Autumn Guard

The Autumn Guard is a major military intelligence agency for the New Sith Empire, answerable directly to the Emperor.

Background
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History
The Autumn Guard began in 1965 ATC (1688 BBY) as a division of the New Sith Empire's internal security service to protect the Emperor as well as the most important citizens of The Empire. They were trained in the tools and methods used to protect those persons and to defend them against attacks by Jedi, traitorous Sith Lords, and other Force-users.

Up until 7 years ago, the Autumn Guard remained relatively unchanged. However, Darth Pravus, then the Emperor's apprentice, convinced them to assist him in assassinating the Emperor, in order for him to take his Master's place. In return, he made the Autumn Guard into a new class of Imperial society, an elite caste of impeccably patriotic non-Force-users with a strong desire to see the Empire overwhelm the Republic and unify the galaxy under its rule.

They grew into a vast army, recruiting from the top elites in the military, police, intelligence agencies, and other sources throughout the Empire. Those who disobey orders from an equivalent or higher ranking member of the Autumn Guard, no matter how seemingly unreasonable, can be tried for treason. They are not completely unchecked, however, as internal oversight checks are performed regularly by the intelligence division. Those members who are found to abuse their power are dealt with very harshly.

The Guard is under the direct command of the Dark Lord and blessed with authority over any other organization within the Empire (assuming the chain of command is unbroken.) Its members carry out the will of the Emperor and remain ever vigilant for plots against and within The Sith. They have offices on every subject system and officers overseeing every facet of the military and intelligence community of the Empire.

More recently, Darth Pravus' blunders and mismanagement of the Imperial economy led the Autumn Guard to assist Vlad Von Drake II, the current Dark Lord of the Sith, in overthrowing Darth Pravus and taking his place on the throne.

Appearance
The standard uniform of the Autumn Guard is gray for Ninth through Seventh Guards, black for Sixth through Fourth Guards, and white for Third through First Guards. All uniforms are trimmed with their division's color (silver for Intelligence, bronze for Combat, and gold for Security). Often included is a matching cap with an ancient Sith pyramid symbol in the appropriate divisional color. All uniforms carry the symbol of the organization (a white, spindly tree with no leaves) on their left sleeve.

Instead of pips, their left lapel is embroidered with an underline beneath AGx (x being the number of their rank) in their division's color.

Their dress uniforms follow the same color scheme, but are slightly more elaborate, made of finer materials, and with badges rather than embroidery and shoes rather than boots.

All members of the Autumn Guard are issued a short sword with a cortosis weave, which is generally worn with both field and dress uniforms. Even with the counter-Force training, most Guards are no match for a Jedi or Sith in terms of swordsmanship, but it's always nice to have something they can't cut through.