Nightwatch

From The Great Machine

The Nightwatch was a paramilitary organization under the auspices of the Earth Alliance Ministry of Peace. Its members were volunteers who were paid 50 credits per week above their usual salary.

The organization was originally created to keep an eye on the activities of civilians, specifically looking for acts of sedition and disloyalty to President Morgan Clark. In its early recruiting, Nightwatch offered extra pay to anyone who reported acts of disloyalty to Earth. Recruiters like Pierce Macabee made an effort to present Nightwatch as a group designed to protect Earth against threats from within, and were therefore extremely interested in gaining the loyalty of key personnel in all areas of Earthforce.

Like the Gestapo of Nazi Germany, and the Soviet KGB of the Cold War era, the Nightwatch jumped on anything perceived "seditious," from employees grumbling or being late to work, to the sale of "controversial" tabloid magazines. The Nightwatch didn't appear to challenge or suppress religion.

Later, as the Ministry of Peace grew in power, The Nightwatch began interfering with the military, including attempts to arrest senior military leaders and usurping installation security.

On Babylon 5, Sheridan thwarted an attempted uprising and take-over by the Nightwatch with the aid of loyal security forces and the local Narn warrior population.

See Also: Zack Allan, Pierce Macabee, In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum