betraying the Republic in such a way, the military devised a program that would identify agents of the Empire early and detain them, preventing them from causing such massive damage again.

Think Tank Results

The plan that was devised by the think tank would eventually manifest itself as the earliest incarnation of Project Shadow Box. This project authorized the apprehension of any person suspect of having ties to the Sith Empire and was to be directly overseen by the Republic military. The few remaining official documents that authorize this project were all time stamped within day of the Sacking of Coruscant, and made use of Emergency Military Authorization codes that allowed the legislation to bypass a vote in the Galactic Senate.

Within days of approving the think tank’s plan, thousands of “suspicious” individuals were apprehended, pointing out a flaw in the original plan. As written, there was no space appropriated to house the apprehended individuals. This logistical oversight caused the original swell of supposed Imperial sympathizers to be properly interrogated resulting in the release of most of them. Interrogation transcripts indicate that most of these individuals were simply scared citizens unsure about what to do in the aftermath of the Empire’s attack.

The Loss of Support and Acquisition of Supplies

As the Sacking of Coruscant decreased in intensity and eventually subsided, the Republic military began to shift their efforts to re-securing previously lost areas of the planet instead of abducting their own citizens for questioning. Also during this time, the Senate returned to session and discovered what the military had been up to. A number of Senators were infuriated that Republic Generals would be so quick to make “rash decisions that threaten the sanctity of all the Republic stands for…” The apprehension project was officially canceled within days of its public discovery and three Generals (1 Army, 2 Navy) were court marshaled for abuse of military assets. Unfortunately, both the Senate and military kept the incident from the public, fearing the public back lash of such an incident. *Agent’s Note: Should things have played out differently, Imperial Intelligence may have been able to use the public riots to our advantage to turn the tide of the current war.*

At the same time as the Senate was overseeing the court marshals and re-consolidating their power over the military, a small group of soldiers hacked into the project database and removed any mention of them selves. While initially done to escape the repercussions of participating in the program, one Republic army Major seized the opportunity to continue work on the project. It was this individual and his subordinates who secured use of the first ships that would eventually become part of a vast network of prison ships and space stations scattered in remote locations throughout the galaxy. Supply chains are not maintained through proper military channels; rather the stations and ships are supplied by contacts in the black market. It is unknown where the initial ships or funding came from, but the ships were military in design.

Current Operations

Exact numbers of active participants is unknown, but evidence has been found of Shadow Box personnel working throughout Republic space. Standard operating procedure is the abduction of suspected Imperial sympathizers, their families and close friends, often done at night when the targets are unaware in their own homes. Exact locations of where targets are taken after abduction are unknown at this time, but known Stockade-class space stations, where prisoners are confirmed to be held, are being monitored at all times in pursuit of further leads.

To date, there have been no reports of prisoners escaping from Shadow Box facilities. All personnel enrolled in the program fulfill additional roles in their appropriate social structures and are not likely to be suspected of involvement by higher Republic officials. Encrypted Senate records have not mentioned this project since its supposed cancelation, minimizing the possibility it is a sanctioned Republic program and increasing the likelihood that Shadow Box personnel operate independent of the Republic government.

Threat Assessment – High

The ability for these independent forces to move throughout the galaxy un-noticed and abduct their fellow citizens does pose a significant threat to the Empire. Should the Shadow Box operation expand towards the apprehension of Imperial citizens or members of the Imperial military, the tide of the war could be turned and the Empire defeated. Recommend immediate action against members of Project Shadow Box.

Status Update: ((OOC Date: May 17, 2012))
 * Note: Should any Armsmen, or other members of House Vasta wish to assist in this matter, contact Captain Zepthys P’lantari immediately.

Operation Shadowbox has been broken up into phases by the lead investigator, Cipher Agent Zepthys P'lantari. Phase One, has since been completed and was intented to gather additional baseline knowledge and to break the major supply lines that fed the Shadowbox conspirator's prison ships and space stations. To accomplish this goal, a number of smugglers with ties to the Republic were identified and placed under constant surveilence. From this orignial list, two smugglers were identified to be likely targets that were involved with the supplying of food, munitions, medicine and other supplies to the secret prison network. Two precision strikes were organized, and meant to take place simultaneously.

On the date of the strike, one of the smugglers was approached by local authorities on Tatooine and blasted his way out of the spaceport and has not been seen since. Thankfully, the second target, a Twi'lek smuggler, remained on Nar Shaddaa. With the help of House Vasta's Ginklas, Agent P'lantari was able to successfully approach and interrogate the Twi'lek. Results of this operation included the name of one Lieutenant P'lantari of the Republic military.

It is suspected that this Lieutenant, bearing the lead investigators name is involved with the Shadowbox conspiracy at some level. The Second Phase of Operation Shadowbox is currently nearing completion, thanks to the efforts of Cipher Agent Bethany Duran, who has been able to approach the Republic Lieutenant and has convinced him to defect to the Empire. Upon arival on Voss, Lieutenant P'lantari will be interrogated prior to any arrangements for assylum are made.