Sun Guard

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"[Royal Guard] armor is derived from a pair of similar designs, the uniforms of the Death Watch of the Mandalore system and the Sun Guards of the Thyrsus system. That the armor resembles those of units with such ferocious reputations is no accident…"

―Arhul Hextrophon

The Sun Guard was a Sith cult and mercenary group, centered on the planet Thyrsus in the Thyrsus system. Formed by a rebel group of Echani from Thyrsus, the Sun Guard became foes of the Echani and Mandalorians in turn, before evolving into a Sith cult under the influence of the Order of the Sith Lords. Eventually brought under the command of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, the fanatical Sun Guard developed a ferocious reputation, and they grew to be objects of fear. Sidious used the Sun Guard in his plans surrounding his ascension to the seat of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, assassinating key Senators, guarding his Coruscant stronghold, and even abducting Queen Padmé Amidala after the invasion of Naboo. Sidious sent a Sun Guard to retrieve the holocron of the ancient Sith king Adas, bringing him into combat against the Jedi, but when the holocron fell into their hands Sidious executed the man for his failure. The 2nd Regiment of the Sun Guard fought in the Clone Wars, but were crushed by Republic general Solomahal. When Sidious needed the Sun Guard no longer, his apprentice Dooku ordered his own minion Asajj Ventress to eliminate them. Some of the few surviving Sun Guards went on to join Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's Red Guard, Royal Guard, and for those Force-sensitive individuals, the Shadow Guard.

Though not usually Force-sensitive, the Sun Guard were adept melee fighters, thought to have led to the creation of the echani style of combat. Sun Guard armor was black, and their helmets resembled—and likely inspired—those of the Republic's Senate Guard. Sun Guard armor proved to be an inspiration for many other armor designs in the Galactic Empire: the uniforms of the Imperial Royal Guard; the specialized stormtrooper armors designed by Doctor Nashiak Llalik; the outfit of Carnor Jax, son of a Sun Guard; and the Sun Guard replica armor of the bounty hunter Moxin Tark.

Organization and philosophy

The Sun Guard at first was a fierce special operations part of the planetary military then after corruption by the Sith, became a mercenary Sith cult based on the planet Thyrsus. Fierce warriors, they were a devoted and fanatical group, with a reputation for ferocity that made even the appearance of their uniforms an object of fear.

The Sun Guard rankings and organization was small, as the unit itself was small. When one entered the Sun Guard they were given the rank of Stellar Legionnaire. Upon reaching that rank, after 1 year of being a model soldier in the eyes of the other Sun Guards, and following the proper Sun Guard Etiquette the Stellar Legionnaire was promoted to Stellar Tribune and was given command a of Legion which contained 20 to 40 Sun Guards.

While it was rare to see a Sun Guard Officer, they did exist. The starting rank of the Sun Guards Officer Corp was Twinsuns Legate which gave the Legate command of 4 legions. After that the ranks became Twinsuns Praetor, Thychani Commander, Thychani Dictator and then finally Supreme Sun Guardian.

Advancement through the ranks was based on combat skill and heroism. The ranks of the Sun Guard were considered elite, but being considered elite still means you had to follow the Sun Guards rule, which if a Sun Guard did not, they could be expelled.

History

A member of the Sun Guard.

"You'll never get outta here alive."

―Coruscant Sun Guard to Panaka and Padmé Amidala

The Sun Guard originated on the planet Thyrsus, inhabited by the near-Human Echani species. During the Bengali Uprising, the Thyrsus Echani rebelled against the leadership of the Echani Command, who ruled over the six worlds known as the Six Sisters. Thyrsus seceded, and their military units took on a sigil of Thyrsus' red suns. The special forces of Thyrsus, in time, evolved into the Sun Guard. As centuries passed, they would become more independent, largely abandoning Thyrsus to adopt a semi-nomadic way of life. In their early days, the Sun Guard fought the Echani in a series of violent crusades; eventually, alarmed by the expansion of the Mandalorians, they set their sights on that group, often fighting them in small duels to the death rather than military engagements. The Sun Guard developed new tactics to counter the Mandalorians' reliance on jetpacks in air combat, which the Sun Guards held in contempt. The Mandalorians and Sun Guard engaged in combat for centuries, notably at the Battle of Sintheti where the two were hired by opposing sides; nonetheless, neither group gained an advantage in their feud.

The Sun Guard began with a strong focus on religion, and though they eventually turned to a mercenary outlook upon realizing that warfare led only to poverty, religion retained its influence on them. Over a century before the time of the Galactic Empire, the culture of Thyrsus developed a fixation on matters of the Force, especially a prophecy of a galactic savior known as "the son of suns". The Order of the Sith Lords, in hiding during this time, played up the Thyrsian belief that they were the ones spoken of in the prophecy, encouraging the spread of Sith interpretations of Jedi belief. The Sun Guards were transformed into a Sith cult. A member of the Order, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, used his influence as a Sith to consolidate the Sun Guard in the Thyrsus system under his command sometime before 32 BBY. Sidious assigned a number of them to guard his stronghold on Coruscant, where they would eliminate any underdweller who approached too closely. The Sun Guard proved essential in Sidious' plans regarding the Battle of Naboo, as he used them to assassinate reluctant businessmen, as well as several pivotal Senators before the election of a new Supreme Chancellor—an election that would place Sidious' alter ego Palpatine in the Chancellor's seat. Sidious' apprentice Darth Maul used the Sun Guard as opponents in his practice duels. Shortly after the invasion of Naboo, in 32 BBY, a group of mercenaries led by a Sun Guard kidnapped Queen Padmé Amidala on Coruscant and imprisoned her in the Restricted Area of the Coruscant Underworld. The captain of her guard, Panaka, rescued the Queen and killed the Sun Guard.

During the Sith Lords' search for a prime clone for the Grand Army of the Republic, Sun Guards from the rank of Thychani Commander on up were among the candidates. In 29 BBY, the holocron of the ancient Sith king Adas was recovered by the student Norval, and Sidious dispatched a Sun Guard to retrieve it. The Guard intercepted Norval's vessel over the world of Ploo II. Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived in pursuit; the Guard opened fire on them and, when Kenobi left for Norval's vessel, turned his weapons on that ship. Though Norval was confident the Sun Guard would save him, the Jedi retrieved the holocron, and the Guard destroyed Norval when it became apparent he no longer had the prize, in a failed attempt to prevent the Jedi from escaping with it. Sidious later executed the man for his failure.

The Sun Guard fought in the Clone Wars, where their 2nd Regiment was crushed by Republic General Solomahal. Near the end of the war, when Sidious' plans for the Sun Guard were at last fulfilled, his apprentice Count Dooku ordered his own minion Asajj Ventress to execute most of the organization. Several of the more devoted Sun Guards, however, were placed in Palpatine's Red Guard, later to join his Royal Guard. Those who were Force-sensitive were selected as candidates for the Emperor's Shadow Guard, while others like Kenix Jir became cloning templates.

Equipment and techniques

Bounty hunter Moxin Tark wearing Sun Guard replica armor.

Though Sith cultists, the Sun Guard generally lacked Force-sensitivity—although exceptions existed. They were, however, trained in stealth and melee combat. The echani style of fighting was thought to have originated with their techniques, modified by Palpatine's experts to be more brutal and deadly. At least one Sun Guard armed himself with a vibro-ax.

Members of the Sun Guard wore helmets similar to those of the Republic's Senate Guard—which were likely inspired by them—but instead of the ceremonial robes worn by that group, they instead covered themselves with black or yellow armor. These uniforms also bore a resemblance to those of the Mandalorian Death Watch. Sun Guards donned belt-spats around their waists, which later inspired the kama worn by the Grand Army of the Republic. For his mission to retrieve Adas' holocron, one of the Sun Guards was outfitted with a sleek gray vessel.

The uniform of the Sun Guard, along with that of the Death Watch, was the inspiration for the Galactic Empire in designing the armor of its feared Imperial Royal Guard. Before his death, the Sun Guard who failed to retrieve Adas's holocron fathered a Royal Guard of his own, Carnor Jax; when Jax took up a leadership role in the Empire, he donned a black guardsman's uniform inspired by the coloration of his father's Sun Guard armor. The bounty hunter Moxin Tark also wore a replica version of Sun Guard armor. Doctor Nashiak Llalik, an Imperial armor designer, found inspiration in the armor of the Sun Guard, spurring him when he grew up to design the suits of armor used by many of the Empire's specialized stormtrooper units. Luskin Exovar, a onetime scout, owned a pair of scarred Sun Guard battle helmets, part of his private collection amassed during his travels.

Behind the scenes

Template:Quoteurl The Sun Guard were created as a brief mention in the Imperial Sourcebook by Greg Gorden. There it was stated that they provided the inspiration for the design of Imperial Royal Guard armor, a fact that would later be used in illustrating Moxin Tark—and his Sun Guard lookalike armor—for Wanted by Cracken. Most of the Sun Guard's appearances in the canon were these sorts of brief mentions, until Abel G. Peña greatly expanded on their history in Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties. In addition to tying the Sun Guard into various existing aspects of the Expanded Universe—including Carnor Jax of the Crimson Empire comic series—Evil Never Dies retconned the group into two previous works. The Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game included a mercenary boss dressed like a black-colored Royal Guard, which Evil Never Dies made the first true appearance of a Sun Guard. Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: The Followers, meanwhile, included a scene where a mysterious servant of the Sith kills the antagonist Norval; this was revealed in Evil Never Dies to be a Sun Guard as well.

Working alongside Peña, Daniel Wallace significantly expanded further on the Sun Guard in the 2009 roleplaying game Galaxy at War. Having just written the entry on Mandalorian Protectors, and seeing a connection with the Sun Guards' focus on armor, Wallace decided to make the Sun Guards and Mandalorians enemies. He also built upon the Echani connection mentioned in earlier sources, creating a "male-dominant, hot, and angry" group to contrast with the Echani's "female-dominant, cold, and controlled" nature. For the ranks of the Sun Guard, Wallace used names reminiscent of the Roman Empire. Among his references to earlier works, Wallace called upon a line from the second draft of George Lucas' script for Star Wars, which told a prophecy of a savior known as "the son of the suns". Though a previous reference to the cut line in another work of Wallace's had been removed by Lucasfilm Ltd., the one in Galaxy at War passed editing, much to his surprise.

Appearances

• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game (First appearance) (Retcon)
• Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: The Followers (Retcon)

Sources

• Imperial Sourcebook (First mentioned)
• Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi
• Wanted by Cracken
• The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook
• Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters
• Alliance Intelligence Reports
• Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook
• The Essential Guide to Characters
• Wretched Hives of Scum and Villainy
• Episode I: The Phantom Menace: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Retcon)
• Hero's Guide
• "Rough and Tundra" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic" — Star Wars Insider 84
• Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties
• Scum and Villainy
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Jedi Academy Training Manual (Picture only)
• Galaxy at War