967 Commando

"This is Coruscant national security. Stay where you are. I repeat, stay where you are."

- Sergeant Wirut, 967 Commando, Galactic Alliance Guard

The 967 Commando was an elite unit of highly trained soldiers that was part of the Galactic Alliance Guard, the secret police organization of the Galactic Alliance. When supporters for Corellia's independence resorted to acts of terrorism on Coruscant, the capital world of the Galactic Alliance, the government naturally felt compelled to redress the stability of their domestic security and the safety of Coruscanti civilians. Under the reluctant direction of Chief of State Cal Omas, various members from Coruscant Security Force, Galactic Alliance Intelligence Service, the former New Republic Intelligence Service, and the Special Forces were re-tasked and mobilized to form the Galactic Alliance Guard (otherwise known as "GAG").

Under the command of Colonel Jacen Solo and Lieutenant Ben Skywalker, the shock troopers of 967 Commando were among the first units deployed on raiding missions shortly after the GAG's formation. They were commonly deployed to Corellian-inhabited areas throughout the vast ecumenopolis of Coruscant. The soldiers would then move swiftly through the targeted area to find and detain all residents in preparation for their internment. Non-Corellians who were caught in the middle of the raids were released as long as they were not suspected of terrorist connections; all Corellians were kept in detention blocks, whether they were confirmed of suspected terrorists.

Despite the misgivings of the Jedi Order and the outraged response of Corellia's representatives, the actions of 967 Commando were largely successful at uncovering and neutralizing further terrorist plots to spread fear and panic throughout the capital. Many Alliance citizens, especially the ones who resided on Coruscant, praised the 967 for its daring stance against violent insurrectionists who sought to aid Corellia's agenda by murdering civilians. Overall, 967's activities provided both public criticism and support for the Galactic Alliance Guard as a whole.

History
"It's about time. I think Colonel Solo did what we should have done a long time ago. We're too scared of upsetting other governments. Well, Corellia, not anymore."

- Unknown Coruscanti civilian, praising Jacen Solo and 967 Commando

When the increasing threat of Corellian terrorism on Coruscant necessitated the creation of a secret police task force, its leadership was offered to the Jedi Mara Jade Skywalker. Although she felt that a hardline stance against terrorists was a natural and necessary course of action, Jade Skywalker declined to accept the commission. In her eyes, no member of the Jedi Order should participate in the mass arrests and internment of civilians of Corellian descent. Nevertheless, Chief of State Cal Omas and Senator G'vli G'Sil found a far more supportive Jedi in Jacen Solo, the son of Leia Organa Solo and the nephew of Grand Master Luke Skywalker. By this time, however, Solo had begun a process of becoming a Sith Lord, much like his grandfather before him. As a result, the formation of the Galactic Alliance Guard (GAG) was realized and placed under the direct command of the newly commissioned Colonel Jacen Solo.

At the colonel's behest, the GAG's personnel had to be composed of a variety of individuals with different specialties, such as agents and spies of the Intelligence Service, police officers of the Coruscant Security Force (CSF), and elite shock troopers from the Special Forces of the Galactic Alliance. The 967 Commando was among the many units within the GAG that was comprised of members with various skill sets, all of whom were personally selected by Colonel Solo. The soldiers within 967 Commando were regarded as the most superb assets to the Galactic Alliance Guard.

The 967's reputation for loyalty, efficiency and dependability resulted in its shock troopers being placed under the direct leadership of Colonel Jacen Solo and Lieutenant Ben Skywalker. Solo was especially careful to recruit soldiers who could be counted on for efficiency in combat and loyalty to the Galactic Alliance. All members of the GAG&mdash;as well as 967&mdash;were Human, born and raised on Coruscant, with no ties to Corellia or its secessionist movement. Like the rest of the secret police, the GAG troopers of 967 Commando wore distinctive black plastoid armor and military fatigues; their faces were obscured by the fully concealing visor of their helmets. Much like their Imperial stormtrooper counterparts, GAG shock troopers were nearly indistinguishable from each other, with the exception of the name tags on their chest plates and their variations in build and height. Officers were aesthetically separated from the rank-and-file shock troopers by ranking marks. A captain had a single gold star on his helmet; sergeants had three thin gold stripes; corporals had two.

Although their gear was suitable for their role as soldiers, many critics&mdash;both civilians and CSF officers&mdash;were quick to draw comparisons between GAG troopers and the stormtroopers of the former Galactic Empire. Solo was also well aware of the similarities between 967 Commando and his grandfather's 501st Legion. But unlike the detractors who asserted that the Alliance was a new Empire, he greatly admired Darth Vader as an inspirational commander whom he increasingly sought to emulate. After 967's first raid on a Corellian community, Solo discarded his Jedi robes in favor of a GAG uniform out of a desire for optimum efficiency in combat.

Some of the most notable soldiers in 967 Commando included Captain Lon Shevu, a former officer in the Coruscant Security Force, who was loyal but also privately disapproved of Jacen Solo's methods. Heol Girdun, a former agent of the New Republic Intelligence Service, was mostly responsible for interrogating Corellian prisoners and was particularly notable for his brutal efficiency in that capacity. Corporal Jori Lekauf, a young recruit from the Galactic Alliance Army, was an optimistic soldier who proudly served as a GAG trooper in 967. As the grandson of Erv Lekauf, an Imperial officer who faithfully served under Darth Vader's command, Jori was inspired to fight at the side of Vader's descendant. With the exception of Girdun, Ben Skywalker developed a sense of camaraderie with Shevu and Lekauf.

The raids conducted by 967 Commando, including the mass arrests and internment of the Corellian population on Coruscant, was recorded and televised throughout the Galactic Alliance by HoloNet News and Entertainment (HNE). The government on Corellia used 967's actions as an excuse to incite further rebellion against the Alliance, but most of the loyalists, particularly the non-Corellian civilians on Coruscant, hailed Solo and 967 for the measures that they took to preserve national security and the safety of the Alliance citizenry on the galactic capital. As Solo continued to lead on the frontlines and by example, his popularity soared with the soldiers of 967, the entire Galactic Alliance Guard and the Coruscanti civilians.

During a raid in the Underlevels of Coruscant, Lieutenant Ben Skywalker and 967 Commando Bravo Company arrested a mercenary named Ailyn Vel, daughter of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett, after a brief firefight. The fact that her accomplice was a Corellian agent implicated her for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, and thus she was detained at the GAG headquarters in the Galactic Justice Center. When Jacen Solo decided to handle her interrogation, he accidentally killed Vel by attempting to prob her mind with the Force. Solo, more frustrated than remorseful, ordered Girdun to question Vel's accomplice. Shortly afterward, however, Ben Skywalker discovered that Vel's targets were Jacen's parents, Leia and Han Solo.

After the Galactic Alliance's failure to neutralize the Corellians with a blockade of their homeworld, Corellia aligned itself with various other worlds to create the Confederation. Upon declaring itself an independent power, the galaxy was plunged into the Second Galactic Civil War as the Alliance fought to preserve its national sovereignty. But as the conflict worsened, Chief of State Cal Omas considered alternative options to bringing an end to the war, such as negotiation and appeasement. Lieutenant Ben Skywalker, under orders to assassinate Prime Minister Dur Gejjen of Corellia, discovered and recorded a secret meeting between Omas and Gejjen. Once Omas left to return to Coruscant, Skywalker completed his mission and killed Gejjen. The mission was nearly compromised, however, until Jori Lekauf sacrificed his life to protect the confidentiality of the GAG's involvement in Gejjen's death. Before succumbing to his fatal wounds, Lekauf told the enemy's security officers that he was a Corellian terrorist. Skywalker, along with Lon Shevu, used the distraction to escape back to the safety of Coruscant.

Shortly afterward, Colonel Jacen Solo learned through the recording that Chief Omas considered removing him and Admiral Cha Niathal through assassination. Escorted by Sergeant Wirut and Trooper Limm of 967 Commando, Solo placed Omas under arrest for high treason against the Galactic Alliance. With Niathal's collaboration, the coup d'état succeeded without bloodshed, as well as the cooperation of the Senate and the armed forces. Solo and Niathal both assumed the office of the Chief of State and established an emergency military government. As Joint Chief of State Number Two, Jacen Solo wielded one half of the authority of the highest executive office in the government. He was later forced to kill his aunt, Mara Jade Skywalker, in self defense after she tried to assassinate him upon learning of his impending ascendency to Sith status. With his training complete, Solo renamed himself "Darth Caedus," the new Dark Lord of the Sith.

Appearances

 * Bloodlines
 * Sacrifice
 * Revelation
 * Millennium Falcon (novel)