Jedi Temple Guard/Legends

"Cease hostility!"

- A Jedi Temple Guard attempts to end the fight between Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee

The Jedi Temple Guards were members of the Jedi Order who were dedicated to protecting the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant. They served as part of the Jedi Temple's security force and reported to Jedi Master Cin Drallig, who headed the Temple's security detail. During the Clone Wars, members of the Guards participated in the trial of the Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who was framed for the bombing of the Jedi Temple Hangar. Four Jedi Temple Guards, along with Tano's Master, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, later escorted the actual culprit, the Jedi Barriss Offee, to Coruscant's Republic military base, where Offee confessed to the crimes, leading to Tano's exoneration. Later, some Temple Guards protected Jedi Master Yoda as he was recovering from a procedure done so that he could determine the source of a voice in his visions.

Description
The Jedi Temple Guards were an ancient security group in the Jedi Order. The Guards comprised various Jedi Knights and sentinels in the Order. The position of Temple Guard was considered one of the duties that a Knight could adopt, and Knights were chosen as part of their continuing commitment to the Jedi. The Jedi Temple Guards were tasked with the protection of the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant and were a part of the security force, reporting to the head of security.

Anti-war protests
The Jedi Temple Guards were established many years prior to the Clone Wars, a galactic conflict fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems that began in 22 BBY. Around the war's second year, the Jedi Temple's hangar was bombed, killing six Jedi, several clone troopers, and a number of Temple employees. During the investigation, a group of citizens gathered at the Temple's steps to protest the Jedi's involvement in the war. Two Temple Guards stood watch at the steps, along with Jedi Master Cin Drallig, their security chief, as the citizens continued their protest.

After a memorial service was held for the Jedi victims of the Temple hangar bombing, the Togruta Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was accused of orchestrating the sabotage and the murder of Republic citizen Letta Turmond, who was secretly involved in the bombing. Tano was eventually captured by her Master, Anakin Skywalker, and the Republic security forces. Members of the Jedi Temple Guards helped escort Tano to the Chamber of Judgment, where the Jedi High Council questioned Tano about the charges levied against her. When the Council expelled her from the Order so that she could be tried by the Galactic Senate, two of the Guards activated their double-bladed lightsaber pikes and blocked Skywalker following his objection to the ruling, while one of the Guards removed Tano's Padawan braid.

Chasing Barriss Offee
Skywalker soon discovered that the actual perpetrator of the crimes was the Mirialan Jedi Barriss Offee, a friend of Tano's. Skywalker confronted Offee in the Temple's dormitories, but she attempted to flee from him, only to be blocked by the Temple Guards. As the ensuing duel between Skywalker and Offee progressed to the rooftop of the Temple's ziggurat, the Temple Guards activated their lightsabers and continued to surround Offee and Skywalker in order to protect Jedi Master Tera Sinube and a nearby class of Jedi Initiates from harm. After Skywalker finally defeated and apprehended Offee, four members of the Guard escorted her to the Republic military base, where Tano was being tried, and Offee confessed to the Temple bombing and Turmond's murder. The Guards later escorted Offee out of the court when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was officiating her subsequent trial, ordered her to be taken away.

Later during the war, Jedi Master Yoda underwent a deprivation ritual in an attempt to ascertain the source of the voice he had been hearing in his visions. After the procedure, Jedi Master Mace Windu tasked three Jedi Temple Guards with watching over Yoda as he recovered. However, Yoda convinced Anakin Skywalker to help him evade the Guards by pretending to accompany Yoda for a walk. The two Guards standing by the exit from the recovery room tried to halt Yoda's progress, but Skywalker assured them that he would watch over Yoda. The Jedi Master then proceeded to leave the Temple in his personal Jedi starfighter.

Equipment
Jedi Temple Guards wore formal brown robes and identity-concealing masks, a display of emotional detachment that was required in service to a higher calling. Temple Guards carried large double-bladed lightsaber pikes that produced yellow blades, which were considered rare among Jedi of the time.

Behind the scenes
The Jedi Temple Guards were first introduced in "Sabotage," the seventeenth episode of the fifth season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, which aired on February 9, 2013. Although not identified in the episode itself, the security detail was given a title in the episode's accompanying guide on StarWars.com.

The Guards later appeared in two subsequent episodes of the series, "The Wrong Jedi" from Season Five and "Voices" from the series' sixth and final season, and were also given an entry in the StarWars.com Encyclopedia. "The Wrong Jedi" was the first episode to show the Temple Guards in action with their double-bladed lightsaber pikes, which were the first lightsabers in cinematic canon to be depicted with a yellow blade. In the episode's planning stages, the lightsaber pikes were originally to be green.