Coruscant Guard/Legends

The Coruscant Guard, also known as the Elite Stormtroopers, were a specialized branch of the Imperial stormtroopers who served as law enforcers on Coruscant and a few other Core Worlds during the height of the Galactic Empire. They were commonly called Imperial Guards, but should not be confused with the Emperor's Royal Guard.

Description
The members of this unit consisted of highly trained peace officers that were entrusted with the important task of protecting the citizens of Imperial Center from any form of criminal activity. This meant that they were often found across Coruscant though were more likely to be found protecting important bureaucratic offices, transports services, communication facilities and any other locale where large gatherings were expected. The large population of the planet meant that the maintenance of order and security was an important concern for the Coruscant Guard. As such, they were given a great deal of power in order for them to accomplish their duty. This included the right to search any facility be it public or private as well as the capacity to arrest any individual for mere suspicion of illegal activity without any need for evidence. During the reign of the Empire, they were charged with upholding the image of the Human High Culture and thus were involved with detaining any suspected Rebel operatives which meant that they were as much as a political force as they were a force for security.

Recruitment into the Coruscant Guard involved the culling of the ranks of the Imperial Stormtroopers. Such individuals received special training in marksmanship as well as in riot suppression techniques and criminal investigations. In addition, they were trained in threat assessment as well as in small group tactics. In order to keep at the peak of physical health, the Coruscant Guard often engaged in a strict exercise regimen. They were also given psychological conditioning in order to instill complete loyalty to the Emperor.

Members of the Guard often carried out their duties aggressively and with an undeniable air of superiority. This remained the case even when they faced particularly powerful foes or well connected beings. In terms of tactics, they often made use of cover and the advantage it provided as well as took part in coordinated attacks. Typically, they served only as a police force which was their primary responsibility while a secondary role was serving as soldiers. As such, they made extensive use of stun settings on their weapons as well as stun grenades unless the foe required to be killed with lethal force authorized. More veteran members of the Coruscant Guard often made use of their staffs in order to separate as well as corner their foe. These individuals also often served in a leadership role amongst the Guard units.

It was known that high ranking agents of the Imperial Security Bureau were known to call upon the Guard's services when involved in investigations of powerful political figures.

Diplomatic Escort Group
During the Clone Wars, the clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard operated the Diplomatic Escort Group which were soldiers charged with the protection of diplomats on key missions involving negotiations.

Armor
During the Clone Wars, the clone troopers of the Coruscant Guard utilized the Phase I clone trooper armor. As individuality and creativity steadily became promoted within the Grand Army of the Republic, the Guard used the crimson red color to designate their status as the capital world's police force&mdash;the most notable symbol being the emblem of the Galactic Senate, located in the center of their torso armor. The symbol was more ornately fashioned on the chest plate of Commander Fox, designating him as the commander of the Guard. The troopers would move to the Phase II clone trooper armor along with most clone troopers when it became available. They retained the crimson red colors on their armor though the markings were changed from the Phase I armor designs.

As of the Galactic Civil War, the Coruscant Guards wore light yet heavily padded crimson and black armor that provided protection against physical attacks. Their sophisticated battle helmet which was lined with advanced sensors, allowed them to work in complete darkness, and also contained a comlink scrambler for communication with fellow personnel. A unit commander's helmet was also equipped with a voice activated heads-up display that showed Coruscant Guard positions. Optional tracking beacon software let a unit commander know the whereabouts of his subordinates at all times. This display system also provided a useful method of navigating the complex city structure of Imperial Center.

Weapons
The weapons used by Coruscant Guards included:
 * DC-15S blasters
 * DC-15A Blaster rifles
 * Z-6 rotary blaster cannons
 * Missile launchers
 * Thermal detonators
 * Merr-Sonn taser staves
 * R-88 Suppressor riot rifles
 * Stun grenades
 * Ascension guns

Standard weapons included Merr-Sonn taser staves, Merr-Sonn e-ss Suppressor riot rifles, stun grenades, and a blaster rifle. The Merr-Sonn taser staves were used to control crowds and suppress riots. It also had variable power settings and was capable of delivering a lethal or incapacitating charge when it strikes its target. Some Coruscant Guards also carried the more advanced Merr-Sonn R-88 Suppressor riot rifle. During the Clone Wars they were seen using Z-6 rotary blaster cannons and missile launchers.

In addition to these weapons and armor, the Coruscant Guard also made use of Rapid Deployment Airspeeder's as their primary form of transportation.

Formation
The Imperial era troopers were descendants of the Republic shock troopers who were established during the height of the Clone Wars. They began as a pure-clone unit led by Commander Fox and were initially charged with protecting the Republic Senate facilities and all senators in residence, filling the role of the Republic Senate Guardsman that were in use prior to the Great Sith War, but not supplanting the non-clone Senate Guard already in place. As the Clone Wars continued, the unit's directives were expanded to maintaining law and order on the capital world.

Raid on Ziro the Hutt's Coruscant club
"We've secured the Hutt location, sir. Senator Amidala's unharmed and she's returning to the Senate with her protocol droid. We have Lord Ziro in custody. He's claiming he was forced into the kidnapping of Jabba's son by Count Dooku. Zero casualties&mdash;unless you count droids, of course."

- Clone Commander Fox, reporting the successful hostage extraction



After Senator Padmé Amidala was captured by Ziro the Hutt, C-3PO contacted the Coruscant Guard about Amidala's abduction and piloted the senator's H-type Nubian yacht to Ziro's Palace, accompanied by Clone Commander Fox and five other Coruscant Guards. Fox's rescue team blasted their way into the palace, destroying the B1 battle droids guarding the entrance in the process. In the ensuing commotion, Amidala freed herself and destroyed the IG-86 droid guarding her with an appropriated E-5 blaster rifle. Taking cover from return fire, the Coruscant Guards made quick work of the remaining security droids. When the last two battle droids were destroyed, the clone troopers surrounded the fleeing Hutt, cutting off his escape.

Post-Clone Wars
Upon the Declaration of a New Order, the Republic was reorganized as the first Galactic Empire. Following this event, the Coruscant Guard along with the Royal Guard were given the responsibility of handling the security arrangements of the capital. In this age, the Emperor Palpatine's issued martial law as well as emergency powers as he became the ultimate authority within the new government. His rule led to an empowerment of the Coruscant Guard who now gained the ability to search any facility of dwelling as well as arrest any citizen or locate and detain suspected criminals or sympathizers of the Rebel Alliance. They were in almost all Coruscant's districts and many of them were assigned to watch the city planet's sewers. The Guard quickly became a status symbol for Imperial Center as they had been trained to be elite stormtroopers tasked with police duty on the capital. During the early reign of the Empire, only a few members of the Coruscant Guard were active though their numbers were growing. Some believed that the group would expand to police other disruptive Core Worlds.

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, where they faced several Coruscant Guards on patrol. Eventually, they got rid of them and rescued the Princess.

By the time of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, members of the the 1,001st Stormtrooper Division wore armor based on that of the Coruscant Guard.

Notable Coruscant guards

 * CC-1010 "Fox"
 * CC-4477 "Thire"
 * CC-5869 "Stone"
 * Jek
 * Rys
 * Unidentified clone sergeant (Florrum)
 * Unidentified clone trooper (Florrum)

Behind the scenes
The Coruscant Guard were developed for the Shadows of the Empire multimedia project. Kenner developed an action figure of Luke Skywalker in Coruscant Guard armor as a tie-in to the novel. The novel itself refers to them as "Elite Stormtroopers".

The Hasbro toys of the Senate Guard incorrectly name them as Coruscant Guards.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * The Clone Wars: Decide Your Destiny: Crisis on Coruscant
 * Out Foxed
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars Volume 2: Crash Course
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * Death Star
 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Shadows of the Empire game
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * Death Star
 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Shadows of the Empire game
 * Shadows of the Empire novel
 * Shadows of the Empire game

Non-canonical appearances

 * Giant spiders are awesome

Notes and references
Coruscant-Wachen Guardia de Coruscant Coruscant Guard