The Highguard
Ruthless and mechanically efficient, the Highguard are universally known as the top of the pile when it comes to warriors of The Sirasion Empire, selectively bred and genetically altered from before birth to be the perfect killers, these unthinking, unfeeling soldiers can single handedly wipe out entire squads, dodge bullets as if it were nothing and butcher their prey with no more care than the dirt beneath them.
Creation of Highguard Soldiers
The entire process takes place on Plask (see planet Plask for more details), home to the Highguard training facility. It is a place so secret even the Emperor himself needs the correct clearance codes before even being allowed anywhere near the planet. The process of modification begins from the moment the eggs arrive on the planet by altering the eggs’ genders to male. If any females slip through, they are usually disposed of. Even before the eggs hatch they are pumped full of chemicals to enhance growth and certain parts of their brain development. This is the first stage in their genetic programming that makes them the silent and deadly warriors they are today. A normal Sirasion egg would usually hatch in 8 to 13 months. A Highguard egg however will hatch in just under 2 months. A Highguard soldier is able to walk around on his own a mere 2 or 3 hours after hatching. Several days later, the training begins. The young Highguard are put through rigorous mental and physical exercises. This continues for 13 years until they are old enough to be assigned to a unit. The Highguard that fail the training (mostly due to genetic defects) are disposed of. Controversy surrounds the Highguard and their way of life due to the harsh genetic alterations of the soldiers. They are incapable of living normal lives after they have become too old for military duty. The genetic alterations often shorten their life spans to only 50 years, down from a Sirasion average of 130. Unlike normal Sirasions, Highguard are heavily suppressed emotionally , they are virtually incapable of feeling emotions that will impact their battlefield performance such as remorse or empathy. Highguard are also known for their lack of speech, only ever speaking which it is absolutely necessary. however it has been shown that if a retired Highguard is left alone for long enough he will start to learn a wider range of emotions and even display casual speech, though this is rare as Highguard soldiers who make it that far seldom have much longer to live because of their sped up growth. Also because of the development process Highguard males grow very small wings more typical of a Za'heel. Considered a nuisance, these wings are amputated during training, this often makes ex-highguard very easy to spot in a crowd.Capabilities
What makes the Highguard soldier unique among other Sirasion soldier types is their uncanny agility. it is even said that can anticipate an enemy triggerman's shot before it leaves the barrel, this mostly being due to their enhanced Sirasion ground sense. Highguard are known for literally dodging bullets as they charge into combat with an enemy, butchering them with twin wristblades. Highguard prefer to get right into close combat, using every part of their body as a weapon against their foe. While it is less common than the former, Highguard can and do specialise in ranged warfare. When doing this they are deadly accurate, often times however choosing to mount their weapon in place of one of their wrist blades so their melee combat capability is not impeded.Equipment
Wrist Blades - A Highguard's primary weapon is his wrist blades. As standard they are the same as a standard soldier's wrist blade but with one having an integrated battlefield computer. Though more commonly they come equipped with Proton wrist blades. These blades use a molecular edged blade to increase slicing and stabbing power. In some cases Highguard soldiers may decide to bring weapons such as a Champion's Longblade or Ceremonial Warblade into combat, these two much larger wrist blades excel in bringing down more potent enemies, being equipped with a molecular energy edging, which unlike the proton wrist blade does not lose its sharpness with each cut made. Battle Suit - The Highguard are all equipped with a VX-10 combat suit. Designed specifically for Highguard the suit comes equipped with all the survival and combat capabilities of a standard battle suit such as an oxygen supply, a tactical battlefield visor and chemical and biological protection. In addition the VX-10 has a third monocular which can provide an enhanced tactical readout to the soldier, capable of picking out targets from miles away and displaying enemy vitals in close combat. VX-10 battlesuits also come equipped with glide wings, these allowing Highguard soldiers to leap from great heights and gracefully land without damage.Structure
The Highguard in their current state are lead by Kal'ira, known as 'The Den Mother'. Ka'lira, while not a product of the Highguard program, Kal'ira has proven time and time again to be up to standard of the soldiers she leads. While still retaining her emotions that give her her own individuality she is still considered a cold and calculating individual.
Rank in the Highguard is very mechanical, there is a way to ascend through the ranks, though it usually involves proving the individual is even more soul-less and calculating than his contemporaries. Highguard soldiers for all intensive purposes are living automatons, however buried deep beneath the exterior is a personality that can make moral based decisions and form more erratic battle strategies, this is what separates Highguard from simple droids.
If an individual proves himself and rises to the top ranks within the Highguard, which in the grand scheme of things is not very high, he will be considered for integration into the Phantom Programme.
Culture
While they have come a long way since their inception, historically, the Highguard have been the primary guard of the Emperor. They are trained to act as mobile statues that do not act, speak or even so much as glance elsewhere unless it is in protection of the emperor. There used to be a number of Highguard traditions within the order and the public used to look to them as the most prestigious attainable position. In the current day in their present form no one truly knows what goes on in the Highguard headquaters and what goes in to creating the soulless killing machines.
History
The Highguard began as a dedicated guard force to the Sirasion Emperor, from the outset they were trained to be as unthinking and unfeeling as possible, their entire goal in life from then on being to ensure the safety of the Emperor. The Highguard bore witness to many things no other Sirasion ever would, some even observing past emperors committing terrible acts, authorising detrimental decisions and sometimes committing outright treason, however having taken their sworn oath of loyalty to the emperor they were forced to sit by and watch this all unfold. There were occasions where the Highguard as a collective decided an emperor had gone too far and de-throned him, establishing the reputation that the Highguard, while being devoutly loyal were the silent watchers of the Empire and that the emperor's power was not totally absolute.
There were various experiments that involved replacing the Highguard for droids or even going so far as to partially lobotomise some of its members. Both of these practises fell short and lead to failiure of the Highguard on several occasions.
There was a shadowy branch of the Highguard known as The Watchers, a small order of individuals who were devout followers of the Imperial Prophecy, a proclamation that depicted the past and future rulers of the Sirasion people. The Watchers were mostly comprised of former members of the order who had done their time serving the Emperor.
The Watcher's most controversial move was claiming that a human would come fourth in the Empire's time of need and rescue them from utter obliteration with advanced weapons and new ideas. Many of the Sirasion people shunned this idea, including the current emperor, declaring the Watchers as traitors. Despite the condemnation, the Watchers eventually got their way as they helped Zurrok take the throne. After Zurrok took control and gained the loyalty of his new found people, the Watchers faded into obscurity, decades later little has been heard from them, but rumour has it they still remain in the shadows silently influencing imperial events.
Moving into the Great Uprising, the Imperial Highguard began to become the special forces unit they are known as today. Highguard were hand picked from the best Sirasion soldiers and trained up in advanced combat doctrine specific to the Highguard, specialising in melee and hyper agility over ranged precision. However this didn't come in time as the fall of the Empire was already happening.
over the two centuries the Sirasion Empire remained hidden away, the Highguard programme was revamped. it was looked back on how a past emperor had tried to primitively lobotomise some of his highguard to make them even more unquestionably loyal, while the method was defective, the idea had some weight behind it. When the group of scientists approached Zurrok with their proposition he gave them the go-ahead, while Siran was hidden away they conducted their first tests that involved taking an un-born Sirasion and genetically altering the embryo to make them stronger, smarter and most importantly; unquestioningly loyal.
When the Empire made its comeback the secretive Highguard programme moved to Plask, there the secretive tests and experiments were carried out until the brand new Highguard soldiers were ready to be rolled out. The first batches proved highly effective not just as guards but also as soldiers. They struck fear and despair into the hearts of the enemy, so much so there were a number of cases where enemy soldiers surrendered before battles had even begun. Sirasion soldiers also began to view them with a strange sense of reverence.
As further experimentation and research was conducted, the training of Highguard soldiers was starting to become more like a production process. Scientists on the programme had figured out how to speed up the growth process and suppress many emotions that impeded battlefield effectiveness. The whole process was becoming even more controversial though, some scientists even going as far to say what they were doing was a crime against the Sirasion species. In the name of progress these individuals were silently disposed of and the programme continued.
Various off-shoots of the Highguard program have sprung from Plask, such as the illusive Phantoms, Zadaka and Shadow Sector, however it is the Highguard warrior that still remains a sight of utter terror for those who oppose the Empire's rule.
Type
Military, Special Operations Force
Alternative Names
Loque'hanark
Leader
Parent Organization
Comments