Sun Guard

The Sun Guard was an armored unit of ferocious warriors from the planet Thyrsus, one of many military units active during the Clone Wars. The Sun Guards' durable armor inspired that of the Imperial Royal Guard. Likewise, the Echani Martial Arts style was thought to have drawn its origins from the Sun Guard's own fighting style, though modified to increase the brutality and deadliness of the style.

The bounty hunter Moxin Tark wore Sun Guard replica armor. Carnor Jax's father was a Sun Guard.

As a child, Nashiak Llalik was impressed with the armors of this group. He read a lot about it and entertained his younger sister, Saren, with stories about those armors. As an adult, Saren regretted being separated from her brother, partly because she would have enjoyed those stories again.

Organization and philosophy
The Sun Guard was a mercenary Sith cult. Ferocious warriors, the Sun Guard were a devoted and fanatical group. As a military unit, the Guard was organized into regiments.

History
The Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious consolidated the Sun Guard in the Thyrsus system, sometime before 32 BBY. Sidious assigned a number of them to guard his stronghold on Coruscant. The Sun Guard proved essential in his plans regarding the Battle of Naboo, as Sidious used them to assassinate several pivotal Senators before the election of a new Supreme Chancellor &mdash;an election that would place Sidious' alter ego Palpatine in the Chancellor's seat.

In 29 BBY, the holocron of the ancient Sith king Adas was recovered by the student Norval; Sidious dispatched a Sun Guard to retrieve it, and though he killed Norval, the holocron escaped into Jedi hands. Sidious later executed the man for his failure.

The Sun Guard fought in the Clone Wars, where their 2nd Regiment was crushed by Republic General Solomahal. When Sidious' plans for the Sun Guard were at last fulfilled, his apprentice Count Dooku ordered his own minion Asajj Ventress to execute most of the organization. Several of the more devoted Sun Guards, however, were placed in Palpatine's Red Guard.

Equipment and techniques
Though Sith cultists, the Sun Guard lacked Force-sensitivity. They were, however, adept at martial arts. The echani style of combat was thought to have originated with their techniques, modified by Palpatine's experts to be more brutal and deadly.

Members of the Sun Guard wore helmets similar to those of the Senate Guard, but instead of the ceremonial robes worn by that group, they instead covered themselves with black armor. Sun Guards donned belt-spats around their waists, which later inspired the kama worn by the Grand Army of the Republic.

The Imperial leader and Royal Guard Carnor Jax was the son of the Sun Guard who had failed to retrieve Adas's holocron; his father's heritage influenced the black guardsman's uniform he wore.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (video game)