Emperor's Shadow Guard

The Emperor's Shadow Guard was an organization of elite soldiers who served the Galactic Empire during the Great Jedi Purge.

Characteristics
Few Imperials knew the true origins of the mysterious and powerful Shadow Guard. They were silent and enigmatic warriors that received orders directly from Emperor Palpatine himself and were often sent to eliminate suspected Jedi and other Force users.

These guardsmen demonstrated Force powers of their own which led many to suspect that they were in fact former Jedi that had been captured, tortured and brainwashed by Palpatine. However, others believed that the Shadow Guards were simply loyal members of the Emperor's red robed Royal Guard who were trained secretly in the basic skills of the Sith arts.

Regardless of the truth, the Shadow Guards commanded a great level of respect within the Empire's ranks and often led elite Imperial commandos into battle against the Emperor's most hated foes. They often called upon the services of the Shadow Stormtroopers during their battle engagements.

They were capable of using a range of Force abilities such as Force lightning, Force Repulse, Force Push and Force Choke.

History
A Shadow Guard was dispatched to the moon Nar Shaddaa where he encountered Galen Marek. This guardsman made use of a number of Shadow troopers, but was killed by Marek, who used the Force to send him careening off a platform to the ground below.

Another Shadow Guard was present at the Imperial Ore Facility on Raxus Prime, guarding the ore cannon that launched the refined material into space. This guard also fought against Galen Marek who came to destroy the facility. The guardsmen was ultimately defeated when Marek Force Gripped him and tossed him into a ball of fiery molten ore.

A third Guardsman was present on Cloud City where he battled with Marek at the Skirmish on Cloud City. During the engagement, Galen managed to carbon freeze the Shadow Guard after rupturing a nearby pipe carrying carbonite gas.

During the Battle in the Death Star I, a Shadow Guard led a number of the Emperor's Royal Guard in confronting Galen Marek, who infiltrated the mighty space station. After the death of his compatriots, the guardsmen fought against Marek but was beaten and killed when Galen grabbed him and snapped his neck.

Equipment
Their appearance was identical to the Royal Guard, except that their armor and visor colors were inverted, with the full body armor and robe being black and the visor red. The armor provided them a great deal of protection making it both functional as well as ceremonial in purpose.

Their primary weapon was a Lightsaber lance with a red beam extending from the tip of the weapon. In addition to this, their equipment included a heavy blaster pistol as well as a utility belt which included a medpac. Furthermore, they possessed a comlink which was long range, encrypted and miniaturised as well as included holo capability.

Appearances

 * The Force Unleashed novel
 * The Force Unleashed game
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic