Coruscant Guard/Legends

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The Coruscant Guard, later also known as the Imperial Guard or the Elite Stormtroopers, was formed under the Galactic Republic in 22 BBY as an elite, specialized division of the Grand Army of the Republic stationed on the capital planet of Coruscant. Composed of clone shock troopers, so named because of their focus on lightning fast responses, the Coruscant Guards were considered among the best and most loyal of the clone troopers in service during the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

The Coruscant Guard's primary responsibility was to protect Coruscant and the Galactic Senate. Mostly, the Coruscant Guard was found protecting vital infrastructure and government buildings as well as serving as guards at the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. Through the Diplomatic Escort Group, they provided details for senators and other important Republic dignitaries traveling off planet. The Guard also served as peacekeepers, assisting Coruscant's civilian police, the Coruscant Security Force (CSF). They coordinated their activities with them through the Homeworld Security Command and deployed riot clone troopers to assist the CSF in patrolling the streets of Galactic City. The Guards were given broad authority of arrest and detention through Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's emergency powers which was viewed with disquiet and concern by some.

With the Declaration of a New Order in 19 BBY, the Republic became the Galactic Empire and Palpatine declared himself Emperor. After Master Yoda's duel with Palpatine, the Coruscant Guards, now under the command of ARC trained and promoted Commander CC-4477, nicknamed "Thire," searched for Yoda and also escorted Palpatine to the planet Mustafar to retrieve the severely injured Darth Vader. Though in far less numbers than their civilian counterparts in the CSF, the Coruscant Guards were made the primary police force for Coruscant, sharing responsibility for the capital's security with the Emperor's Royal Guard and placing the CSF in a much diminished support capacity. The Guard continued with mostly protecting important government buildings and infrastructure though they could take over any cases they so chose, especially if requested to assist the Imperial Security Bureau.

During the war, the Coruscant Guards had been the first to be nicknamed "Stormtroopers" by the Coruscant population, a term that was swiftly applied to all of the clone forces now reorganized into the Stormtrooper Corps. As the clones aged, members of the Guard were recruited from inside the Stormtrooper Corps. The Guard remained a separate organization from the Stormtrooper Command structure as well as from the stormtroopers assigned to the CSF. They also received distinct crimson-colored armor that was light, yet heavily padded, and made them into a easily recognized presence. The Guards became ruthless symbols of Palpatine's power, not only on Coruscant, but a few other select Core Worlds as well. With the capture of Coruscant by the New Republic in 6 ABY, the Coruscant Guards and all other stormtrooper units on Coruscant were disbanded.

Overview

Organization

Though composed of specially trained stormtroopers, the Coruscant Guard remained separate from the overall command structure of the Stormtrooper Corps. They were given primacy on all investigations and police activity on Coruscant, though they were few in number.[4]

Armor

Main article: Coruscant Guard armor
A Coruscant Guard in Imperial era armor

During the Imperial era, the Coruscant Guard was issued distinctive armor. Unique to only members of the Guard and in keeping with the established precedent, the armor was colored completely in crimson. Underneath, Guards wore a black body glove suit. In contrast to the plastoid Stormtrooper armor worn by other units, it was designed for urban policing. Heavily padded, yet light and versatile, the armor protected Guards from physical attacks and the majority of weapons they were expected to encounter. The helmets worn by the Guards were lined with advanced sensors, which allowed them to work in complete darkness. They also contained a comlink scrambler for communication with fellow personnel. Unit commanders' helmets were also equipped with a voice activated heads-up display with tracking beacon software that let them know the whereabouts of their subordinates at all times.[4]

Equipment

Guards carried blaster pistol side arms and blaster rifles, they were well known to utilize Merr-Sonn taser staves on patrol. The taser stave had variable power settings and was capable of delivering a lethal or incapacitating charge when it struck its target.[4]

History

The Empire

Imperial era Coruscant Guards

New Guards recruited from the stormtroopers received special training in marksmanship, riot suppression techniques, criminal investigations, threat assessment, as well as in small group tactics. They were also given psychological conditioning in order to instill complete loyalty to the Emperor. Despite being called Elite Stormtroopers and being composed of stormtroopers, the Coruscant Guard remained separate from Stormtrooper Command. While they were capable of acting as military troops, their primary responsibility was that of law enforcement.[4]

The authority of the Guard was greatly expanded under the Empire as a never ending martial law was declared. Coruscant Guards were able to enter any building without a warrant to conduct searches and detain or arrest any person they believed were criminals. The Guard also were charged with rooting out more than just criminal activity. They could detain suspected sympathizers of the Rebel Alliance or other subversive groups with or without hard evidence. The Imperial Security Bureau, when conducting their own investigations into criminal or Rebel activity, agents would call upon the Guard to assist them. With all these changes the Coruscant Guard became more than just a police and guard force, but also a political tool of the Empire.[4]

Shortly before the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, and Dash Rendar traveled to Coruscant to rescue Princess Leia Organa. In order to rescue her, they went though the sewers underneath Prince Xizor's palace. There they faced several Coruscant Guards on patrol. They were able to defeat them and escape with Princess Organa.[5]

Legacy

"Their faces are covered, and since they are so well regarded, nobody is apt to bother them."
―Lando Calrissian discussing the Coruscant Guard[5]

In 6 ABY,[3] the New Republic captured Coruscant from the Empire though much of the Imperial bureaucracy was left in place to continue running the government. However, stormtroopers had been for decades the image of oppression especially in those communities on Coruscant where non-Humans resided.[2] The Coruscant Guard in particular had developed a reputation for ruthlessness and efficiency and few dared to approach them.[5] As such all stormtrooper forces were disbanded on Coruscant. The gap in law enforcement was filled by various local militias until the Coruscant Security Force had rebuilt itself to a sizable strength.[2]

Behind the scenes

The Coruscant Guard was developed for the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire multimedia project which was released in 1996. The novel Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry refers to the Coruscant Guard as "Elite Stormtroopers" though other material named them as the "Coruscant Guard". Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, released on May 19, 2005 presented the clone shock troopers for the first time on screen and the online StarWars.com Databank entries for Commander Thire and the Coruscant Guard wrote the shock troopers as the Guard's predecessors during the Republic era. The 2008 released The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia included an entry for the Coruscant Guard and stated the name was used for the shock troopers as well as the Imperial era Guards.

The 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and subsequent Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series showed the Coruscant Guard as existing since the beginning of the war and with their Phase I clone trooper armor as having red markings. This contradicted Labyrinth of Evil, written by James Luceno and published on January 25, 2005, which had the Coruscant Guards established late in the war. The Clone Wars TV series also presented several characters from the Coruscant Guards including establishing Fox as the leader of the Guard versus Thire who was made a lieutenant. That Thire was made the commander in charge was not contradicted though it was also not explained how he replaced Fox or if that was still considered official canon. Another contradiction appeared in the novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader published on November 22, 2005 and also written by James Luceno had the Coruscant Guard appear as the red emblazoned shock troops escorting Vader. The novel also identifies them as belonging to Commander Appo who is from the 501st Legion. It has not been clarified if the shock troopers were meant to actually appear and were simply under Appo's command or if it was intended that the troopers be the blue emblazoned troopers of the 501st.

A Star Wars: The Clone Wars Clone Trooper voice changer helmet, was made, patterned after the Phase I Coruscant Guard Clone Trooper helmet, and sold exclusively by Target. It came with an exclusive helmet mounted floodlight.

Appearances

Explore all of Wookieepedia's images for this article subject.
Drawing of an Imperial era Coruscant Guard

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 147, 148 ("Coruscant Guard")
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 X-Wing: The Krytos Trap
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The departure of the Lusankya, which The Essential Guide to Warfare states occurs in 7 ABY, happens between 7-8 weeks after the Liberation of Coruscant. Per The Essential Atlas, the Liberation occurs on 42:2:17, so the Lusankya's departure is approximately 42:4:17. Per Warfare's placement of the Battle of Selaggis in 7 ABY, the Atlas's placement of Selaggis on 43:2:28, and the Atlas's placement of the Battle of Yavin in 35:3, a three-month gap between the Great ReSynchronization and Galactic Standard Calendar can be confirmed. Thus, the Liberation, which occurs on 42:2:17, occurs before the year 7 ABY begins, and must fall in 6 ABY. The same can be said for the remainder of the Coruscant campaign that occurs prior to the Liberation.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Shadows of the Empire (novel)
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