Star Guard

Overview

Peace and security is maintained in the Emissariate of Bolusca by three distinct groups. The Fleet is the military arm of the government, responsible for keeping the space lanes and borders secure. The various Planetary Police departments are responsible for civilian security, protection, and crime investigation. And overlapping these two functions is the Star Guard, an elite, autonomous team of super-powered individuals who are called in when the nature of the threat is beyond the resources of either the Fleet or the PPD. The Star Guard are directly answerable to the Emissariate Council and generally have the full confidence of the Council and the citizens they are charged to protect.

History

The Star Guard were formed in the aftermath of the Second Galactic War, nearly 200 cycles ago. Many Boluscans were dissatisfied with the new peace treaty between the major powers, believing that this was the moment they should be annihilating their ancient enemy, the Krai. At a meeting of Krai and High Illonan diplomats on Bolusca, an anti-peace group staged a violent attack, with the intention of killing the diplomats and throwing the powers back into open war.

The attack was thwarted by three youths from different worlds of the Emissariate, each with an extraordinary power. These saviours were hailed as heroes by the media, and the Boluscan authorities soon saw the propaganda value of heroes of different worlds acting as figureheads for the new peace. Soon, however, the "figureheads" proved themselves to be so loyal, brave, resourceful, and powerful, that they outgrew their status as mere propaganda figures and became one of the most important and revered groups in the entire Emissariate.

This was the start of the Star Guard, an organization of super-powered individuals from many worlds, sworn to selflessly devote themselves to the protection of the Emissariate and all its people.

In its early days, the Star Guard grew without control, becoming a virtual private army of super-beings. This made many within the government uneasy, as it was easy to see that should the Star Guard ever turn against the Emissariate it would be impossible to stop them.

This fear came to pass in cycle 1485, when the villainous Worm from the Plunderers Planet infiltrated the Star Guard. Worm contrived to corrupt several of the Star Guard, expel those he could not corrupt, and recruit new members with criminal leanings. With this army (The so-called "Villain Guard") at his back, Worm attempted the violent overthrow of the government, with the intention of setting himself up as a new emperor. Only a desperate last-minute defence by the still-loyal members of the Star Guard defeated the threat and prevented the Emissariate from collapsing into chaos. The Star Guard was re-formed with new controls in place to prevent such a catastrophe ever happening again.

Membership Requirements

The original concept of the Star Guard was that each member should have a unique, "super-Boluscan" ability; something that made them individually much more powerful than ordinary Boluscans. The reality is, however, that many sentient races are inherently more powerful than the Boluscan standard. This raised questions such as, if the silicon-based lifeforms of Janus 6 are able to eat solid rock, then does every member of that race qualify as "super-Boluscan" and therefore eligible for membership?

Ultimately, it was agreed that the deciding factor was how the sentient used their abilities, not in how "super" those abilities were. Such a decision could only be made on a case-by-case basis, by a panel of qualified experts, namely the Star Guard members themselves.

In practice, Star Guard membership has been extended to sentients with useful "natural" abilities, as well as to highly skilled individuals with no "super-Boluscan" abilities at all, and even to sentients who relied on technological equipment to provide their abilities.

Most members will have studied for a period in the Star Guard academy before being offered membership, though in rare cases this has been waived and a member has been immediately inducted. Entry to the academy requires stringent background checks and psychological tests. There is no set criteria for graduating the academy, however; when an empty Star Guard position becomes available, the academy instructors will put forward likely candidates, and a panel of active Star Guard will select the replacement. Many academy students leave voluntarily without ever becoming Star Guard members, instead putting their training to good use in other areas, often as members of the Fleet or Planetary Police. There is no stigma attached to taking this option.

Organization

The Star Guard have a mandate to operate autonomously on any member world of the Emissariate, putting them in a position of unique power and importance. Their leader (a rotating position) answers directly and only to the Emissariate Council, giving him a status equal to the High Admiral of the Fleet and the Chief Commissioner of the Planetary Police.

To mitigate the potential for a rogue Star Guard uprising, the group is limited to a maximum of 49 active members at any one time. Due to the extreme danger inherent in their activities, membership turnover is relatively high, and so a cadre of potential replacements are constantly available in the Star Guard training academy.

Star Guard headquarters in on Bolusca, and the headquarters complex has accommodation for all active members, as well as support facilities such as laboratories and meeting rooms. The academy is also based on Bolusca, but not in the same complex. It is exceedingly rare for all Star Guard to be in headquarters, though. Such is the demand for their services that the majority of members will be on active missions at any given time, usually divided into small, ad-hoc teams.

Within the Star Guard, there is one leader with absolute authority. This leader is chosen by simple majority vote in a free and open election by all active members. Campaigning for votes is permitted, though most members find such a practice rather tacky, and sometimes an election winner is a member who has not even expressed an interest in the position. The leader holds the post for one cycle, after which another election is held. There is no restriction on how many consecutive terms a leader may serve. The leader will appoint a deputy, who will act in his place when he is unavailable or incapacitated. The primary job of the leader (or deputy) is to assess mission requirements and assign the best individuals to mission teams, though very few leaders are content to sit watching the mission monitor board when there's a chance of action, and so even that task is often delegated to other random members. The other main job of the leader is to deliver in-person reports to the Council, though even fewer leaders relish that task.

Beyond the leader and deputy, there are no other positions of rank in the Star Guard. When a team is assigned to a specific mission, they have equal rank and make decisions by mutual agreement. This tends to happen even when the leader assigns himself to a mission team. Though he can theoretically order the team to follow his lead, a good leader will recognise that the team's individual expertise means that the "mutual agreement" principle can usually be relied on.

The Star Guard Code

The Star Guard are bound by a strict code of behaviour, which all must swear to obey. The code ensures that the Star Guard are loyal to the Emissariate, that they will uphold the Boluscan ideals of honour and justice, and that they will remain free from bribery, corruption, and criminal intent. The first duty of the Star Guard is to protect innocent life, individual freedom, and the law of the Emissariate, usually in that order.

One interesting, and often misunderstood, clause of the code is the "code against killing". Most Emissariate citizens believe that this prohibition exists, and that the Star Guard will never take a sentient life. And in fact it is cynically in the Star Guard's interest that they believe this, as it gives the citizen a reassuring sense of safety in the face of beings who could literally kill them with the flick of a finger.

The truth of the "code against killing" is that no such code exists. The actual code states that the taking of sentient life should be avoided as far as practically possible. If it comes to a choice of killing a criminal to prevent him taking an innocent life, for example, the Star Guard member is not expected to hesitate, though it should always be the final resort. In most cases, a Star Guard's abilities are so great that multiple non-lethal options should be available to him. And it is recognised that in time of war, killing enemy combatants is inevitable. Individual Star Guard interpret this code to different degrees, however, and some do indeed have a personal code which prevents them ever taking a sentient life.

All transgressions of the code, including unnecessary killing, are investigated and judged internally by the Star Guard, with a vote of the full membership determining the fate of the member who has broken the code.

It is worth noting that the Star Guard are not "paid" as such for their service. They have all their needs provided for—food, board, clothing—and furthermore the Star Guard emblem is sufficient to allow them to "commandeer" any additional items or services they need. For example, a Star Guard in pursuit of a criminal can legitimately demand the use of a vehicle belonging to a random citizen, and a Star Guard operating undercover can draw sufficient currency to play the role. Abuse of this privilege is considered a breach of the Star Guard code. On retiring, the Star Guard—or their surviving dependents—are provided with comfortable pensions in perpetuity.

Standard Equipment

The Star Guard have access to a wide range of exotic weapons and equipment if needed, but unless a mission has an obvious need for something specific, they will usually rely on their own innate abilities. A few items are in common use, however.

Star Guard Medallion

The Star Guard medallion is a small, golden decoration in the shape of an eight-pointed starburst. It is the primary identification emblem of the Star Guard, recognised throughout known space (though of course any Star Guard is a person of some celebrity who would usually be recognised even without the medallion). The medallion is worn on the right breast of humanoids, over the position of the Boluscan heart. Non-humanoid Star Guard will wear it in a visible location appropriate to their form.

As well as identification, the medallion acts as a communicator with orbital range, and as a real-time speech translator. It will translate to and from any known language, and given time it will "learn" any new language it encounters.

The Medallion's construction and software protection make it theoretically impossible to copy, though there has been at least one example of a passable forgery seen in cy.1602.

Personal Flight Units

These small, wearable devices use directed-graviton technology to provide personal flight in atmosphere and empty space. The units are thought-controlled, and keyed to a specific person so they cannot be transferred. The devices are small and can be as unobtrusive as a belt, a bracelet, or even a ring. Flight with a PFU is highly manoeuvrable, but speeds are limited to a little over 100 kilometres per hour.

Not all Star Guard use a PFU. Some have innate flight powers, and others have powers that do not react well with the PFU technology. Some simply refuse them from personal preference. There is no requirement for every Star Guard to be able to fly, though it is obviously a very useful ability.

Personal Environment Suit

The PES is a suit of lightweight transparent polymer that protects the wearer against the environment of empty space. It provides a barrier against ambient levels of cold, heat, and radiation, and a breathable reserve of whatever gas or liquid the wearer's biology requires to survive. The PES is not worn permanently, but is generally carried in a pouch from which it can automatically and rapidly deploy when needed. Each PES is individually tailored to the wearer's form and needs, and will permit the use of most super powers while it is worn.

Not all Star Guard use a PES. Some have innate environmental survival powers, and others have powers that do not react well with the PES technology. Some simply refuse them from personal preference. All Star Guard cruisers are equipped with standard Fleet-issue space suits as emergency back-ups for members who do not have a PES.

Star Guard Cruisers

The Star Guard have a fleet of small, fast, interstellar cruisers. A number of different types of cruiser have been in use at different times, but the current model is a modified version of the Fleet's standard Nebula class light cruiser. For low-profile missions, the Pulsar class scout cruiser is used.

Membership

The following 28 Star Guard are known to be on the roll call in Boluscan cycle 1602 (A.D. 1988 in Earth terms). This is not the full active roster.

There is a variable number of academy cadets at any one time. The following are known to be in training in Cy.1602.

The following members are known to be active in the 24th (Earth) century:

Known prior members:

Copyright © 1988, 2019, 2023, 2024 by David Meadows. All rights reserved.
A version of the Star Guard originally featured in the game Golden Heroes by Simon Burley