Sardaukar

The **Sardaukar** were the elite military force of the Padishah Emperor who served prominently during the Corrino Empire. They were renowned and feared throughout the Known Universe for their fanatic zeal, superior fighting abilities, and sheer ruthlessness.

## History

### Origins

#### Tribes of Wallach VIII

> *Main articles:* Sardau and Kar
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In the days of the Old Empire, two major tribes dominated the wastelands of Wallach VIII: the Kar, a hierachy of exceptionally good warriors who followed the Kar Warlord, to who they were fanatically loyal, and the Sardau, who were considered even better fighters than the Kar but less organised and more ruthless warriors. However, the two were historic enemies who almost never did deals with each other.

#### Sardau-Kar unification

The unification of the Sardau and Kar did come, however. It dated back to the Battle of Harmonthep at the end of the Last Old Imperial War, in which warriors of both tribes travelled to Harmonthep to join the fight for the Empire and Sardau warrior Giese sacrificed his life to save Kar Warlord Gelevril Atanar. This growing bond was strengtened by the arrival of the Titans in the Wallach system two centuries later, which required the two tribes to ally in order to survive their onslaught.

By the year 1283 BG, the emnity of the Sardau and Kar was a thing of the past and they regularly did deals with each other. In 695 BG, Kar Warlord Gengos Arcturus IV married Sardau priestess Olumos, and this marked the final loosening of the boundary which seperated the two tribes. By circa 400 BG the Sardau and Kar almost always travelled and fought together in unity, almost as if they were one, although a fading visible difference was still present, one which within the next centuries would vanish completely as the efficient order and extreme loyalty of the Kar would meld with the superior Sardau fighting skills.

### Butlerian Jihad and Battle of Corrin

In the year 129 BG, when the two tribes were now one, the "Kar-Sardau" or "Sardau-Kar", the Butlerian Army landed on Wallach VIII. Finding no real sophisticated technology to destroy among the Sardau-Kar, they did see them as an asset in their holy war, the Butlerian JIhad, and so brought them to the Jihad capital of Salusa Secundus, where they trained from that point onwards while helping to end the war.

When the Jihad finished in 108 BG and the Sardaukar replaced the Butlerian Army functionally for the Jihad League, they were essentially in their modern form, now trained with the old Kar techniques to be completely loyal to their appointed Supreme Commander, who was at this time Santirix Butler. In 88 BG, in the Battle of Corrin, Santirix ordered the Sardaukar to turn against the Jihad League ships, which enabled him to win the battle and crown himself Padishah Emperor, a title which replaced that of Supreme Commander as the person to whom the Sardaukar would be entirely loyal from that point on.

### Fall of the Sardaukar

As the Sardaukar were a key element in maintaining the Imperial hegemony of House Corrino, by the time of Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, they had fallen prey to arrogance and overconfidence. The mystique of their warrior religion had been deeply undermined by cynicism.

The Sardaukar's decline was also attributed to several other major setbacks during the reign of Shaddam Corrino IV.

* First, the increase in the rank of Burseg had swelled making the Sardaukar Corp extremely top heavy with officers.
* Second, the events that occurred during the Great Spice War had created a deep undercurrent of resentment against both the Emperor and Sardaukar. The horrible atrocities that Shaddam ordered the Sardaukar, led by Bashar Zum Garon, to commit against the innocent civilian population of Zanover, coupled with the destruction of Korona, the artificial moon of planet Richese, sparked outrage across the cosmos.
* Third, the betrayal of the Sardaukar against the Emperor in favor of the renegade Tleilaxu, Hidar Fen Ajidica, during the occupation Ix. There, the Sardaukar, led by Bashar Zum Garon's own son, Cando Garon, although blinded by the synthetic spice melange, actually followed the orders of the Tleilaxu Master, rather than House Corrino. This led to the defeat of the Sardaukar on Ix by the Atriedes army and the remnants of House Vernius.

During the Fremen uprising on Arrakis the Sardaukar suffered a devastating defeat, which saw Paul Atreides elevated to Emperor of the Known Universe. Subsequently, the Sardaukar became a marginal force, continuing to act as the army and guardians for the deposed House Corrino, though deliberately avoiding direct conflict with the powerful Fremen warriors of the Atreides Empire.

After the fall of House Corrino as the ruling power, House Corrino was allowed to maintain only one imperial standard legion (approximately 40,000 men) on Salusa Secundus. They ceased to exist as a viable entity after Farad'n Corrino became the concubine of Ghanima Atreides when Leto II ascended to the Imperial Throne as God Emperor. During his rule, one of Leto II's many Duncan Idaho gholas led the remnants of the Sardaukar in an attempted revolt.

The defeat on Arrakis, the Sardaukar's later revolt against the God Emperor, and the general decline of the Sardaukar organization all finally caused the abolishment of the Sardaukar corps. They were replaced by the female Fish Speakers, who in time, by and large, had Sardaukar blood in their veins (and somewhat ironically, would later fall into decline after the Scattering).

## Appearance and Fighting Style

Sardaukar troops typically wore uniforms and helmets of grey and black with gold trimming. They wore their hair long, which was taken as a sign of arrogance by those who beheld them. They had a distinct combat style, which allowed them to be recognised easily.

When in close-quarter, hand-to-hand combat, if they found themselves surrounded they would group into trios and adopt a triangular fighting stance with their backs to each other. They would carry weapons on their person that would be ingeniously concealed, such as shigawire in their hair or a fake toe or two inserted with small stabbing weapons. Sardaukar were also experts at covert operations, managing to conceal themselves among groups for extended periods of time before striking.

During the Harkonnen attack on planet Arrakis, when it was under the control of House Atreides, Sardaukar troops were provided by Emperor Shaddam IV to assist the Harkonnens. Even though the Sardaukar forces were disguised in Harkonnen livery, the Atreides managed to recognize the Sardaukar by their combat style and often hawk-like features.

## Personal Armament, Ranged

* Hunter-seeker (long range)
* Lasgun (long range)
* Maula pistol (mid-to-long range)
* Needle gun (mid-range; see below)
* Stunner (short-to-long range)
* Sardaukar throwing knife (mid-range)

### Needle gun

This small projectile weapon resembles a wristwatch in size and form. Too small to contain more than a single envenomed dart, needle guns are easy to conceal and light to wear...and typically hidden beneath long baggy sleeves. To discharge the weapon, its user needs only point his arm toward the target and lift his hand from the missile trajectory; this triggers the reflexive firing mechanism. Needle guns are often worn in pairs.

*Length:* 3 - 5 centimeters (barrel)

*Mass:* negligible

*Range:* 1 - 10 meters