Second Chance

Second Chance was a top secret unit within Royal Intelligence in the Golden Empire. Second Chance recruited convicted or accused criminals with valuable skills to perform black operations for the Royal government in return for expungement of criminal records. Its existence was a closely guarded secret known only to the upper echelons of the Royal government, and it was often tasked with unusual operations even other Royal Intelligence agents or the Order of Keltrayu was not suited to handle.

History
Second Chance was first organized in the decades between the Great Liberation and the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy. Its earliest members were former agents of the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob and various organized crime syndicates broken up by the Order of Keltrayu or the Royal Navy. Though she maintained a relatively hands-off attitude toward the unit, Queen Rin Sakaros did authorize its expungement of criminal records, effectively legitimizing the tactic with classified Royal pardons.

As the Empire expanded, Second Chance recruited mostly criminals who had demonstrated some measure of remorse while still possessing rare and exceptional skills which would make them valuable operators. A handful of recruits also possessed some measure of sensitivity.

Organization and operations
Well hidden in the already-secretive Royal Intelligence, Second Chance was known only to those who needed to know about it, including the Sovereign, Royal Executors, the Prime Legate, the Director of Royal Intelligence, and the Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu. The unit's commander reported directly to the Director of Royal Intelligence, and was usually allowed a very free hand in recruiting operators for the team. Occasionally, either the Director or the unit commander liaised with the Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu to arrange the recruitment of Force-sensitive members.

Second Chance operators had microtransmitters surgically implanted in their bodies to allow them to be tracked more easily. If they attempted to abscond from the organization, they would be assassinated. On the other hand, those who worked off their debts were released into Royal society with generous pensions and a stern warning to keep quiet. Most who survived their time in the organization, however, felt great pride in their work.

Like many Intelligence operators, Second Chance agents had high-level access to many facilities and resources in the Empire. The Director of Royal Intelligence had to approve deletion of criminal records, but Second Chance could sequester them from general access. It routinely forged identities for its agents and provided corresponding identification documents. Second Chance had its own ships, though it could commandeer those of other Intelligence divisions or the Royal Navy if needed.