Sun Guard The Sun Guard was a Sith cult and mercenary group , and one of the most feared military units in the galaxy , centered on the planet Thyrsus in the Thyrsus system . Formed from the rebellious Thyrsian special forces sometime after 1154 BBY , the Sun Guard fought the Echani of the Echani Command in numerous skirmishes before the Pact of Almera in 899 BBY confirmed Thyrsus ' s independence . Earning fame as a mercenary unit , the Sun Guard became rivals of the Mandalorian warriors , though the group was ultimately subverted into a cult of the Sith under the influence of the Order of the Sith Lords . Many Sun Guards served the Sith Lords directly , led by their Supreme Sun Guardian Thull Wulain , and other Sun Guards were considered for the position of prime clone in the Grand Army of the Republic . 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 few Force - sensitive individuals , the Shadow Guard . A new generation of Sun Guards arose during the Yuuzhan Vong War almost fifty years later , defending Thyrsus against the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong and seeking to restore their group ' s traditions and reputations . Though most were not Force - sensitive , the Sun Guard were adept melee fighters , equipped with a variety of weapons built into their recognizable black armor . Greatly prizing hand - to - hand combat , the Sun Guard were skilled in personal gladiatorial fighting , urban warfare , and a variety of other techniques ; they were unmatched by any opponents but the Mandalorians . The Sun Guards ' chief weapon was the pike , a two - handed bladed instrument that could be built in a number of variations for specific tasks . 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 . Initially , the Sun Guard served as a special - forces unit of the Thyrsus military , incorporated into its rank structure . In opposition to their Echani forebears , the Thyrsian s were male - dominated , with an emphasis on armor and bladed combat . A strongly religious group in its infancy , the Sun Guard drew spiritual significance from the sun . As they spread into the galaxy from Thyrsus , the unit used its near - unmatched skills in combat to its advantage , reorganizing itself into a mercenary group along the lines of the Mandalorians and forgoing religion as its primary motivation . The influence of religion returned to the forefront when the Sun Guard became a Sith cult , though this new allegiance did not prevent them from continuing their mercenary ways and demanding payment for their services . Fierce warriors , the Sun Guard were a devoted and fanatical group , with a reputation for ferocity that made even the appearance of their uniforms an object of fear . They charged high prices for their services , which included sabotage , kidnapping , rescue , warfare , and many other kinds of jobs ; the one thing Sun Guard missions had in common was that others had tried to accomplish them and failed . As a military unit , the Guard was organized into regiments , legions , and other levels of hierarchy ; they often operated in teams of four . The lowest rank , taken by initiates into the group , was Stellar Legionnaire . They served a provisional term of one year , during which time they could be expelled at any point for breaches of Sun Guard etiquette , such as cowardice or undisciplined drunkenness . Legionnaires who passed were promoted to Stellar Tribune and made responsible for a legion of the Sun Guard , consisting of twenty to forty soldiers . Officers were rarer among the Sun Guard , as only particularly heroic Tribunes could be granted admission to the officer corps ; officer ranks ranged from Twisuns Legate , who commanded two to four legions , Twisuns Praetor , Thychani Commander , Thychani Dictator , and finally Supreme Sun Guardian , which was the supreme commander of the entire Sun Guard . Promotion was obtained through military heroism , while cowardice was cause for expulsion at any rank . History . Formation and early history . The Sun Guard originated from the special forces of the planet Thyrsus , which was inhabited by the near - Human Echani species and was part of the Echani Command , a confederation of six worlds known as the Six Sisters that were ruled by a female council . While the Thyrsians shared the Echani ' s skill at reading the smallest cues of body language , their culture differed from typical Echani culture in a number of ways : Thyrsus was male - dominated , Thyrsians had dark hair and skin , they were spiritually focused on the sun instead of the moon , and they favored bladed weapons and heavy armor instead of combat . Thyrsus seceded from the Echani Command along with the planet Bengali in the Bengali Uprising of 1154 BBY , but though Bengali renewed its allegiance to the planet Eshan less than a century later , Thyrsus remained fiercely independent , and their military units took on a sigil of Thyrsus ' red suns . The planet ' s special forces became known as the Sun Guard as they evolved over the centuries , and they fought numerous battles with the Echani before the Pact of Almera confirmed Thyrsus ' s independence in 899 BBY . As centuries of peace among the Six Sisters passed , the Sun Guard become more independent , largely abandoning Thyrsus to adopt a semi - nomadic way of life as a famed mercenary unit . Many Sun Guards served as bounty hunters and gladiators , and also served in various conflicts throughout the galaxy . The Sun Guard soon became rivals of the Mandalorian warrior culture , whose expansion alarmed the Sun Guard , and members of both groups often fought 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 Sun Guard ' s rivalry with the Mandalorians lasted for centuries , reaching its peak at the Battle of Sintheti in 402 BBY : both groups were hired by rival claimants to the Horned Throne , and they dueled and fought each other for more than three years amid the planet ' s crags and catacombs . 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 . In the service of Darth Plagueis . During the last century of the Republic , the Muun Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis employed a company of silver - armored Echani Sun Guards to provide security at his residence on the moon Sojourn , replacing the Iotran Brandsmen that had previously defended the world . A contingent of Echani also provided protection for members of the Muunilinst - based company Damask Holdings , a firm that Plagueis led in his public persona , " Hego Damask . " A powerful financier , Damask brokered a deal with Foreman Wat Tambor of the Techno Union to make the planet Hypori available to the Sun Guard as a training ground . In 67 BBY , several Sun Guards accompanied Damask ' s deputy Larsh Hill and other Damask Holdings members to High Port Space Center on Muunilinst , to rendezvous with Damask — who had just arrived from an off - world trip — at the port ' s customs control section . A short time later , Damask staged a Gathering , an annual meeting of influential beings on Sojourn , and his Sun Guards oversaw the event . During the conclave , Plagueis ordered the commander of the Sun Guard contingent to strand four Gossam senior managers of the firm Subtext Mining on a remote world in the Tingel Arm , after the managers ' actions earned Plagueis ' ire . The Guards also detected a perimeter breach when the Bith Darth Venamis , a rival Sith Lord who sought to challenge Plagueis , arrived on Sojourn during the Gathering . Plagueis defeated Venamis in a duel , and ordered the Sun Guard to locate Venamis ' ship , then transport the vessel and the incapacitated Bith to Plagueis ' residence on Muunilinst . Two years later , in 65 BBY , Plagueis dispatched his Sun Guards to recover the stranded Gossams from the Tingel Arm and execute them , then leave their bodies outside Subtext Mining ' s headquarters on the world Corellia , to act as a warning to the firm . Later that year , the Human Palpatine , an associate of Damask , murdered his family aboard their starship while traveling along the Hydian Way hyperlane . In desperation , Palpatine contacted Damask for help , and the Muun dispatched some Sun Guards and the droid 11 - 4D to take control of Palpatine ' s ship and cover up the young man ' s crime . In the aftermath of the massacre , Palpatine became Plagueis ' Sith apprentice , under the name " Darth Sidious . " Around that time , the Sith engineered the rise of a Sun Guard named Thull Wulain to the position of Supreme Sun Guardian , and Wulain swore fealty to Darth Sidious upon achieving the position . The Sun Guard went on the provide security at another Gathering that Damask held on Sojourn in 52 BBY . Sometime afterward , Palpatine was captured by Santhe Security , allies of Plagueis ' rival Senator Pax Teem , and he was taken to a deserted factory in The Works region of the planet Coruscant . At Plagueis ' behest , a team of Sun Guards assaulted the facility and rescued Palpatine , then defeated the Santhe Security agents . The Guardsmen traced the source of a signal from Teem to the Panoply Orbital Facility above Coruscant , and Plagueis sent the entire team of Sun Guards , bar two , to attack the station . With the two reserve Sun Guards as his escort , Plagueis made his way to the lodge of the Order of the Canted Circle , an elite social order that Larsh Hill was to be initiated into . During Hill ' s inauguration ceremony , a detachment of Maladian assassins hired by Teem attacked the lodge , in an attempt on Damask ' s life . The two Sun Guards fell while defending their employer , but not before killing several of the Maladians , and Plagueis ultimately survived the raid . Two months after the failed assassination attempt , Plagueis summoned Palpatine to Muunilinst , and two Sun Guards escorted the Sith Lord to Plagueis ' residence in an airspeeder . Damask became increasingly reclusive after the attack , and over the following years he retreated to Sojourn , where he continued to retain a small company of Sun Guards . The Guards ' duties were limited to escorting Damask ' s few visitors and maintaining the moon ' s ground - based turbolasers , and Damask rarely communicated with the Guardsmen , only relaying orders to them through 11 - 4D . Plagueis left Palpatine , who was now a senator in the Galactic Senate , to progress on his own , and the Sun Guards informed the Human of his master ' s obsessive and erratic behavior . In 33 BBY , King Ars Veruna of Naboo staged a nuclear attack on Sojourn , in an attempt to eliminate Damask . The Sun Guards stationed on the moon perished during the bombardment , but Plagueis survived , and he considered the Guards to have deserved their fate , because they had failed to prevent the attack . The Muun contacted the Sun Guards on Thyrsus to hire some replacement Guardsmen and at least four Sun Guards protected Damask in his Coruscant penthouse , his new permanent residence . Agents of Lord Sidious . 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 his planned election to the position of Supreme Chancellor as Palpatine of Naboo . Sidious ' apprentice Darth Maul used the Sun Guard as opponents in his practice duels . Shortly after the invasion of Naboo , 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 , Quarsh Panaka , rescued the Queen and killed the Sun Guard . Soon afterward , Palpatine ' s plans came to fruition , and he was nominated as a candidate to become the new Supreme Chancellor of the Republic . Plagueis gave his Sun Guards the night off on the day of Palpatine ' s election and , in their absence , Palpatine murdered his master and became the new reigning Sith Lord . During the Sith Lords ' search for a prime clone for the Grand Army of the Republic , Sun Guards from the ranks of the Thychani Commander s and Thychani Dictators were among the candidates considered by the Kaminoans . 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 . In the early stages of the war , two Sun Guards were deployed during a Trandoshan - led attack on the Republic - held world of Kashyyyk . There , the pair confronted two Jedi Padawans next to the YT - 2400 light freighter " Star Runner " , and the Guardsmen were defeated and killed . During the conflict , rogue factions of the Sun Guard led a mercenary army in a campaign against the Mistryl Shadow Guard and carried out an orbital bombardment of the Shadow Guard ' s homeworld , Emberlene . 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 , 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 . Palpatine ' s rise to power and manipulations of the Sun Guard split Thyrsian society , with most Thyrsians supporting the Emperor and viewing the Royal Guard as the Sun Guard ' s successors . Many Thyrsians enlisted in the ranks of the Imperial Army and the Stormtrooper Corps , but some saw Palpatine ' s manipulations as detrimental to the Sun Guards and sought to restore their traditions . Thyrsus became an isolationist world after Palpatine ' s death in 4 ABY , but a new generation of Sun Guards appeared during the Yuuzhan Vong War of 25 – 29 ABY . Those Sun Guards defended Thyrsus against the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong and sought to restore their organization ' s traditions , reputation , and honor . Equipment and techniques . Members of the Sun Guard wore helmets similar to those of the Republic ' s Senate Guard , which were likely inspired by them . The visor of the Sun Guard helmet could image thermal data , as well as infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths . A macrobinocular scope in the helmet aided in surveillance and sniping . The Guard covered themselves with heavy , characteristically black armor , although other color variants such as yellow , silver , and red existed . While resistant to damage , Sun Guard armor did little to restrict movement . Sun Guards also donned belt - spats around their waists , which later inspired the kama worn by the Grand Army of the Republic . Worn by one of the most feared military organizations in history , the Sun Guard uniform was instantly recognizable and widely considered terrifying . Along with the uniform of the Mandalorian Death Watch , it 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 was one of several hunters to obtain Sun Guard armor and weapons , and he outfitted himself in a replica version of their 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 . Though Sith cultists , the Sun Guard generally lacked Force - sensitivity — although exceptions existed . They were trained in stealth and melee combat , and preferred to face their opponents at close range . The echani martial art was thought to have originated with their techniques , modified by Palpatine ' s experts to be more brutal and deadly . Sun Guard armor was designed to aid in up - close combat ; vibroblades in the gauntlet s and spikes in the boots and knee pads were common , and the forearm gauntlets and fist plates could be quickly heated to temperatures capable of burning flesh . Many Sun Guards augmented their array of offensive capabilities with flamethrowers and dart launchers under their arms . The common weapon of the Sun Guard was the pike , which they held in near - sacred reverence . Thought this weapon had many variants , most were about a meter in length , wielded two - handed , and equipped with blades on either end . These blades tended to be double - edged vibroblades , often with cortosis ore in them to resist lightsabers . Ritual pikes known as solar pike s , which the Sun Guard inherited from the Echani , could be activated by a control in the grip to heat the tips to red - hot temperatures . Force pikes had stun modules in either end to shock the wielder ' s enemies into paralysis . In their battles against the Mandalorians , the Sun Guard developed ways to use pikes as anti - air weapons , disabling or overloading the jetpacks that their opponents relied on and they held in contempt . The Sun Guard used other weapons as well ; at least one Guard armed himself with a vibro - ax . Sun Guard were almost unmatched in combat skills ; only Mandalorians could stand against them . Like the Echani , they could read body language to predict the moves of their opponents . They could match any opponent in personal combat , and those who fought in gladiatorial pits sometimes got extra credits for their skills . Sun Guards had skill in urban warfare as well , trained in tactics of sweeping buildings and eliminating enemies block by block . Some Sun Guards participated in space combat too ; for his mission to retrieve Adas ' holocron , one of the Sun Guards piloted a sleek gray ship , in which he attempted to fight off a Jedi vessel . Behind the scenes . The Sun Guard were created as a brief mention in the first edition of 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 " " . 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 " retcon ned the group into two previous works . The included a mercenary boss dressed like a black - colored Royal Guard , which " Evil Never Dies " made the first true appearance of a Sun Guard . " " , 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 sourcebook " 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 . Among his references to earlier works , Wallace called upon a line from the second draft of George Lucas ' script for " " , 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 . In 2012 , the Sun Guards featured in the novel " Darth Plagueis " , by James Luceno , which elaborated upon the Guards ' relationship with the Sith . Later that year , the Guards received a further appearance in the game " Kinect Star Wars " , in which two Sun Guards were adversaries faced by the player in the game ' s " Jedi Destiny " mode . A Sun Guard also featured as a challengable opponent in " Kinect " " Duel of the Fates " mini - game . Jason Fry , author of the 2012 reference guide " The Essential Guide to Warfare " , originally intended to include a " unit profile " on the Sun Guards in the book , as they served his purposes of jumping around the galactic timeline and mixing familiar elements with more obscure continuity . The organization had already been covered in " Galaxy at War " , so the section was ultimately cut for space . On November 4 , 2013 , the second entry of the " " blog series included the cut section discussing the Sun Guard , introducing those elements into canon .